How Far I've Come

When I was in Vegas hanging out with my digital scrapbooking friends we got to talking about how far we've come as digital scrapbookers. Some of us even found some of our first pages. We talked about how we got started, where we bought stuff (or didn't), and what some of our biggest mistakes were.

I thought it might be fun to show you some of my very first pages and explain a little bit of how my digital scrapbooking has changed over the years.

This is the VERY first digital scrapbook page I EVER made! Made in the spring of 2008. I made it with freebies that I found online, no template and photoshop elements 5. Can you believe I didn't use a template? As you can see I liked double pages back then as much as I do now and I almost always added journaling to my pages. You can see my traditional scrapbook side come out in my digital pages.

I *think* these papers and elements might have been from Scrap Girls but I'm not sure.

I just slapped on the standard paper shadow that is included in Photoshop Elements.  As you can see all of my papers, photo and elements all have the same shadow. I think this is probably where I've come the farthest. Shadow work is key!

Oh and not to mention my hair. I've been growing it out for four years now and it doesn't look anything like that photo!

Okay, this page was made about a month after that first page above. This was my first time EVER using a template. A friend had told me about them so I thought I should give them a try. This was a freebie as well...actually everything you see in my first year's pages were freebies that I found online. You can see I even left on some of the element placement stamps from the template!  Ack! I enjoyed using the template because it made placing my photos and paper so much easier but the problem I had with using someone else's template was that I LOVED laying out the page. This is when I started making my own templates.

I *think* this template was from Andrea Gold....but again I'm not quite sure.

This page was scrapped at the end of 2008. You can see my progression in just 8 months. A little better with my shadows and photo treatments. I was still using freebies! I believe I made this template?

This is where I got this kit. Good to know she's still designing.

This page was scrapped at the end of 2009 with one of my first purchased kits! I also had made this template. I think my scrapping skills stayed about the same for a year.

Chillin' out Kit from Vera Lim, Mira Designs & Mag Designs from Shabby Pickle
Circle, Circle, Circle Temps

This is at the end of 2010. I had been selling my templates at Scrap Orchard for almost a year at this point and I believe my digital scrapbooking dramatically improved in that year. I think it was from using more high quality purchased kits BUT the big thing was participating in challenges and asking questions in the forum, seeing how other people scrapped, etc... Up until I joined Scrap Orchard I hadn't "joined" a scrapbooking forum or store. I think it's a good idea to get involved somewhere where people can help and encourage you.

Dear Diary By Tracie Stroud and Vera Lim
Zine Style Templates

And this is the last page I scrapped in 2011. I've grown to LOVE frames and buttons.

Background Starter Temps
Magical Christmas by Jady Day Studio and Flergs
Some frames from My Girl by Jady Day Studio

So you can see how I've come over the last four years.  I still scrap pretty simply, I still use a lot of photos on my pages, I still love double pagers and I still include journaling. The things I've changed over the years: shadowing, BUYING kits, & finding a store to fit into. I think all of these things have helped me become a better scrapper. Especially the store thing. I think being involved in a store and their forum and challenges will really help you become a better digital scrapbooker and I know the perfect store if you need one.   ;)

-Liz