Kim Jensen's November 2022 Challenge: Stringbats tutorial

Hello ladies!
Welcome to the Kim Jensen Designer Challenge for November.
This month we are doing a tutorial challenge. A few years ago, Kim's creative team member Melinda made a tutorial for backing Stringbats with Cutout Papers. She made it for PSE 2019. However, I use Photoshop CC, so I have updated her tutorial for CC.


Backing Stringbats with Cutout Papers Here is the link to the original tutorial: https://docs.google.com/document/d/17u5gjQckktmy7Sto9TpkDb6Wz2ouY1AzU9pzsKLme4Q/edit
It is for PSE 2019
A tutorial in PSE 2019 by Melinda Staley Revised by Kim Goon for PSCC
Open the Stringbat(s) that you plan to use and have a close look at them. Check the stitching to see if there are any gaps in the perimeter of the stitching, as this will determine what method you will need to use in making the selection area for the paper backing.
Method 1 - Closed Perimeter Method
1. Open a 4x4 in RGB color, white BG file. Bring in a Stringbat of choice (I do this so that I can save the PSD in the Stringbat folder so that if I ever want to use it again, or change out the color of the Stringbat shape I have something saved already and don’t have to start from scratch each time.) If doing this method, then in step 2 you won’t have to expand the canvas size.
2. (Place the Stringbat on your scrapbook page, or expand the image canvas size (Image> Resize>Canvas Size or Alt+Ctrl+C) so that there is plenty of room around the edges of the Stringbat element), and select the Magic Wand Tool. Check the tool options and make sure that the “Contiguous” box is checked.

3. Make sure your Stringbat layer is selected in the Layers Palette, and click inside the center of the element in some area of the blank space. This will select the empty space inside of the Stringbat and not any of the blank space outside of it. You will see the ‘marching ants’ outline appear around the selected area. If you are working with a Stringbat that has multiple sections, hold down the shift key continually as you click in each section. Note: if you see the marching ants around the outside of your Stringbat, that means there is a gap in the stitching somewhere and you will need to use the second method instead of this first one.

4. Make a new layer underneath your Stringbat. Make sure that layer is activated. Since I wanted the stitching to be inside the edge of my trimmed paper shapes, I expanded the selection area by going to Select > Modify > Expand. After trying a few widths out, I settled for 40 pixels.

5. Fill the selection on the new layer with the color of your choice - I used light grey so you can see it easier.

6. Since the edges were a little rough, I used a hard round brush to even the outline of the Stringbat out. I alternated between the brush and the erase tool until I was happy with the look.

7. Finish by adding shadows to the Stringbat stitches and paper shape to give them a realistic look.
8. I clipped two Christmas papers to the layer under the Stringbat, a Patterned Paper and a Solid Paper. I lowered the Opacity of the Solid paper until I was happy with the PP peeking through. Play around and have fun with different papers and looks.

9. Remember to save this as a PSD file in the Stringbat folder you are working in then you can easily switch out the Stringbat color for future uses.

Method 2 - Open Perimeter Method

If upon examination of your chosen Stringbat you find that it has gaps in the perimeter that don’t contain the selection easily, or the design is a line of stitches that do not enclose a central space, you will need to use this method rather than the one outlined above. For example, the numbers in Stringbats 6 have small gaps in the stitching.

1. Control-click on the thumbnail of the Stringbat shape in the layer palette. This will select all of the pixels that are on the layer- you will see marching ants around all of the stiches.
2. Expand the selection area by going to Select > Modify > Expand. I used 10 pixels for the rainbow and 20 pixels for the numbers.
3. Make a new layer under the Stringbats and fill the selection area with your desired color. This will give you a paper border for the stitches.
4. Note: If you have more than one Stringbat to your design, repeat steps 2-3 for each one individually. As I was making a single year element from the numbers, I chose to place the backing fill color for each number on the same layer so that they were joined as a single unit.
I filled the year’s background with color. I clipped a paper to the rainbow.

So the challenge this month is to make a page with at least three backed Stringbats using the tutorial. Kim has generously given you a discount to use throughout the month to use if you need/want to purchase some of her amazing Stringbats:
30% off any/all products in Kim's Stitching Category
Code: KJ-NOV-STRINGBAT
Unlimited uses
Expires November 30, 2022

BONUS CHALLENGE: If you use at least 3 different Kim Jensen Stringbat products and have a mix of regular Stringbats and backed Stringbats, you will be entered to win the $10 Bonus Coupon!
Challenge Rules:
*Use a minimum of 75% Kim Jensen Designs products (current or discontinued by TLP) to create your layout that meets the criteria listed above.
*Upload your layout to the Kim Jensen gallery. Please provide your credits.
*Post your layout in this thread and link to your gallery post.
*Layouts must be new for this challenge and cannot be combined with other challenges.
*All layouts must be posted by November 30, 2022, 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time.

Prizes:
*One layout will be selected to receive a $10 coupon for Kim Jensen Designs Shop!
*All other participants will receive a 20% off coupon for the Kim Jensen Designs shop!
*You can enter multiple layouts to increase your chances of winning the $10 price, but each Scrapper will only receive one coupon.
*As a BONUS, Kim will give away an ADDITIONAL $10 coupon from the entries using at least three different Kim Jensen Stringbat products.

The most important thing: have fun! I look forward to your your layouts!

 

Here is some inspiration from Kim's Creative team:
From me:

From @Dady :

From @marijke :

From @tanteva :

From @mmbstaley :

From @Meibritt :

From @umyesh :

From @G.J. :