August Sunshine

I spent some time this morning playing with a layered digital template. This one was a freebie from Designer Digitals by Katie Pertiet. All the cute stuff is done for you; all I had to do was drop in photos and size them to fit the frames. This is so nice for someone like me who doesn't know too much about Photoshop Elements; most of the work is done by professional designers. I decided to use the template "as is", although the possibility of changing or deleting some of the layers exists. To refresh my memory on working with layered templates, I referred to a video tutorial made by Ali Edwards, which was very helpful.

I plan to have this printed by an online service since it's too large for my color printer. I'll have to wait to see it in person to know whether or not the edges seem too bland. If they do, I'll either trim off enough to put it on a more colorful background or do some inking. I will also print some photos from the trip to do some traditional scrapbooking.

All these photos came from a recent trip to see our grandkids. We enjoy these visits so much, and I try to take lots of photos hoping to get a few good ones. It was hot, hot, hot that weekend, but we had a great time!

Do something fun with your photos today!
Immi

April Layout

This is one of the easiest type of digital layouts to do, similar to the one I did here. This is called a quick page. Everything is done for you except to add a photo and text. The only change I made beyond that is to add some splatters around the edge. The background layer is locked on this type of page, so I had to make the changes to the top layer which was unlocked. The only quick pages I've downloaded have been freebies. They're a great way to get started, but I don't think I'd pay for any because of the limitations. Since the background layer is locked, any additional layouts I did with this would look waaaay too similar. However, when you get a layered template, you can make any changes you want. You can change colors, papers and the order of the layers. You can turn off layers you don't want to use. Much more useful down the road!

The Results Are In

I want to share my very first "from scratch" digital layout. I used one of my freebie papers as the background. I also used a brush set, coloring it with a color I picked up from one of the photos. I experimented with adding drop shadows to the photos. The label at the bottom is another brush, with text added inside. (I realized after I sent it off to be printed that the date should have been August, but I decided I could live with it.) Finally, I played around with some of the default brushes that come with Photoshop Elements to add the color around the outside edge of the layout. This is not an outstanding layout, but I was happy with my first try at building from the ground up.

If you are interested in experimenting with digital, you can find some great free digital products out there to get started. One of my favorite sources is DesignerDigitals. You have to join their online community to have access to the freebies, but they are very generous. They also have a vast selection of items to purchase, as well as some tutorials.

The online printing service I used is ScrapbookPictures. The service is easy to use, and the turnaround is quick. I sent two layouts to be printed, and I'm quite pleased with the way they look. I was concerned that the layouts would look too flat, but that's not the case. I'm not ready to give up my paper, but this is a fun and creative alternative. It's also nice to have a very thin layout to slide into my album.

Try something creative today!
Immi

All-Digi Layout

Here is my first all digital scrapbook page. This is from a free lesson available on Jessica Sprague's website. Any beginner (like me!) could do this. The template is already created. All that is necessary is to drop in a photo and add the journaling. There is a video that accompanies the tutorial with very clear instructions. I think I may try a few more of these and send them off to be printed. (I don't have a large format printer here at home.) If I wanted to print them at home, I could change them to 8x8, but I generally prefer to use a 12x12 format. I'm curious to see what I will think of the finished product once I see it in person. I don't know if the "depth" will disappear, giving it a flat look or not. If you've ever wondered about how digital scrapbooking works, I highly recommend this free tutorial!

Happy crafting,

Immi

Digital Fun

I'm playing around with some lessons on digital scrapbooking. The first lesson is to add a frame and word art to a photo. I love this photo of N, taken back in June. I tried getting rid of the legs behind her, but I need another tutorial on that!

I really like the way this class is set up, with video tutorial every step of the way. It's nice to be able to pause the video and work through the steps, checking back when I'm not sure what to do next.

Enjoy!
Immi