Supplies:

• Computer
• Adobe Photoshop (I’m using version 7, steps may differ for other versions)

What To Do:

1. Open a new image, 400 pixels by 400 pixels, 300 dpi, with a white background (the background will be removed, but it helps to be able to see what you are doing).
   
   
2. Choose the Paintbrush tool and change the brushes to Special Effects Brushes. To change your brushes, click on the arrow next to the brush style on the Brushes menu, and then click on the little arrow in the upper right hand corner. Select ‘Special Effects Brushes’ from the menu.
   
   
3. Choose your brush. You want a scattered brush- I prefer the brush called ‘Ducks Not In A Row’. To see what the brush is named, hold your cursor over the brush until the name pops up.
   
   
4. Choose your foreground color. For sand, you’ll want a shade of brown, for glitter you can choose whatever color you want. I used Red: 169, Green: 138 and Blue: 111 for sand and Red: 211, Green: 221, and Blue: 233 for glitter.
   
   
5. Create a new layer (Layer>New Layer).
   
   
6. Starting where you want the glitter/sand heaviest, begin coloring on your image. Keep adding until you are happy with the placement of the sand/glitter.
   
   
   
   
7. Now- the edges need some work. Choose the Eraser tool, and then choose a fuzzy edges brush (I like the one called ‘Furball.’ You may need to reset your brushes- this is okay). Using a small brush size, erase around the edges so that it’s not quite so obvious that the brush is a bunch of ducks (or flowers or whatever you used).
   
   
8. Now we need to add some texture. Go to Filter>Noise>Add Noise. Select Monochromatic and Gaussian, and play with the slider bar until you are happy with the results. I have my slider set to 12.5 in the example.
   
   ***image3:center**
   
   
9. Go to Layer>Layer Styles>Bevel and Emboss. Change the size to 1, and then click on ‘Texture.’ Load the Pattern Set ‘Texture Fill’ by clicking on the drop menu by the pattern, and then clicking on the arrow in the upper right hand corner. Choose the texture titled ‘Footprints’.
   
   
10. Add a drop shadow, if you like. Click ‘OK’ and you finished.