An Introduction to Digital Scrapbooking

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Digital scrapbooking is all the rage nowadays. It’s no big deal to declare the old cliche; computers have changed our lives drastically. Thanks to the technology available to us, we can now store photos and image scans of some of our favorite memorabilia in a digital format. With digital scrapbooking, we can use accents and animations that would never be possible to use when we are doing things the traditional way.

I have been scrapbooking for a long time, so I’m used to doing it the “real” way, by hand. There’s something visceral and honest about doing things this way. There’s nothing like spending an afternoon in my craft room with scraps of paper and flecks of glitter everywhere, knicknacks and photos spread out on the table in front of me. It’s therapeutic to just be sitting on the floor going through boxes of old pictures to add to my scrapbook pages. There is a tangible result that you can feel in your hands; each part has its own weight and texture and smell. The scrapbooking ideas that flow forth during these times are some of the best.

Needless to say, I’m personally not a huge fan of digital scrapbooking, although I do utilize the technique sometimes. I believe it has its benefits (like the fact that it doesn’t take up any extra space in the house!) but to date I’ve only used it in a limited capacity. The times I’ve found it most useful are when I’m trying to organize or present photos of our family vacation or get-togethers around the holidays. Most of the time I receive emails with digital pictures taken by relatives or friends and I feel like I should preserve them in some way without having to use my photo printer to make copies of fifty or sixty images at a time.

That being said, one of my favorite places to find digital scrapbooking kits and pages is computer scrapbook.com. They have some really impressive looking templates that I have taken advantage of many times in the past. I’d like to think that I have at least some graphic design skill, but these kits just make it so easy to lay things out and get them looking sharp. Many of the designs are so beautiful and just need minor artistic tweaks to get them just the way I want them.

But hey, who am I kidding here. The best thing about getting my digital scrapbooking stuff from this site is that they are cheap! The prices at computer scrapbook are very reasonable and you can find some great deals there. There is also a great e-book called The Secret Guide To Digital Scrapbooking that is one of the few e-Books I’ve found that is worth something. It goes over everything step by step in a way that’s easy to understand. If you are looking into digital scrapbooking I highly recommend this resource. More on other digital scrapbooking resources is forthcoming!

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What Is Scrapbooking?

Posted by scrapbooker

When someone wants to learn what scrapbooking is and the significance of the craft, a person is traditionally speaking about a tome, journal, diary, or other volume of some sort that holds items of sentimental value. These intrinsic items are held in a scrapbook because this is a great central repository for them; it keeps them safe and preserved while allowing you to display them in a way that is pleasing to the eye.

Scrapbooks are like photo albums in that you can keep them in a central room in the house and pull them out whenever guests or friends come over. They are great conversation pieces and they bring laughter into the rooms of your home. You’ll probably find that people love to look at scrapbooks, even if there are no pictures of themselves inside. Scrapbooks are naturally more fun and interesting to look at than photo albums because they may contain any number of interesting items besides photographs.

Memory is a very powerful instrument, and it is one of the chief principles of the scrapbooking ideas that we discuss here. Your memories are a collective vision of everything you have ever known throughout your entire life, and the people, places and moments that stick out to you most form the essence of your being. These are the things that are the most important in your mind, so why not revive and preserve these memories through learning what is scrapbooking?

The creative process and the memories elicited from scrapbooking are often one of the major factors that make it so much fun; going through your old keepsake items in order to make a scrapbook can be time consuming, but you will most likely find that it’s fun and interesting to dig out all your old trinkets and look at stuff you haven’t seen in years and years. Even seeing something can sometimes give you great scrapbooking ideas to include in your books, but otherwise you can find some great ones here. Hopefully this “what is scrapbooking” overview has given you a pretty good idea of what it is.

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