Recently I ventured into the amazing world of digital scrapbooking. As you know, I love pictures. I adore capturing those moments that you want to remember forever. The only problem is, scrapbooking is just too overwhelming for me. All the different scissors, cutting pictures into shapes, gluing with special glue, knowing exactly what papers I would need before I went to the store, etc. was just too much for me. I figured I would never scrapbook my memories, and they would probably forever live in the rubbermaid tub in my basement, hoping beyond hope that someday their status would change.

Then an amazing thing happened. I found digital scrapbooking.

I have been in love with Photoshop for ages. I adore the amazing things I can do with pictures. I love making custom Christmas cards and birth announcements. But, it wasn't until last year that a friend told me about her digital scrapbooking.

I am totally hooked.

There are several different ways to scrapbook your pictures digitally. You can use an online site like Shutterfly, Snapfish, Picaboo, Winkflash, Blurb, or Mixbook or you can create your own using programs like Photoshop, Photoshop Elements, GIMP (get it free), Paint.net (also free), or from software provided by companies like Creative Memories (download software for free), Heritage Builders, etc.

Different companies have many different options, so try out a couple different ones. For example, some companies have software that you download onto your computer, make your pages, then upload the pages to the company website to print. If you are scrapbooking a lot of pictures, this is a great option so you don't have to spend as much time uploading every picture. Also, if you have limited internet access, this is also a fantastic way to get your books done.

On the flip side, if you use multiple computers, using a company such as Mixbook or Shutterfly can allow you to work on your book no matter what computer you are on, or create a book that several people can contribute to (great for working on a family history book, recipe book, etc.)

Most internet based books have an option to make an easy book. Basically their software will take your pictures and place them on the book pages for you by sorting them according to the date and time they were taken. You get to pick the style, colors and fonts that you want, but the pictures will be added for you. Then all you have to do to finish it is add text and double check that the pictures are where you want them. This is a great way to start your first book.

If you want to go a little deeper but still keep it simple, start with a pre-designed book that you drag and drop your pictures into. Shutterfly has a few options of pre-designed books, and Mixbook has many options of pre-designed books that you can then do some simple editing to, such as move picture boxes, add/remove stickers, change the size of the photo frames, etc.

Some companies (such as Creative Memories) has options for books where the pages lay flat. Their books also have a stitched binding, so they are more durable and have a longer rating for how many years they are expected to last without fading, etc. As you can imagine, their books can be more expensive to order.

Mixbook is the only company that I know of right now that has an option to upload your own digital papers, stickers, borders, ribbons, etc. and use them with their book making software. Their book making software is great, but can be slightly more complicated that using Shutterfly (for example.)

There can be a big variety of prices when it comes to purchasing your completed digital scrapbook. All companies run sales and promotions and frequently have coupons. Winkflash often has a "Flat Rate" book sale, meaning there is no charge for extra pages. This can be a HUGE savings if you have multiple pages.

Other ways to save are to check for coupons, groupons, and company promotions. Groupon has had a promotion for Shutterfly, Picaboo, and Mixbook in the past. Also, since Groupon is all over the nation, sometimes they are running a promotion for a Groupon in a different city. That is where google comes in; just google the name of the company and Groupon and it will tell you if there is any special in any other cities. I am signed up to receive emails from companies (Shutterfly, Snapfish and Mixbook) and periodically they have a free 20 page book code. These are usually for a very short time, so I try to have a book ready in my account, then wait for a special offer. Emails frequently have an additional savings coupon code within them that can be stacked with other offers from time to time. It can take time and patience, but it is totally worth it!

There are 2 ways to do your digital pages. If you use an internet based software company (Shutterfly, Mixbook, Snapfish, etc.) you can only get your pages done as a printed "coffee table" type book. If you design your pages using software on your computer you can either print individual pages (12x12 for example to add to your traditional scrapbook) or you can upload your pages to a web based company be printed into a coffee table book.

I am a photoshop girl myself, so this tutorial will be using photoshop elements. (Get a free 30 day trial by clicking on the link above)

For this tutorial I will start with a layout. Click here to get my layout for free! For information on how to "unpack" a zipped file, check out this tutorial here.

I will use the great free kit "Spontaneous Delight" from Shabby Princess. Go Here to download it for free.
*all the kits on this page are free!

If you need more info about downloading, check out Shabby Princess' faq.

To begin with, go to >file>open and navigate to the place you saved your newly downloaded layout.


Make sure you are on the >Move tool (keyboard shortcut v).



Pick 3 photos that you would like to scrapbook. Open those in PS (Photoshop) too.

Next, open the papers and elements you want to use*. For me this is always somewhat of a work in progress. Often the papers I start with originally are tweaked until I find what works best with my pictures.

*(I like to just open the folder in a separate windows explorer window. That way I can see all the papers and elements in the kit, but don't have to open them all. As I find what I think might work, I drag the element into the PS window. )

PS can be a hard program to learn. Before you start, think of digital scrapbooking just like traditional scrapbooking- each thing you put on the page has its own layer (ie. a button is a different layer than the paper, and the picture is a layer on top of the paper, etc.) Make a new layer for each item.

To create a new layer, click the icon that looks like a post-it note, or go to >layer>new layer keyboard shortcut ctrl+shift+n.


Your layers will show up on the right side of your page. In the layout I created for you, several layers are already created.

Ok, on to the fun stuff.

Start by finding the layer that says "Layer 1" and click on it to select it.


Navigate to the bottom of the page where your open files are (as seen above) and open the paper you want to use for the background of your scrapbook page in the main editing area by double-clicking on the icon at the bottom. Click on the paper, hold and drag the file onto your layout.

tip: hold down the shift key when you drop the paper onto your layout to center the file on your layout.

Your layout should now look like this.


If your layout looks like something like this instead....


find the layer your paper is on and drag it down to the layer right above layer 1.

tip: to rename your layers to make them easier to identify, double click on the name of the layer.

If you forgot to hold down the shift key (happens to me all the time) and your layout looks like this:
then just make sure you are using the move tool, and have selected the correct layer, then click and drag the layer until it is positioned correctly.

Next, click on the "main paper" layer.


Open the paper you want to use for the center circle, click on it and drag it to your layout file. (remember to hold down the shift key to center the paper on your layout file.)

Your page will look like this:


This is one of the MOST HELPFUL TIPS! "Clip" your layer to the shape of the layer underneath. Somewhat like cutting your paper into a shape. To do this go to >Layer>Group with Previous. Keyboard shortcut Ctrl+G.


At this point you could also pick a paper and add/clip it to the brown circle "Paper Layer Background." I liked the brown, so I am going to leave it. Another option would be to change the color of the circle. I will do a separate tutorial on that in the future. (remind me :-)

I am going to add a different paper to the "frame" layers. Repeat the steps above to add your paper, and clip it to the right layer.

tip:You can clip a paper to any shape. This makes your possibilities unlimited!

On to adding your photos!

Select the "large picture" layer. Open your main photo and drag and drop it into your scrapbook so the photo layer is directly above the "large picture" layer. Clip your photo to the large picture layer using the keyboard shortcut ctrl+g.

Once you clip your photo to the layer, you may need to resize it to fit correctly. To do this, make sure you have selected your photo's layer, then go to >Image>Transform>Free Transform, or ctrl+T keyboard shortcut.

Drag the picture using only the corners of the boxes to keep the proportions correct on your picture. To rotate it (I tipped the center picture just a little) place your pointer over the round circle or at the corners and tip until you like the look.

Click the green check mark when you are finished making adjustments. If you don't like the outcome, just transform it again using the same steps! (Don't you love the digital age?)

Repeat these steps for "Right Picture" layer and the "Left Picture" layers.


Now that your pictures are set, it's time to decorate your page with elements!


I added the "mesh strip" from the Spontaneous Delight Kit as a ribbon. I wanted the ribbon to be below the pictures and frames. Remember that digital scrapbooking is the same as traditional in the way you "stack" your items. If you want something to be on top, move the layer up. If you want it to be behind, move your layer down in the list.



Next I added the "glitter-swirl" from the kit. I wanted 2 of them- one on each side of the picture, so after I opened the first swirl I went to >Layer>Duplicate Layer.

Make sure you are on the >Move tool (keyboard shortcut v). Select the new layer and drag it to its new home. Transform it if you want to resize or rotate the element.

Next I added a flower element, then added Text.

To add text, select the text tool. (Looks like a big T)

Up at the top of the screen, select your font, text size, text color, etc. I used "Eccentric Std" for my font on this page.

Click anywhere on the page to add text. Click on the green checkmark at the top of the page when you are done writing. (you can also make a text box by clicking and dragging an area, then writing your text inside)

Adjust it until you are happy with the look.

Save your creation! Then go to >File>SaveAs and save your photoshop file into a .jpg

Don't be afraid to play around until you are happy with the results. Here is what I came up with!


Here is another glimpse of a page made using the same layout.


Get creative!

I would LOVE to see your creations. If you use my layout, will you send me an email with a .jpg of your photo? Send your files to decemberdreamer@gmail.com .