Change your text into magic glowing sparkles

In this tutorial you learn how you can convert your normal text into magic glowing sparkles. Using stroke path and layer style it isn't so hard to get this texteffect

Get started, type the text and prepare it to release the sparkles.

Create a new document 400 x 300px and fill it will black.

Type the text in "Edwardian Script ITC", font-size 160 pt. Set the anti-aliasing method to Smooth, color doesn't matter as long as it is not the same as the background color.

Ctrl-click (mac: Cmd-click) in the layers palette on the layer miniature of the textlayer to make a selection of the text.
Go to the path palette and press the Make workpath from selection button.

Prepare the brush to make sparkles.

Now the text is a path it is posible to stroke it with the brush. But before that you need to change the brush options.
Activate the brush tool en press F5 to open the brushes palette.
Click on Brush tip size:

Shape Dynamics: 

Scattering:

Now the brush is ready to stroke the text. 
Go to the layer palette and delete de textlayer or make it invisable. Make a new layer.
Set white as the forground color.
Go to the path palette and rightclick om the Work Path and choose Stroke path.
In the window that now appears choose for Brush and make sure Simulate pressure is not checked.
The stroke is a litte to hard to make this better:
Change in the brushes palette the following options:
Brush Tip Size: Diameter to 4px and Spacing to 130%.
Scattering: Scatter 600%
Stroke the path again but this time with the option Simulate pressure checked.
Click in the palette path on an emty spot. That way the path becomes inactive.

Make the sparkles glow.

Go to the layer palette and dubbelckick on the layer miniature of the sparkles layer to open the layer style window. 
Go to Drop Shadow and change the values as shown below:
(don't forget to change the Blend Mode to Lighter.)


Go to Outer Glow and change the values as shown below:
(don't forget to change the Blend Mode to Lighter.)

The background.

To work easier it is best to turn of the sparkles layer.
Activate the backgroundlayer.
Change the forground color to #d5b19b and the background color to #3b0f05.
Activate the gradient tool, go to the option (above in the photoshop window) and set it so the gradient goes from forground color to background color , type Reflected Gradient.
Draw the gradient as shown below. 

Create a new layer, change the gradienttype to Radial Gradient and draw the gradient as shown below.

Change the blend mode of this layer to Overlay and make the sparkles layer visable again.

the finishing touch

Make sure the sparkles layer is active.
Create a new layer and fill it with black. Because the sparkles layer was active the new black layers stands above the sprankles.
Go to Filter > Render > Lens flare. Move the sun so it stands on the first letter and change Lenstype to 105mm.

Change the blend mode of this layer to Soft Light.

Duplicate the sparkles layers and place it above the sunlayer.