Helllllllllllooooooooooo scrappers! I am back with another wonderful, exhilarating LAD. Our Layout-a-Days are free, fun & friendly. This go around, our LAD: Secret Garden, is no different. Each day will bring a new prompt, with a new prize. Join us every day to get every prize and collect a fantabulous MEGA kit!

We are going to jump right in with both feet. The prompt today is to create a shaped cluster. Some of you are all “wooooooooohooooooooooo” and some of you are “huh.” The rest of you are somewhere in between. For all of you I’ve got a little quick tip & freebie to get you started.

I’m using a heart shape for my cluster, however this works on any shape you can dream of. Today I’m working in photoshop, but this technique works in elements & many other softwares as well. You can use any shape you find anywhere. I’m choosing to draw a heart using photoshops Custom Shape Tool.

I’m starting on a blank canvas, sized 3600X3600 dpi @300ppi. This is the standard digital scrapbooking page size.

  • Click on the Custom Shape Tool
  • Choose Right click to choose Custom Shape Tool from the fly-out menu

The Custom Shape option becomes visible in your Top Menu

  • Click & Choose the Heart Card (or any shape!) from the drop down menu
    Note: you may need to add Custom Shapes, do this by clicking on the teeny tiny gear

Draw your heart shape on your canvas.

  • While drawing only the blue “path” shows
  • Your heart will fill once you finish
    note: Make sure your fill layer is set to fill

Once your heart is drawn you can still change the shape, size & color nondestructively because we’ve used a Custom Shape.

  • Double click on your heart layer to change color
  • Use the move tool to change size & shape

Remember, this heart is just a Placeholder to help you create your shaped cluster.

  • On the Heart Layer turn down the opacity to 20%
  • Click on New Layer to continue building your heart-shaped cluster

Use different brushes and colors to create a heart-shaped stamp. This will serve as the background for your heart-shaped cluster.

Now it’s time to add flowers (and anything else you’d like) to your heart-shaped cluster. I’m starting with one BIG flower, and I’ll build the rest of my cluster around it. I’ve set my shadow settings, and I’ll use the same shadow setting on all the elements of my heart-shaped cluster.
Note: I’ve hidden my heart-shaped placeholder!

  • Blend Mode – Multiply
  • Opacity – 30%
  • Angle – 126°
  • Distance – 30 px
  • Size – 30 px

I had SO much fun filling my heart with flowers! I choose to use only flowers, but feel free to add any elements you like.

I did feel my heart-shaped cluster needed something more. I decided to add some paint splatters, in the same colors, to add a little pizzazz. I used the watercolor brushes included in the free Watercolor Action set on Adobe.

I’m hoping I’ve tempted you to try a shaped cluster of your own. I’d love to see your work in our LAD: Secret Garden.

I did turn my work into a duo of freebies. For everyone reading along here today, you can download the Shaped Cluster Starter. This includes:

  • The Heart-shaped Placeholder
  • The Heart Stamp
  • The Paint Splatters

For our SUPERsize Members Only I’ve turned the entire work into an Adjustable Cluster. This includes:

  • The Heart-shaped Placeholder
  • The Heart Stamp
  • The Paint Splatters
  • Every flower on it’s own layer!