I'm trying to do something for my neice who was recently married in Costa Rica. I'm trying to write something in photoshop which will appear as if it were really written in the sand on the beach. I found one tutorial online but I think that a step or two may have been overlooked because my results do not come anywhere near the example.
I'm attaching an example of my own, using my own "try this, try that" technique until something looks right. I thought that I was getting on track with this attempt but something just doesn't look right.
Any suggestions? Please be kind. :happy:

I used your sand background and wrote (very poorly) in the sand using the lasso tool. Then copied to a new layer. In the Layers Pallette, double click the window just to the left of the layer label. This will open the layer style menu. Check the box :Bevel and Emboss" in the left hand menu and then double click on the words "Bevel and Emboss". This gives you a menu of all the control parameters for Bevel and Emboss.

An interesting idea. Have you tried changing the blend mode of the layer with your writing on it to Difference?

In the image here I've played with the bevel setting in the layer blending options and then typed black text. Above the text I used a brush with 'wet edges' turned on and below the text 'wet edges' was turned off. I think it has potential but it's not quite perfect. I've included the text and writing layers on a white background too so you could see it without any effects.

Try duplicating the sand image, adding a "hide all" black layer mask, put your writing in white on the layer mask, then use emboss and other layer styles (try inner glow set to black) combined with blending modes (maybe multiply) and reduce opacity.

I should've included the attached screen capture to show the steps that I had taken to get as far as I had; I'm attaching it here, but I'll try and remember what I had done:

1- Opened the "sandimage"
2- Duplicated the layer
3- Typed the text using the "type mask tool"
4- Created a layer via copy (the selection)
5- Then (because I'm not very good at layering yet, I did a "layer order" thing)
6- Then I "loaded the selection"
7- And then I started fooling around with the layer styles
Drop Shadow
Bevel & Emboss
Inner Glow
Color Overlay
Add Noise
Inner Shadow

I really appreciate the styles that duwayne and videosean offered; thanks so much for your help! I'm a real newbie at this and it's so interesting to see everyone's talents and tryout their techniques!

Doug, I will try your suggestions and will post back with what I come up with.

Thanks again to everyone! :wavey:

Taking Doug's advice and used the exact same text and markings from my first one... I think it's better this way. Inner Glow set to black seemed to have no immediate effect but using Inner Shadow did.

I jumped into this because I have nothing else to do tonight and wanted to see what I could come up with that would be easily copied. The big thing I think is missing from what I've been doing is the piled up pieces of sand at the edges of the depressions - 2nd attached image is from http://www.sxc.hu . I found 2 different tutes on sand writing via google that have been linked to on many sites. I may have a closer look at one of those.

The text can be in overlay mode - try different color text.
Inner shadow is about all you need. Add some blur.

Text color same as sand.. layer blending option, inner shadow.... That's it.... except for the center one which I added layer effect "dissolve" at about 71% opacity

I like that center one grannysdc. It looks realistic. Here are two more tuts that I found while surfing. Writing Message in the Sand (http://www.photoshopbuddy.net/sandtext.html)
Writing in the Sand (http://www.escrappers.com/sand.html)

Syd

Since I already had a vector of my sig, I used GIMP's Paths tool to create the path for my sig, then I used a rough brush to create my sig on white background. I then used GIMP's Bumpmap filter on duplicate of base layer (my target sand box that is) and then deleted the Top layer. I duplicated the result and set one of them to lighten and the other darken and reduced Opacity of the lightened layer to taste. Flattened and sharpened. Pretty simple. :)

Used a crop of this image (http://www.fontplay.com/freephotos/images/fpfreefoto-1116.jpg) from the Free Photo Index. :)