WHAT WE’RE CREATING:

Hello Design Cutters!

It’s Jo here and we’ve got a fantastically varied bundle to play with for today’s tutorial :)

With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, we’ll be designing a bold and bright card for the special designer in your life – complete with a typography pun!

Quick note: In this tutorial, the term “clipping” or “clipped layer” is used a few times. This means that the layer is only visible/applies to the layer directly below it. You can very quickly do this by holding ‘Alt’ down on your keyboard and clicking between the two layers. Here’s a quick demonstration.

Let’s jump straight in!

Valentines Card Tutorial

Follow along with this tutorial: Download the freebies

As always, we have another great freebie for you to enjoy. Thanks to our designers, we’re offering a varied selection of vectors, textures and hi-res PNG’s

Remember, this freebie is just a tiny sample taken from this great bundle: The Print Designer’s Bundle (Best-Selling Fonts, Effects, Vectors and More) at just $29 (a huge 97% Off). After so many requests for a quality print design themed bundle, we set to work to compile thousands of the best resources in the world into one amazing collection. This vast library of design items features the most asked for resources from the Design Cuts community.

Valentines Card Tutorial


Step 1:

Open up a new 1748px x 2480px (A5) document in Photoshop. From the main menu, go to View > New Guide and individually enter the following settings:

Valentines Card Tutorial

Vertical: 2%, 50%, 98%
Horizontal: 2.5%, 97.5%

Step 2:

From the freebies, copy and paste Watercolor_Texture_PinkYellow.jpg on to your canvas, scaling to fit:

Valentines Card Tutorial

This’ll give us a nice strong background to make our design elements stand out against – the first of which we’ll add now!

From the freebies, copy and paste LaceFiligree-01.png on to your canvas, scaling so that the width matches. You can hold down the Shift key on your keyboard whilst scaling to keep the proportions locked.

Position so that it sits roughly in the upper-third of the canvas, similar to the example below. Remember you can always reposition this later if needed.

Valentines Card Tutorial

We want to go for a subtler effect, as we’ll be layering up some other design elements above this and need a softer background. This can be easily done by simply changing the blend mode to Soft Light:

Valentines Card Tutorial

Step 3:

From the freebies, find HeartVines-06.png then copy and paste it on to your canvas, scaling so that it fits the height. Use the guides you set up to align the image so that the outermost heart sits against the guide:

Valentines Card Tutorial

As this is a background element as well, we’ll make it much subtler by changing the blend mode to Soft Light:

Valentines Card Tutorial

Next, we want to create a mirror image of this on the opposite side. Duplicate the layer, then in the main menu go to Edit > Transform > Flip Horizontal to make the reflected version. Use the guides again to make sure it’s positioned at the right distance from the edge:

Valentines Card Tutorial

Step 4:

From the freebies.ai file, copy and paste the following sunburst vector on to your Photoshop canvas:

Valentines Card Tutorial

Valentines Card Tutorial

Manually transform the shape so that it becomes more elliptical, with the width filling the canvas similar to below:

Valentines Card Tutorial

Because this forms part of the background too, we’ll make it a little softer and easier to build up on by changing the blend mode to Screen:

Valentines Card Tutorial

To keep things tidy and easy to find, let’s group all these layers in to a folder called “Background”.

Step 5:

Now that our background’s complete, we can start to add the bolder vector elements!

From the Freebies.ai file, select the following vector (leaving the little splashes at the end as we’ll get back to those later).

Valentines Card Tutorial

Copy and paste it on to your canvas so that it aligns with the top guide and scale so that there is still a little space left either side for the splashes:

Valentines Card Tutorial

Create a clipped hue/saturation Adjustment Layer. The only setting you need to change is to push the Lightness up to +100 to make the image white:

Valentines Card Tutorial

Duplicate the original vector (without the adjustment layer) and use a Layer Mask to hide everything apart from the little splashes at the top:

Valentines Card Tutorial

We’re going to add a bit of sparkle to these! From the freebies, locate SparkleGold.jpg and paste on to the top part of your canvas, reducing the size slightly. This is so the size of the sparkles are a little more proportional to the small area they’re covering:

Valentines Card Tutorial

Clip the layer to the one below to get our desired effect:

Valentines Card Tutorial

Going back to the Freebies.ai file, copy and paste the end splashes on to your Photoshop canvas:

Valentines Card Tutorial

Valentines Card Tutorial

Duplicate the SparkleGold layer we used previously and move the layer to the top. We’ll rescale this so that it fits the full width of the canvas:

Valentines Card Tutorial

As before, clip the layer to the one below to apply the texture to the specific area:

Valentines Card Tutorial

To keep things organised, we’ll group these in to a folder called “Top Swirls”. Feel free to be more original with your own group naming. ;)

Step 6:

As it’s a valentine’s card, it won’t hurt to add a few hearts here and there. We’ll grab ours from the freebies in the form of Hearts-17.png and copy and paste it on to the upper center of our canvas:

Valentines Card Tutorial

We’ll use some more sparkes from the freebie pack to brighten up our heart shape. This time copy and paste SparklePink.jpg on to your canvas, scaling to a similar size as below:

Valentines Card Tutorial

As before, clip the layer to the one below to isolate the effect:

Valentines Card Tutorial

Group the two layers in to a folder called “Top Heart”, because there’ll be more than one. :)

Step 7:

We’re going to add the text to our card using some fonts included in the main deal. If you’ve not purchased this, please feel free to substitute them with ones in your own collection as the effects we’re applying to them can be used universally.

The first is Roverd Regular (from print-designers-bundle-dexsar-harry-fonts)at approximately 68pt with white as the colour. Type “Happy Valentines” and position centrally so that it covers the lace pattern in the background:

Valentines Card Tutorial

We’ll add a bit of variation to the text using the Stylistic Alternatives available with this font. Highlight the “y” in the text and turn on the Stylistic Alternatives feature:

Valentines Card Tutorial

Duplicate the text layer and change the colour to #bb1f45. Nudge it slightly to the right and down using the arrow keys on your keyboard:

Valentines Card Tutorial

Move the layer below the original text and change the blend mode to Multiply to get a subtle drop-shadow effect:

Valentines Card Tutorial

Duplicate one of the Gold Sparkle layers, scaling to fit the width as necessary, and move it to the top above the original white text in the layer stack. Clip it to the text below:

Valentines Card Tutorial

Group these layers in to a folder called “Happy Valentines” so that we can locate all the elements easily.

Step 8:

This being a Design Cuts tutorial, we’re not going to pass up on the opportunity to include a typography pun!

Again, we’re going to use some fonts which are part of the main deal here, which you can substitute with your own if you wish.

Select Goodfy Regular (from print-designers-bundle-dexsar-harry-fonts) as the font at size 40pt and with white as the colour. Type “You’re just my”:

Valentines Card Tutorial

The image below shows the text with Stylistic Alternatives turned on. The little curls on both the “j” and the “y” look a little uniform, so we’ll mix things up by selecting just the “j” and turning off the Stylistic Alternatives in the character panel, like we did when we turned them on for the “y” in “Happy Valentines”:

Valentines Card Tutorial

Now for the punchline. ;)

Using DHF Milestone Script Regular (from print-designers-bundle-dexsar-harry-fonts) type “type” at approximately 146pt and with white as the colour:

Valentines Card Tutorial

Duplicate the text layer, then duplicate one of the Gold Sparkle layers and clip it to the text. Nudge it slightly to the right and down:

Valentines Card Tutorial

Change the blend mode of the golden text to Multiply, then move to below the original white text. Remember to change the blend mode on the text layer, not the gold sparkle layer:

Valentines Card Tutorial

Step 9:

We’re going to add a slight texture to our type now. From the freebies, select Example 2.jpg and paste it on to your canvas so that it covers the text:

Valentines Card Tutorial

Clip this to the text layer below. If you like, move it around a bit to see if you can find an area of texture you particularly like:

Valentines Card Tutorial

We’ve got a nice texture effect now, but it could do with brightening up a little. We’ll use a clipped hue/saturation Adjustment Layer with the following settings to do this:

Valentines Card Tutorial

Hue/Saturation Settings:
Colourize: Off
Hue: 0
Saturation: 0
Lightness: +45

Valentines Card Tutorial

Now our main sentiment’s been expressed, we’ll start to finish off the design with a few more decorative elements…

Step 10:

Duplicate the Hearts-17 layer from earlier and flip horizontally so that it doesn’t look like an exact copy. Increase the size slightly so that it’s similar to below:

Valentines Card Tutorial

Duplicate the Sparkle Pink layer, rescaling so that it fits the width of the canvas and move it above the heart:

Valentines Card Tutorial

Clip it to the heart layer below:

Valentines Card Tutorial

Step 11:

From the freebies.ai file locate the following vectors:

Valentines Card Tutorial

Copy and paste the solid feather on to the left side of your Photoshop canvas. Flip it horizontally and manually rotate to a more vertical position:

Valentines Card Tutorial

Now invert the colour of your feather, to make it white.

Valentines Card Tutorial

Copy and paste the outlined version of the feather on to your Photoshop canvas. Position and rotate so that it sits slightly to the right of the solid feather image for an offset look:

Valentines Card Tutorial

Duplicate one of the Sparkle Pink layers, making sure it covers the feather, and clip it to the outline layer:

Valentines Card Tutorial

Group these in to a folder called “Feathers Left” and duplicate the group. Drag the duplicate group across to the opposite side, holding down the Shift key to keep it at the same level, then flip the group horizontally to create a mirror image:

Valentines Card Tutorial

Rename this group “Feathers Right” to avoid confusion. :)

Step 12:

From the freebies, copy and paste Doily-02.png on to your canvas, positioning so that just the top part displays at the bottom of the design:

Valentines Card Tutorial

Duplicate on of the Pink Sparkle layers, scaling as necessary so that it fits the width of the canvas and then clip it to the doily layer below:

Valentines Card Tutorial

Step 13:

From the Freebies.ai file copy and paste the following vector on to your Photoshop canvas:

Valentines Card Tutorial

Scale and position so that it’s similar to the image below:

Valentines Card Tutorial

Once you’re happy with the size and position, change the blend mode to Screen:

Valentines Card Tutorial

Duplicate the layer and return the blend mode to Normal. Then, use a Layer Mask to isolate the little splashes on the design – we’ll be adding some sparkle to these as an accent!

Valentines Card Tutorial

Duplicate one of the Pink Sparkle layers, and scale down so that it just covers the vector swirl:

Valentines Card Tutorial

Then, clip it to the layer:

Valentines Card Tutorial

Group these together in to a folder called “Left Swirl”. Then, like we did for the feathers, duplicate the group and create a mirror image on the opposite side:

Valentines Card Tutorial

Step 14:

From the Freebies.ai file, copy and paste the following banner vector on to your Photoshop canvas:

Valentines Card Tutorial

Valentines Card Tutorial

Duplicate the layer and move it below the original. Change the blend mode to Multiply and drop the Opacity to 50% to create a simple drop shadow effect:

Valentines Card Tutorial

Duplicate the Example 2 paper texture layer and position it above the original banner:

Valentines Card Tutorial

Clip it to the banner layer below:

Valentines Card Tutorial

Step 15:

Finally, we’ll finish off with another cool freebie. Copy and paste the MadeWithLoveBlack.png file on to your canvas, so that it sits nicely within the paper banner we just created:

Valentines Card Tutorial

Change the blend mode to multiply. The black is a bit strong for this design, so we’ll change the colour using a hue/saturation Adjustment Layer with the following settings:

Valentines Card Tutorial

Hue/Saturation Settings:
Colourize: On
Hue: 331
Saturation: 100
Lightness: +55

Valentines Card Tutorial

And we’re done!

Valentines Card Tutorial

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial, and that it helped you get some ideas for how you can use the resources included in the current deal. This only just scratches the surface of what’s available as there’s such a variety available for you to get creative and have fun with!

Remember to share your designs on the Facebook page too, as we love being inspired by the way you make these tutorials your own. Are any of you planning on making a card for that special someone? :)

Hopefully this tutorial showed you how to get creative with just some of the resources available in this vast and varied bundle. Remember, you can get this great deal for a huge 97% off this week! Grab it below, while you still can:

The Print Designer’s Bundle (Best-Selling Fonts, Effects, Vectors and More)