This image was created in Photo-Paint 7. I started with a Photo-CD file from a sampler collection by the PhotDisc Company. The 3-D look to the finished image comes courtesy of “The Boss,” one of several effects found in the “Fancy” category of the Effects Menu.

For The Boss to work, you need to apply a mask to the image. Depending on which portion is masked, you can make it look like elements are embossed outward or inward. For this image, I “Masked All,” then used the Mask/Shape/Reduce function, to create a uniform margin from the image border to the mask. I then inverted the mask, and applied The Boss effect. This caused the entire image to look sort of like a tray. Had I not inverted the mask, it would have appeared raised rather than sunken.

Next, I applied a mask to the text, using Mask/Create from Objects… To get a smoother effect, I then expanded that mask a few pixels, and then applied The Boss to it. This caused the text to look like it is embossed outward.

“The beanie?” Uh-h, well… only a Copterhead would design a Mother's Day graphic that looks like it was produced by inmates on the license-plate detail.