Digi-Scrapbooking that is. I have lots of people who ask; how I do it? where I do it? where I get my product? What software I use? So I thought I would throw it out all my secrets that I have learned from others. I, by no means, am a pro when it comes to digi-scrap, there are tons I need to learn yet. The great thing about that is there are tons of resources on the internet there to help you.
When I started scrap booking I did it the old fashion way; bought a book, got my pictures printed, went and spent way too much money and time at the scrapbook store. Then I would come home all excited about my new products, put them in the cupboard and forget about it. There was so much "stuff" I couldn't leave it out, because of the children that were continually being added to our family. So the only time I would scrapbook is way my friends would get together, or if our church had a craft night...definitely not enough for me (I take lots of pictures)
That's when I came across Shutterfly and their digital scrapbooks. I loved how easy their were. You upload your pictures to a free account at Shutterfly, and then you click and drag your pictures in place. You can pick 1 to 5 pictures per page, the pages background, and journalize you way through the book. Voila!!! the book was done and in and few days the book shows up on your door step, looking very beautiful.
How much does this cost? Well, it depends on what size book you get. Shutterfly has 5 different, some rectangular and some are square, some are soft cover - others are hard cover. They range in price from 12.99 to 54.99 for 20 pages. I like to wait until Shutterfly is running a sale on the books for save some money. (right now they are 20% off!!!)
The only down side I can see to this way, it you have to be online when you are working on the book, so if you don't have access to the internet, you can't work on it.
Another way to digi-scrap is on How Fast Time Flies. Now I haven't used this website yet, BUT it looks really awesome!!!
You start creating pages by becoming a member, which gives you free access to digi-scrapbook by clicking the digi-scrapbook icon on the bottom right-hand corner of any of our web pages. Upload your digital photos to your account, and then drag and drop your photos onto any of their 624 templates, and journalize your memories.
Their templates are really cute!!!! You order just the 12x12 pages for $5.50 and put them in your own book. That way you don't have to do the whole book at once. Again super cute!!
( I couldn't get a page uploaded here, sorry. You will have to check out the website.)
Finally digi-scrap, the way I am doing it right now. :)
and it can be as difficult as you want.
1. To start off, you need to have photos on your computer. I would recommend editting all your photos to have a resolution of 300dpi.
2. You need to have a photo editing software. I use Photoshop Elements. right now I have PSE 6, but am looking to get the new version. There are lots of different softwares out there including some that are even free.
3. Create your pages. Have fun!!! There is soooo much out there for you to use and play with. Lots of it is FREE!!!! You just have to take the time to look for it and download it to your computer. There are tons of tutorials to help you through it. Here' s a good one to start on your first layout.
Personally, I like to cheat...I download templates like this
(there should be instructions with the download on how to use templates.)
Then it's pretty easy to drag and drop your photos, add your elements (pages, frames, embellishments), add your title and journalize.
4. Save your page. I like to save my pages as both .PSD file and a .JPEG file. The .PSD files take alot of room on your hard disk, but I do this so I have go back and change the file if I want to later.
5. Now what to do with the pages that you have created. I haven't done anything with the yet, but once I get my 2009 pages done, I plan to upload the pages to Shutterfly. They have a photo book available for digi-scrapers.
So there is it...there's what I know about digi-scrap in a nut shell.
if you have more questions, I will try and address them with updates to this post.
Finally here's see of my favorite links for digi-scrap. Enjoy!!!
http://www.peppermintcreative.com
Templates
Freebie Site
Thanks for all the info Cara! I have done multiple Shutterfly photo books, abut always wondered about the more detailed digi-scrapbooking. I might also add that if you keep a very detailed and journaled blog, you can turn it into a beautiful book. I have done this since my blog started... for 3 years now (working on the 4th). Blurb.com
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