Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Tips

So let's say you've decided to go digital (or, at least learn more about it), here are some tips and tricks that I wish I knew when I started.

SOFTWARE


Photoshop Elements - "The best selling consumer photo-editing software...combines power and simplicity".

Thanks to my job, I have Photoshop CS3, but I've heard that PS Elements is the best, affordable option for beginners.

It should sell for about $60. I would suggest looking for it on Amazon, eBay, Wal-Mart or Best Buy.



FREEBIES

They're everywhere! If you just google, "digital scrapbooking freebies", you'll probably find more sites than you know what to do with.

I recommend IKEA Goddess if you want a good one-stop resource for freebies.



GOOGLE READER

Something you should be using anyway. If you have a Gmail account, you'll see a "reader" link in the top left corner. It's just an easy way to keep track of all of your favorite websites in one place. You just subscribe to the sites/blogs that you frequent most, and the Reader lets you know when that site's been updated. It's nice b/c you can view all of the updates right there without having to browse around.



TEMPLATES & QUICK PAGES

Simply Yin is my favorite spot for templates.

I'm a walking contradiction b/c I'm a minimalist when it comes to design, but I also take way too many photos. That's why I like Yin's templates; she has a way of organizing the chaos.

Here's an example of how you can use a template:





A "quick page" is pre-designed. So it would be like my finished layout above, but with open placeholders just for your pictures and text.


DIGITAL SCRAPBOOKING KITS & GALLERIES


Ok, so it's not all free. Occasionally, you'll find a must-have kit that costs a few bucks (usually between $3 and $7). But, you can mix and match everything and use the papers & elements as many times as you like.

My favorite "store" is Oscraps.

It's also good to browse around the galleries for ideas...

No comments:

Post a Comment