Getting Started with Digital Scrapbooking

The other day I went to Michaels in search of some craftiness for the kids at church to make for their mothers.  I had so much trouble figuring out what to buy, and I was shell-shocked by the prices, and the fact that once a pretty paper was used up, it was used up for good.  Also, where would I be if I couldn't resize or recolor my papers and elements, so that I could use the same kit over and over again without anyone noticing?  I am definitely a digital girl who doesn't understand much about the paper scrapbooking world.  After taking a peep down the scrapbooking aisles, looking at and touching all of the pretty papers and elements, I knew more than ever that I should stick to digital for my own sanity.  I just can't imagine finding a trinket that I love and only being able to use it once.  That or pay $2 again.  I'm too cheap, and I'm definitely afraid of the permanence of scissors and glue because I make mistakes all of the time (that because I'm cheap too and don't want to waste anything).

So I spend a lot of my time sharing my love for digital scrapbooking, and since my pages have been getting better (or at least the pictures of my babe are getting cuter), I've had a lot of people asking about it as of late, so here are the basics to getting started with digital scrapbooking:

First step:  Find your program!

The main feature that you need in a program for digital scrapbooking is a graphics program that works with layers.  Layers make it so that you can move your elements and papers individually and move them in front and in back of each other, just like you would with the physical items.

Photoshop seems to be the most popular program.  I use Photoshop Elements v.6.  You can download a free trial of their latest version here.  Photoshop Elements is the less-expensive and easier to use version of Photoshop.  Many people will never feel the need for anything more, and for the average digital scrapbooker, PSE is the way to go.  Also, you can frequently find it on Amazon.com for around $60 or even less, just keep an eye out.

When I started I used an open-source program called Paint.NET.  It does the job, and got me hooked into digital scrapbooking, but it's definitely not as sophisticated as PSE and runs a lot slower.  I've heard that Gimp is really good, and it's a free download as well.

Second step:  Get some digital products. 

Another cool thing about digital scrapbooking is that many artists offer freebies.  They do this so that you can sample their work, and hopefully fall in love with it so you buy from them.  There are a LOT of bad freebies out there, so don't feel bad deleting something if you don't think you will use it.  Most likely you won't (I sure haven't), and if you do, you'll probably remember where you found it in the first place.  Digital scrapbooking has come a LONG way from its beginning.  Everything used to look digital.  Now a lot of papers and elements are the real elements scanned in, so they look real.  In my opinion, the best pages look like they could be real.

Some good freebies can be found at:
Peppermint Creative (she posts a new one every couple of months or so.  I love her work!)
GG Digital Designs (she posts one about every month.)
Shabby Princess (she posts one whenever she feels like it.  Her latest is really cute!)
Kevin and Amanda have free handwriting fonts (and others) to add a bit of a personal touch to your layouts.

Also my friend Megan was designing for almost a year and a half, and you can find some freebies on her blog.  She is the one who introduced me to digi scrap, and her blog is an amazing resource for all things digi.

Third step:  Start scrapping!

Get to know your move and transform tools and your layers palette, and you'll pretty much be there.  Then you just need to learn drop shadows and you've got the basics.  Then you can go on to learning clipping masks, recoloring,

Open a new page that is 12"x12" at 300 dpi (or ppi), which is the same as 3600x3600 pixels.  You want the 300 ppi resolution so that when you print it'll still be good quality.  I've never printed a 12"x12" book, but it's really easy to reduce your layouts for printing without losing quality (enlarging will reduce the quality).

Good luck and happy scrapping!  Always feel free to ask me any questions!