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This week I learnt to digiscrap with Canva

bellbird

bellbird

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I wanted to see how it measured up with my version of Photoshop CS6 and I put the whole process, documenting my trials and errors, tips and all on the blog today so you could learn from my mistakes if you want to give it a go as well or if like me, you thought you had to use their 'quick pages' to scrap. It's here if you want to grab a cuppa and see me scrap a page from scratch with one of LynnG's kits and just a free account on Canva
https://the-lilypad.com/step-by-step-intro-to-digital-scrapbooking-with-canva/
 
What a great post! I love that you did all the screenshots and explained the things normal digi-scrappers would automatically look for when creating a layout! I also LOL'd at your kids' responses when asked about Canva. :giggle
 
Smwhite said:
Justine... thanks for the great tutorial. That is truly a labor of love! I'm looking forward to trying Canva out!
Click to expand...
Thanks I have another one coming about my (frustrating) experience with templates in Canva but I'm doing a bit more research before posting in case my current conclusion has some flaws & there's something I'm missing. If you make a page with it, I'd love to see. Pop it in this thread and similarly if U have questions ask here. I can't guarantee I'll know the answer though but will try to figure it out
 
Great Post! I have used Canva's free version. You can download then resized the image on your computer to a higher resolution. As a work around I used the torn paper frames in Canva and lowered the opacity as a replacement to a mask on a template. Not ideal so would love to know if anyone has figured that out. Love the Duotone for changing the color of an element or paper.
Here are the first few layouts I created using Canva...
10.30.23 New Zealand by Laurie Zyskind, on Flickr
11.07.23 NZ 2 by Laurie Zyskind, on Flickr
 
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LuLuLor said:
Great Post! I have used Canva's free version. You can download then resized the image on your computer to a higher resolution. As a work around I used the torn paper frames in Canva and lowered the opacity as a replacement to a mask on a template. Not ideal so would love to know if anyone has figured that out. Love the Duotone for changing the color of an element or paper.
Here are the first few layouts I created using Canva...
10.30.23 New Zealand by Laurie Zyskind, on Flickr
11.07.23 NZ 2 by Laurie Zyskind, on Flickr
Click to expand...
OMG Yay!!! These are gorgeous & You get bonus points from me for the Kea but
I have so many questions!!!! Can I ask are these our kind of templates? Like psd's you open or did you make them yourself or recreate a template (like if you were using a sketch?)
If it's a template , Did you drag and drop the photos straight into the circle spots in the bottom one like a clipping mask, if this is a LynnG kind of template? Or did you have to just crop your photos in behind the 'circle cutout frames' strip layer? I saw there are 'apps' and wasn't sure if there were a few specific ones required for 'clipping masks' like I'm used to in Photoshop

No rush but appreciate any answers! And
How do you find navigating the Layers/Position palette without labels or is there a way to label them? Things like a staple or messy thread I just can't see to 'grab' & move easily, if that makes sense. In PS I can go off the label or make the thumbnail bigger to actually see the staple but I can't find a way to do that in Canva
TIA!
 
Very interesting! I enjoyed seeing your Canva "journey." I've wondered whether there were viable PS alternatives but not sure I have the patience to learn a whole new program and having to upload everything is probably a deal breaker for me. I don't use the online PS either for the same reason.
 
Glad to hear there is another option to PS, especially if it is free..but for me, I haven't the time or energy to learn a new program but I sure applaud you for diving in and learning this!
 
What great timing that this thread came up again! Last week, I was asked to make an About Me page for my new school where I'll be starting in August and it was suggested that I use Canva. I vaguely thought I'd heard mention of it before, but I couldn't remember where and had no clue what it was. I emailed back, asking about it and still haven't received an answer. So reading this blog post and thread have been very helpful in making me pretty sure that I can just use my Photoshop I'm used to. Thanks everyone! :love
 
That's so great!! I've been itching to try it out and just haven't had the time. Love it!
 
Those Kea are pretty clever...

The layout with the circles is one of Lynn Grieveson’s, See This No 2. Canva does take PSD files. You have to upload ivs drag and drop. Go to Uploads, Upload files. Note: It will show up under Projects. I created a folder for Templates, etc. You can drag and drop your template onto your canvas from there. It should have layers. I like the image previews under position so I’ve never labeled them. Maybe your thumbnails are smaller? Try playing around with your grid view? You could replace the circles with Canva frames (have the landscape scenery on them) but since the pictures are below the frame it’s not needed. No clipping masks that I know of which is one of the biggest downfalls. However, if you go to Duotone (which is to the right of Shadows) you can pull the photo colors into your elements, papers, etc. A big plus. Have you tried this yet? Just open Duotone, next to Shadows under Edit. Click on Custom. Click on the little circles next to Highlights & Shadows. Use the color picker to select a color in your photos. I’ve just created another page called Christchurch in Canva for Lynn Grieveson’s June 2025 - Nature Challenge. Hope any of this helps. I’ve just recently started using Canva to see if it's a good solution for a family member who doesn’t have PS. Canva has limitations but a good solution for someone who wants to jump into digi scrapbooking to see if they like it. So far, it's a real hit.
 
LuLuLor said:
Those Kea are pretty clever...

The layout with the circles is one of Lynn Grieveson’s, See This No 2. Canva does take PSD files. You have to upload ivs drag and drop. Go to Uploads, Upload files. Note: It will show up under Projects. I created a folder for Templates, etc. You can drag and drop your template onto your canvas from there. It should have layers. I like the image previews under position so I’ve never labeled them. Maybe your thumbnails are smaller? Try playing around with your grid view? You could replace the circles with Canva frames (have the landscape scenery on them) but since the pictures are below the frame it’s not needed. No clipping masks that I know of which is one of the biggest downfalls. However, if you go to Duotone (which is to the right of Shadows) you can pull the photo colors into your elements, papers, etc. A big plus. Have you tried this yet? Just open Duotone, next to Shadows under Edit. Click on Custom. Click on the little circles next to Highlights & Shadows. Use the color picker to select a color in your photos. I’ve just created another page called Christchurch in Canva for Lynn Grieveson’s June 2025 - Nature Challenge. Hope any of this helps. I’ve just recently started using Canva to see if it's a good solution for a family member who doesn’t have PS. Canva has limitations but a good solution for someone who wants to jump into digi scrapbooking to see if they like it. So far, it's a real hit.
Click to expand...
It took a lot of googling and playing but i figured some of this out. Haven't tried Duotone (yet) Most (99%) of my template stash is TIFF files so I'm struggling a bit with reconciling that i won't be going back to old templates if i continue with Canva or having to recreate them as far as I can tell. I had some errors with psd's from old challenges as well but I think I figured that bit out.
Thanks for the extra info, still learning, just need more hours in the day!
 
michelepixels said:
What great timing that this thread came up again! Last week, I was asked to make an About Me page for my new school where I'll be starting in August and it was suggested that I use Canva. I vaguely thought I'd heard mention of it before, but I couldn't remember where and had no clue what it was. I emailed back, asking about it and still haven't received an answer. So reading this blog post and thread have been very helpful in making me pretty sure that I can just use my Photoshop I'm used to. Thanks everyone! :love
Click to expand...
I would say depending on the style of page you are requried to make, you could do it in Canva but it would take more time to learn it than just using the program you are already used to and have access to. If they just want the flattened file at the end and don't care how you actually create it, I would just stick with what you know and get it done unless you're up for learning something new or really require a change in program which is where I found myself with laptop issues recently.
 
LuLuLor said:
Those Kea are pretty clever...

The layout with the circles is one of Lynn Grieveson’s, See This No 2. Canva does take PSD files. You have to upload ivs drag and drop. Go to Uploads, Upload files. Note: It will show up under Projects. I created a folder for Templates, etc. You can drag and drop your template onto your canvas from there. It should have layers. I like the image previews under position so I’ve never labeled them. Maybe your thumbnails are smaller? Try playing around with your grid view? You could replace the circles with Canva frames (have the landscape scenery on them) but since the pictures are below the frame it’s not needed. No clipping masks that I know of which is one of the biggest downfalls. However, if you go to Duotone (which is to the right of Shadows) you can pull the photo colors into your elements, papers, etc. A big plus. Have you tried this yet? Just open Duotone, next to Shadows under Edit. Click on Custom. Click on the little circles next to Highlights & Shadows. Use the color picker to select a color in your photos. I’ve just created another page called Christchurch in Canva for Lynn Grieveson’s June 2025 - Nature Challenge. Hope any of this helps. I’ve just recently started using Canva to see if it's a good solution for a family member who doesn’t have PS. Canva has limitations but a good solution for someone who wants to jump into digi scrapbooking to see if they like it. So far, it's a real hit.
Click to expand...

bellbird said:
It took a lot of googling and playing but i figured some of this out. Haven't tried Duotone (yet) Most (99%) of my template stash is TIFF files so I'm struggling a bit with reconciling that i won't be going back to old templates if i continue with Canva or having to recreate them as far as I can tell. I had some errors with psd's from old challenges as well but I think I figured that bit out.
Thanks for the extra info, still learning, just need more hours in the day!
Click to expand...

Is it bad that this made me a little happy? I've stubbornly downloaded both .tiff and .psd versions of my templates since the dawn of time because I thought maybe someday I'd need to switch formats. :giggle
 
Karen said:
Is it bad that this made me a little happy? I've stubbornly downloaded both .tiff and .psd versions of my templates since the dawn of time because I thought maybe someday I'd need to switch formats. :giggle
Click to expand...
Yes it's bad, I wouldn't be surprised if U said you had a doomsday bunker full of canned goods now too though, y'know just in case ( I hope you can hear my tone thru the screen by now) :bk
 
bellbird said:
Yes it's bad, I wouldn't be surprised if U said you had a doomsday bunker full of canned goods now too though, y'know just in case ( I hope you can hear my tone thru the screen by now) :bk
Click to expand...

Hee hee hee... no bunker of canned goods for me. I only hoard invisible things that I can hide on my hard drive. Lol.
 
Call me crazy but I also have been playing with Canva at work bc I figured it’s something easier on IPad rather than laptop but I’ve also wondered about things we drag and drop and AI if we use it, does is stay for others to use? I don’t have a huge amount of understanding on that data part so I didn’t want to insert all new kits if that’s the case. If it doesn’t then I could definitely get layouts done bc I’ve gone from part time to full time at work and it’s so hard to scrap now! :thumbsdowns
 
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