In the last tutorial, we showed you how to create unique Easter eggs in Pixlr Pro. This time we’ll teach you how to use that background to create a beautiful Easter card. You’ll learn how to add graphic elements without a background, and how to use Layer Styles on the text!
Before we begin, we’ll need some assets first:
The background from the last tutorial
Open your background in Pixlr Pro.
Use the Type Tool (T) to add the text. There are many fonts to choose from—I decided to go with “Back to Black”, because it’s bold, yet elegant.
Select both layers by using Shift key, then right click them and select Merge Layers.
Double click the merged layer to open the Layer Style panel. Here we can make the text more appealing with many options. Check Gradient Overlay and cover the text with white-blue gradient.
Check Inner Shadow and set it to white, in Normal mode. If you use a small size and distance, it will look like a nice thin outline on one side.
Check Drop Shadow and adjust its setting to make the shadow soft and subtle.
Press OK. Right click the text layer and select Duplicate Layer. Then right click the original and Select layer Style > Clear.
Go to Filter > Blur > Motion Blur. Give the blur a similar angle to the one you used for Drop Shadow. This blurry text will simulate a nice, hard edged shadow.
Drag the shadow to its place, moving it at the angle that you just set. Lower the Opacity of it.
To make the text more decorative, you can paint some bigger and smaller dots on the text layer with the Brush Tool (B). The Layer Style will be automatically applied to it.
Now, drag the frame to the file. Use the shortcut Control-Alt-T to fit the frame to the image.
Go to Image > Adjustments > Invert to invert the colors. Then change the Blend Mode of this layer to Screen, and the black part will disappear, leaving only the white frame.
Create a New Layer under the frame and fill it with any color using the Paint Bucket Tool (G). Double click this layer and drag its Fill down to 0.
Check Inner Glow and add some white glow with noise to create a frosty effect.
If you want to make the effect stronger, check Inner Shadow. Make it white, in Normal mode.
Create a New Layer on top. Fill it with any color, then double click it and drag its Fill down to 0. Add a thin, bluish stroke to create a subtle border to the whole card. This way it will not blend with white background.
Drag the flower image to the file. Make it white and half-transparent, as we did with the frame. Use Control-Alt-T to resize and place the flower where you want it to be. You can also use Edit > Transform > Flip Horizontally/Vertically to create a better position. Duplicate the flower if you want to cover the whole background.
Place both flowers under the text and lower their Opacity to make them subtler.
Finally, if you want, you can make the shadow under the text more pronounced by duplicating the text and using a blue shadow in the original.
And that’s all! A beautiful Easter card of your own making!
