Save money with digital scrapbooking
Do you have drawers full (perhaps even a closet full) of scrapbooking supplies? Are you tired of the mess that accompanies each scrapbooking session that always seems to get ruined by an inquisitive pet? Well, there’s a new way to scrapbook that could solve all those problems: digital scrapbooking. Digital scrapbooking is the art of using graphic software and digital elements to create a scrapbook. It follows all the same ideas of traditional scrapbooking – creating memories to last forever in a creative way - except the process is all done on the computer. There are many advantages to digital scrapbooking: there’s no mess, it’s cheaper as you can reuse all your digital elements, there is the option to press “Undo” if you make any mistakes and the greatest advantage is that you can share your scrapbook with multiple people online. Learn how to get started with our guide.
Choosing a software program
The first step of your digital scrapbooking journey is to choose a photo editing software. This will allow you to view, move and alter your photos, layouts and elements on your digital page. There is a great variety of software out there but the most popular programs (that are also great for beginners) are Adobe Photoshop Elements, Corel Photo Paint and ACDSee editor. They are easy-to-use and there are many tutorials available online if you need a helping hand. Most software programs, including these three, have a 30-day free trial so you can try it out before making the decision to spend money. Although you have to buy the software many scrapbookers say it’s worth the money as the creative opportunities are endless.
What you will need:
Quick pages
If you feel like your technical skills aren’t up to creating a page from scratch don’t give up on the idea of digital scrapbooking quite yet. Quick Pages or Quick Kits are scrapbooking templates/layouts that have already been made for you. All you have to do is to copy and paste your photos into the layout and voilà, your scrapbooking page is done! There are many free Quick Pages online and it’s a great way to dip your toe into the digital scrapbooking world. You simply download the page, open up in your photo editing software and place your photos in the template.
Kits
A digital scrapbooking kit will contain a mix of elements you will need to create a page. This can range from background papers, cut-out images, embellishments, word-art and fonts. Unlike the “Quick Page” nothing is pre-designed for you so you have the freedom and creativity to use the elements to create your own layout. The great advantage of kits is once you’ve download it, you can use all the elements in it over and over again and in different ways. Many people mix and match from several different kits they have downloaded to create new and interesting layouts. Like Quick Pages, there are free kits online as well as ones you can purchase.
Singles
While scrapbooking kits will have many elements, you can always shop for individual elements (although many sites do offer free downloads as well). Like traditional scrapbooking, you can get a wide variety of background papers, frames and embellishments like ribbons, bows and tags.
Your photos and memories
With the rise in popularity of digital cameras and smartphones, many of our photos are already on our computers. It’s as simple as copying and pasting the photos into the photo editing software where you can crop the photo, change the orientation and even apply effects onto it. Play around, you can always click “undo” if you have made a mistake. If you want to add some old photos, handwritten notes or memorabilia, it could be a good idea to purchase a scanner so you can scan these hard copies into your computer to use.
A note on downloading
The most common way to receive your quick page, digital kit or elements from online is through downloading a zip file (extension will be .zip). You will need to “unzip” or “extract” this zip file before use. After downloading, right click on the folder, a menu should appear and click on “unzip” or “extract.” Now you can use all the elements. Simply copy and paste them into your photo editing program where you can change the size and orientation of the element to fit with your page.
Great digital scrapbooking sites to check out:
These sites have tutorials to help you with you digital scrapbooking as well as a plethora of quick pages, kits and elements to use. They are also great if you are in need for some inspiration.