Digi Scrap Suggestions?

[CantWait461308]

I've done a bit of digital scrapbooking with Shutterfly a few times in the past. But I've tasked myself with making an album for our 2014 trip as well as a personalized autograph book for my daughter BEFORE our trip in January (while working full time AND being a part time grad student) using Shutterfly only to print! I want to do the design, layouts, embellishments, etc, myself. Needless to say, I need some help!!

I have access to all adobe products so they are what I plan to use. Problem is I don't have a good idea on where to start learning how to use the programs. I've seen all kinds of tutorials but I have a harder time understanding what a tool can do for my future projects if someone is giving me step by step directions on "If you do this, you'll get this" kind of tutorials.

Any suggestions? I'm also up for any suggestions on digital scrapbooking in general or Pinterest boards with ideas. Oh and anything Disney related... Of course!! Thanks!!

 

[Memaw2Wm]

Check out Chelle's Creations on You Tube for tutorials, she also has hints and such on her blog.

For digi-kits try Scrap Orchard, Sweetest Shoppe Designs, The Lily Pad, Mad for the Mouse, and Britt-ish Designs. Britt-ish Designs and Sahlin Studios have a collection called "Project Mouse" that can be used for pocket scrapping or more traditional digi-scrapping.

 

[imthemamahere]

Hi.

Welcome to scrapbooking. For Adobe products - if you want to scrapbook without having a huge learning curve, I highly recommend Adobe Elements. I was using Photoshop, but it was an older version, and it was bogging down my laptop terribly. I downloaded a free trial of Elements (I think it was a month-long trial?) and fell in the ease of use. It's sort of like a streamlined, simplified Photoshop, and it's plenty powerful for basic photo editing and scrapbooking. If I were new to digi scrapping, I'd start with Elements.

As for the tutorials, I haven't consulted many. I normally play with the tools in Elements (on in Photoshop, previously) and see where it gets me. If I get stuck, I just google the specific thing I'm trying to do, and pick from the results.

I'd recommend starting with a few templates that fit your general scrapbooking style. There are so many digi designers out there, so finding something should be pretty easy. So yeah, a few templates are a great place to begin - starting with a design that allows you to drop in (and edit) the papers and embellishments of your choice is very helpful as you get used to the software. Once you've got the basics down, it's easy enough to stretch your creativity and come up with your own designs!

Generally speaking, I'd recommend starting with a few freebies to see what you like to use before you start spending money on all the fun shiny new stuff you see. There are some free templates floating around out there on the internet (here's a simple, well-designed one that has a mini-class/video tutorial on how to get started using it - http://www.cathyzielske.com/2013/05/national-scrapbook-day-celebration-a-free-template-3x4-card-file-a-video-tutorial.html). You can use that one as a base and add on additional embellishments to your tastes, or stick with a simple page to start... Here's one that's got a bit more by way of embellishment and has most of the elements (background paper, etc) filled in for you. I've also designed a few templates for my own use that I'm happy to share, for free. If you're interested, drop me a private message with your email address and I'll send a few along.

There are several digi scrapping sites where you can find digital papers, embellishments, templates, and more. Many will offer a few freebies along the way. Without knowing your style, I'd find it hard to say what's going to appeal to you, but there are a few sites I can recommend that you take a look at. I think the designs are overall high quality at sites like designerdigitals.com, sweetshoppedesigns.com, sahlinstudio.com (she's got the Project Mouse Disney stuff there). There's some good stuff on all those sites. I haven't downloaded anything from susyqscraps.com, nor have I joined the "Daily Digi" monthly digital supply club, but both sites are well-run and seem to offer quality products as well. I am a big fan of both Ali Edwards and Cathy Zielske - their blogs contain freebies as well as links to their purchase-able stuff.

As for Pinterest - go pin-happy! There are so many great ideas there. Any physical page you see can easily be turned into a digital page with a little practice.

Have fun!

 

[labdogs42]

I have a pinterest digi scrap board -- my user name is the same there as my board name. also check out mousescrappers.com

We aren't allowed to link to digital designers shops here, so that makes it tough.