Digital Scrapbooking is a great crafts hobby that not too many people know about. It’s on the rise, as digital ways of doing life become more and more prevalent, but still has a ways to go, as most likely if you ask your friends at a party if they’ve heard of it, the likely answer is no.
Today I want to talk about digital scrapbooking, and a great site and resource for anyone looking to take it up. That is Pixel Scrapper. Pixel Scrapper as currently branded has been around for about 8 years, and has only continued to up its game in its offerings for the digital scrapbooking community (and really graphics community at large).
So digital scrapbooking is where people construct what are called ‘layouts,’ using various graphics (which can come in a wide variety of formats – png, svg, psd, and others). These graphics range widely, from papers that usually make up the background of a given layout, to ribbons, flowers, baseballs – you name it. (Note: after you finish this read here, if you’re still interested, Pixel Scrapper has a very informative and thorough article on digital scrapbooking.)
If there’s a particular element you’re looking for, it’s likely out there somewhere. And graphics for digital scrapbooking usually come in themed kits and bundles that are focused around a specific topic. There are kits dedicated to weddings, birthdays, “manly” things, or even specific nations or hobbies.
One of the cool things about Pixel Scrapper, is that they’re pretty much the only digital scrapbooking site that not only makes their graphics available in these kits and bundles, but they also have individual graphic downloads. So you don’t have to clutter up your computer if you’re looking for just one specific element. They also make these individual graphic downloads available for free.
All you need to do is register for an account, and you get five free downloads a day. And their graphics are all 300 DPI and of the highest quality (even good for printing, if you’re into hybrid scrapping. I won’t go into hybrid now, but it’s basically a joint form of traditional scrapbooking and digital). This is definitely an aspect of Pixel Scrapper that I love and that sets them apart from the rest of the sites in the niche.
Anyways, so you collect a variety of elements that you like, and basically using a program like photoshop or some such thing, you build your layout digitally, leaving room for the photos to go in afterward. Then, at the end, wallah! You stick your photos in and you have a beautiful way of remembering moments you’ve created with your loved ones.
Word art is another popular aspect to use on your layouts – basically aesthetically pleasing script of various kinds that go with the theme or catch phrases from the day or slogans that you want to remember.
Once you have enough layouts made, some people like to then print those out to have in a physical book. For example, if you find yourself making a lot of layouts you could make a whole book dedicated to one family vacation. But if you’re still finding your groove, maybe you’d just make one for the whole year. If this is something you’re interested in, a place like shutterfly can help you make a beautiful physical copy that you can treasure forever.
This is obviously a brief introduction to a pretty big hobby. But I hope you found it helpful. I’d head to Pixel Scrapper and start exploring if you want to learn more. They have some killer articles and tutorials and help pages that will help you get a grasp on how to get going.
Doesn’t hurt that they have a very friendly community as well. 🙂