Scrapbook Paper
Digital Scrapbooking Layout Ideas
Various page layouts and designs mak a scrapbook much more interesting and unique. A typical layout in a scrapbook can use a color and a texture or pattern in the background with a space for a photo on the page. Doing some digital photo editing is essential to create more options of themed images to use in your scrapbooks. More interesting pages include layout or design elements such as:
- Titles in unique type styles
- Names, dates or text on the page layout in a variety of colors and fonts
- Photos arranged in montages
- Notes and text on the page using a font that appears handwritten
- Clip art graphics and images to use as embellishments on the page layouts
- Digitally created special effects such as torn paper, drop shadows or highlights around elements
- Borders or frames around photos
- Layering of background images to imitate layers of paper
You can see how having good skills with photo editing software and learning new computer scrapbooking techniques is essential to accomplish this.
Some of the items listed above are used in traditionally-created scrapbook layouts. Add a new look a feel to elements with computer or digital scrapbooking effects. Enhancements such as drop shadows and highlights can work well if they are done correctly.
A layout with a specific theme can be very effective to add to the interest of your scrapbook layouts. Birthdays and celebrations, holidays, family memories and reunions, vacations, travel and genealogy make great themes for a scrapbook – and there are so many other themes that can be used. Using a theme that has been pre-designed saves time and adds interest to your scrapbook.
A Scanner is a Computer Scrapper’s Friend
Using your scanner and also photo editing your scans is a good way to add custom elements for your scrapbook layouts. Scanning relatively flat items can give you a library of your own images to work with in your digital scrapbooks. For instance, if you wanted to make a school theme, you could scan some items you have such as lined notebook paper, rulers, and you could even try scanning colored pencils (though you may need to do some digital editing to any scans of objects that are not flat).
To get some paper textures to use as backgrounds, try scanning birthday and holiday wrapping paper. Greeting cards can be another image source to utilize. Just know that if you are scanning anything with a copyright, you can only use the images for your own use (you can’t try to sell a kit with those copywrited images in it). If you want to simulate the use of ribbon, you can scan some ribbon and use your scanned images as an accent to a page.
An additional idea is to use traditional scrapbook products such as chipboard letters and scan those. After scanning them, you can revise the colors and arrange the letters to add an accent to a digital layout or make special titles for your pages with the scanned letters.
There are also affordable CD ROMs with clip art available with images for themed scrapbooks. You can get free digital scrapbook kits, too. You can create your own unique digital scrapbook layout elements by scanning paper patterns or tags and other embellishments.
Combine Traditional with Digital Scrapbooking
Just because you’re working on a digital scrapbook doesn’t mean you can’t do some hand writing, drawing or add other embellishments on the pages after you print them out. Doing this combination of digital and traditional scrapbook techniques is called hybrid scrapbooking. Using some traditional scrapbook papers and elements that can be added to your digital layout is another technique.
Decoupage scrapbooking paper and family photos on ceramic tiles
