ACDSee Organizing Tutorial

For those that attended the Digital Scrapbook Memories Retreat I am posting the tutorial that went along with the class I taught at the retreat. I hope that this tutorial will help with any questions you have about ACDSee. And if you have questions please feel free to email them to me at downthisroaddesigns@q.com.

Acdsee Tutorial

Most of the information in this tutorial was information I found at Digiscrapinfo.com. It is a great site to find information about using ACDSee for Digital Scrapbooking. They have lots of tips and tricks and even video tutorials and category styles. Be sure to check it out.

Happy Scrapping,
Angie

New Newsletter

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Happy Scrapping,
Angie

Follow me on Facebook and Twitter to get exclusive specials!!!

Hi everyone,

Happy Friday!!! Did you know I have a Facebook Fan Page? I am also on Twitter! I hand out exclusive specials, coupons, and Random Acts of Kindness on these social media sites. You just may want to become a fan and follow along. You never know when I will get the urge to hand out these goodies. And you don't want to miss out!!!

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We will see you there!

Happy Scrapping,
Angie

Quick Pages make it easy to get started Digital Scrapbooking

Are you interested in Digital Scrapbooking but, just do not know where to start? Quick pages are so easy and really fun. All of the page design is done for you. All you have to do is plug in your pictures and you have an amazing layout all done in minutes. I have created this tutorial to help you along the way.
QP Tutorial
Happy Scrapping,
Angie

Get to know your Digital Scrapbooking program

There are many programs out there that people use to digital scrapbook. I have memory mixer but, I never use it. I have gotten comfortable with Photoshop and Photoshop Elements so that is what I use. I hope that any newbies out there will just try to mess around in Photoshop. You will be amazed at the things you can do with it. From fixing photos to creating fun craft projects. You will wonder how you ever got by without it (or a similar graphics program). So I thought today that I would post a tutorial that I made for Photoshop Elements. I usually scrap with Photoshop Elements 6--I just like the set up and the ease of the program. So, on with the tutorial.

Photoshop Elements Getting Started Tutorial

Now there are many ways of doing things and opening files into Photoshop. These are just a few that I use. So play around and get creative.
Happy Scrapping,
Angie

Why Digital Scrapbook?

Back again to discuss Digital Scrapbooking Inside and Out. Today I will talk about the Pros and Cons of Digital Scrapbooking.
Pros:

• No supplies to move around and clean up.
• No storage space needed (Well, besides disk space).
• One piece of background paper can be used thousands of times.
• You can change the colors of the papers and elements to suite your needs.
• You can print one page several times. No redoing the entire thing.
• No alphabet sheets with that a , b or r missing just when you needed it to make your title.
• Great freebies all over the web.
• Easy to turn your digital layouts into a printed book that actually fits on a shelf in your home.
• No bulky pages from all of those adorable elements.
• Undo is your best friend. No more ruined layouts from journaling mistakes or bad sticker placement.
• Photos don't all have to be a standard printed size IE. 4x6, 5x7 or 8x10. You get to choose the size and how many will fit on your page.
• Lining things up is super easy.
• No adhesive necessary.
• Everything is archival safe--No Worries!
  

Cons:

• Some (like me) miss the cut and past and working with hands.
• Being in front of the computer. Especially if you work in front of one.
• Already printed pictures will need to be scanned or digitally archived.
• There is a learning curve.
• Intimidating for some.

There are so many more Pros to Digital Scrapbooking. I know I had a hard time making the switch--but once I did there was no turning back.
I have a short story to tell regarding Digital vs. Paper. I still love to make cards with my paper scrapbooking supplies. Every year I get together with a friend (who paper scraps and I fear will never be convinced that Digital is the bomb) and set aside a couple days to make cards together. Yes, I said a couple days!! Isn't that crazy? I love talking with my friend and crafting. It is so fun! So, I guess I chatted more than I created and ended up about 10 cards short this year. I sat down to make the last cards and after an hour I only had half of them done. I was out of time and out of patients. I came to the computer and whipped up our Christmas card in 10 minutes. I uploaded it to our 1 hour photo developer and it was that simple. They even came with envelopes!! (I have a hard time locating invitation size envelopes sometimes.) So do you want to see the final product? Here it is:
So that is my take on this subject. So my question to you is-Why would you not Digital Scrapbook?

Happy Scrapping,
Angie

What is Digital Scrapbooking?

In past posts I have discussed Why I scrapbook and What are the most important things to me. This post is kind of a continuation on the whole scrapbooking and digital scrapbooking subject. The digital scrapbooking community grows larger everyday as it becomes more popular with folks. Some (as I was at first) are skeptical and not sure what the whole thing is about.

How many of you own a digital camera? I am sure at lease 90% of people who own a camera have a digital camera. I love my digital cameras!!! I know immediatly if a picture will be bad or good the second it shows up on the LCD screen. If its bad I can shoot another one. If its good then there are no surprises when I spend $ on film I get developed. We have all been there I am sure. Unless of course, you are too young to have had that experience.

Digital Scrapbooking is a way of taking those digital photos(or photos that have been scanned into the computer) and putting them into scrapbook pages that are made up of digital graphics on the computer. Basically, Digital Scrapbooking is just another form of capturing & preserving your memories. You use a graphics or photo editing program to design your pages. Popular photo editing programs include: Adobe Photoshop (PS), Adobe Photoshop Elements (PSE), Jasc Paint Shop Pro (PSP), Microsoft Digital Image Pro (DIP), or Ulead Photo Impact (PI), among a number of other programs out there.

Technology becomes a huge part of our lives. Email, digital cameras, cell phones and ipods are a part of our everyday lives. It only seems logical to turn to technology for our scrapbooking needs.

Happy Scrapping,
Angie