Tutorial: Photo 'Things To Do' Frame

I borrowed this idea from the fantastic ladies over at eighteen25; if you haven't been there... you REALLY are missing out. Anyway, I started out with their the "to do" frame {printable}. I absolutely LOVED the idea. I have ALWAYS got stuff on my To-Do list, and I try to keep an up-to-date list, but either I throw it in the bottomless purse and lose it, or it gets misplaced in the kitchen. I used to have a white board for my fridge, but a family friend's son was ALWAYS stealing the marker, and when I took it down... I lost it (go figure!).

I decided to personalize the to do list by adding a picture to the background! Plus... if this actually turned out, it would be cute for gifts for the grandparents, and heck... maybe a cute wedding gift with their new monogram in the background... OK I'm getting ahead of myself. Back to the project at hand....
Just so you know where we are going... here is my final product:

And HERE is how I did it...
1. I opened photoshop and created a new document 8 x 10 inches with a dpi of 300.

2. Then, I created the header:

layer 1 for header

To make it looked "scalloped" I'm sure I did it the hard way... but I didn't feel like googling "how to make line of dots", so this is how I did it. (It was probably quicker than googling).
- I used the pencil tool at size 343, and eyeballed it to dot across

3. Once I was done, I merged the 2 layers together by Layer --> Merge Down
4. I added the text "Things to do" using pharmacy font (it's a free downloaded font)
5. For the lines, I took the pencil tool at size 8 or so (or however thick you want the line), and drew a straight line across. (Hint: click where you want your line to start, then holding the ctrl key drag across to the end... you will get a straight line)

6. From here I just right clicked the layer and selected Duplicate Layer. Then I moved the line down to where I wanted it. I did this one more time so I had 3 layers, each with a line, at the distance apart I wanted them.

Then I merged all 3 layers together and called it "Lines". I did this so the lines were each the exact same length.

7. Then I did the duplicate Layer process to the layer called "lines" (with the 3 lines on it) a few times until you have lines going all the way down. Then merge those layers together into the one layer called "lines".
I set the opacity to 29% (circled in red) because I didn't like the harsh black.

8. Now for the boxes. I found the box by using my Character Map (this comes with your computer, go to Start - All Programs - Accessories - System Tools - Character map
I found the box I wanted in the font "Wingdings", then I clicked "Copy"

Back in photoshop, I selected the wingdings font and pressed ctrl-P to paste.

Right click the layer and select "Rastorize", this way we can duplicate the layer and merge down.
Do the same process with the boxes as you did with the lines (duplicate layer, move to where you want it, duplicate layer, move, merge down, etc).
Rename your layer boxes (I set my opacity for this layer to 29% again)

9. Now for the picture/design.
Create a new layer, and copy and paste in any picture you want.
I set my opacity to 51%

10. The next step is optional - I wanted to print mine out at home on normal 8.5x11 paper, so go to image - canvas size and change it to 8.5x11 (which is the white border)

Otherwise you can go and sent your 8x10 off to get printed somewhere.

Voila! Here is my brand new to-do list.

PS - I did have to tweak my size when printing on my computer; also don't cut off ALL the white border. Initially, it was too big and the boxes were cut off, then after I resized it and made my White border, I cut off too much and it was too small for the frame.

Hope this wasn't too confusing! Enjoy!

Linking up: Keeping it Simple, marvelously messy, A round Tuit, Lamb Around, Making the world Cuter, Running with Glitter, Sarahndipities, Nifty Thrifty Things, Vintage Wanna Bee, Homework, Not Just a Housewife, Someday Crafts, Sweet Peas and Bumble Bees, handy man crafty woman, Sew Much Ado, a bowl full of lemons, Gluesticks, Momnivores Dilemma, Finger Prints on the Fridge, Ladybirdy Ln, Bacon time with the hungry hypo, CRAFT