Welcome to Design House Digital’s School of Design. Today, and every single day in September, we’ll have new blog posts; informative, detailed, and FREE classes that will take your digital scrapbooking to the next level. Each subject will have a new post weekly, and at the end of the month you won’t believe how much you’ve learned! Our schedule is as follows:

• Thursdays – Journaling From the Heart with Jen Papadimitriou
• Fridays - Photography Tips and Tricks with Lori Pickens
• Saturdays – You and Your Camera with Allison Waken & Shannon Dombkowski
• Sundays– Standout Shadows with Gennifer Bursett
• Mondays – Design Theory with Tiffany Tillman
• Tuesdays – Blogging Secrets with Mary Shaw
• Wednesdays – Maximizing Templates with Renee Fink

When I started digital scrapbooking I loved the creative freedom that this medium provided. Who doesn’t love the “undo” function? But, somewhere along the way I began to get bogged down and found myself frustrated with all the options available to me. Templates to the rescue! When I discovered digital scrapbook templates my whole approach to creating a layout began to change.

Scrapbooking templates provide a basic framework for a layout. Think of them as a blueprint or an outline for your page. You can create a page without making any variations to the blueprint. And, with the marvelous template designer available here at DHD you can create standout pages in a snap. Or you may choose to customize your template to fit your own needs or creative whim. The sky is the limit when it comes to maximizing your templates.

We are going to start with the basics – How to use a layered template.

Step 1:  Select your template. Open it in Photoshop and IMMEDIATELY rename it by using “save as”. Renaming your template at this point will ensure the template is saved in its original form. I am using Tiffany Tillman’s 52 Thursday Templates #9 for this tutorial.

Step 2: Before I actually add my photos to Photoshop I like to “float” my template. You can do this by either grabbing the little tab with the renamed template and dragging it down a bit or you can go to “Window” – “Arrange” – “Float in Window”.

Step 3: Select your photos and drag and drop them into Photoshop. Because you “floated” your window in the step above when you drag and drop your photos into your program they will be added as separate open items rather than adding them as additional layers in your template. You can see that all of the photos are open in individual windows.

One of more difficult adjustments I made when moving to Photoshop from PS Elements was the loss of the project bin at the bottom of the page. Floating your various items is a way to achieve a similar result in Photoshop. Hovering over the blue Photoshop icon on your windows toolbar will bring up thumbnails of your open windows.

Step 4:  Select the layer on your template where you will be adding the photo. Hover over the photo you want to use.  Select it to bring it to a full size window and “drag and drop” it into your template.

By selecting your photo layer in the template first and then adding the photo to the template you add the photo to the layer directly above the active layer in your template. I find this method to be the simplest way to pair my photo with the photo layer in the template. Not all template designers name and label their photos like Tiffany does so it isn’t always easy to find the correct layer. This is especially in template with multiple photos.

Step 5: Move your photo to approximately where you want it. Selecting  “Ctrl – Alt –G” will make the template photo layer into a mask for your photo and only the elements within the mask will be visible.  Once you have created the mask use the transform and resize tools to fit your photo to the template layer.  In my illustration, I rotated the photo and made it slightly smaller. You can play around with the size and rotation of your photo until you are satisfied with the result.

NOTE:  In Photoshop Elements you need to use “Ctrl – G” to create you layer mask. All other steps will remain the same.

Step 6:  Repeat steps 4 and 5 for the other photos on your template. Utilize the elements included on the layout or substitute for with appropriate elements from the kit of your choosing. Either way, the process was quick and relatively painless and the result is a layout created in a snap and ready for your album.

Template from Tiffany Tillman 52 Thursday Templates #9

Paper and Elements from Little Fishies by Audrey Neal

Then I discovered picasa.  I’ve been using it for a couple of years now and I love it!

You can download Picasa FREE here:   http://picasa.google.com

1 – Getting set-up

Once you have picasa installed, open it, and go to Tools→Folder Manager.  There you can select all the folders on your computer you want picasa to scan.  I select my Pictures folder and my Digital Scrapbooking folder.

Now go to Tools→Options and click on the File Types tab.  Select all the types you want Picasa to display.  You should select at minimum:  jpg, png, tiff, and psd.  Click okay.

Next go to View→Folder View.  There you can select how you want your supplies organized.  I prefer Tree View & Sort by Name.

Now you should be able to scroll through and see all your files.  (make sure your folders on the left side are open.)

*NOTE-Picasa does not move or copy your files.  It simply displays them.  If you delete a file in picasa, it will also delete it from your hard drive.  But if you edit a photo in picasa, you can always restore the original copy.

2 – Using Picasa with Photoshop/ Photoshop Elements

I like to minimize my picasa screen just enough that I can see about an inch of my photoshop screen underneath on the left hand side.  (see below)

Select the files you want to use.  (Press Ctrl to select multiple files.) Thumbnails of the selected files will be shown in the project bin on the bottom left of your screen.  Simply drag and drop those thumbnails into photoshop and you’re ready to go!

3 – Tagging Files

Tagging your files can be a time consuming project, but will save so much time in the long run.

Pull up the tagging panel by clicking on the tag icon on the lower right side of your screen.

Select a file(s), type in a keyword/tag, and press enter.  That’s it!

You can also customize quick tags by clicking on that little yellow gear next to the quicktags.

Here is a list of quicktags I use:

• preview (Most previews will already have the word “preview” in the file name so there’s no need to tag them)

• paper  (I also tag specifically: solid, pattern)

• element  (I also tag specifically: flower, stitching, hardware, staple, tape, ribbon, string, tag, button)

• frame

• wordart

• template

• quickpage

• alpha

I don’t tag with colors because I think it’s easier to just scroll through and find the right color, and you can always recolor an item.

4 – Searching for Files

To search for files, simply type in the tag/keyword in the search bar at the top of your screen.  If you press enter only once, it will display the tagged items in their current folder.  If you press enter again, they will be displayed all together, making it easier to browse through lots of files.

*NOTE – searching with a keyword will not only pull up tagged files, but also any file with that word in the file name.

Try this:  Type “preview” in the search bar. Press enter twice.  Scroll through until you find a kit you want to use.  Click on that preview, then delete “preview” from the search bar.  That complete kit should then be displayed.

5 – Other stuff

There are many other features worth playing with in Picasa.  You can edit your photos, make collages, upload files to web albums, or even your blog (blogger).  You can even upload your layouts to Persnickety Prints for printing directly from picasa!  How cool is that!?

If you have any questions, just head over to the Q&A Forum and start a new thread.  I will try to answer as quick as possible.

Next Picasa Segment – Collages

You won’t believe all the things you can do with this!

Lightening Photos: When your photo is underexposed, your falsh didn’t go off, or the flash was simple not enough light.

1.  Open a photo in PSE.

2.  Always make a copy of your original layer before modifying it. Then if you don’t like the way it’s turned out you can discard it and easily start again on another copy of the original. To create a new empty layer, click on the New Layer icon at the top left of the layers palette. A new layer will appear immediately above the layer you currently have active.

2. Go to Enhance> Adjust Lighting> Levels.

3. Your levels box will pop up. Click on the third little eyedropper all the way to the right (set white point)

4. Click on any portion of your photo that is white, or the lightest area you can find in your photo.

5. Your photo will now be brighter than the original–simple as that!

6. If you don’t like the changes to your photo you can always undo them and keep playing around with the lighting until you get the perfect look. Just press reset in the levels pop up box.  You can change the lighting by clicking on different white parts of your photo with the eye dropper.

Warming Photos: Used when the flash or other lighting washed out the colors or you just want to add a little warmth to the photo.

1. Open a photo in PSE.  Duplicate photo by going to Layer> Duplicate Layer> OK this will make a background copy.

2. Click on the “Create Adjustment Layer” icon that looks like a black and white circle next to the New Layer icon at the top of your Layers palette.

3. Choose “Photo Filter”

4. Be sure that you have the “Preview” option enabled by clicking the box, this will allow you to view the intensity as you increase/decrease the warmth.  Change the warmth by dragging the Density slide to the left or right inside the Photo filter pop up box.  You can also select the “warmth tone”  by changing the color box by clicking on it.  Nice colors to try when looking for warmth are yellow, orange, pinks, and reds.

5. The results: A warm sunny day!  I wanted to take the cool tones and bring some warmth into the photo. It was a really warm day, but my camera did not capture that, a few simple steps and it’s perfect!

Just a few reminders:

1. Work with a copy of your photo and be sure to save the edited photo under a different name in case you want to go back to the orginal .

2. Moderation in all things.  The slight, simple changes you make in photo editing are going to have the greatest overall impact and will keep your photos looking natural and “real”.

3. Have fun, the more you play around in Photoshop Elements the more comfortable you’ll feel.  Your photos and layouts will thank you!

I would like to show you three different ways to use scraplifting as a design tool.

First, is the traditional scraplift, you see a layout you LOVE everything about it and you want one just like it for your own, you even go an purchase the exact same kit so you can have a carbon copy, only it’s yours!

I loved the FREE blog hop kit that the designers gave away right here at DHD.  When the decorators posted their pages created from this kit, I just fell in love with Karen Funk’s “Love” layout.

I scraplifted this layout almost element for element.  I did choose different patterned papers from the same kit and colored a few details slightly different.  Another bonus of scraplifting:  you know you are going to adore the finished layout before you begin.  Here is mine.  Can you pick out the subtle differences?

Another way to do a scraplift is simply for composition.  The placement of photos and elements– think of it as using someone’s layout as a sketch for your own.  I loved this classy design by Heather Guenther and chose to scraplift her layout “Passion is contagious”

Here is my scraplift of Heather’s layout:

What I love about scraplifting is that even though you seek out to “copy” a layout of another scrapper’s design, they always seem to come out a little bit different, sometimes a lot differently.

My last method for scraplifitng includes one of my favorite things….shopping!  I love to see the “1 kit, 4 ways” blog articles.  Usually after viewing the article I feel the need to shop and purchase the same kit the designers were working with and see what I can create.  This uses the term scraplifiting very loosly, you can take any detail that inspires you and…CREATE!

Look at this amazing layout by Jenny Bingham titled “Goat Hugger”.  I clicked on this layout in the gallery and read which products she used in her credits and saw Jen Allyson’s Vanity Fair Cerulean collection and I was sold!

Jenny’s layout inspired me to create this layout “Preschool Graduation” using the same kit by Jen Allyson.

Next time you find yourself in a scrapping rut…remember to give scraplifiting a try!  There’s always the monthly scraplifting challenge here at DHD.   Oh and one more tidbit, as a common courtesy you should always give credit to a fellow scrapper  when you scraplift their layout, even if you were only inspired by a small portion.  It’s the right thing to do, a compliment to share, and flattering to most scrappers that someone else was inspired by their work.  Happy scraplifiting!

A few of the kits used to create the layouts in this article:

1. Forget the Drop Shadow. Sure, it’s showy but does it distract from the photos and what the words actually say? Keep it simple. Choose a fun font instead.

2. Make it Big or make it small. This super dynamic duo will bring a lot of interest to your scrapbook layouts.

3. Go For High Contrast. If your background is white, use a darker color for the type.If your background is dark, use a lighter color on your font. If you want others to read what you have to say, high contrast is key!

4. Break Convention. You’re not in school anymore and capitalizing the “J” in July in an artistic layout is no longer something you will get marked down for. Go ahead…all lowercase or all caps are fun!

5. Let Your Letters Fall off Your Page. It’s a graphic way of letting others follow your words until the very edge. Use it wisely though so it doesn’t get out of control! You still want to be able to read the word!

I hope you continue to use type in dynamic ways! Use these little tips for keeping your scrapbook layouts fresh, fun, and readable!

Blame it on being old—I did go to school in the days of big perms and “typing” class. Blame it on being country—I do live at the end of a dirt road with no cell phone service. Blame it on being organic—I do live for sensory experiences and getting down and dirty in the smells, tastes, and touches of life.

I’m not really comfortable with the idea of being a “techie”.

Honestly, I’m more than just a little bit scared to leave my firm and stable desktop for the intangible world of digital downloads. But I’m no shrinking violet! Time to stare the cyberworld right in the face and download a digikit.

Everybody who digi scraps has to have a first download sometime. Here’s mine. And if it’s your first time too, hold my virtual hand, we can do this together.

Let’s go shopping. This is something I’m not new at, especially in the Design House Digital shop. I always check out what’s new first, but then I love to browse by designer. You can also browse by category or price.

But Remember, we’re not window shopping anymore! This is what I’ve picked out… those vintage typewriters are calling to me. So I’ll click on the “add to cart” button. I can keep adding whatever I want, until I’m finished shopping, or out of money.

It’s time to click on the “checkout” button. Checking out is easy. I agreed to the terms of use, confirmed my order, and then paid for my purchase. With a PayPal account I can use a credit card, a checking account, or my PayPal balance. It couldn’t be safer or easier!

Hooray! My purchase was successful and I’m now looking at a page with my download. Since I want to start scrapping right away, I’ll click on the “Download Now” button at the bottom of the page.

Now I need to choose a destination file. This may be the hardest part—deciding how to organize my digital files. Some people organize by store, some by product type, some by designer. Since I’m just getting started, I know I can change my mind once I find a system that works for me. But after talking to my favorite digiscrappers and getting their advice, I’ve decided to start organizing by designer. In “My Documents” I create a “Digital” folder. Inside that folder I create a folder called “Audrey Neal.” Then I click “Save.”

After about a millisecond my download is complete! But remember, these files are still zipped. To use my new kit, I have to unzip it. Your operating system may have file extraction software built in, but if not, you can download Unzip Them All for free. I open my “Unzip Them All” software, click on my “Digital” folder where my zipped file is located, make sure all the zipped files are selected, then click on “Start”.

That’s it! I’m done! And I didn’t even get sucked into some black hole vortex in cyberspace. My bank account is safe, my identity is secure, and my computer isn’t melting into a puddle of sparks and smoke. Here we all sit—my firm and stable desktop, my computer, my new playthings, and me—feeling brave, smart, and just a little more technologically savvy.

No, I’m not ready to set up the airport for your wireless network (I don’t even know what that means). But I can start using these papers and elements right away in my photo editing software. And thanks to all the great tutorials here at Design House Digital, I know just what to do next.

Now, if I could just figure out how to take my cell phone off of speaker.

Here’s a easy 7 minute tutorial if you want to see how to use any of the quick albums here at DHD. This shows you how to drag and drop photos on pre-made quickpages, how to size and crop photos, and shows you some general use instructions for using albums. The video is 7 minutes long and is demonstrated in Photoshop CS3. If you are interested in the products used in this tutorial, the links are here:

The Ultimate Album-Mocha

Distressed Collection-Pastels

I hope this tutorial helps you so that you can make pages quickly when you are in a pinch! Want to watch it bigger? Go here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3VGn8Jlxow

So, I’ve finished my first digital layout…Now what?

I know that’s what you’re thinking, don’t even deny it.

Just like with digital scrapbooking, the possibilities are many, so we’ll touch on a few.

1) Print it yourself. This one is pretty obvious, I know, but there are many benefits to printing at home. Instant gratification, anyone?

2) Have it printed, by page. Obviously, a nice feature of our digital age. You can upload, have it printed, and shipped right to your door. Perfect for those hectic times when we get a bit behind. Or those lazy times, when you’re vegging in your pajamas all day.

3) Have it printed, by the book. That’s right. You can upload all of your pages and have them printed in a single, bound book. How cool is that? Again, delivery to home is a nice benefit.

4) Don’t print it. No one says you HAVE to print your layouts. (I have a friend who has never printed a single one, because she likes the way they look in her monitor!) Display them in a digital frame, post them to your blog, or carry them around on your iPod or cell phone. And don’t forget to share them in our Gallery at Design House Digital!

Of course, this can still raise a lot of questions. Can I really print it at home? Do I need a special (super expensive) printer? What company is the best? What if I drop my iPod in a puddle?

Don’t worry, we’ll address all of these (in more detail) in upcoming posts. For now, just realize that one of the coolest things about digital is that you’re not locked into ANYTHING. You can print twenty of the same layout, without having to buy twenty packs of embellishments. You can print it now, and have it printed into a book later. And then blog it.

Ain’t digital grand?

WHY? That’s the question I keep hearing.

-From all those people who’ve scrapped with me in my work room busting at the seams with paper scrapping supplies.

-From my hubby who, I think is secretly wondering if this means I’ll throw out all those paper scrapping supplies and leave the work room open for his home office so he can actually *gasp* work in it.

-From my own mind, which is trying not to calculate the millions of dollars I’ve spent building up my paper scrapping supplies (okay, I might exaggerate…a little.)

WHY?…why switch to digital scrapbooking?

Well, it’s something new to me and I looooove new. Hence, the endless supply of paper supplies! And while we’re on the topic (sort of), does anyone know of a 12-step program for people who can’t stop buying new packs of Crayolas…I need to join.

It’s compact. I really am running out of storage room for all those paper supplies. Not to mention my albums, which are falling apart from trying to stuff so many multi-dimensional pages inside. All that’s required is a computer, which I have. So I don’t need to add any stacking storage containers, pretty glass jars, or fancy hanging systems…well, at least not for digital supplies.

And, despite its apparent superiority, digital scrapbooking still plays well with others. Some of the best pages I’ve ever seen are hybrid. So, “Sorry Chef-Boy-Ar-Lee, you can’t take over the work room just yet. I’m gonna be working like a mad woman.”

But the biggest selling point for me today is that it’s mess free. Three kids, two dogs, and a preschool in my basement…I really need mess free.

I am in love with the idea of being able to close up a folder nice and neat on my computer when I’m interrupted in the middle of a creative moment by a paper that needs to be signed, or a dog that needs to be walked, or a child who needs to be fed RIGHT NOW!!! Then when I finally get a chance to return, it’s just as I left it…no wandering brads, no flowers sucked down the air vents, no trampled photographs…just that cute little yellow folder on my desktop that says “work in progress”. It’s the only thing I know of that doesn’t whine for attention when it’s being ignored.

I love you little yellow folder. I plan to be seeing a lot more of you.

Technical terms:

.JPG: Digital Elements that do not need transparent areas. Most commonly papers and rectangular cards/elements.

.PNG: Digital Elements that need to have transparent areas are PNG files. This can be stamps, stickers, or even quick pages where the photo slot needs to be clear so you can place your photo behind it.

Canvas: The area of your page in PS/PSE. This is where you build your layout.

DPI: This is the resolution or quality of a file based on the pixel to size ratio. When creating a file, you must look at the both the size and the DPI of your document. For best results, stick with 300 DPI at a size you want to print at. So for a standard 12×12, you want the image size to be 12×12 and the quality to be 300 DPI.

Hybrid: A combination of paper scrapbooking and digital scrapbooking. You can customize and print digital items and then embellish them with physical scrapbooking items. More than just layouts, this can be items like party decorations, holiday gifts, goodie bags etc.

Layers: Just like working with paper, you are able to shift files above and below each other. In PS/PSE you’ll have a layer tool box that will allow you to quickly change the order of your layers.

Element Terms:

Actions & Styles:  You can stylize your photos or elements using actions and styles. Things like making words epoxy or metal looking, or photo editing styles. There is a large variety out there, and they all do different things, so look for examples to see if it’s exactly what you want to buy before buying.

Alphas: Sets of 26 or more characters that are stylized. These are not fonts, and have to be manually arranged just like working with a chipboard or sticker alphabet.

Die Cutter Files: These are digital files that are for use with a digital die cutter like a cricut or a sihlouette. You will need specific software to be able to use these files with your cutting machine.

Elements: Elements is an all-encompassing term to describe any digital scrapbooking file that is used to adorn a layout. This includes stickers, masks, stamps, frames, borders, word art, etc.

Frames: Sometimes frames are transparent, like a rub-on or an overlay. Those types of frames can be used for anything.

Freebies: Kits that you can download for free. These items are made available so that you can get a feel for the quality of kits here at Design House Digital. These items also available so that you can learn the basics of digital scrapbooking with minimal investment.

Full Kits: A full kit is a kit that has lots of coordinating papers, elements, alphabets, and brushes.

Masks: A mask is usually a shaped file that you can use to “mask-off” an area of a photo or paper.

Mini Kits: Mini kits are made up of several coordinating papers and 4-6 elements.

Paper: Papers are 12×12 (3600px) digital files that are usually patterned or subtly textured to look like the paper or cardstock that you would find in a scrapbook store. Just like a scrapbook store, there are thousands of designs and styles to choose from.

Printables: Items like cards, invitations, calenders, and stationary that you can customize and print or just print as is and customize by hand.

Stamps, Brushes, Rub-ons: These are all basically the same thing and exactly what they sound like. Just like “real” stamps you can alter the color and place them anywhere you want on your layout. Usually a brush kit will contain PNG files for all the designs as well as a .ABR file which you can import into Photoshop/PSE  and use as a brush.

Templates: Templates are usually layered files that you can use as a starting place to create a layout. You’ll need photos, digital papers, and digital elements to customize your layout. Most templates will allow you to move things around as much as you like for complete customization.

Quick Pages/Quick Albums: These are pages that are completely pre-designed and flattened. You only need to add your photos and then share or print.