Gimp Techniques: How to Create a Ric Rac Border in Gimp

by Lorene Troyer

Gimp is such an amazing program... I am so grateful for all the people who have made it possible... Anyway I thought I'd share an easy technique for creating a ric rac border in Gimp.

1. Open a new document.

2. Make a new transparent layer.

3. Choose the rectangle selection tool and make a narrow strip

4. Fill it with your color of choice.

5. Go to menu > select> none.

6. Next go to menu> filters> distorts> ripple. Select vertical for orientation and set the period parameter to about 30.

7. To give it some texture- from the menu select filters> artistic> apply canvas (I set the depth to 3).

8.You can also apply a drop shadow effect.  Filters> light and shadow> drop shadow (I put a 2 in each of the parameter boxes.)

Gimp Tutorial: How to Make a Matte Christmas Ornament

With Christmas just around the corner, I thought I would share how to create matte colored ornaments.

First make a round selection- Grab the ellipse select tool. As you drag- press Shift + Alt. This will give you a perfect circle. Next choose select (from the menu) and to path (this will give you a smoother edge.)

Next open a new transparent layer. Change the foreground and background colors to the colors you want your ornament to be. To get a matte effect, the foreground color must be a few shades lighter than the background layer.

Use the blend tool on the radial setting and starting in slightly from the upper left portion of the circle, drag the gradient to the lower right just past the center.

To make the cap, make a new transparent layer and use the rectangle select tool to make a small rectangle on top of the ornament. Select the blend tool again and choose the golden gradient, set the shape mode to linear and the repeat mode to triangular wave. Drag the blend tool straight across about 1/8 the length of the rectangle.

To create the hook, open a new transparent layer and use the ellipse select tool to make a small oval. Choose the color you want, and as you did before- go to the menu > select > to path. Then choose edit > stroke path.   Move the lower part of the hook behind the cap by putting the "hook" layer below the cap layer and finally, move it into place with the move tool.