By doing this tutorial you agree to my terms of use, however the resulting image is yours to do with how ever you please.
Screen shots were taken from PSP7 and as such copyright belongs to JASC

For this tutorial you will need PSP7, Super BladePro and my Super BladePro presets, these need to be extracted to your Super BladePro Environments and textures folder.

OK, lets role up our sleeves and get creating.

1. Open an new image 450x300 with a transparent background.

2. Add a new raster layer naming it wood. With the preset shapes tool, antialias checked, ellipse, foreground and background set to pattern using PSP7's finished wood, draw out an oval shape.

Selections/select all, Selections/Float, apply Super BladePro using my DDmouldy preset. Selections/Modify/Contract by 35.

3. Create a new layer naming it plaque, flood fill with black. Create a new layer naming it detail. Selections/Modify/Contract by 8, flood fill with white. Selections/Modify/contract by 2 and delete. Selections/Select none.

4. Create a new layer naming it screw. With the preset shapes tool, antialias checked, ellipse, foreground and background set to white draw out a small circle. Using the draw tool, single line, width 2, antialias checked, colour black draw a line through the circle.

Image/Rotate by about 25 degrees making sure you unchecked all layers. Edit/Copy, Edit Paste as new selection placing it on the opposite side, while still selected rotate a using the same setting as before. Selections/Select none.

5. Use the draw tool, change the colour to white, bezier curve, vector checked draw out a curve.

Get your text tool and move it over your curve until you see the letter A on a curve, click and type Home set to fill in white, antialias and floating checked. While the text is floating move it until you are happy with the placement. This is how your layer palette should look.

To deselect the text we need to create a new layer, click on the screw layer, create new layer naming it home, Selections/Select none. You will be told that it will be defloated down to the nearest raster layer, click yes. Click on layer5, Image/Flip. With the text tool wait until you get the A on a curve then click and type Home again, moving it while selected. Again we need to create a new layer to defloat. Click on the home layer, create a new layer naming it home2, Selections/Select none, chose yes from the resulting message. You can now delete layer5. Create a new layer naming it sweet and with the text tool type Sweet moving it so that it is central.

6. In the layer palette click the glasses on layers 1, wood and plaque to make invisible. Right click one of your visible layers and merge visible. Effects/Blur/Gaussian Blur with a radius of 1. Click on the glasses of the plaque layer to bring into view and merge visible. Selections/Select all, Selections/Float and apply Super BladePro using my DDplaque preset. Selections/Select none. Effects/3D effects/Drop shadow, vertical and horizontal 2, opacity 100, blur 16. Apply the drop shadow again changing the vertical and horizontal to -2. Bring the wood layer in to view and merge visible. 

There you have your finished weather plaque. Now that you know the technique the possibilities are limited only by your imagination, so come on, get playing :o)

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