Kaiserin Sissi Frame
(PSP 7, 8, 9 & 10)
A tutorial by Mar © 2005.

Empress Elisabeth (Sissi) of Austria 1837-1898.

What you need:
PSP. Download a 30 day trial here.
The tubes for decorating, the gold and the mask: Download here.
The tubes are special made for this tutorial by me (from fonts) so my © are
on the tubes. You may use them but don't claim them as your own.
Save the mask in your mask folder: PSP 7.
In your PSP folder 'My Documents > PSP > Masks' for PSP 8 and 9.
Visman (VM) Experimental: Download here.
Install the filter, close and restart PSP or your filter won't work.

Save often.
Let's go. Good luck.....

For this frame I got my inspiration after a lovely weekend in Vienna.
The Schönbrunn palace where Sissi lived has a lot of gold and ornaments.
Because the artists for the paintings died over 100 years ago,
there are no © copyrights on the Sissi paintings. So I was told.

1. Open the Sissi.psp in PSP.
Shift D to duplicate and close the original.
We will start by resizing our canvas.
Image > Canvas size > 500 X 500.
Notice...... Line up at the center (bottom hand).

2. Layers > New raster layer.
In the Layer Pallet, move this layer below the portrait layer.
Fill the layer with #5c3731.

3. Effects > VM Experimental > Painting by Numbers.
The basic settings will do fine.
Click OK to apply.

4. Layers > New raster layer.
Open the MD-Sissie-gold pattern in PSP.
Foreground style to pattern and look for the opened gold.

Fill your new layer with the gold. If all went well your layer is
beneath the Sissi portrait as well. If not, move below the portrait.

5. Layers > Masks load/safe > Mask load from disk.

Apply.

6. Layers > Merge > Merge group.

7. Selections > Select all.
Selections > Float.
Selections > Defloat (sounds silly but it really works that way).

8. Effects > 3D-effects > Inner bevel > Color #112b33.

If you use an other picture you can take
 a color that fits the picture you use.
Selections > None.

9. In your pallet select the top layer with the Sissi portrait (=bleu).

10. Selections > Select all.
Selections > Float.
Selections > Defloat.
Selections > Modify > Expand with 5 pixels.

11. Layers > New raster layer.
Fill with the gold pattern.

12. In your layer pallet move the layer under the portrait.
All you see now is a small gold edge.

13. Effects > 3D-effects > Inner bevel > Color white.

14. Selections > Modify > Expand with 10 pixels.

15. Selections > Modify > Select selection borders > 2 Pixels.

Again fill this selection with gold.
Repeat the inner bevel as you last used.
Selections > None.

16. Again select the top layer with the portrait (=bleu).

17. Selections > Select all.
Selections > Float.
Selections > Defloat.

18. Layers > New raster layer.
Effects > 3D-effects > Cut out.

19. Layers > New raster layer.
Repeat the cut out but this time Vert. and Horiz. at - 5.
Selections > None.

20. Layers > Merge > Merge all flatten.

21. Open the MD-Sissi-bar.psp and copy.
Back to your frame.
Edit > Paste > Paste as a new layer.

22. With place the decoration like this:

23. Layers > Duplicate.
Image > Mirror.

24. Open the MD-Sissi-top.psp and copy.
Back to your frame.
Edit > Paste > Paste as a new layer.

25. With place the decoration like this:

26. Layers > Duplicate.
Image > Flip.
Layers > Merge > Merge visible.

27. Open the MD-Sissi-corner.psp and copy.
Back to your frame.
Edit > Paste > Paste as a new layer.

28. With place the decoration like this:

29. Layers > Duplicate.
Image > Mirror.
Layers > Duplicate.
Image > Flip.
Layers > Duplicate.
Image > Mirror.

30. Layers > Merge > Merge all flatten.
Copy the frame.

31. Open a new image 400 X 400, transparent.
Selections > Select all.
Edit > Paste > Paste into selection.
This way your frame will look better than resizing it.
Try the differents. You can always undo.

For some colors it looks better if you give your decoration a
drop shadow. I did that on my samples below.
The top one at 2-2-75-1.00 and the bottom one at 1-1-75-1.00.

Your Kaiserin Sissi Frame is ready.
I hope you like it.
Thanks for doing my tutorials.

Empress Elisabeth (Sissi) of Austria 1837-1898.

Empress Elisabeth (Sissi) of Austria 1837-1898.

Translation into English with help of my best friends, Trudie.
Thanks sweetie! Couldn't do it without you.

Since 04-23-2005: