Sunday Tutorial-Creating a Composite Layer

I recently learned a shortcut that was so brilliant and yet so simple-I'm sure many of you already know it but I never did! It's creating a composite layer. For example, if you're editing an image and added a texture layer and you now want to add that photo to a layout, you can create a composite layer without having to flatten your photo or deal with extra layers when adding to your layout.

Here's a picture that I want to edit before adding to a layout. 

 Here's the picture once I ran an action. It would be a pain to drag it all down to the layout and I don't always want to flatten it, especially if I'd like to come back and adjust something. It's just easier than undoing things. To create the composite layer, press Ctr/Cmd  +alt/opt + shift + E (a nice workout for your fingers!).

Ta-da! A new layer with the edited image. All you need to do is highlight the layer and drag it down to your layout. I had no idea this existed and I was too excited once I found out how it works! I hope this helps make your editing and scrapping a little easier.