ACOT Message Board

I love scrapbooking, but have never tried digital scrapbooking. Can someone recommend a good software to start off with? Are there any free ones that I can try out?

Thanks!

Photoshop Elements lets do a free trial run for 30 days. there are a ton of YouTube tutorials to go along with it. And of course you can always ask one of us if you get stuck.

oh, and welcome to ACOT!

I am not digital, but there are ladies here who would be glad to help, and have immense talent! And yes, welcome to ACOT!

Welcome to Acot! If you need any help, there are so many wonderful cherries to help you as well as amazing talent in the gallery!

Welcome to ACOT! I can not recommend any digital products since I do not use them. But we have lots of digi gals here on the board who are very friendly and will share their expertise with you. I am a paper gal all the way!

Welcome! I use PSE9, or Photoshop Elements. I used it first on a 30 day trial as well. I asked a lot of questions around here, and just generally played with the program. There are gals here who use GIMP, which you can get for free, but I'm told there is quite a learning curve to it...I can't say as I've never tried it. But like Laurie said...there are lots of gals around if you decide to try it and get stuck! I've been digi scrapping for about 2 1/2 years now and still constantly learn new tricks!

Thanks everyone! I'll give Photoshop Elements a try. I'm actually not new to ACOT. I've spent a lot of time and money on here and have made well over 20 scrapbooks! But being that my space is limited for all my scrapbook mess, I haven't had time to scrapbook so I thought I'd give digital scrapbooking a try. Hopefully it goes well. I'm so behind on my scrapbooking...

Welcome to digi! I have used Adobe Photoshop for years and love it. It is well worth the purchase because you can do more than just digital pages. Check out these beginner tutorials from one of our very own designers, HERE --> viewforum.php?f=342. There are lots of freebies to download in the digital shoppe that you can play around with. Like everyone else said, there are lots of digi girls here to help answer questions and give feedback. Can't wait to see your first page! Good Luck

The first thing I'd do (after reading the tutorials) is download ONE of the freebie layouts that are out there, and try moving things around on it. It's really easy.

Sadly, the girl who taught me how to digi scrap and is awesome died unexpectantly a month ago - of pneumonia complications. She would have been able to have you up and running fast.

I use photoshop, but it can be overwhelming at first. Another free application is one from Michaels. I've been using it for four years now. You can use what's in there or you can upload your own digital kits.

I love digi! But I LOATHE photshop. (I totally respect you PSE people who can work those layers!) I prefer drag and drop style. I have a software that I LOVE . Don't know if I should post it here because it's another company but if you PM me I can tell you what it is. Whatever format you chose, there will be a learning curve, have fun and PLAY! There is nothing better than going to a crop with friends and only carrying in ONE small bag! Everyone like to sit by me because the get more room to spread out

I dabble in digi & use The GIMP - it's free. It's very powerful but has a learning curve - some things (like drop shadows) are very easy, but the interface takes some getting used to.

Can I ask a silly question? When you digi scrapbook, what do you do with the layouts, do you keep them as computer files to enjoy later or do you print them into books? I'm sure this is digital scrapbooking knowledge 101.... I've just never really known the answer.

I print some 8x8 myself as I don't have a wide format printer. Some I send out to print. I haven't made a book yet because I don't scrap in orde so I rarely "finish" a scrapbook except for special events.

I'm a PSE girl. It's what I learned to digi scrap with and I like it. I've never tried gimp.

I've tried GIMP, couldn't figure it out. I have Photoshop8.

jrrah4903 wrote:Can I ask a silly question? When you digi scrapbook, what do you do with the layouts, do you keep them as computer files to enjoy later or do you print them into books? I'm sure this is digital scrapbooking knowledge 101.... I've just never really known the answer.

Not a silly question. I have started printing them recently, but I have a big folder on my computer with all the files.

Lollybert wrote:

jrrah4903 wrote:Can I ask a silly question? When you digi scrapbook, what do you do with the layouts, do you keep them as computer files to enjoy later or do you print them into books? I'm sure this is digital scrapbooking knowledge 101.... I've just never really known the answer.

Not a silly question. I have started printing them recently, but I have a big folder on my computer with all the files.

Make sure you back them up! I lost all my wedding layouts when my computer crashed in March. Luckily I can recreate them and I find I'm lol in the remakes better, but it's still something I shouldn't have had to do if I had backed them up.

I print them out - got a wide format printer on sale & many places print them for $3-5 - and put them in my album w/3D pages.