pagerunners.com logo

"I find that the harder I work, the more luck I seem to have." (Thomas Jefferson)


Create a new file size: 400 x 200. Fill with the background color of your choosing (you can always change it later). Add a new layer. Use the rounded rectangle tool to draw a selection close to the edges of your new creation.



Go to: Layers > Style > Blending Options. Use Drop Shadow at the default settings. Use the default settings for Bevel & Emboss, except for changing the blend mode to Pillow Emboss.



Add a new layer. Draw another rectangular selection at the top of the box and utilize settings to your liking. In this case, we used: Drop Shadow at the default settings and Stroke > 1, Color > #000033. Then we used The Gradient Overlay settings as follows: Blend Mode > Luminosity, first color stop > #E71919.



Add a new layer (this step is optional). Draw another selection with the rectangular marquee tool to within a few pixels of the inner edges of your image. These settings will make the rectangle stand out: Inner Shadow > Blend Mode > Multiply, Inner Glow > Blend Mode > Normal > Opacity > 15%, Drop Shadow > Blend Mode > Multiply.



Just to be fancy, we'll add a new layer, draw a small rectangle on the top bar, fill with white, add a border and fill that border with green at 50% opacity. Hold down Shift + Alt + Control and drag as many as you wish off to the side. Then, adding a little text with the default Filter > Chrome settings makes for a nice heading.



The finished product with The Columbia River Gorge as the backdrop.