What do you love about digital scrapbooking?

[aeronm]

I am doing some research into digital scrapbooking, and am eager to hear about why people love it or hate it. Have you gone from paper scrapbooking to digital? Do you do both? What software (besides Scrapbook Max of course!) do you use on a regular basis? Do you just like to drop your photos into pre-made templates? Or really get into the designing and layout of the thing? Fill me in!

[Wickel]

Hi all
I'm new to this program, but it looks like its going to be a blast I love the idea of templates already made for me so I can just drop in my photos. I love to embellish with my own personal items to make them a tad bit personal. I'm an avid photographer with tons of photos stored in boxes I know, I know !! LOL I cant wait to play around with the pages, I've tried the trial version and was immediately hooked. Can't wait to actually see what they look like on paper !

[grannywin]

Well, I will be the first to jump onto this thread. I never did paper scrapbooking, but fell in love instantly with digital. The best reason is that I can change......change paper, change embies, change photos! Digital might be more cost-effective, but I am not sure. I still invest in printing of photos instead of buying the papers and trims. Usually, I start with a blank page, but don't mind using the wonderful templates in this forum if it suits my theme.

Besides Max, I mostly use Adobe Photoshop to clean up my prints and create new ones.

Tell us more about your project. Is it for a school presentation? Do you scrapbook yourself?

[Marion]

Everything!

[MaggieMae]

I was a paper scrapbooker for quite a few years - digital is the way to go in every way! I get so much more done this way and it's a lot more economical! You can't miss. I only use SBMax! because I haven't learned to use the other, more difficult ones! The thing I really love here is that sharing - it's really great!

[aeronm]

I am specifically interested in what makes digital scrapbooking better than paper, or at least why people like it better.... yes, there's the fact that you can use your items over and over (I love that one), and how fast you can put together a page (I made my first page in an hour, by my third, 15 minutes).... and the fact that most of us have our photos in digital format already (makes laying out faster and easier).... I only tried one paper scrapbook (last fall) and was amazed at 1) how long it took to do it, 2) how expensive it was to buy all the little embellishments that I used ONCE! and 3) what a pain in the patootie it was to resize all the photos. Plus there is another big reason to love digital over paper..... it's environmentally friendly! No more gas-guzzling trips to the craft store (the closest one to me is 1/2 hour away) when you can get everything you need right from the internet in the comfort of your own home!

I am doing some preliminary research into digital trends in scrapbooking because I have an idea for a product that will work in conjunction with your digital scrapbook software (Scrapbook Max, of course), but will revolutionize the industry. As you may know, scrapbooking in general is a $2.6million annual industry, and has overtaken golf as the third most popular hobby in the US!!! I have invented something that will facilitate people moving from paper to digital, but I can't tell you specifics yet till the patent app is in!!!

So, I'd love to hear from EVERYONE about their digital habits....how often do you do it? How many hours at a time, etc.

Thanks, and I'll keep you posted on my progress!!

[spanielmom]

Hmmmm---hours at a time----too many! HA HA HA
It seems once you find a site with some free downloads it leads you to 10 others. I think most people here can say they scrap rather than clean their houses and doing laundry and all that other mundane stuff.

I like the fact that I can take pictures and sit down and in under an hour have them laid out on pages for in my digital scrapbook. I can't tell you how many times I have taken a slideshow show with me on a USB drive to show someone else what I have been up to. And posting in the gallery allows my mother & father who don't live near me to see pictures of their grandchildren. She has dial-up so sending pictures to her is out (takes to long to download). With the gallery she see instantly.

I would say digital is the way of the future.

[AmeliasMuma]

Hi there ......

Now I'm really curious LOL
Well I cant really say that I've done paper scrapbooking [bought a premade album where all I had to do was stick in the pics but I still had to re-size them on the pc etc, the buttons etc fell out of the book, paper headings fell out. It must have been an old book cos the glue was failing] I'm a digi girl without a shadow of a doubt.
I've used Paint Shop Pro for many years, for making textures to put on 3D models. I had no idea what was involved with making anything scrapbook before I came here, but discovered its an easy transition with all the help you get from these wonderfully insane people. Oh I've also used the 3D modeling program to make embellishments to.
Templates are a great way to get started and they give me inspiration but I prefer to make my own layouts.
I can see why some people would not like digiscraping .... take my mother, the only thing that she wants to do with a pc is turn it on. Some prefer the actual feel of making a page with "real" parts. I love digi scrapin for its ease, quickness, flexability, durability [no more content falling on the floor or when you open the book its redesigned the page for me]. It does look different to a paper page and I'm not sure you will ever be able to produce that real 3D depth unless we got hologram scrapin, however the advantages outweigh many many times over the "realness" of a paper page. Oh you can also get more pages in an album

Now look at all these ideas you're getting for your advertising LOL

How often do I do it? ... too much. lol

[sacannon]

Digital is so much nicer. I still paper scrap too, but not often. I am on here every day. Like Spanielmom said, other things tend to get let go. It may take less time to put a page together, but you tend to wander off and look for the freebies. You read all the funny postings, check out everyones wonderful work. And your day is half gone sometimes. But as for as the scrapping itself, everything is at your fingertips that you can use over and over. You don't have tons of stuff to store all over the place. You are not making a mess that you have to clean up when you are done. It is definately less expensive. You have the ability to create things yourself which makes you feel good. I mostly use Adobe Photoshop Elements but also have other programs I can use. I spend the rest of the time playing around trying to create new things. Then rush around getting dinner ready etc....

[aeronm]

Okay, I just posted my very first scrapbook pages ever! (Only four, but it's a start!). I have only made two paper scrapbooks ever, and already I can tell you I will never go back!! Let me know what you think of them... they are in the Member Gallery under aeronm. The first page took about an hour (I was figuring out how to use the software), the second about a half hour, and the last one 15 minutes! Can't say that with paper!!! I also was using only what was available in the trial version of Scrapbook Max, plus two dowloaded 'kits.' I made the masking tape and scotch tape embellishments myself. Good bye piles and piles of paper and doo-dads and the big mess! WEEEEEEE!!!!!!