CoffeeShop Vintage Clipping Mask Frames Set 1 and Tutorial!

Here is a fun set of vintage clipping mask frames.
If you don't know what a clipping masks is or how to use one, please don't worry! I included a pdf file with complete instructions. They are actually really easy and if you play around with blending modes (as my sample above) you can get beautiful results. You can also drag these frames on top of your image and play around with various blending modes.

There are 4 .psd vintage frames (that I made with various grunge brushes) in the set and they can be opened in Photoshop or Photoshop Elements like any other image. You can download the set HERE or HERE!

Quick Texture and Clipping Mask Tutorial!

For this tutorial I used one of the clipping mask frames that I made (see download link above). I found the beautiful texture seen on the "After" on Flickr by Photos by Gina. There are so many great free textures out there, you just have to search for them. To get started, check out Paul Grand, les brumes, irisb477, The Revamp Tramp, Boccacino, and Playingwithbrushes. Please also visit Deviantart for more great free textures.


Open your texture. You can adjust the colors (hue/saturation; click colorize and then adjust the hue and saturation sliders) and contrast (levels or curves). Make sure to flatten your image if you add any adjustment layers before going to the next step.


Open your clipping mask frame, click V to get the move tool, drag the frame on top of your texture, then Ctrl-T (free transform) the frame to taste. If you can't see your free transform bars, then Ctrl-0 (that is a zero) and your image will shrink and the background will grow and you will be able to see where you need to drag the bars. Or use this nifty trick I just discovered. Go to File, then Place. You will be prompted to open your file, and then it will be placed on top of your texture with free transform bars ready to go (as seen in the image above).


Here is another tip. To perfectly center your frame, click to select that layer, click V to get your move tool. On the top of your menu bar there are some little icons (see the top of this image). Click on the Align Vertical Centers and Align Horizontal Centers. Then your layer will be perfectly centered!


Now open your image and drag it on top of your frame and Ctrl-T it to fit. Or just use File and then Place and adjust the image size. Make sure the image completely covers the frame.


As you can see, your clipping mask frame is completely hidden. You can extend the image as big as you want because the clipping mask will keep it within the frame. You can also move it around later to get a perfect placement within the frame (but only if it is bigger than the frame!).


Now you have to group your image with your clipping mask frame. There are several ways to do this. In Photoshop, click on the image layer and then Ctrl-Alt-G and in Photoshop Elements click on the image layer and then Ctrl-G. You can also dangle your mouse on the line separating the image and the frame while pressing alt until you see the little hand icon turn into a little black circle, and then left click. As you can see, the image is now grouped with the clipping mask frame and has a frame. You can click on the image layer and move it around if you want to adjust its placement.


I think this image looks really nice as is, but if you want some of the texture to show or get some nice lighting effects, change the layer blending mode of the clipping mask frame layer. I used multiply on this one.


Now I tried Hard Light blending mode. Linear Burn also looked great, and it is worth trying soft light and overlay. Different blending modes look great with different images and backgrounds. After you are finished don't forget to flatten your image!