New To Digital Scrapbooking?

2007-02-19T20:13:00.000-05:00

New Site

I am so excited to announce that I have opened a new website and I will be moving my tips and tutorials there. Check it out here:
www.digitalscrapbookingclasses.com

2007-01-14T23:04:00.000-05:00

Stroke Outline

Have you ever had film pictures developed with a white border around the outside? In this layout, I was able to create that look digitally on my photo.

Credits: Thinking of You by Sherri Tierney, word art by Carole Neale, font: French Script

By adding the border around the picture it really makes the photo pop on the page. Often, I see pictures done in this way with a white border, but you could also use a different color. Even if you decide you want white, you should play around with some shades of light off white, tan or gray. On some layouts these duller colors will work better than a bright white.

Let me mention two ways that this effect can be accomplished. First, you can create a white rectangle shape in a layer behind the photo. Size it so it is slightly larger than the photo. The second option is to add a stroke outline around the photo. In PSE this is done by going to Edit - Stroke Outline. You can then select a color and size for the outline.

2007-01-07T00:05:00.000-05:00

Fun ways to journal

Take a "stroll" through some galleries and look at the different ways to journal. Sometimes a layout has a lot of journaling that tells a great story, sometimes there is only a few words. Sometimes the journaling is on the background paper, on a tag, or made with an alpha (like individual letter stickers). Check out the layout here:
http://www.digishoptalk.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=58646&limit=recent
I just saw this today and noticed all of the great ways the author used journaling. The date is on tags and there are sentences horizontally on ribbon, vertically on the paper, and in the shape of a half circle.

Let me take a minute to talk about the circle text and talk to PSE users. Writing like this is usually referred to as "text on a path," which PSE does not have the ability to do; however, there is a way to achieve this effect. First, go ahead and type out the text you want. Then click back on the text tool "T" on the left tool bar. Look in the top right for this symbol:

Clicking on it should open a box. Click the drop down arrow on the top box to select Arc.

Click and drag the top bar (between "Wrap Text" and the closing X) to move the box so that it is not coving your text. Then move the sliders in this box back and forth until you get the text as curved as you want and click OK.

You can of course then rotate the text around on the page until you have the text where you want it. And you can alway reclick the T curve button in the upper right to alter the amount of the curve.

And here is a tip to get the text to go all the way around in a circle: Type the first half of the text and follow the steps above. Then do the same for the second half of the text, but finish by rotating it 180 degrees. Then push the two text pieces together so that they form a circle!

To everyone: On your next layout try journaling in a way different from your norm. Look through a gallery or two to get some ideas!

2006-12-20T21:53:00.000-05:00

Why should I always credit designers?

It is important to credit the designers of any papers, elements, templates, scraplifts, or anything else you used. There are many reasons to do this – let me just mention three. First, by purchasing the digital materials, you have often obligated yourself to credit the designer. Many designers specifically say in their TOU (terms of use) that if you post layouts using their products or get those layouts published that you must credit them as the designer. Second, it is only fair to not claim the designer’s work as your own. When paper scrapping, no one assumes that you made your own paper and such, but in the digital world, it is very common for people to make their own papers and elements. If then, you use papers and elements created by someone else, it is courteous to mention who created them and not to assume all of the credit yourself. Third, someone might be looking at your layout in the gallery and want to find the kit that you used. It is nice for you to post the designer and kit name so that they can go and download the kit for themselves if they want.
For more information on this topic you can visit this page on digital piracy.

2006-12-13T14:29:00.000-05:00

Challenge Deadline

The deadline for the current challenge is in only two days. Check out this post for details:
Fastener Challenge

2006-12-08T21:17:00.000-05:00

Two ideas for overlays

First of all, I should probably address what an overlay is. Basically, it is something that you put over an element on your layout, usually paper, to alter it’s look. Overlays are often used to make the paper look grungy or worn. Here is one example of a paper overlay that is designed to make the edges of the paper look inked. It was created by Kim Hill.

The basic use of an overlay is to add it to your layout and place it in the layer just above the paper you want to alter. Here is what the inked edge looks like on a paper. I had to stretch it a bit to get it to fit even with the edges of the paper. The paper is by Mona Minnie.

The problem is that you often want overlays to add to the layout without being eye-catching themselves. To achieve this, I have two suggestions.

First, you can try to recolor the overlay. Alter the color just a bit to fit your layout. Second, you can adjust the opacity of the overlay. Allow some of the paper underneath to show through so that the overlay doesn’t stand out so sharply. If you don’t know how to do either of things in your program try googling for some tutorials.

To see some examples, look at some of my previous posts. I used a grunge overlay at a low opacity in the Thankful for layout of my hubby and son. Further back, I used a recolored inked edge in the ZZZZZ layout in the post about sketches.

2006-12-03T12:59:00.000-05:00

Apology

I need to apologize for not crediting the creations I used on the layouts in my last post. I have added the info so make sure you take a look! :)

2006-12-01T22:40:00.000-05:00

Time for a New Challenge

Wow! Can you believe that the first of December is already upon us. My family got together for Thanksgiving weekend, and we will be spending a week with my in-laws over Christmas. As I have a 15-month-old son who is the only grandchild on either side of the family, this means that these two months are going to overflow with pictures. Which means that I will have a blast scrapping them all!

I have found that the best way to get better at digital scrapbooking is to do it often and to try new things. I will often scrap pages that I have no intention of printing just so I can reuse a picture in a new way or try out a different style. A couple of weeks ago, I showed you how to erase part of a paper clip so that it will look “clipped” onto the page. You can check out that post here: Take a Look at Fasteners. You can, of course, use this same technique for other things such as stickpins or charm loops.

Here are two layouts I have done recently with a close up on the fasteners.

Paper, word art, flower: Granma Always said and Dad's cabin by Sherri Tierney; Oodles-of-Doodles by Kim Hill; Grunge overlay by Faith True; envelope: Brown Pink by Moltaz; tags, pins, strap, frame: Pumpkin Cobbler and For My Father by Miss Mint, font: French Script

Jingle Bling by Sherri Tierney, bulb from Hip Dot Holiday by Jen Beschinski, template by Victoria Feemster, font: Socially Awkward

And now for the challenge. I want you to create a layout that uses two different fasteners that you need to use your eraser tool with. Post links to the layout in the comment section here or e-mail them to me. The deadline is Dec 15. For a prize, I will send you a sample of the new desktop templates I have coming out soon:

Have fun and I can’t wait to see the layouts!

2006-11-29T21:01:00.000-05:00

I Need Ideas - You Can Help

If you consider yourself new to digital scrapbooking, please leave me a comment and tell me a question that you have or something you would be interested in learning.

If you are a more seasoned scrapper and have a tip you would like to share, please e-mail me and tell me what you would like to write about. It could be specific to a scrapping program or more general to digital scrapbooking.

2006-11-21T14:03:00.000-05:00

Surfing the galleries

So even if you have only been scrapping for a short time, you have probably had an experience where you sit down to scrap and end up staring at the screen for 15 minutes. Or maybe you start working on a layout and keep trying to change it, but just can’t seem to get it “right.” Even the most practiced scrappers will experience this block.

Last post, I encouraged you to look at some sketches for inspiration. Today I want to share another tip – just head to your local online gallery. Tons of scrapbooking sights have galleries. One of my favorites is the gallery at DST. Take a look at all of the beautiful layouts there! Really any scrapbook page can be used as a sketch for your next layout. Or maybe the colors on the page, an element, or a filter on a picture inspire you. Just look around the gallery and find some layouts that make you say – Wow, I love that. Then find the link in the gallery that says “Add to favorites.” This will bookmark these layouts so that you can go back to “My favorites” later.

When you find a layout that you want to work from, just go for it. Use what inspires you from the layout to create your own. This process is called scraplifting. It is a nice idea if you upload your layout to a gallery to mention the person you scraplifted or even to link to their layout.

Here are some fun scraplifts that I found:
This layout:
http://www.digishoptalk.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=44346&si=scraplift&what=allfields
Is a scraplift of this one:
http://www.thedigiboutique.com/studio/showphoto.php?photo=7757&cat=500&ppuser=183

This layout:
http://www.digishoptalk.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=43522&si=scraplift&what=allfields
Is a scraplift of this one:
http://www.thedigichick.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/35576/cat/500/ppuser/7749

This layout:
http://www.digishoptalk.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=43317&si=scraplift&what=allfields
Is a scraplift of this one:
http://www.digishoptalk.com/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=36205&cat=504&limit=recent

Now you go and create one of your own. And if you really enjoy scraplifting you can check out this blog:
Digi-Scraplift

2006-11-17T22:54:00.000-05:00

Sketchy Inspiration

Some of my favorite inspirations when I was a beginner digiscrapper were layout sketches. Here are a few of my favorite websites to go for sketches:
http://www.scrap-maps.com/12x12_2p.php
Look on the left side and you will see options for all sizes and numbers of pictures. (Take note, though, that 12x12 sketches can be used for any size square layout.)
http://www.littlebit.com/ideas_scrap/Sketches_1/index.htm
http://www.pagemaps.com/nov06maps.htm
You can find lots more by searching on the web.

When you pick a sketch, the idea is to use it for inspiration. You can copy as little or as much from the sketch as you want. You can also leave the sketch open in the web browser and refer back to it while you make your layout, or you can right click on the layout, Save Image, and then open it in your graphics program to refer to. Don’t forget to add any elements you want, shadows, etc. Make sure you are saving frequently.

Here is a sketch I got from Scrap Maps and the layout I did from it:

Bright Kids by Amanda Rockwell, Font: Comic Sans, Inked edge recolored by Kim Hill

You can see that I used the four paper strips from the sketch and put the title on the bottom. I chose to add some journaling and staples and didn’t use the stitching from the sketch.

Next time you sit down to scrap and don’t know where to start, take a look at some sketches for inspiration.

2006-11-17T22:52:00.000-05:00

Shadow Challenge Ended

Thanks to everyone who sent me layouts for the shadow challenge. I loved seeing them. I have sent out the prizes, so check your e-mail. If you didn't get it, please leave me a comment.

2006-11-14T23:13:00.000-05:00

*Note: only two more days to show me a layout with shadows to get the date stamps below!*

How to Use a Quickpage

Quickpages are digital scrapbooking pages that are already completed, with space left for a picture. This is a quick and easy way to scrap fairly quickly (hence the name quickpage). Some designers will use free quickpages as a way to show off a sample of their newest work. Other places will sell single quickpages or an entire album of quickpages.

Quickpages are usually saved as a PNG file. If you remember back to what we learned about saving, PNG files keep the transparency. This is important so that the quickpage can have sections cut out of it, like windows, where the pictures are to go. All you need to do is open the quickpage, open the picture you want on the page, and move the picture onto the quickpage. Then, make use of those nifty layers to move your picture under the quickpage. You can resize the picture to fit in the “window” on the quickpage.

Some quickpages are saved as a JPEG file. If this is the case, instead of a window for the picture, there will be a mat on the page and you put the picture on top of that. The downside to these is that you will have to crop the picture to fit exactly as you want – you can’t hide any part behind the page. This also means that if you want anything over the picture, like photo holders of some kind, you will need to add them. Of course, the other option with a JPEG quickpage is to use the marquee tool to select and then cut out a section of the page, and then slide your picture behind it.

Here is a quickpage for you to download and use. If you download it, I would love for you to leave me a comment.

Click here to download

2006-11-11T13:40:00.000-05:00

Take a Look at Fasteners

When you paper scrap, you need to attach each item on your page with some type of glue or fastener. Although we don’t need these things to get things to stick to the page digitally, we can use them to make the page look more realistic. Take a look through some galleries and see what types of fasteners are used. You will see brads, stitching, staples, tape, buttons, photo corners, paperclips and much more.

One of the trickiest fasteners to use is the paperclip. A paper clip needs to go partially over the paper you are clipping and partially under. You can’t do this by moving layers around obviously. What you need to do is to erase part of the paperclip – the part that should be under the paper. Here is a layout I did that used a paperclip:

I am going to zoom up close to the paper clip and then use my eraser tool to wipe away one of the loops of the paperclip, just the part that should be hiding under the paper. You will need to take it slow and do it piece by piece. If you mess-up, just undo and try again. The end result should look like this:

Before

After

Have fun – I free you to go forth and erase!

2006-11-07T22:02:00.000-05:00

Posting to galleries

There are so many wonderful websites for digital scrapbookers, and many of them have galleries where we can share the layouts we have made. When I first started posting layouts to the galleries, I had trouble getting the files to be small enough to post while still good enough quality wise. There are many ways to do this. First, you need to check with the gallery to find out what regulations they have for the size of the files you upload to them as this varies slightly from site to site. Then you need reduce your layout size to match that. I have found that 500 pixels across and down is usually accepted, so I resize my layout to be 5 inches in the longest direction and 100 ppi. Then I save it as a jpeg at quality 5. I have found that this keeps the quality good enough to see clearly, but doesn’t make the file size too large for most galleries. You can also go to “Save for the Web” if your program has that option and experiment with different options there.

When you go to the gallery, you will then be able to choose Upload files, click Browse, and then find and upload a copy of your layout. Then there is room to add information. First of all, it is important to credit the designers of any papers, elements, templates, scraplifts, or anything else you used. Second, if you have small journaling on your layout that will be unreadable on the screen, you may want to add the journaling to the description. Some galleries will also encourage you to link to the kits you used in case someone is interested in finding it, or add the program you used to create the layout.

You should also take a couple minutes to think about the things you are posting online, since anyone and everyone will have access to see them. Some people feel very uncomfortable posting pictures of their children online. To get around this and still share your layouts, you can find some free stock photos that you can swap for your own on your layouts before you save them for posting. Related to this, it is usually a good idea to get permission to post pictures of other people’s children. You can also get around these issues by adding large sunglasses to the face in the pictures or blurring or blacking out faces. In addition to picture, take a look at the information on the layout and in the comments. Do you want to use full names, addresses, birth dates, or other personal information? I mention this not to freak you out, but to offer you a chance to think about these things and make a decision you feel comfortable with. Some people work very hard to keep anything personal from being posted. They may take this information off of their layouts or black them out. Others feel that it is not that important and if someone wanted to find that information out they could regardless. It is important that we are aware, though, and making wise choices in this area.

***Note: I forgot to mention a deadline for the shadow's challenge. To get the prize, I need to see your layout by November 16. ***

2006-11-02T21:59:00.000-05:00

A Challenge and a Prize

Well, it is a new month and I just finished making some date stamps that I wanted to use as a freebie, so I think it is time for a challenge. A couple of days ago, I talked about the importance of shadows. We also had some wonderful ladies give instructions on how to create shadows in some common digiscrap programs. So the challenge for you is to use shadows in your layout. It is that simple. Create a layout and add some shadows to make things look 3D on your page. You can either post the layout online in a gallery and post a link to the layout in the comments here, or you can e-mail me your layout. Make sure that you leave me an e-mail address to contact you at so I can send you a prize. Everyone who participates will receive these date stamps that I put together. Have fun and I can’t wait to see all the shadows! *Added: To get this prize, I need to see your layout by Nov. 16!*

2006-10-31T13:21:00.000-05:00

Keeping proportions

Have you ever put a picture on your layout and thought that it would be great to make it bigger? You click on the picture and the little boxes appear around it. You click and drag the corner to enlarge the picture and when you are done, the people in the photo look a bit too skinny and stretched.

There is a very simple technique to keep this from happening. Hold down the shift key while you resize a picture. This works in almost every program I have ever used. When you hold the shift key down and then drag the corner box on a picture, paper, or element in your scrapbooking, it will keep the proportions of that object the same, so that people will look right, circles will stay circles, and clips will still look like clips after they have been resized. Easy isn’t it?!

2006-10-28T13:48:00.000-05:00

Shhh… The secret is shadows

One of the faults people often find in digital scrapbooking is that the layouts can look flat without 3D elements attached to them. This, however, does not have to be the case. The easiest way to make your layouts “pop” and look more 3D is to use shadows. Try to picture your layout if it were made with paper scrapping. What things would stick off the page some? Actually everything except the background paper would be a bit raised, just different things to different degrees. The photo might be just a millimeter up off the page if glued, but it might sit higher if attached with photo corners or foam tape. A loosely attached tag might sit even further up off the page. When the light hits a page like this, each paper and element has the potential to create a shadow. Usually it is so small that we don’t consciously notice it. However, we do notice when it is missing from a digital page.

The trick of course is to play around with shadows on your page to make them look natural if you want a realistic looking page. Select papers and elements one at a time and play around with different types and different amounts of shadows. The larger the shadow you add the higher off the page it will look like it is sitting. The other thing to keep in mind is that for a realistic look, all of the shadows should be going in the same direction. If you are planning to keep your layout in digital format, work for the best look on your screen. If you are planning on printing layouts, I recommend trying to print a rough copy at home so you can see what the shadows will look like printed. It will take some time at first to add shadows to many things on your layout, but you will eventually get use to the look you like and it will go much faster. As a word of caution, though, you don’t want to overdo shadows. They don’t have to be on everything on every page and you don’t want them so large that the elements look like they are floating above your page.

Most digital scrapbooking programs have ways to create shadows fairly easily. Here are a few ways in some common programs.

Photoshop Elements: Look on the right side of the screen in the Styles and Effects Pallet. In the left dropdown box select Layer Styles and then in the right box select drop shadows. Click on an element on your layout or click a layer in the layer’s pallet. Then click on the shadow you want added. A little circle will appear to the right of the layer name in the layer’s pallet. If you double click on that circle a box will open with sliders that you can move around until you like the look of the shadow. Take some time to try out some different ones. My favorites for scrapbooking are often the Low and Hard Edge.

Digital Image Pro: Select the item you would like to shadow. Under effects, select the 'shadow' option. A left sidebar will appear along with the option to select the shadow you want to use. I always use the 'soft' option. Below the shadowing options there is a link to 'customize the shadow'. Click that option after selecting your shadow type. A different sidebar opens to the left and allows you to adjust the transparency & edge softness. The default is 88 for transparency & 50 for edge softness. You can also adjust the color of shadow you want to use. I standardly use black. First, slide the transparency bar all the way to the left (0). This will make your shadow very black & easy to see. Next, use the yellow guide dots located all around your object to adjust the size & position of your shadows. Now adjust the transparency from 0 to an acceptable level. At this time you can adjust your edge softness. Standardly I use an option of 60 transparency & 54 edge softness, but this varies based on the type of object & shadowing I wish to achieve. When you are happy with your shadow & settings, click 'Done' at the bottom of the side bar. You will return to the initial sidebar. Click 'Done' again. Your shadows are finished.
(These instructions were graciously written by Angela Fix (matthewsmom))

FxFoto: To add shadows in FxFoto just right click on the object you want to shadow. From the drop menu choose Add Shadow to Image and a shadow will be added. If you don't like it, right click again and click on Add Shadow and it will be removed. This makes in really easy to add the same size shadow to lots of elements like staples or buttons. To adjust the shadow click on Correct and the Info. Now click on the Image Placement and Shadow tab. On the right are slides to control the shadow height, color, darkness and feather. Increasing the feather gives you a soft shadow and decreasing it gives the type of shadow a hard object would cast. Click apply and it will shadow the object you selected. One nice thing - when you move or rotate an object in FxFoto, the shadow changes with the rotation so it is always on the correct side!
(Susan White (seswhite@gmail.com) was kind enough to write these instructions for you.)

2006-10-26T12:51:00.000-05:00

To Save You Time When Saving

A lot of the questions at DST I have noticed are about how to save your layouts in different situations. Let me take a couple minutes to explain a few options.

First, while you are still working on a layout or think you might want to come back to change something, it is important to save the layers. I use Photoshop Elements, and the default file type when you go to save there is PSD. This is the photoshop file type that will save exactly what is there without flattening any of the layers. The plus with this file type is that you can always go back and change things. The con is that they are large files and take up a lot of memory space. Since I have tons of space on my computer I still keep the PSD of all of my layouts. It has been especially helpful when I have found a mistake in a layout after I've printed it. Some people use an external hard drive to back up these files, while others will eventually delete them when they are sure they will not make any more changes.

A second option to keep the layers is a layered TIF. I come across these files most in layered templates. They keep the layers and can be opened in programs other than photoshop.

The third type of file type I will talk about is a JPEG. JPEGs keep the colors well and don't take up as much space as a PSD file, but it flattens all of the layers into one. This means that you can't easily separate out any one element on a page if it is saved as a JPEG. I use JPEGs most often in three situations. First, most papers that I use from kits or that I make myself are saved as a full size JPEG. Second, I save things as a JPEG if I want to send the file out to be printed or shared with someone else. Third, I will save my files as a JPEG to post them online. Let me talk about this third way in more detail.

When I am finished with a layout and am ready to save it so that I can post it, here is what I do: First I save it as a PSD file for my own records (full size). Then, I can't immediately save it as a JPEG or the file size will be too big to post online. I go to image -> resize. I make sure that it is in the bicubic mode and change my longest width/height to 5 inches and the psi to 100. This makes an image that is no bigger that 500 pixels across. (This of course can be done in other ways. I know that some people like to make it 7 inches and 72 psi, for example.) Then I save the image as a JPEG and set the quality to 5. I have found this to be an appropriate size to post without the quality getting too bad. Many other people use File -> Save for Web. This is another way to make the file size smaller so that it can be posted.

Finally, I wanted to mention one other file type - a PNG file. You will not often need to use this to save a file as a new digiscrapper, but if you look closely, you will notice that most of the elements or quick pages you use have been saved as a PNG file. These file types keep the transparency. For example, if you have a paperclip on a transparent (see through) background and you save it as a JPEG it will flatten the image and make the background white. A PNG file will keep the paperclip usable with the transparent background.

I hope that this information helped you. I tried to keep things simple, but also give you enough information to work with. If you have further questions, please leave me a comment.

2006-10-23T16:24:00.000-05:00

What are layers?

To scrap digitally, you need to know about layers. Have you ever seen those maps in encyclopedias where the bottom map drawn on the paper is, for example, the map of the Americas before the Europeans came over. Then you add a clear page over top that adds the American colonies. Then you could add another clear page that showed the Lousiana purchase or something. As you kept adding layers, you saw the United States growing until a present day map is the finished project. Each layer was mostly clear, but had some color to overlap or increase the size of the US. Well, layers on a scrapbook page are like that. Everything you add to the page is a new layer that is mostly clear except for where the paper, picture, or element is. Let me show you. Each scrapbooking program will look different, but most of them use layers and often show the layers in a layer's pallet. Here is a simple scrapbooking page and the corresponding layer's pallet in PSE:

You will see that each element on the layout is represented separately in the layers pallet. There are 7 layers. The bottom layer is the green background. Then comes two layers for the two strips of paper. Then the picture, the title, the flower, and the tag.

So why work with layers? The simplest reason is that it keeps each element on your layout separate so you can change the size, color, rotation, or anything else of any element without altering the rest of the page. You can also change the layering on the page. For example, I could move the numbered paper strip on top of the pokadot paper strip, by just moving Layer 1 above Layer 2 in the layer's pallet.

As you learn to scrap digitally, you will understand the use of layers better and will come to enjoy them as much as I do!

Credits for the layout: Gretchen Tripp's Inspiration Kit, font: Euphorigenic

2006-10-20T09:37:00.000-05:00

Welcome to Digital Scrapbooking!

When I first started digital scrapbooking, I found it a bit confusing but totally addicting. I got most of my help and inspiration from the online digital scrapbooking community that is so helpful and welcoming. Now I want to help those of you who are new to digital scrapbooking. I hope to fill this blog with teachings and tips, inspiring challenges, and information about digital scrapbooking to help you get started.