Microsoft Expression Design Button Tutorial

Microsoft Expression Design Button Template Tutorial
In this tutorial we will be creating a template. We will name an object color layer and then in the future be able to quickly change the color of our button.
1) Draw a 160 x 40 pixel rectangle.
2) Draw another rectangle 140 x 30 pixels. 3) With the new rectangle selected do a "Control C" for future use. 4) Now select both rectangles and go to Arrange / Align / Centers to center the smaller rectangle over the bottom one.
5) With both rectangles selected go to Object / Path Operations / Back Minus Front. You should now have an object like mine to the right.
6) We are now going to add a gradient to our buttons frame. Set the gradient to Linear, add a center color stop or node to the gradient and then use these colors: Left Stop = R = 109 / G = 109 / B = 109 Middle Stop = R = 255 / G = 255 / B = 255 Right Stop = R = 109 / G = 109 / B = 109 7) Use your Gradient Transform Tool and position your gradient top to bottom. 8) Select this object in the layers panel and name it Metal Frame.
9) Now do a "Control V" to paste our smaller rectangle into our project. Change it's dimensions to 141 x 31 pixels, color it Black and center it over our frame. 10) Do one more "Control V" to paste a new rectangle and fill it with our gradient. Leave the gradient the way it is (Left to Right) and center it over our button.
11) We are going to do one last "Control V". This will be our button color so you will want to make sure you go to the Layers Palette and name it Button Color or Button Gradient. 12) With our new rectangle selected go to the Gradient Palette. The 1st thing we will want to do is remove the center Color Stop. Just click on it and drag it away. For color settings I'm using: Left Stop = R = 0 / G = 0 / B = 255 Right Stop = R = 0 / G = 255 / B = 255 13) Select the Gradient Transform Tool and and go from top to bottom.
14) For a finishing touch we will add a shine along the top of the button. Draw a 139 x 15 pixel rectangle and position it along the top of our gradient object. 15) Apply a Linear Gradient with these settings: Left Stop = White Left Stop Alpha = 100% Right Stop = White Right Stop Alpha = 0% 16) Now just use the Gradient Transform Tool from top to bottom and you should have a nice button. Name this object Shine in the Layers Palette. Save your Project for future use. The next time you open it just select the Button Color Object and change the Gradient Colors.