So I've been studying under the tutelage of my sister-in-law who is a master craftswoman when it comes to archiving and creating keepsakes for the important moments in her life and the lives of those she loves, and I've learned a thing or two about how to start doing that myself. Yes, I'm talking about SCRAPBOOKING! Yes, yes, I know -- you've been to the parties, you've suffered through sorting ribbons and buttons and bits of paper into numerous stacks, bins, and envelopes. You may have even held a pair of scissors like these for long enough to cramp your hand as you slaved away for hours over a page for your album only to have to start all over again because of a snip too much, a cut too far in the wrong direction. So before you laugh at your monitor and run away screaming or turn away in disgust, wait until you read how this highly respectable though arguably time consuming art of memory archival has evolved.
It has been for some time now one can produce high-quality pages (called layouts and commonly abbreviated as LO) for one's keepsake album entirely on one's computer. This process, referred to as Digital Scrapbooking, completely eliminates the waste of paper involved in traditional scrapbooking as well as dramatically shrinks the carbon footprint such a hobby might usually occupy in physical form. I realize that might not be a motivating factoid for some of you, but I found it very pleasing.
Further, I was thrilled to learn large crafting tables, a dedicated craft-space, numerous scissors and glues, or massive filing systems for all one's bits and pieces of decoration and photographs aren't necessary either in this new form of modern scrapbooking. All it takes is a way to take or create digital photographs (which is fairly simple for most as digital cameras are far more common now as are scanners if you can't come by a camera), a fairly decent computer (though even those with spec-challenged machines can play along quite well, albeit a bit slower), a sizable amount of free space on your hard drive or network drive or even a virtual drive online (especially if you plan to be more than casual about this hobby), and a good working knowledge of basic computer software operation. You don't really even need much cash as much of the embellishment used in creating a digital layout can be found for free on the Internet if you know where to look, and the programs used to create your layouts have fairly lengthy trial periods for you to enjoy gratis while you get your feet wet.
Eventually, though, you'll have to pony up a bit, and costs to continue are in my case $80 to purchase a full version of the most commonly used and in my n00b opinion best image editing software out there, Adobe Photoshop Elements version 6, plus a bit more if you go for a proper image file management system like ACDSee Photo Manager which is what my sister-in-law uses and sings the praises of. Although you might not need the image management system right off, if you are at all interested in scrapbooking digitally you will be amazed at how quickly you amass a collection of photographs, pictures of various paper treatments and decorative accents, and other accoutrement and an easy efficient and speedy way to locate these items without sifting through numerous lists of files is paramount.
If you have any love at all for creative projects or graphic design, digital scrapbooking will definitely appeal to you, especially when you've gotten your feel for the various ways to enhance and manipulate your images to create your layout - with the numerous tips, tricks, shortcuts, and even layout templates out there, having a professional-looking page for your digital photobook (or for taking to a printer for professional production) takes mere minutes, and I'm not kidding. Compare this to the extremely lengthy time involved in creating a physical layout from scratch, and you'll understand why I'm so excited about this. If you've been reading, you know the main theme of this blog is Busy Parent, and things that save me time yet allow me to produce wonderful and immensely satisfying results are extremely attractive to me.
So as I wrote, I've been studying under the direction of my sister-in-law, a traditional-style and digital scrapbooking Queen, for the last couple weeks as part of a test-run for her desire to start teaching this craft and her extensive knowledge of it to other n00bs like me. I'm participating in a six-lesson beta course which will one day soon be a public offering for a nominal fee, at which point you too can have this colour. =) Along with the instruction, my sis-in-law even provides lesson notes and all class materials - you supply your trial-version of Elements and some ready-to-edit digital photographs. I learn, along with my Aunt, via GoToMeeting (a license of your own is not necessary to learn from my sis) and at the end of each week's lesson I've produced a (to me) impressive-looking layout I'm proud of, and all this with no prior experience with Photoshop whatsoever (although I do again want to hit upon the importance of a fairly solid computer software operation skill set; you'll play faster and happier if you've got that one down).
I'm really very pleased at what I've been able to do using my to-date very basic knowledge of these tools and tricks, and am realizing the possibilities are vast as I progress in skill. If you've got a collection of digital or even actual photographs languishing in a folder or drawer somewhere and you don't know what to do with them, or if you've become familiar with traditional scrapbooking but were scared away by the time/cost/space requirements/soccer-mom-esque aspects of it, then this might well very be a delicious alternative for you! I'll post an announcement when my sis-in-law is ready to start teaching, and if you contact me privately I'll put you in touch with her.
Learn more about the history (all the way back to Ancient Greece in rudimentary form) and evolution of modern scrapbooking here!
Check out what I've been able to create in just the two weeks I've been learning!
Week 1
Week 2
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