My friend, Marlyn, asked in a comment on a previous post how I would recommend she go about getting started in digita l scrapbooking. Thing is, I’m pretty new at this, myself. It was only in August or so that I really started looking at digital stuff again after a multi-year break. Part of my personality is this tendancy to jump full-forward into something new, spending all of my time reading, watching tutorials, getting inspriation, etc.

So, maybe this post should really be called “How Angela Started Digital Scrapbooking” or, better yet, “How Angela Should Have Started Digital Scrapbooking.” After lots of thought, I got it down to seven steps:

1. Gather your materials and software.
2. Get organized.
3. Learn the basics of working with your chosen software.
4. Learn how the basics of working with layers.
5. Make your first page.
6. Print (or not)
7. Keep learning (and findig inspiration).

All the details are after the jump.

Step 1: Gather your materials and software.

You need three basic things to scrapbook: photo editing software, photos, and scrapbooking supplies. Ok, and memories but I think that goes without saying.

Software

Pick a program that is commonly used for scrapbooking. This way you’ll be certain to find many other users out there who can lend you a hand in a pinch. Most experts recommend using software which has the capability to use transparency and the ability to create / edit / recolor / generally work with layers.

What others use: Most digital scrapbookers use either Photo Shop (PS) or Photo Shop Elements (PSE). PS has much more functionality than PSE but, well, it’s something like five times the cost. Unless you’re planning on becoming a professional scrapbooker, PSE should work fine. (Adobe actually has a free 30 day trial so you can try before you buy. Costco members can pick up a full copy for $80 online + shipping.)

What I use: GIMP which is sort of / kind of a free version of PS but tutorials don’t exactly cross-over

What I will start using: PSE – hoping to get it for Christmas (I’ve been barred from buying it myself before then.)

Photos

You don’t have to be a wonderful photographer to scrapbook, you just have to have photos. More precisely for digital scrapbooking, your photos must also be digital either because they were digital in the first place or you had your film photos scanned. Be sure to have them saved to your computer at the highest possible quality. (I won’t get all into this as it’s a topic unto itself. I don’t even know enough about it myself, just that you want to scan in items at no lower a quality than 1200 ppi.)

Scrapbooking Supplies

This is all of the other “stuff” that goes on a scrapbook page besides your photos: papers, frames, embellishments, and fonts.

For your first page: I’d recommend grabbing some of the free mini kits many scrapbooking websites have made available. A mini kit won’t have quite as much in it as a full digital kit but it will include papers and a couple embellishments to play with until you’re comfortable.

The black hole: There are tons and tons of websites selling digital supplies, from indivdiual designer websites to giant webstores selling dozens of brands. I’d recommend the following: Two Peas in a Bucket, Designer Digitals, Scrap Girls, Design House Digital. These sites also have communities associated with them where you can see galleries of pages (ok, layouts is the real word) made with their products. You’ll never be at a loss for supplies, even if you stick only to freebies!

A word on crediting: You must credit the designer of your supplies whenever you post a finished page to your blog or a forum or a gallery or, really, anywhere. It’s not just good manners but a requirement of most designers, which they will spell out in the Terms of Use which will get downloaded along with your supplies. You’ll probably also want to include a credits page in the back of each completed album, more there for your own use than for actual attribution purposes.

Step 2: Get Organized

From the very beginning, you’ve got to get organized. I’m not talking making lists of what photos go on what page (though feel free) but supply organization. If your photos are all over the place, move them so they’re together on your hard drive. Unzip all of your supplies to a folder just for digi scrap stuff. You can be as anal retentive as you want – just be sure that *you* can 1) find your stuff and 2) have the information readily available as to who designed the supplies you’re using.

How I do it – photos: When I take photos off my camera, they get separated into individual folders marked with the date the photos were taken. After I got through and do whatever editing, I save the photos into a “Best” folder within that date folder. Photos that get scrapped get copied into a “To Scrap” folder which I further organize into events.

How I do it – materials: I separate by designer then by kit name so my Katie Pertiet Template Inspiration for 6 July 2011 is in DigiScrap >> Supplies >> Katie Pertiet >> Template Inspiration for 6 July 2011. This way, I know who to credit.

Step 3: Learn the basics of working with your chosen software.

I’m talking real basics. Like how to open a photo, change the brightness and contrast, rotate an image, crop an image, select a color using the eyedropper tool. You’ll be happy you took the time to learn this before you tried using those tools on top of the scrapbooking part.

Step 4: Learn the basics of working with layers

Scrapbooking pages work because each of the elements and photos is placed in a layer. I may go into this in future posts but, for now, here’s one from Designer Digitals. I learned how to work with layers by watching a whole bunch of tutorials and I wish I had notes on the best.

Step 5: Make your first page

You’ll probably want to make a single photo page so you don’t get too overwhelmed. Follow one of the tutorials you found and soon you’ll have your first page! I’d really recommend you use a template (where you add in papers and photos) or a quickpage (where you only have to add in photos) because then you don’t have to worry about the layout. That blank page can be the most intimidating thing, sometimes, and you don’t need that added stress when you’re just starting.

Step 6: Print (or Not)

There are dozens of places to print scrapbook pages from normal photo-printing places like Costco to places like Persnickety Prints that specialize in scrapbook prints. I have yet to print a single one of my scrapbook pages so I can’t point to one that’s better but I know that Persnickety Prints, Snapfish, and Scrapping Simply are all popular among digi gurus. Also – you don’t have to print. You can send your pages to a digital photo frame or keep them in an online album. There’s no rules.

Step 7: Keep learning (and finding inspiration)

Almost every designer and/or online digital scrapbooking store has a community attached to it where there are tutorials, formal classes, and places to ask questions. They also tend to have galleries. Keep an eye out for things that catch you eye – I’ve often been inspired by magazine ads!

If you want more information on getting started, here’s a few helpful links:

• Ali Edwards: Getting Started with Digital
• The Daily Digi: Tutorials Home
• Designer Digitals: Getting Started with Digital Scrapbooking
• Jessica Sprague: Getting Started Quick Page (there’s also a version for former paper scrappers farther down on that same page)