Genealogy Wise

The Genealogy & Family History Social Network

Hello everyone! I am so happy to see this group growing. I firmly believe that making something beautiful with your family data is so much better than simply printing it out and placing it in a binder. But many people may be wondering how to start, or what to scrap if you don't have pictures, because when most people think of scrapping, they think of pictures. But there is much more than that that can be scrapped. Things like wills, letters, certificates, etc. One reason to do a digital layout is that you can scrap scans of things you may not want to include otherwise, such as pages from a family bible.

The next thing to decide is how you want to scrap. There is traditional paper scrapping, where you take a page, the items you want to scrap, something to write with, and various things to use as embellishments on the page. Another technique favored by thousands of scrapbookers these days is digital scrapping, where you create a page design on your computer in a graphics program and then print it out for your album. Digital scrapping has a lot of advantages over paper scrapping, but it has some detractors too. First of all, you lose the hands on feeling of paper scrapping, and then the look and feel of the page is entirely different.

If you don't have or know how to use a graphics program, there are other options available to you that I will touch on in another message.

A third technique adopted by many is to mix the two. Design parts of the page, or print out a scan of something and then use the paper techniques to scrap the page the traditional way. With this technique you can print out your embellishments as much as you want without having to buy them for every page you want to use them on, thus saving you money.

Whatever technique you choose is up to you, and they are all perfectly fine. There is not one way that is objectively better than the other. Likewise, whatever size you choose is up to you. The standard size for a scrapbook page is 12 by 12 but other sizes are popular too, such as 8 x 8, and the very printable 8 1/2 x 11.

So if you are new to all this, start thinking of what you may have that you want to start scrapping, decide on a page size, and choose your technique. Congratulations, you've begun your journey.

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Replies to This Discussion

I took a class at Hewlett Packard (free) a while back on Digital Scrapbooking and it was very good. Best of all after you get about halfway through the class they offer a PDF file of the class you can save. This was essential for me as I don't seem to remember all the steps. It was called Getting Started with Digital Scrapbooking. They vary the classes from month to month and so it isn't always available, in fact I don't see it listed right now, but it's worth doing when they have it again.
Kathy
Katherine, did they use any particular program, or was it just the scrapping techniques in whatever program you used?
Hey Katrina...this may sound like a silly question, but with the standard size of a scrapbook being 12x12, is it possible to print out pages big enough to fit? Most printers won't print 12x12 will they?
I would like to know the answer to this question, also.
There are home printers on the market that print 12x12, but they are expensive, so I haven't looked into one. Another thing you can do is check with your local photo shop. Many of them print 12x12. I know that Costco does as well if you have one in the area (also Target and Meijers I bellieve) What you can do, inexpensively, is resize your completed layout down to 8x8, and print it at home.

G'day Katrina & thanks for this site. I have been a scrapper on & off for years, unfortunately due to living in a tropical climate I lost my "loved scrapwork" when the wet season mould took over. I am now interested in digital scrapping & look forward to learning from yourself & others. My knowledge is, well .... zilch, but happy to learn.

BTW, my computer skills are not overly good, but then, you get that. 

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