Summer time is a great time for play. And I’ve been playing—well, working and playing and learning.
Digital scrapbooking has been calling out to me. I’ve done the Smilebox thing
and I like it, but I wanted to move on to some apps and to maybe
actually designing some scrapbooking pages in Photoshop Elements. (If you
haven’t tried Smilebox, you should. It’s fabulous and it’s a great way to dip your toes in digital scrapbooking.)
I’ve taken some free classes in Photoshop and think I can do it.
But it takes a lot more time to play around with than what I have right now.
Along with writing two books, my daughters are home for the summer and I try to
spend some time with them—along with run them where they need to go. So, I’ve
tabled Photoshop Elements, for now.
In the mean time, I’ve been playing with iPad scrapbooking
apps. There are many of them. I’ve played with two, so far. Both of them were
free for me.
Coolibah has always been free
and was one of the first scrapbooking apps out there. They offer galleries of
digital paper kits and elements that you can use to scrap. Some of them are
free. I purchased one for 99 cents. Digital scrapbooking would appear to be
much cheaper than traditional scrapbooking. I say “would appear” because
these expenses can definitely add up. And if you want to get those pages printed,
I’m sure it’s pricey, though I’ve not gotten that far yet. In any case, this
app is a lot of fun, easy to follow, and free. I highly recommend it.
I lucked out and got the Martha Stewart Craft Studio App for free during a Snapfish promotion. (It’s usually $4.99, worth every penny.)
Oh boy. This app rocks my world. As usual, the folks at Martha Stewart do
nothing half way. First, it’s beautiful. Coolibah, for all its ease in using
and so on, doesn’t really have the aesthetic I’m seeking. (Although let me
repeat, it’s free and the creator probably doesn’t have the Martha Stewart
staff. But it works.) Craft Studio is designed so well—with little drawers than
hold all the materials and paper that you open just with a touch. It also
offers, glitter, stamps, pens, glue. It’s great fun to play with. I have one
criticism: I have yet to figure out how to do a traditional-sized scrapbook page.
All of the papers and pages seem to be greeting card size, although maybe I’m
missing something. Does anybody else out there know?
As you can see, I’m still learning and making my way into
the digital scrapbooking arena. How about you? Ever tried it? Want to?
