I had to go and research what the "Cookie Cutter" tool was in Elements, and what it did, exactly.

And of course, what you do using that tool in Elements is available to you in Photoshop, you just have to know how. The instructions below may seem a little complicated at first, but if you do it a few times you'll see that it's pretty easy, and that you have MUCH more control over the final result of Photoshop's "Cookie Cutter" procedure.

Basically, you create a mask. It doesn't actually cut away the image data unless you tell it to. And that's a good thing.

Try this:
* Open an image in Photoshop.
* Tap the "D" key on your keyboard to return Photoshop's Foreground & Background colors to their default state.
* Hold ALT and Double Click on Background in the Layers Palette to turn it into an actual layer. * Add a Layer Mask to this "Layer 0".
* Select your Custom Shape Tool [U] and choose "Custom Shape" (the rounded-off "star/blob") up in the Options Bar
* From the 3 modes of Custom Shape creation at the left side of the Options Bar, choose "Fill Pixels."
* Select a shape from the drop down menu.
* Drag out the shape in your document window.
* You will see that the inside of the shape has been "cut out" (masked, actually) from your image.
* Making sure that the "focus ring" is active on the Layer Mask icon in your Layers Palette, hold CTRL and tap the "I" key to invert the black and white colors in the mask.
* See how that affects the "Cut Out?"
* Now, with the focus ring still present around the Layer Mask icon, bring up your Filter---»Blur---»Gaussian Blur... and play with the slider. See how it "feathers" the "Cut Out?"
* Blur the mask a little and hit OK to apply the Gaussian Blur. * Right-Click on the Layer Mask icon to drop a contextual menu. Choose "Apply Layer Mask."
* Voilà! "Cookie Cutter" procedure has been performed! * Close your image without saving.Again, that may seem like a lot to do just to replicate Elements' "Cookie Cutter" feature, but ultimately, you'll find you have more control over the final product.

Kristin_Welk

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