Scrapbooking Digitally

If you can work your way around a mouse, you can be a digital scrapbooker. No more hunting for the punch you just had a minute ago, no clutter on the dining room table, no endless supplies, no costly gotta'-toss-it mistakes...you're going digital. This book and companion CD walk you through the transition to digital with design techniques, image-editing tips, and troubleshooting advice. Making the switch is easy when you start to see the endless creative possibilities and remarkable results - you won't be able to tell a scrapbook page created the scissors-paper-glue way apart from one crafted the exciting new digital way. Point and shoot, then point and click, and have some fun with Digital Scrapbooking.

Picture-perfect ways to preserve and showcase your memories the digital way!

• Down-to-earth, step-by-step, reassuring advice from scrappers who went from self-proclaimed "digi ditzes" to "digi divas," eager to share their newfound passion with you
  
• The ultimate guide whatever your level of computer (or scrapbooking, for that matter) skill and comfort level
  
• Works as well with scanning traditional photos onto your computer as shooting and uploading digital photos
  
• Best-bet cameras, printers, scanners (including scan-tastic tricks)
  
• Organizing your digital scrap
  
• Digital layouts 101: sensational backgrounds, awesome accents, tried-and-true text tips, including jazzy journaling
  
• Finessing photos - cropping, rotating, flipping, adjusting, "brushing," special effects
  
• Filled with terrific sample scrap pages to spark your creativity
  
• BONUS CD! Downloadable "paper" patterns and embellishments plus an optional 30-day trial version of Adobe Photoshop Elements
  
• An awesome value, a great gift!
  
  

"We hope that every bit of the information you find in this book will be hands-on helpful. Remember, a little digital daring today will make you tomorrow's digital diva!"

About the authors
Kerry Arquette and Darlene D'Agostino worked as editors, and Andrea Zocchi as art director, for Memory Makers magazine. Now the three bring their awesome expertise and boundless love for scrapbooking into the digital age, and you're invited!

Go Digital, Darlin' 8
The Perks of Digital 10
Save Cash 10
Save Space 12
Save Time 13

The Digital Craft Room 14
Spaces and Places 16
The Ergonomically-Correct Scrapbook Space 16
Make Space for Traditional Supplies 18
A Girl and Her Machine 20
Computer Vocabulary 20
Adobe Photoshop Elements 22
Digital Cameras 24
Camera Specs and Terms 24
Which Camera Is for You? 24
The Lens Counts 25
Your Scanner 26
Types of Scanners 26
Scanned Images and Resolution 26
Scan-tastic Tips and Tricks 28
The Printer 34
True-Color Prints 34
The Life Expectancy of a Print 34
Pick a Pack of Papers 36
Organizing Digital Files 38
File-naming Basics 38

Digital Layouts 101 40
Page-Building Basics 42
Your Basic Tools 42
Lesson 1: Create Your Canvas 44
The Power of Layers 48
Lesson 2: Place and Size Photos 52
Lesson 3: Add and Format Text 54
Lesson 4: Add Embellishments 56
Lesson 5: Finish and Save 58
Digital Design Basics 60
Pick the Best Photos 60
Use Color With Emotion 62
Layout Design Magic 64
Troubleshoot Technical Problems 68
Geek Speak 68
Virus Threats 69
Tech Support!! (Surviving Digital Disasters) 70

Working With Photos 72
Image-Editing Basics 74
Isolating an Element 74
Adjusting a Selection 76
Magic Extractor 76
Cropping an Image 78
Transforming an Image 80
Rotating an Image 82
Flipping an Image 83
Color and Exposure Adjustment 84
Determine Your Workflow 84
More Color Adjustment Tricks 90
Photo Retouching 94
Clone Stamp Tool 94
Healing Brushes 96
Image-Manipulation Tricks 98
Create a Ghost Background 98
Spot Color 100
Filters and Special Effects 102
Photo Effects With Brush Tools 104
Photo Composites 108

Letter-Perfect Text 110
Digital Lettering Basics 112
Alphas 112
Fonts 112
Preprinted Digital Accents 112
Acquiring and Installing Fonts 114
Font Management 116
Avoiding Font Problems 117
Formatting Text 118
Line Length 118
Alignment 118
Darn Text Looks...Odd 120
Expert Adjustments 121
Types of Fonts 122
Headline Fonts 122
Text Fonts 122
Specialty Fonts 124
The Right Font for Your Layout 126
Determining the Mood 126
Using Multiple Fonts 127
Design With Text 128
Text Indicates Hierarchy 128
Text Can Be the Central Focus 128
Text Can Be a Unifying Element 130
Text Can Be a Design Element 130
Type Tricks 132
Layered Fonts 132
Text Wrap 132
Reverse a Letter 134
Change the Opacity 134
Create Drop Caps 136
Fill Your Font With Color 138
Type on a Curve 140
Highlight Key Words 140
Text Inside a Shape 142
Make Your Words Speak 144
Find and Polish Your Voice 144
Edit Your Work 144
Journaling Tricks 145

Digital Backgrounds and Accents 146
Getting the Look 148
Use These Tools 148
Save Your Creations 148
Digital Painting 150
Digital Patterns 154
Photographic Patterned Paper 156
Digital Pattern Mixing 158
Digital Stamping 160
Digital Distressing 162
Point-and-Click Embellishments 166
Digital Stitching 166
Digital Chipboard 168
Digital Frames 170
Digital Tags 171
Digital Metal and Plastic 172

The Digital Kit 174
Kit Basics 176
Quickpages 176
Finding Digital Kits 176
The Digital Marketplace 178
Our Digital Designers 180
Veronica Ponce 180
Kimberly Giarrusso 184
Erikia Ghumm 188
Jackie Eckles 192
Awesome Designer Digital Kits 196
City Beat 196
Rio 198
Street Fair 200
Flutter 202

Resources 204
Index 206

Go Digital, Darlin'!
Digi darlin's are the kind of crafters who look forward, anticipating the next challenge as an adventure. While they may harbor deep affection for their traditional scrapbook pages and the warm experiences they associate with creating them, it is the jazzy digital world that floats their boat these days.

Ask any digi scrapper why she's chosen to preserve her memories the modern way and she's likely to email you a variety of cutting-edge pages. These layouts vibrate with the unique personality of a scrapbooker unbridled by the limitations of traditional scrapbook supplies, a scrapbooker who can alter photos, colors, shapes, patterns, and the placement of elements to her heart's content. And, if her scrapbook page defiantly refuses to gel, she can hit the Delete button to banish it to The Great Beyond.

Traditional scrapbookers thinking about stepping into the digi world can do it in baby steps by learning new ways to use their digital camera or include computer-written journaling on their pages. Modern technology makes everything so easy-everyone can find a manageable learning curve. Remember, a little digital daring today will make you tomorrow's digital diva.