Archive | Digital Scrapbooking

Sometimes called computer scrapbooking, digital scrapbooking lets you create fabulous and real looking scrapbook layouts without the mess and and fuss of traditional scrapbooking. And there’s no cleaning up!

Do Your Scrapbook Layouts Shape up?

One of the most effective ways you can add structure to your scrapbook layouts is by using shapes.

Shapes can be used to reflect an element in your photo by repeating it. For example if you’re scrapbooking a photo about your toddler playing with a large colored ball, then using circular shapes for your matt and other embellishments will really reinforce the image in the photo.

You can also use shapes to set a mood or send a subtle message in your layout.

Scrapbook Kit is Golden Dawn from Step by Step Digital Scrapbook

And the layout is from a Step by Step Digital Scrapbook tutorial.

In The Golden Girl layout above I used the upward pointing shape to reflect the direction of my niece’s life. She was nearing the end of High School and was (and still is) full of ambition for the future. And of course the circle shapes always convey a sense of harmony and continuity.

You can find inspiration for shapes to use in your scrapbook layouts all around you.

If you’re a paper scrapbooker you can use bowls and plates from your kitchen to create your different sized circles. And there are plenty of templates available for you to draw out star or cloud shapes. Or maybe try drawing around a large flower and mix some paper flower shapes amongst your ‘real’ flowers.

If you’re a digital scrapbooker then life is even easier.

In Photoshop Elements the Cookie Cutter Tool offers you a smorgasbord of shapes to cut out of your background papers and use on your scrapbook layouts. That’s what I have done in The Golden Girl layout. And all other good photo editing software programs will have an equivalent function that will do the same thing.

Repeating a shape form can be really effective in linking all the elements of your layout design together and providing a sense of cohesiveness. Our eyes take in so many more subtle messages than we realize and a clever use of shape forms on your scrapbook layouts can communicate far more than you may think.

Besides, shapes can be fun.

Try using star shapes for a layout of your child’s school play. Or heart shapes to reinforce your love for the special person you’re doing your next scrapbook layout about.

How do you use shapes in your scrapbook layouts?

Why not share some of your ideas in the comments below. And you’re welcome to leave a link to one of your layouts that demonstrate your use of shapes.

Hybrid Scrapbooking – the Best of Both Worlds

As regular readers will remember, I’ve written in the past about hybrid scrapbooking and how, these days, I would very rarely make a paper scrapped layout or card without some hybrid component to it.

I think a lot of this is because I tend to design my layouts ‘on the fly’ so to speak, instead of planning them out. Rather like Haphazard Hetty from an earlier article.

Now whilst that’s not really a big deal for digital scrapbooking, since I can always find an element that suits my purposes or modify it to do so without much trouble. It’s very different with paper scrapbooking.

So without forward planning, I would never have bought just the right element in the right colour for what I needed on my layout.

Once I started combining digital with paper scrapbooking, life became a whole lot easier.

I can use my digital alphas to create a monogram in the colour that I want. And I can easily add some journaling to it if I need to. Then just print it out on cardstock or photo quality card, mount it on foam tape and I have a custom designed monogram for my layout.

Another technique I like to use is to apply digital embellishments such as frames or accent flowers to my photos before printing them out.

And journaling tags are probably my most used technique. I choose a tag from my wide selection of digital tags. Change the size and maybe the colour to fit in with my scrapbook layout. Then just type my journaling directly onto the tag and print the whole thing out.

Apart from making life a lot easier, mixing my digital techniques with my paper techniques means that I’m never at a loss for the elements I need to finish my layout. And if it’s the right shape but the wrong colour I can change it to suit.

I know that many of you paper scrapbookers enjoy the tactile side of creating your layouts and don’t want to forsake it for digital scrapbooking.

And why should you?

But mixing the two scrapbooking approaches can open up a whole new level of creativity for you.

Oh and by the way, because I don’t need to buy lots of different embellishments I get to save money with hybrid scrapbooking too. You gotta love that.

I’d love to know whether any of you paper scrapbookers have tried hybrid scrapbooking and how you feel about it. Share your story or your views in the comments below. And how about you digital scrapbookers. Have you tried getting a bit of glue under your fingernails and mixing your digital layouts with some hybrid ones?

And if you’d like learn more about developing the digital skills to do this, click over to Step by Step Digital Scrapbook, and check out the beginners tutorial menu.

Expand your scrapbooking and save your pocket. We all like that, don’t we?

Spring Clean your Digital Scrapbook Stash

Well for many of you, Spring is in the air. The birds are singing, the sun is shining and the air is fresh with the new season.

And thoughts turn to Spring Cleaning.

So now is probably a good time to think about Spring Cleaning your Scrapbooking Stash.

Erika gave you paper scrapbookers some great scrapbook organization tips for clearing out and organising your scrapbook supplies.

But what about Digital Scrapbookers?

Why would digital scrapbookers need to think of scrapbook organization? One of the great things about digital scrapbooking is that there’s no need for lots of space to store your ever expanding stash of digital scrapbooking kits and elements.

Digital scrapbooking takes up no space!

Or does it?

All those digital kits take up ever increasing space on your computer. You know how big those files are.

We just keep on adding to our digital scrapbooking supplies folders. And I know I don’t help by publishing the Five Freebies on Friday lists, just so you can go and grab more goodies to add to the stash.

But do you actually use all the supplies in your stash?

I know that when I first started digital scrapbooking I was on a mission to download every freebie I could find. You know…just in case I might need to use it.

So my digital scrapbooking supplies folder was absolutely huge. And that made actually finding anything an hour’s exercise in browsing through my stash looking for the ‘perfect’ kit.

And you know what? I reckon that out of all the stuff that I had I only used about 20%!

I would have my favourites and they tended to be the kits I kept on returning to, to use different combinations of papers and elements to create my different scrapbook layout looks.

And all the time I was clogging up my computer with all these digital scrapbooking kits that I had never used and probably would never use in the future. Just as if I could never get any more if I needed them.

So I thought, enough!

And I’ve been on a purge of my scrapbook stash to delete all the kits that I have never used in over a year and have no plans to use.

It was hard. And I had to be really disciplined with myself. But I’m so glad I did it.

At last my computer can ‘breath’. I’ve got gigabytes of space back and searching for the ‘right’ digital scrapbook kit for my layouts takes a fraction of the time.

So maybe now is a good time for you digital scrapbookers to consider doing a Spring Clean of your digital scrapbooking stash.

It’s well worth the time and the effort.

And your computer will love you for it.

Hybrid Scrapbooking, Perfect for Card Making

I’ve written previous articles on Hybrid Scrapbooking and it’s a style that I believe most scrapbookers who own a computer embrace (and if you’re reading this then that must include you), to some extent. With the possible exception of the 100% digital scrapbookers.

Hybrid Scrapbooking 50th Anniversary card

One of the areas that I find hybrid scrapbooking techniques to be most useful is in cardmaking.

I began making my own cards a couple of years ago and now, like all of you who do this, I’ve set an expectation amongst my friends and family that I can’t easily back away from. If I gave someone a store bought card these days I think their eyes would pop out of their heads.

And when I make my cards I like to personalise them as much as possible. I like to include a photo or at least include an element that has the recipient’s name on it.

That’s where hybrid scrapbooking saves the day.

Because I prefer my cards to be a bit ‘lump-bumpy’ I prefer to take a paper scrapbooking approach to making them rather than all digital. But getting all the coordinating elements for my design can be a challenge. Especially if I’ve left it until the last minute to make the card. You know, the night before your daughter’s birthday.

What I do is choose some paper from my stash and then select some digital elements which I will recolour to coordinate with my paper. I will then add some personal touches, maybe a photo in a little locket frame or the person’s name made out of alphas, or a big monogram with the person’s name covering it in lots of different fonts.

All of these elements will be printed out on quality medium to heavy weight photo card. I can then cut them out, perhaps ink the edges and assemble them with my papers and some ribbon. Voila! A personalised card.

Another favourite card making technique I use is to create the entire card design digitally. Just as if I were creating a digital scrapbook layout. Print it out on photo card and adhere it to the front of the card.

Then print out the key element or element group and cut it out. Stick foam tape on the back and stick it down on top of the original for a great three dimensional feel. You can add a ribbon bow if you like and you’re done.

Do you extend your scrapbooking to card making too?

I guess we all get caught with the last minute card. What are you favourite tips to make ‘quickie’ cards? Why not share them with everyone in the comments section below.

Hybrid Scrapbooking – what’s it all about?

What is Hybrid Scrapbooking?

Hybrid Scrapbooking is the combination of traditional scrapbooking techniques with digital scrapbooking techniques to make your scrapbook layout. And if any of you traditional scrapbookers have ever used the computer to do your journaling or scanned a piece of memorabilia to include on your layout, you’re already doing hybrid scrapbooking.

But the really exciting part of Hybrid Scrapbooking is when you start to incorporate digital elements into your layouts and then combine them with traditional materials like cardstock and ribbon etc. Or, on the other side of the spectrum, when you create a digital layout, then print it out and add some extra ‘real life’ embellishments to it.

Let me show you what I mean

Last year I made the Big Eyes layout on the left, before I knew it was Hybrid Scrapbooking.

I heavily cropped and enlarged a photo of my daughter Seona and added the photo corner, bevelled edge and pink gingham matt (from Valeri Brumfield’s Gingham Lace digital kit) on the computer.
Then I printed the whole thing out and cut around the edge of the matt.
I then digitally cropped a strip of the pink corrugated matt from the Ginham Lace Kit and positioned letters from the Metal Stencils Alpha by Alicia Hansen on top. I added a small drop shadow to the letters then printed and cut it out as a complete title strip.
Finally I combined my digitally created elements with a quote block from Blue Cardigan and papers and cardstock from Grants. Added some flowers and brads and my hybrid scrapbook layout was complete.

Part of the charm of this for me is that I can always find the embellishments I need in my digital stash and even after I’ve used them on a scrapbook layout they’re still there to be used over and over again. And the other bonus is that I can always change the colour of digital components to match or coordinate with the papers that I want to use.

Hybrid Scrapbook Layout - O Christmas Tree Now I also approach Hybrid Scrapbooking from the other end of the spectrum. I will frequently create a layout digitally, print it out in 8×8, and then add extra elements or print a part of the layout twice to make a lift up flap for hidden journaling.

In the O Christmas Tree scrapbook layout on the right I created the layout digitally using Secret Santa Paper by Theresa Kavourkas and the chipboard title by Jan Hicks from Scrap Girls. Combining them with elements from the Christmas Bling Kit by Lorene Hill.

Once the digital layout was completed, I printed it at 8×8 on my home printer.
Then created a mini book by lining up 5 of the Christmas Bling journaling boxes side by side in my graphics editing software program and adding some extra photos and journaling to them before printing them out as a single strip,
I folded the strip concertina-wise using a bone scorer to make nice crisp folds.
I stuck the back of the pages together with double sided tape so it opened like a book rather than a concertina.
The book was then stuck down on my layout, some fibres added for accent, a photo clip to hold it closed, some brads in the top right corner and at the top of the Christmas Tree in the title and the layout was done.

I really like the flexibility the Hybrid Scrapbooking gives me to get the best out of both the digital scrapping and the traditional scrapping worlds. So if you haven’t explored this approach to scrapbooking i highly recommend you give it a go. Hybrid Scrapbooking really rocks. And it can add a whole new dimension to your scrapbook layouts.

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