Most of us have been so used with the idea of scrapbooking as a combination of paper cutting, photo gluing and sticking bits of nice materials together. All these would be laid on a piece of cardboard, paper or any foundation the scrapper would like to use as a medium.

But there’s nothing that computers can’t infiltrate. They influenced literally everything from our works to our personal lives and even the crafts that were supposed to be made by hands. Well, some people may have viewed these changes negatively. Nonetheless, so long as a person does his art on whatever technique he prefers, he still is able to fulfill many of life’s pleasures.
Computer scrapbooking or betterly known as digital scrapbooking is done by means of laying out pages with the aid of computer softwares. This basically entails the manipulation of photos, graphics, borders, texts and add-ons using digital devices.

Like with conventional scrapbooking, the pages may be printed on high-resolution color printers that the scrapper will then paste on traditional scrapbooks. If you would not want to get bothered with pasting or the bulk of storing albums, you always have the space saving option of strong these in your computer or on a CD or DVD as tokens of memories you would want to share with others.

There are a number of computer programs that you can make use of when doing digital scrapbooking. The three most popular are Adobe PhotoShop Elements 2.0 and CS, Microsoft Picture It!, Lumapix, and JASC’s Paint Shop Pro.

All these programs are so effective in helping their users manipulate the designs. The basic features include photo cutting, background replacements, change of colors, text adding, border placing and over-all graphic designing.

The common problem though with many computer softwares for digital scrapbooking is that users tend not to get the full controls. All have their learning curves and would require some mastery. Often, it is difficult for the user to make the program do things as they wish. Now, if you are more experienced with a single program, try to master it first before you choose to switch softwares. After all, if it worked great for you then it might help you better with your other projects.

Aside from the softwares we have already mentioned, it would be good to point out some other choices that you would find interesting. Some of the easiest programs that you can manipulate are the Hallmark, CK, Scrapbook Studio, and Scrapbook Assistants.

All these are designed specifically for digital scrapbooking. S compared with high-end softwares such as those we have mentioned above, these lower-end choices are quite less expensive and easier to use. However, they offer less flexibility in creating layouts.

Digital scrapbooking softwares that have higher learning curves have the tendency to require you to bring out the best of your creativity especially when you’re done figuring out how the whole thing works. on the other hand, there are programs that are so versatile that they would allow good use other than scrapbooking purposes.

If you would want t meet the balance and stay in the middle of the road, you might want to choose Microsoft Digital Image Pro. It is less expensive than PhotoShop and will offer lots of advantages over scrapbooking programs. It is not also as hard to master as compared to other programs.

Well, if you are having doubts on what computer program to buy or you are still more comfortable with traditional scrapbooking, the option of downloading free digital scrapbooking programs in the net is always available for you.

Be forewarned though that many free digital scrapbooking downloadable are not as efficient as those you can buy from online and local retailers. They serve more like samples from which you can base your judgement of the products. Well, that expected. The web is a large pool of business propaganda and advertisements. We mean nothing wrong with this, only you have to lower your expectations. After all, websites are not giving you the products, they’re only showing you how a specific product works.

If you are wondering how to make things work, be assured that most free digital scrapbooking programs are equipped with tutorial lessons that will lead you to simplified step by step instructions.

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Yes, technology sure has changed a lot of things. Take scrapbooking for example. Scrapbooking used to involve paper (of all types), pictures (of all occasion), pens (of all colors), glitters (of every variety) and a lot of glue.

Nowadays, however, people are being charmed by free digital scrapbooking. You see, free digital scrapbooking changes the whole way people look at crafts and arts. The charm of free digital scrapbooking lies in the fact that it is situated on technology.
What are the advantages of this type of scrapbooking?

1) Versatility – the charm of free digital scrapbooking involves the fact that with this technology, people are limited only by their imaginations. You see, with this innovation, people are able to make their scrapbooks into anything they want. Here are some examples of the versatility of the digital scrapbook

A. animation – one of the charms of free digital scrapbooking is the fact that with this technology, you can actually make your scrapbook move. Compared to the never-moving appearance of the conventional scrapbook, a digital scrapbook just takes a life of its own!

Because of this, many people are charmed by digital scrapbooks, calling conventional scrapbooks “boring”.

B. video options – conventional scrapbooks contain only photos. While it is true that a picture is worth a thousand words, a video is worth a million. One charm of free digital scrapbooking is the fact that you can add videos to it. This means that you do not have to be satisfied with staring at a picture and trying to imagine how the people were acting when this picture was taken.

With video, you can actually see the memories replay themselves before your very eyes.

C. Sounds – you see, sight is not enough to fully satisfy a person’s memories. Nowadays, sound is very important in order to really put you in the center of the action. Free digital scrapbooking charms people because of the fact that this technology allows them to add sound to their pictures.

2) Savings – free digital scrapbooking charms so many people because of the fact that it is free. Not a lot of things nowadays come free. In fact, things get more and more expensive as time passes by. People take advantage of this technology simply because of the fact that it offers them something for nothing. By taking advantage of free digital scrapbooking, they get to save a lot of money. Why, you ask? Well, putting a conventional scrapbook together can be expensive and time consuming. By using this technology instead, people can save a lot of money on buying materials.

3) Sharing -Most of all, free digital scrapbooking charms people because of the fact that it is easy to share. The fact that it is stored conveniently as data means that people can send their scrapbook to anyone in the world at any given time. Because of this, most people prefer to make their scrapbooks digitally.

4) Popularity -Free digital scrapbooking also charms people because of the fact that other people find it useful. You see, people have always had a fad mentality, going with the flow of the majority and doing stuff the way they think other people would.

When you think about it, even today’s so-called “nonconformists” are actually conforming to the image of the rebel. They actually go with the flow of their peers and actually try to gain popularity by trying to look like they do not need to be popular. We are social creatures, always trying to impress other people. Free digital scrapbooking charms people because of the fact that it enables them to impress their circles.

The reasons why free digital scrapbooking charms so many people today have been given in this article. As you can observe, many people do things for different reasons and the fact is, the reasons stated in this article may yet be insufficient. However, this leaves you with a very important question: what are your reasons for being charmed by free digital scrapbooking?

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The two are both similar and different in many ways but we are not here to discuss deeply their differences and similarities. We are here to focus on the digital scrapbooking as an alternative to the traditional scrapbook making.

Traditional scrapbooks are made by hand with several materials such as papers, pens, letter cut outs, adhesives, and other embellishments you can think of. The main principle is; to create a wonderfully decorated page that would give better meaning on the message you want to address. Digital scrapbooking works on the same principle too. You create unique page with decorations to enhance the meaning of the massage you want to address.
What sets the two apart is the method of achieving this principle. As mentioned, traditional scrapbooking uses material such as papers, pens, letter cut outs, adhesives, and other embellishments. Digital scrapbooking on the other hand uses computer graphics that replaces these traditional materials. You may say it is harder to work on the page design on the computer than on the actual page (traditional scrapbook). But, to be honest, it is almost the same.

Take the following for example:

The traditional scrapbook will work on a background or layout (sometimes called a template), pictures, texts, and embellishments. The process goes like this: you place the pictures on the background, place some embellishments of your type, and write some texts.

The digital scrapbook will work on software with all the available digital embellishments and texts. You have scanned pictures to be placed on a chosen background. Put some texts and add more design. Then, with some more editing on the colors and borders, you have created a scrapbook page.

(Speaking of software. There are several software that would let you create digital scrapbooks. These are Microsoft® Digital Image Pro, Photoshop® Elements or Adobe® Photoshop®, Ulead PhotoImpact®, or Jasc Paint Shop Pro®, to name a few.)

Oftentimes, it is much easier to create a digital scrapbook than a traditional one. This is because software that lets you create digital scrapbook with ready to use templates for texts and backgrounds, not to mention the editing tools you need. These features make it easier to create one unique page. Downloadable templates are readily available over the internet to widen up your choices on text, embellishments, and background. This is unlike traditional scrapbook that every thing is yours to make; from the background to the cutting of the decoration.

To further illustrate how does a digital page is created, here are the steps to follow:

· Create a new image from a blank canvas

· Define the size of the page you will use.

· Enter the settings you want to adapt.

· Add the photo

Photos determine the color scheme of the layout, therefore, you may want to see first what picture will you going to use before determining the mat of the canvas.

To add a photo, you must first save one on a file. You can either scan pictures or take them from your digital cameras.

· Create the background

Now that you have a determined canvas and photo, it is time for you to select your background. Here, the choices are endless. You can download images from the internet or use your photos to be the background itself. You can edit the texture of the background to match the theme you want to achieve.

· Create the photo mat

Photo mats let the background and the photo meet on a certain point.

· Add the text and embellishments

Ready made texts and embellishments are one good feature of digital scrapbooking software. This helps you to put important touches fast and easy.

· Apply some finishing touches

Final editing is as important as placing everything in order. Make use of built in features such as shadows, emboss, effects, and others. This would help your page look more attractive as it highlights whatever you want to be highlighted.

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