Png Shapes?

hello i hope this isnt a stupid question i've only just started working with png files and only learnt how to make brushes yesterday too.
as a digital cardmaker/scrapbooker i've seen a lot matting shapes available as png files and finally succeeded in making my own scalloped matting shape yesterday using a brush i made but my question is apparently in photoshop other digital designers are able to add bitmaps to the png shape using a style? can you do same thing in xara?
i'm quite happy recolouring it and using plugins on the png shape but it would be great to add a bitmap pattern to it if i can't is there a plug in that could do it?
sorry for the bit of an essay for my first post :o
i adore using xara was brought it as a present a couple of months ago i love to teach myself but seriously need help with this one

cheers

:D

Welcome to TalkGraphics paperama

The best thing is for you to post a few examples of what you want to do and let the members give you suggestions. I am fairly sure that anything Photoshop can do we can do just as well if not better and with fewer steps. :)

thanks for the reply i have created similiar to this http://i34.tinypic.com/rck0vt.jpg%3Cbr%20/%3E

and apparently others use layer styles in photoshop which looks like like a repeating fill with the extension .asl. so instead of having a plain image the image mantains the shape with a bitmap fill

anyway i had a fiddle with xara tonight maybe got a bit carried away its nearly 2am here
i managed to get what i wanted in a tiny way by clicking copy on a background i like and then adding opacity mask too the the scalloped circle can you change the opacity so it isnt see through? had a look about and couldnt find out

hope this message makes more sense i am very tired :confused:

well i've just had another go and i have sort of got close to what i wanted i just cloned a white version and added the mask to the top black one and then exported as pngs can just recolour and add plugins effects like i wanted 90% there anyway
now finally i can go to bed :(

Here's a version made in Xara. A vector containing a circle, a blend of smaller circles blended around a circle, and star shapes also blended around a circle. When I was happy with the result, I grouped everything and made a bitmap copy which I placed exactly over the original. Then, in Xara's Live Effects I fiddled with the 3D Bump Map filter on the bitmap copy and added a stained glass flat transparency to it. I exported the grouped result as a .png file with transparency. Click on the thumbnail for a larger version.
Saludos,
Bob.

thats brilliant bob but i don't really know how you did it.....
havent really got onto the blending bit yet....
will have a fiddle with it now =D>