Making Non-Rectangular Picture Frames

What we'll do: Create your own non-rectangular Picture Frame, such as the one shown in this example:

Making non-rectangular Picture Frames is only a little more involved than making rectangular Picture Frames. In this tutorial, we'll create an oval frame. Frames of other shapes can be created similarly.

What you'll need: Paint Shop Pro X. (The same general steps can be also be used in PSP8 or PSP9.)

Steps:

Start by opening a new raster image with a transparent background. Be sure to set the dimensions as large as you'll ever want your frame to be (or even slightly larger).
Choose the Ellipse tool. In the Tool Options palette, set Mode to Ellipse and set Width to whatever width you want for the frame. Uncheck Create On Vector. In the Materials palette, set Stroke to whatever color or pattern you want for your frame and set Fill to Transparent. Drag so that the outer edge of the Stroke nearly reaches the edge of the image canvas:

Optional: If the edges of the stroked edge don't reach the edges of the image canvas or if any part of the stroked edge falls outside the image canvas, use the Pick tool to resize and reposition the ellipse. Be sure not to let any of the stroked edge fall outside the image canvas.
Give the frame a bevel with Effects | 3D Effects | Inner Bevel. Choose whatever settings give you the effect that you want, then click OK:
Optional: PSP Picture Frames can misbehave if transparency totally surrounds your frame. To avoid any problems, use the Magic Wand to select all the transparent areas outside the frame, invert the selection with Selections | Invert (or Ctrl+Shift+I), then crop to the selection by choosing Image | Crop to Selection. Cropping to the selection ensures that the frame touches all four edges of the image canvas.
A non-rectangular Picture Frame must have an alpha channel that defines a selection around the outermost edges of the frame. With the Magic Wand, select all transparent areas outside the frame - do not select the opening within the frame:

Invert the selection with Selections | Invert (or Ctrl+Shift+I):
Save the current selection to an alpha channel. Choose Selections | Save/Load Selection | Save Selection to Alpha Channel. In the Save Selection To Alpha dialog box, click Save.
Export your image as a Picture Frame with File | Export | Picture Frame. In the Export Picture Frame dialog, give your frame a name and then click Save:
You can now close your image without saving it.

Your picture frame is now ready to use! It will appear in the Picture Frame selection list the next time you use Image | Picture Frame.

Note that you can load the frame so that the area outside the frame either is transparent or has a solid color. To have transparency surrounding the frame - and thus revealing the image on the layer(s) below the added frame - check the "Keep transparent" checkbox. To have a solid color outside the frame - hiding anything on any lower layer(s) - uncheck the "Keep transparent" checkbox. To then choose a specific color, click the "Transparency color" color box and then select the color you want.

Adapted from one of my old tutorials for PSP6.