Hi there,
I have recently been trying to figure out digital scrapbooking with the goal of making cards, pages of my own design. I bought Adobe Photoshop from Costco and it came with a digital scrapbooking cd. It is great but I am really overwhelmed and don't want to take a year to figure it out on my own. Do any of you have any great references for me, or classes or do you offer lessons??
Thanks!
C.
Hi,
I haven't tried it yet, but I think shutterfly.com has a service where you can do the same thing.. and their stuff is usually pretty user friendly.
Hi C.!
I am a designer by trade (a junior in college) and lemme tell you what fun the program can be! Problem is it is very complex. A few recommendations:
Classroom in a box - these are what my school uses and they rock!!! They sell these at Costco as well.
www.kelbytraining.com - this is actually a site where you can pay to take classes. Many times there are classes in your area you can sign up to take as well. Also check out their layers magazine.
or just type in photoshop tutorial and you will have literally millions of tutorials to accomplish ANYTHING you ever wanted to. For example type in "how to use basic tools in photoshop".
Also the WOW book series are awesome and pretty easy to follow.
Above all else play, play, play. I don't really recommend adobes site for information as it is hard to find and most of it is industry geared.
My fave tutorial sites:
www.psdtuts.com
http://www.eyesontutorials.com/
http://photoshoptutorials.ws/
http://www.tutorial9.net/
Oh and one more thing. This may go a little over the head or you may totally get it.
For high quality print you want to start with a document of at least 180 dpi (when you open photoshop and it has you put in the numbers to make your document at the bottom is has a spot for resolution - that's where this number goes. For high quality use 300).
I am making one on ancestry.com. It is expensive to join, but fascinating to learn about my family. There is a feature called print and share that you can build a book of your family in any way you want. You can join for two weeks free to see if you like it. I am also build a similar book on Photoshop. It is just a fascinating. But less structured.
I googled digital scrap booking. One that I really like is SMILEBOX.COM There are many digital programs out there & they can be overwhelming. I like quick & easy that look nice & SMILEBOX.COM did that for me. For online digital, you do have to pay to join them or pay to save & print your work. Makes sense, you are using their service, they designed all that stuff. At home I have standard size printer and print on photo paper 81/2x11(regular paper size)& I have printed on card stock. I do 12x12 scrap booking and incorporate my digital onto a coordinating 12x12 page with a few embellishments.
I work at a scrapbook store in Kennewick, WA(Scrap Happens) and we print 12x12 digital pages people have made. They bring it in saved on a disc of thumb drive and we charge a minimal fee for printing. Most don't do anything other than printing their 12x12 page and put it in their scrapbooks. WE don't have 12x12 photo paper and they print them on card stock, mostly white, because all your digital designs & photos will show much better on white.
Hope this helps. Feel free to email anytime with scrap booking questions. :)
You can also contact us directly at ____@____.com
We have a yahoo group where I know there are plenty of gals with more digital scrap booking tips for you. Go to yahoo.com-Groups-search"scraphappenskennewick"
I agree with Keni - Smilebox is AWESOME! I create my own pages - email them out - and print them at home. If it's a 12x12 layout, then I have costco print it for a dollar or two.
Creative Memories also has digital scrapbooking software but I haven't seen it or tried it yet.
PLEASE update your site and let us know what you ended up doing. I love traditional scrapbooking and online scrapbooking and am always looking for new ideas.
:) S.
I use Creative Memories StorybookCreator Plus and it is fantastic. I also give free tutorials for this software if purchased through me. However, it is very easy to use and much of it can be picked up just by using and playing with it. You can aslo go online and view tutorials about various aspects of Storybook that you are interested in. You can do much of what Photoshop does and the scrapbooking/cardmaking using your own designs, backgrounds, embellishments, etc. I was able to cut myself out of a picture in front of Notre Dame and place it next to my husband in front of Notre Dame.
This probably isn't what you want to hear since you already purchased Adobe Photoshop, but Storybook Creator Plus is less than sixty dollars.
Let me know if you want any other information.
D.
Hi C.,
Adobe is famous for their tutorials. You could probably go to the Adobe site and download a manual or watch a tutorial about the program. I am a photographer and work in Photoshop tons, it is a great program. You can also Google your questions regarding the program. I would probably look on Amazon for a book/manual if you really want to get into it. I know Scott Kelby writes manuals about Photoshop and they are a great resource but I don't know about the Scrapbook program. Look for tutorials, you will probably need to download "Flash" on your computer to watch them but that is free and it will prompt you to it if you need it. I am going to check out the program online and if I see anything that might help I will send you a note.
A. - Lake Stevens
My sister had the same problem. Photoshop can be a bit overwhelming. I'm wondering if maybe a local college might offer an class (not for educational credits/just a general knowledge/how to type thing), or maybe local parks & recreation....
