Digital Scrapbooking????????????

I get a lot of questions on what digital scrapbooking is and how I make flyers, photobooks, and blog layouts. Well the answer is simply this.
Anything you can make with paper, you can make digitally,except you now have way more options. You purchase paper, buttons, tags, (you name it) from online digital scrapbooking stores(such as shabby princess,polkadot potato). You purchase a program to make your layouts such as Paint Shop Pro, Photoshop, and a few others. Using the software, you open, click and drag different pieces onto your page.


Here are the pros:


-Once you buy something, you can use it forever on other projects and depending on how cool your software is, you can even change it's shape and color. For example, I can purchase a small blue button for a cute baby boy scrapbook page and later can turn it pink,enlarge it for a whole new look on another page.


-It's faster, once you learn the shortcuts.


-No more sticky fingers with dots,glue,tape,etc.


-If your kids wake up or get cranky, you can easily click save.........rather than trying to clean everything up so your toddler doesn't get into it.


-It's also cheaper because you can send several pages at a time to online companies like blurb, or shutterfly and they will bound it into a book at $1 a page. That is very cheap, compared to traditional scrapbooking. You don't have to pay for developing the photo either.


-You can always go hybrid (do a little bit of both)


Here is a recent page I did for my daughters's birthday.



Here are some tutorials and help on how to get started:

http://www.theshabbyshoppe.com/tutorials/software_tutorials.asp

http://www.theshabbyshoppe.com/scripts/digiscrapping.asp

Finding and Installing FONTS

I love fonts. My favorites are the cute handwriting type fonts. You can find companies online that will turn your handwriting into a font for a fee. However, check out http://kevinandamanda.com/fonts/fontsforpeas/. Amanda will do it for free if you follow her instructions carefully. Here is my handwriting called Pea*Rayn.

Now what does this have to do with photography, you ask? Well yes you can use fonts in WORD files, but if you are a digi-scrapper, you will really appreciate having some great fonts.
Also check out http://www.dafont.com/. They have a lot of free fonts for download, I love some of their monogrammed fonts.

Here is how to install on Windows VISTA, but should be similar in other versions.

-download the font into the following folder: C:drive>user>documents>fonts.....or create it if you don't have it.

-unzip the compressed folder

-go to contol panel>fonts(be sure you are in classic view). Click on "install new font". If you can not find this command, then right click on the fonts folder and you should see the command to install a new font.

-select the path to find the folder that you downloaded the font into. Once found, click on it and click ok. (Be sure to check "copy fonts to Fonts foler")

-now when you start typing you should see the new font added,if not you either forgot to unzip the file first, or you just need to restart your computer.

Good Luck!

Photos into Stamps

How would you like to make your own adorable stamps. Click here. You can turn any photo into a real stamp. It's amazing all the things you can do with photos these days.

Wall Murals

These are perfect for a guy's bedroom, or any other themed room. At PB Teen, you can choose from several different photographs that are made into a 4' x 6' mural that you can hang on a wall. I first saw this in my step-brother's room. He had a mural of a skateboarder and it looked really cool. They sell for about $99, but I found this snoboarder one in their clearance section online. They have more than just sports, so check them out.

Black & White with Color

There are two ways to add color to your B & W photo
The first photo I like to refer to as "peek-a-boo" color. Start with a colored photo. The easiest way to do this is to use the selection brush and paint over the section you want to keep colored. (Be sure to magnify your image, so you can paint as close to the edges as possible to get every pixel). Then, inverse your selction, so the background is now selected. Then, choose 'convert to black and white'. Only your selected area will become black and white. It's that easy.

The second photo is called "hand tinting". First you want to make your entire picture black and white. Select the brush tool (not the selection brush tool, just the brush tool). Choose a brush with soft edges and choose a foreground color. In this picture, I chose the color pink and painted on top of the B&W dress ( I set the opacity to 50%. Had I left it at 100% it would have been to opaque and dark, and you wouldn't be able to see the polka dots as well) I painted over the bunny with brown at 50% opacity and yellow on the duck at 50% opacity.

If you haven't read my blog, then you should know that I am using Photoshop Elements software to do this.

Here are some really good tips. Always make a duplicate of your photo and then photoshop the duplicate image. That way you can always preserve the original. Or................When you open up the original image, add an adjustment layer to it. You can photoshop the adjustment layer rather than the image itself.