How to Buy & Store Digital Kits

For those of you who are a little overwhelmed by switching from paper scrapbooking to digital and don't know where to begin, then this lesson is for you :) I am going tell you how to get started into the digital world. Where to buy your kits, how to download, unzip, store and use them.

First of all there are MANY stores that sell digital scrapbook kits or elements. On our home page there is a long list of all the stores we buy from. So, just click on some of the links and see what you like. I personally am a huge fan of http://www.sweetshoppedesigns.com/ and that is where I get most of my kits from.

Most stores have their item broken down by Kits, Paper, Elements, Alpha....After you have found some kits or elements you want you simply add them to your shopping cart and then when you are all done hit "buy now" and it will either ask you for your credit card or lots of places take Paypal. After you have finished paying, it will automatically take you back to their site and give you a recipet with all your download links. There are typically 3 download links when you buy a kit. One for alpha, elements, and paper. Just click on a link and your computer will then ask you where you want to save it. All your downloads will be in zipped files, meaning you will have to unzip them later.

I save all my files to my external harddrive that I have just for my scrapbooking. I highly recommend it once you start getting lots of kits. But, you can just create a new folder on your computer and then just save them to that specific folder, like C:/pictures/scrapbook kits. Then inside that folder I keep all my kits in their own seperate sub-folders. like C:/pictures/scrapbook kits/sweetbaby kit. I have so many kits now that I have seperated my kits into different catergories like: Digi kits I, II, and III. And I have a seperate folder for all the elements I have purchased no in kits. You could organize them by color, season, holiday, or boy & girl if you wanted to. It is really nice to have everything organized into folders and subfolder sp you can find exacatly what you want quickly. Hopefully you can see what I mean from these screen shots.

Now I have gone into my "Digi Kits I" folder and here are all my kits.

Ok, enough with the organizing :) Next step....Once the files are downloaded to your computer, then go into the folder you have saved them to. Right click on the file and select "extract here" It will then unzip the file in that location. Do that for all your zipped files. Now they automatically in folders seperated by alpha, elements, and paper and are ready to use!

To use a element in your kit just simply double click on it. If it is your first time opening that type of a file it will ask you what program you want to use to open it. Select Adobe photoshop (or whatever program you use) from the list. Make sure that at the bottom of that menu the little box is checked that says "always use this program for this type of file". That way now when you double click on anything to open it, it will automatically just open it in photoshop.

Now you are ready to start scrapbooking. If you need any help read my step-by-step lesson. I hope that this was helpful and makes it a little bit easier to get started into digital shopping.

The Step-by-Step

I know a lot of you are new to Digital scrapbooking. So , in this lesson I am going to be giving you a step by-step on how to start Digital Scrapbooking . It is really easy and super fast once you get the hang of it. Don’t get over whelmed….I am going to start with just the basic stuff, and then when you get really comfortable with all that, then you should check out some advanced lessons that I will be posting in the future.

You will get better at it the more you do it and the more you experiment with things. Don’t be afraid to just try things out and see what happens…there is always the undo key. I know that once you start you will become addicted because it is, faster, cheaper, less messy and so much fun! Please ask me lots of questions! If you can't see the image very well then just click on it, that will make it bigger. Ok, so here we go:

The first thing I do is open up all the pictures I want to use, and find the kit or papers I want to use. I then open the paper I want to use as my base paper.

Then, simply grab your picture with your "move" arrow tool and drag it onto the paper. Notice my kids picture is now called "Layer 1" in the layers panel, which is located in the bottom right corner. Layers is one of the most important things to understand in Photoshop. You always want to pay attention to what layer you are working on, it will tell you the layer you are on my highlighting it in blue.

Now I want to resize my picture so it is not so large. I make sure I am on "layer 1" (if not I can simply click on it) I hit “ctrl-t” and it will let me drag the picture to any size I want. I always hold down the shift key while doing resizing because it will keep your proportions the same so that things don’t get skewed. You can resize ANY object in Photoshop by using "ctrl-t"

When you have resized it the way you want, then click your "mover" arrow tool to apply it. You can also use "ctrl-t" to free hand tilt or rotate an object. You will use "ctrl-t" ALOT in digi scrapbooking.

Now, I drag on the other paper I want to use on this page. Notice that it went on top though. It is now the top layer on the bottom right (selected in blue) in the "layers" menu.

To place the new paper layer underneath the picture, just grab that layer in the "layers" menu and drag it down underneath the other layers until it is in the spot you want. Notice now it is underneath my picture layer. Make sure you do this from the layers menu though...not on your actual page.

I want the paper smaller, so again I "crtl-t" it and shrink it to the size I want and then move it where I want it.

I want to dupliacte that paper so that I can put in on both sides of the picture. I could "crtl-t" it and just stretch it to the edge but, I don't want to skew the cute pattern on the paper so that it is all stretched weird. So, I duplicate it by hitting "ctrl-j" or you can right click on that layer in the "layers" menu and select "duplicate layer"

It gives you the option to name the layer if you want to. I called this one "chick & egg duplicate" This is nice if you want to be able to look at your layers menu and know what each individual layer is and makes them easier to move around. You can also double click on each of the layers name to change it to whatever you want. I usually don't rename all my layers unless, it is one I am going to use a lot or need to find easily later. I will show you an EASY way to be able to figure out what layer you are on in just a minute...that way you don't really have to rename all your layers.

Ok, so now I have a duplicate of that layer and I move it and resize it to match the other one.

Now, I decided that I want green paper in the background as kind of a border. Which, I could have done from the beginning and chosen that as my base paper but, I can still add it now. I just open the paper and then drag it onto my page. Make sure that the green paper layer is positioned behind the other papers, by dragging it down in the layers menu. Then "ctrl-t" the other papers and make them smaller so you can see the new green paper behind them. It is that simple.

Ok, here is the trick how you can always find out what the name of the layer is for each item on your page. This is so helpful when you have LOTS of layers on your page and you are wanting to work on a certain element but dont know what the name of it is in the "layers" menu. So, anytime you want to know what the name of a layer is just right click on that object on your page, it will bring up a side mini menu of all the layers you are clicking on. Then from right there you can select what layer you want without even having to go to the "Layers" menu on the bottom right. Just right click and select...such a NICE feature to have!

Lets go ahead and save right now. NEVER just hit save. It will save over your paper that you started as your base, then you will never be able to use that paper again. So, hit save as and name it something...I name this Easter 2008. I save it to my "finished scrapbook pages" folder. I will give you some more tips on file organization a little later. Make sure that you save this as a "photoshop" file format for right now. That way you can open it anytime and it will still have each of your layers seperate and in tact and you can still edit them. If you save it as a JPEG it flattens your page and makes it all one layer, so make sure to save it as a photoshop file for now.

Ok, back to the page! Lets add a drop shadow to these elements so far. I like to add a drop shadow to all the items on my page because I think it gives it more of a 3D real kind of look. So, select the layer in the "layers" menu and right click on it. When it pulls up the mini menu select "Blending Options"

I spend a lot of time in this menu. You should take a little time and just experiment in here and see what everything does, there are some pretty cool things you can do in here. But, to add just a drop shadow for now, click the "drop shadow"box. I usually like to turn down the opacity just a little so it is not too harsh of a shadow. You can change change the opacity with the sliders in the middle till you get the desired look. Photoshop is nice because, as you are moving things around you can see right on your page what it is looking like. So, it makes it really easy to achieve the effect you want. Now click ok and it will apply those edits.

I am going to drap and drop some more elements onto my page and resize and position them the way I want.

I just want to point out right here, that I am not opening all my papers and elements through the Photoshop file>open option. I think that it take MUCH longer that way. I always open the folder that has all my elements and papers in it through "My Computer". That way I can just double click on them and they open right in photoshop. Just a tip that I use :)

One more quick tip....I think, just like in paper scrapbooking, it is important to be organized so you can find what you want easily and quickly. I have all my scrapbook kits on an external hard drive and have picture previews set on each of the file folders. I have most of my kits memorized but, it is really helpful when you are looking for a particular element or a certain color. You could also sort your kits by, Season, holidays, Colors, or Girl & Boy.

Back to the page again. Here, I dragged on this paper fastener and I want to put it on an angle a little bit, instead of straight up and down...I think that it looks more real tilted. So, all you do it "crtl-t" and free hand tilt it a little. Then hit apply. EASY!


Here I have added some journaling strips that I really like but, I don't like the brown color. So, I am going to change their color while still maintaing the nice texture. Go to the "Image" menu (horizontally at the top of the page) click adjustments>hue & saturation.


Now, I can drag the sliders until I create the color that I like. Click ok to apply.

I did the same thing for the bow in this picture!

Sometimes, you might have an element you want to use but, you dont want the entire thing. Just use the crop tool, it is located on the long vetical menu at the left hand side and looks like a square.

You drag your mouse around the part you want and then hit "enter". If it ends up not being the way you wanted, you can hit "ctrl-alt-z". That is the shortcut for undo. If you can't remember the shortcut you can also find it in "Edit>stepback. I put a list of shortcuts at the top of this blog. If you are having a hard time rememebering them, you could just print that up and tape it somewhere by your computer. Soon, you will have them memorized and won't even have to think about it! Cropping is also great for using on pictures to make them the size you want. I will explain the the more advanced lessons on how to change the image size to a more presise dimension. But, for right now a free hand crop should be all you need.

So, now I dragged the scalloped edge onto my page and I want it to be not so wide. Again, I could just "ctrl-t" it and drag it back to the stripped paper edge but, I don't want to skew it or make it any smaller. So, I am just going to use my "Erase" tool. It is located on the vertical left side menu...looks like a little eraser.

A nice shotcut if you want to change a brush size, ( in this case the eraser size) is to just right click and it pulls up the mini menu and you can change the size of the brush and the softness or harness of the edge. You can use this shortcut for anything that uses a brush type tool. Such as, bandaid, clone, paint, blur, dodge, burn....LOTS of tools. So, here I used the eraser and erased the part of the scallop I didn't want and now it comes right to the edge of the paper.

I am now going to add a little border around my picture so that it looks like it is mounted on a piece of card stock or something. To do that I right click on the layer that is my picture and then select "Blending Options"

This time select "stroke" at the very bottom. The default color is red but, you can change it to any color you want. Just click inside the red box.

It will then bring up the color menu. You can pick whatever color you want OR you can move your mouse over any element on your page (it will show a little eyedropper) and click on it. It will then make it that exact color. For this border I click on the "Happy" lettering. Now it matches perfectly!

You can also change the size of the border in that menu. Just move the slider until it is the size you want. Notice, that with the "stroke" border is that the edges are rounded and you cannot add a drop shadow to it. If you want a nice square border that you can add a drop shadow to, I will show you that next.

Now, I am going o make a square border, just to add more depth to my page. Click on the "shapes" tool in the vertical menu on the left side. It looks like a square, circle, or line...depending on what the last shape is that you used. Select the square and drag your mouse on your page to the size and shape you want. If it doesn't turn out right then just hit "esc". Remember, if you cannot get it perfectly even on all sides you can always zoom in (that is the magnifying tool located on the vertical menu) and "Ctrl't" till it is perfect. Notice that the default color of the shape is grey. But, of course you can change that....

To change the color of my box, you go into the "blending Options" menu again and select "color Overlay"the defualt color is red, again, you can change it by clicking inside the red box and then clicking somewhere on your page to match the color. For this I chose to match it to the bow.

So, here is my page so far. Make sure and save peridically throughtout. I am now going to be adding some little details and then the text for the jouraling.

I added a little journaling circle I found, and I want to turn it into a tag and then attach to the ribbon with a safety pin. I'm going to show you how to make it look real, because right now that doesn't look very good. Make sure when you are doing detail stuff like this you zoom way in....lots easier! To zoom right were you want you take your zoom tool and drag with your mouse around the area you want to zoom in on.

I am going to use the "eraser" tool again and just erase a little part of the safety pin. Now it looks like it is sticking in the ribbon. Next, I need to work on that circle and make it into a tag. This might be getting a little into advanced stuff but, I want to show you all the possibilities there are!

Right here I want to tell you about the little eye that is next to the layer in the "Layers" menu. If you click on that eye then it makes that layer invisible. Click the eye to make it so you can see it again. This comes in handy when you are trying to decide on a couple differnt options of something and want to see what looks best. Instead of deleting or moving it you can just hide it.

Ok, back to the tag. Now, with my eraser tool I have added a little hole at the top for the safety pin to go through. Then, I did some selective erasing on the safety pin to make it look like it is going through the tag. Tada...now it looks real! I think it is the little stuff like this that makes a page GREAT and is so much fun to do!

Now, I want to add a date to my tag. Just select the "text" tool in the left hand side vertical menu. It looks like a "T" drag it to where you want text and make it the size you want. Then start typing. Just make sure that your text layer is the very top layer or you wont see anything.

Notice, along the very top of the page below the menu, a text menu appears. It has a little color square, font size, and font style. You can change the format of your font from there. It doesn't have options like "bold" but, if you want the text to be thicker you can always add a "stroke" to it. There are tons of things you can do to your font from the "blending options" menu. try adding a drop shadow or emboss. To my text, I changed the color, added a drop shadow and a stroke the same color as the text.

I am almost done now. I just added the rest of my journaling to my blue strips along the side. I then made sure everything my page has a drop shadow and looks the way I want. Now, I am finished! This page would probably have only taken me about 10-15 minutes. It would have taken FOREVER and been a huge mess had I done it with paper. Now, make sure you save the final page again in photoshop format.

Now that you have saved it as a photoshop file, click "save as" and save it as a JPEG. You can change the format in teh drop down menu. JPEG is the format where it flattens your page and is ready for printing. I keep all my photoshop pages in one folder and all my JPEGS in another folder inside that one. Even though the the page is finished, it is still nice to have the photshop file in case you need to make any changes later.

I hope that I have been able to explain this well enough. I tried to really break it down. PLEASE, if you have ANY questions about anything please post a comment. I am excited to see all your layouts!