To complete this tutorial you'll need PSP 8, 9 or X and a knowledge of the tools of PSP. No outside filters are necessary unless you choose to use them.

We will be making a multi-layered frame but this technique will work easily for any picture frame you wish to create and export. The main purpose of the tutorial is to show you how to export frames for future use.

For this tutorial I'm using a wood tile that came with PSP9. You can download it by clicking on the image below. It will open in a new window. Save it to your Patterns folder if you don't already have it. Close the new window to come back here.

Step 1: - White Matte
• Open a new image 300 x 300 px, 16 mil colors, transparent.
• Create a New Layer - call it matte white
  (each element of the frame will be on a separate layer.)
• Selections/Select All
• Selections/Modify/Contract 23 pixels
• Selections/Invert. Then flood fill the selected area with white.
• Deselect and Save as .pspimage
  This is what you should have so far:
  
  

Step 2: - Black Matte
• Create a New Layer - call it matte black
  
• Selections/Select All
• Selections/Modify/Contract 19 pixels
• Selections/Invert. Then flood fill the selected area with black.
• Deselect and Save as .pspimage
  This is what you should have so far:
  
  

Step 3: - Frame
• Create a New Layer - call it frame
  
• Selections/Select All
• Selections/Modify/Contract 12 pixels
• Selections/Invert. Then flood fill the selected area with the wood tile or a pattern of your own.
• While it is still selected, go to Effects/3d Effects/Inner Bevel and use these settings: (or use your own settings)
    Bevel: #2
    Width: = 1
    Smoothness: = 19
    Depth: = 5
    Ambience: = 62
    Shininess: = 42
    Color: = White
    Angle: = 315
    Intensity: = 25
    Elevation: = 40

• Deselect and Save as .pspimage
  This is what you should have so far if you used the wood tile and stated settings:
  
  

First way to Export Frames

In the first way to Export the frames we'll export each layer separately. That way you can have a white matte, black matte and a frame and I'll show you how to use them together.

Step 4: - Exporting Frames Separately
• Click on the "white matte" layer and Ctrl C to copy it.
• Ctrl V to paste it as a New Image (You should have only the white matte and the center will be transparent.
• Go to File/Export/Picture frame Give it a name (I used rb_white_matte and click OK.
• You can now close the new image with the white matte.
• Click to highlight the "black matte" layer, Ctrl C to copy and Ctrl V to paste as a new image. Export this the same way as the white matte. (I used rb_black_matte for the name.) You can close the black matte image once it is exported.
• Highlight the last layer (frame), copy and paste it as a new image and export in the same way. Close the new image.

Using the Frames Separately

Make sure you have saved your original layered frames image and minimize it for now.

Step 5: - Adding the Frames
• Open a photo or image that you wish to frame.
• Go to Image/Picture Frames and locate the frames that you exported. The ones I exported are shown below. (The white one doesn't show well, but it's there.)
  
• Click on the white matte that you saved.
• In the palette that appears choose whether you wish to frame the Canvas or the layer and the inside or outside of the image. (My settings are shown below.)
  
  
• Find your black matte frame the same way and apply it to the image.
  Note: you might find that if you use "Frame inside of the image" the black matte will cover the white one. I used "Frame outside of the image" for the black matte.
• Find the patterned frame that you created and apply it. Again watch the preview so that you pick the settings you like.
• If you used the wood frame and these instructions, this is how your image or photo should appear now.
  
  
• Save your result if you wish.
• Note: I like saving frames separately like in the example above because you then have the chose to mix and match with other frames and even add a drop shadow to the individual layers created by each frame that is added.

Second way to Export Frames

Step 6: - Export Assembled Frame
• Open your original layered with just the frames. You should have a transparent background and 3 additional layers.
• Right Click on the top layer and choose Merge/Merge Visible from the menu.
• Now your frames are all combined into one layer with a transparent center.
• Go to File/Export/Picture Frame and export your new combined frame.
  
  Note: It does not matter how detailed or fancy your created frame is only that it has a transparent background and is on one layer. Very fancy frames can even be saved individually as in the first example.
  
  
• Below is an example of my completed image using the frame we just built.

Hint 1: Once you have the black and white matte frames you can easily color them to match a color in your picture. For the one below I selected the black frame and flood filled it with a color on the bear.

Hint 2: You can also combine any frames you have. On the picture below I used the white matte we made with a gold frame that came with PSP.

Happy Framing!!!

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