A Digital Tutorial

Hey there all you Elisabeth Bell fans!!!
Lynda here, with a little something different today.  How about a little tutorial on how to merge Digi images?  I'm not sure of how other people do it, but what I'm about to show you is the way I do it.

Get ready for a step by step tutorial in pictures....
Sadly though, I did NOT have time to actually create something with the image/images that I used.  We've got family here from Arizona and my back door seems to be revolving constantly.  Finding craft time has been a bit difficult. 

Are you ready?  Here we go.....

I use Adobe Photoshop, but any art type of program will work since I used only the basic tools.  Both images used for this tutorial are Copyright of Elisabeth Bell, and can be found in Elisabeth Bell's Digital Collection. 
Step 1:
The first picture shows that I've chosen what images I want to merge together, and then how to go about creating the "new" file that will become your merged image in the end....

Make sure your "new image size" is slightly bigger than what you will need.  I made mine 6 inches x 6 inches, and 300 pixels for the resolution since that is what the original images were saved as.  We certainly don't want blurry lines, OR massive size images to try and shrink down do we?  So the resolution we choose is critical, we want it to match that of what the actual file's resolution is.

The next step:  Begin with the image that you want in the background.....  Use your dragging tool, and just drag the image over.  Position doesn't really matter at this point, but I usually drag it to the general area that I'm going to want it to be.

Step 3:  Next we want to bring our 2nd image over, so repeat the same process of dragging the image.  Notice the notes that I have included in the picture below. 

Remove the white background, following steps in the photo below....

Next.....

Resizing and repositioning your image:

After clicking on "APPLY the Transformation", you will want to take a good look and see if you are satisfied with your "new image"  if so.... Your next step is to "Flatten, or Merge your layers".... 

You are now ready to start printing your image.  You may find that you'll want to save your merged images for later use.  I have saved many things this way, of course giving it a "different" file name, so it's not confused with the original file.  This one for instance, I would call "Patti's Kisses - Love You - Merged"  or something to that effect.

I hope that this little tutorial has been helpful, I've been asked several times if "merging" digital images was quick and easy...  I know this looks like a lot of steps, but in reality, you could probably merge these within just a few minutes, and have yourself a brand new print to start coloring. 

Last but certainly not least, I have a little question for you....
I was wondering, what photo editing or shall we say "digi" stamp editing software you use most????  I am always curious as to what other people use.  I tend to be stuck in my old ways, once I'm comfortable with something I never want to change.  I'm SURE there are much more advanced programs out there now, but I'm content, but curious about what you all use.

thanks for taking the time to look through this post, and for commenting and giving me your feedback.  =)