Why Digital?

Some people have wondered why I would want to do digital since scrapbooking is such a tactile art. That is one of the reasons I will probably always do some paper scrapbooking. If you only knew how many boxes and boxes and boxes of memorabilia and photographs I own!!! This winter and spring I hope to go through all my scrapbooking supplies, photographs and memorabilia so that they can be organized in a sensible manner and I can decide which things to keep and which to pass on or sell and also which to scrap with paper and which to scrap digitally.

Digital scrapbooking offers the following advantages:

1. You can use items or elements on a page that look 3D like a collage, that you would never use in a paper scrapbook, or at least I wouldn't. I know there is a lot of crazy stuff in scrapbooks these days, but if you are trying to preserve photos, that stuff is counter productive. It looks cool though. Now I can use those things on a digital layout. Lumpy bumpy items, real flowers, metal items and poky things can all look wonderful in a collage setting but be damaged to actual photographs.

2. It is easier to share copies of your work. For me this is important because I am the family historian in our family.... on all sides. I am the keeper of the "stuff". This way I can put together actual books and have them printed without having to do it over and over and over.

3. I already take digital pictures. This form of scrapping allows me to use them from my camera and size them any way I wish. I don't have to wait until I can afford to get them printed to start playing.

4. As I learn how to do more things in the photo editing software, I am able to make some of my own elements and backgrounds.

5. I feel more free to experiment. It doesn't cost me anymore because I don't have to print if I don't want to. I won't damage materials if I don't like what I initially chose.

6. When I don't have space to work or store lots of materials, I can still work on scrapbooking... it's right there on the computer! :o)

7. The sky is the limit! I can grow and grow and grow with this format.