Digital scrapbooking details

Once again, my sister is ordering me around. Welcome to my childhood. :)



She has asked me for some details about digital scrapbooking. I am fairly new to the craft but here goes. I purchased the Creative Memories product, StoryBook Creator Plus (http://www.creativememories.com/MainMenu/Our-products-and-services/Digital-Scrapbooking/Digital-Scrapbooking-Software/StoryBook-Creator-Plus-CD) at a CM get together that my friend Laura had. I had it for just about a year and didn't do much with it. When I loaded it on my new computer, I found a great tutorial on the CM website and then was able to use it.



Basically it is the same process as paper scrapbooking but the paper and embellishments (called elements) are in digital form (and thus can be used over and over). It seems that the majority of people doing digital scrapping are using Photoshop Elements, which has a heinous learning curve but is more powerful than the CM product. I am very pleased with CM so I don't have any plans to switch.



The program comes with some papers and elements and the CM site has plenty of free options to download. And of course, they have lots to purchase - and their product is great. You can also import any purchased or freebie items from one of the many, many sites around the web. This only works in the purchased version, not the free one CM has. The program has many template pages, similar to the books you can get from Shutterfly and the like. You can purchase the finished book from CM and it is a beautiful book with excellent quality.


You can also create pages to print at a local or online printer. These don't have templates, just blank pages to start with, which the same as starting with blank scrapbook paper. So you import your digital pictures and then just start creating your page. I usually throw the pictures on the page that I want to use and start looking through my stash for background pages to match. Once the background is chosen and the pictures are placed, there are numerous ways to enhance the pictures. You can crop, resize, add mats or photo corners, change the colors, sharpen, and soften, among many others. You can also "cut" the papers into innumerable shapes to enhance your pages. Then you move on to journaling and embellishing. Usually included in the kits are tags and journaling boxes, or you can just "cut" a piece of coordinating paper and write on that. Oh, and you can also "sample" a color from anywhere on your page (picture, element, paper) and use that to color anything else on your page - instant matching! Then you add embellishments - ribbons, buttons, swirls, brads, sticker-type things - just as in real life. It is pretty fun but, unfortunately, it isn't any faster for me to scrapbook this way. I am a super slow scrapper but at least I can be halfway through a page and walk away without leaving a mess!



Some of my favorite digital scrapbooking sites:


http://scrappingsisters.blogspot.com/ - lots of great freebies and super cute kits



http://ikeagoddess.blogspot.com/ - links to freebies all over the world - and funny posts to boot. Plus, you gotta like anyone who loves Ikea.



http://bobcatshaven.blogspot.com/ - hints and tips about the CM software. Cool techniques and how tos.

http://digi-designs.proboards.com/index.cgi - great kits and good sales

http://www.scrapmatters.com/ - also really nice kits


http://www.enchantedstudioscraps.com/xcart/ - cute kits for sale and $1 fairy finds every week - a great price!


http://www.twolittlepixels.com/shoppe/home.php - I just found this one but their kits are right up my alley


http://prettyscrappy.com/xcart/home.php - they also have a $1 section


http://www.thedigichick.com/shop/ - very cute kits


And to finish, a couple more of J1's pages.





The dots and orange on the first page were actual papers. I created the green box on the top of the first page by "sampling" the green dot color and making a rectangle. I did the same thing with the orange ribbon on the second page. The blue mat around the two pics on the 2nd page was also "sampled" from the dots. Everything else were just stuff I had and it happened to match.