This versatile technique can be used on one or more photos and allows your embellishments to stand out without distracting from your photo and story. Objective: Use the Wand tool to carve out decorative detail from your photo holders

Video Notes:

Preparation: Design your page so that it is nearly complete with photos and embellishments. Make sure to layer embellishments over your photos where you would like to have the cut out detail.

Hold down Shift key, select all embellishments, go to Insert> Outliner.
- If any of the outliner shapes need editing, right click> Shape> Edit shape.
  - Hover over a segment, when it highlights blue right click> Make straight> OK, or
  - Right click in the center of shape> Make all straight> OK, or
  - Adjust the red smoothing handles, click OK.
With the outliner shapes selected, go to the Quick Access Toolbar (QAT) and increase the stroke size. 1/4 inch is recommended.
- Optional: Right click the outliner shape> Stroke> Format
  - Change Line joints from Miter to Round.
  - Repeat for each outliner shape.
Hold down Shift key and select all outliner shapes.
- Drag the outliner shapes down the elements panel so they are under the embellishments and above the photos
Go to Photos panel, Show> Photos on this page.
Hold down the Shift key and select all photos that have embellishments on top of them.
- Go to Photo> Remove
With the empty photo holders selected, hold down the shift key and select the outliner shapes, right click> Flatten.
- Go to Cut> Wand, set the Selection scope to Adjacent and click in one of the designated photo areas. Click Select.
- Cut/Copy, Keep selected area> Copy.
  - If this is the last photo area Keep selected area> Cut.
- Select the flattened element, Cut> Deselect.
- Repeat the above for the remaining photo areas.
Hold down the Shift key, select all of the copied photo sections, Insert> Outliner
- Position all outliner shapes at the bottom of the elements panel
Delete the original cut shapes.
Select an outliner shape, right click> Fill> Convert to photo drop point.
- Repeat for each outliner shape.
Fill each photo holder with the original photo.
Complete page with additional papers, embellishments and journaling.

Video Tidbit: Embellished Carve Out