Week 1 - Drop Anchor: Tell us your digi story

[keepscrappin]

I first discovered digital back in 2007 after my second child was born and I was looking for a way to scrapbook without having to worry about the mess of digging out all the paper stuff with little fingers around. I bought a scrapbook program, I don't remember what it was called, but it had some templates and some papers and elements and then you could add your own if you wanted. I thought it was pretty cool, and I was immediately hooked!

oh yes, it seems a lot of us found digi when we had littles around and didn't want them getting into our paper stuff. Not having to clean up a big mess or drag out a bunch of heavy supplies is what I love most about digi scrappin.

 

[keepscrappin]

It was 2006. I was inundated with old heritage photos from my family, from my husband's family. I began scanning them, but I knew that a photo without a story was just a photo, and likely to be passed over.

I happened upon an article in a magazine in June of that year. It talked about digital scrapbooking, adding photos to stories. I already had an inexpensive photo editing software program, and my first few layouts were with it. But then within a month or so, I had purchased Photoshop CS2??? I was in heaven. And so I continued creating my beloved heritage layouts. To this day, using heritage pics in a layout is still my favorite approach.

I bet your family loves having all those photos/stories preserved for future generations!

 

[keepscrappin]

My first intro to digi was getting a super mini kit in a magazine. I was like a handful of papers and elements. I think they came on a CD. I downloaded but didn't do much. Then when I was pregnant, I wanted to get caught up and wanted to go digital but did not want to use the plain photobooks you get through like Walmart or where ever. I wanted to basically make layouts. At the same time I saw that Michaels had launched a scrapbooking program called MiDesign (short lived, but long enough for me to get caught up and make 4 scrapbooks). It was pretty basic, but I was able to load in my magazine kit I mentioned above. I basically at that time used free things I found around the web. After MiDesign disappeared, I needed to find something else. I downloaded a trial for PSE 11 and taught myself via YouTube tutorials. I was hooked. Then when Nolan was turning 1, I bought my first actual kit at TLP (Nom Nom Nom by Valorie Wibbens) to use for his first birthday party (The Hungry Caterpillar themed).

I was sort of a lurker at TLP for a long while. I truly jumped in with challenges and such when the Project Mouse Faniversary happened. Being a huge Disney fan, I needed all the Project Mouse stuff!

I slowly started doing slow scraps and loving templates. When I first started digi, I thought templates were cheating at making layouts and did not really like them. But boy was I wrong about them! Funny how things change.

When I look back at my first few digi books, I'm like "oh my...." But it just shows progress and learning new things. So I love them to. Most important is the memory was captured.

Love TLP and loving Summer Camp so far!

OMG! I just looked and I still have the magazine kit. I googled to see if I could determine what magazine:
Echoes of Asia" digital scrapbooking kit by Jessica Sprague was originally released as part of a free download promotion offered through Creating Keepsakes magazine (often abbreviated as CK magazine).

oh wow! You've mentioned so many things from my scrappin journey too - freebies, PSE trials, youtube tutorials, Jessica Sprague, wanting/needing project mouse, ck magazine, loving templates and cringing at my first layouts.

 

[keepscrappin]

I discovered digital scrapbooking around 2012 / 2013. I was a single mum struggling to find work so I decided to go to university and completed a Foundation Degree in Photography where I learned how to use Photoshop. I had done paper scrapbooking and purchased some supplies from my local craft store, but I hated paper scrapbooking. I found I was no good cutting and sticking fiddley paper elements, and got frustrated if something ended up getting stuck in wrong place on the LO. So that hobby didn't last long, a bit like when I tried to learn to crochet, knit and sew lol. My eye sight is dreadful so being able to zoom in while digi scrapbooking certainly does help.

I can't remember how I discovered digital scrapbooking, I think it was via a internet search for scrapbooking inspiration. I joined a few digital scrapbooking websites and became hooked, having the freedom to save a LO then come back to it later, move elements etc around the page so easily I loved it.

Over the years I have tried pocket scrapbooking and art journaling. I have discovered my own style and what I love to work with. I love a white background, struggle to work with patterned papers, tend to purchase element kits only and use the same background paper over and over.

And the main thing I love about digital scrapbooking is the amazing communities and friendships it brings

You bring up some great points of why we all love digi scrappin - the flexibility and of course the community/friendships!

 

[keepscrappin]

I was always making albums with memorabilia since the mid-1980's, and then, like many others, I had babies a couple of decades ago. So when I read about this new thing called digital scrapbooking in one of my scrapbooking magazines in 2005, it made so much sense. No supplies to put away to keep them out of my babies' reach! So easy to pause a layout! So much easier to acquire supplies! Command-Z! It's far superior. I sold or gave away my paper scrapping supplies (exchanged some for some albums at my then-local scrapbooking store, which hasn't existed for a decade and a half now!) and have been totally committed to digiscrapping since 2007.

Sounds like you were born to be a scrapper. I gave away a bunch of my paper supplies when we moved across country, but I still have more than I will probably use. I only use them to make hybrid cards and tags, so I could probably give away more, but won't because I just can't seem to part with them. I love having all my paper, punches and diecuts - just incase.

 

[scrapchyck]

I was a paper scrapper when my kids were young and loved picking up scrapbooking magazines at my local Albertsons as a treat for myself. I saw one in late 2004 that mentioned digital scrapbooking and I was like, WHAAAAAAT? I loved computers, so was thrilled to learn about all the things one could do with the right application. I think Anna Aspnes was the featured artist, maybe even wrote the article, and I loved everything right from the start! It took me a while to get the gear together (I tried some rinky-dink platforms and PSE), but eventually met someone (anyone remember HappyRobyn?) who gifted me a copy of Photoshop. I was really blessed to have been part of a store creative team (Scrapbookgraphics) and its sister site (DigitalArtQuirks) early on, for a few years. I still have EVERYTHING I ever downloaded from any store that existed, free or paid for! I love that I have over 20 years of history and can say, "I remember when..." but I did take a break for a few years, too (after divorce, going back to work, single mom'ing it). But I started missing my creative side. Was so happy to see that there was still an online community, and I'm sure glad I landed here at TLP!!! Felt so welcome here!