Best free way to add nice frames, scrapbook effects, etc?

[PaulWog]

I'm putting together a belated valentine's day card (that goes a bit beyond just a card) for the girlfriend. I gave her flowers & took her out for dinner and a walk by the beach, but she wanted a card as well... Not sure if I goofed on that one.

So I've gathered the pictures I've got from my phone and camera, done all 700 words of writing for the card, got my little captions for the sets of pictures ready, etc. I've got a plan laid out. I know her, I'm earning points on this one.

Here's where I'd like some help:

I can add effects in Photoshop, and I'm moving forward that way currently, but it's really time-consuming. The end result of making my own frame and trying to apply it just doesn't look as good as some of the premade free-to-use stuff out there. I'm prepared to take a free-to-use set of frames / etc made for things like Photoshop and use those, however I'm also curious if there happens to be programs that are designed for this sort of task. It would be nice to take my finished photographs, dump them in a program, and run through some presets to get what I like.

So the two things I'd like to do is get some preset way of adding frame effects (ex. burnt edges frame, etc, that sort of stuff, not just a basic white & shadow frame), as well as a some sort of program or preset frame that gives me a layout of where to insert the images to have a nice layout. (You know, one is vertical, one is horizontal, one is bigger than another, etc... they come together on a page to look nice).

Sorry for the lack of terminology / longwindedness.

 

[sm4him]

I used to scrapbook. Even back then, a decade or so ago, there were plenty of computer programs specifically designed for such a task. Creative Scrapbooking had several of them, I know. These days, I'm sure there are even more--but most of them are going to cost you a good bit for a software you won't use more than once or twice. Why bother? I'd do just as you already mentioned; use one of the FREE, already-made PS frames out there.

Well, actually, NO. *I* wouldn't. Because I wouldn't be making the card. Because THIS is one of the (many) things that just riles me about "Valentine's Day." It's a ridiculous, made-up holiday in the first place, meant almost solely for retailers to grab more money. Valentine's Day should be, if anything, a time to stop and tell ALL the important people in your life that they matter to you. The other 364 days of the year should be spent DEMONSTRATING that they matter to you. I'd rather get a single flower, picked from a field, and a hand-drawn card, along with TIME spent together than anything.
The fact that you already gave her flowers, a dinner and a romantic walk along the beach REALLY should suffice--but she *wanted* a card?? Good grief... </steps off soapbox>

Granted, this gross absence of sentimentality and romanticism could be PART of the reason I haven't had a date in...well, never you mind how long. :lmao:

 

[KmH]

What version of Photoshop do you have?

Photoshop Elements? 1 through 12.
Photoshop? 1 through 7
Photoshop CS? 1 through 6
Photoshop CC?
Photoshop Lightroom? 1 through 5.

Some of those have presets for what you want to do.

 

[PaulWog]

What version of Photoshop do you have?

Photoshop Elements? 1 through 12.
Photoshop? 1 through 7
Photoshop CS? 1 through 6
Photoshop CC?
Photoshop Lightroom? 1 through 5.

Some of those have presets for what you want to do.

CS5 and Lightroom 5.3