Digital Scrapbooking

A growing number of people are skipping the paper photos and putting their entire scrapbook together online. We found a Sioux Falls mom who says for her, it's the perfect fit.

Melanie Zeman and her husband have four kids under the age of six, and she says for her, traditional scrapbooking just isn't an option. Melanie says, "Last year, a friend of mine who sells Creative Memories came to me and showed me some of her scrapbooks, and I loved them.

I fell in love with them, and I thought, this I could do." Now, Melanie does almost all of her scrapbooking online, with photos her husband downloads to the computer. She says, "There are options of pages that area already set up for you, that you can just pretty much put a picture in the different frames, or you can custom create a page, if you want to."

If you choose to have more creative input, it's a lot like traditional scrapbooking. You pick your background, borders, anything that would personalize your page. But Melanie says you have even more options than going the old-fashioned way. She says, "I can do the entire layout and decide the background paper is not the one I want, and I can change it."

Jennifer Nelson is a consultant for Creative Memories, one of the scrapbook companies that offers digital programs. Scrapbooking has been a passion of hers for more than 10 years. She says, "I thank my dad for that because he was the editor of 3 local newspapers while we were growing up and he always carried a camera with him and felt that every person had a story to tell."

Jennifer says the majority of her clients still scrapbook the traditional way, but she is seeing it catch on. Jennifer says, "If you have trouble getting those prints processed, digital scrapbooking is for you."

Melanie Zeman says one of the things she likes most about digital scrapbooking, is all she needs is her kitchen table and her computer, and she's good to go. She says, "I can just side down and I can work for 5 minutes, or an hour and if my family needs me, I can get up and it's saved and it's still all where I left it when I get back to it."

Melanie's says if anything happens to her completed scrapbooks, all she has to do is re-order a new one. It's something you can't do with a traditional scrapbook. But Jennifer Nelson likes it that way. She says, "I'll probably enjoy traditional scrapbooking for a long time."

But for busy mom Melanie Zeman, the digital way, is the best way. She says, "It's memories for my family that will last forever." Melanie says, besides digital photos, she's able to scan in older pictures, even some of her son's school work into her scrapbooks.

Taken From KSFY.com

Two Thumbs-Up For Digital Scrapbooking

Well, this is Gina Chen, Family Life editor, busting into Scrapbook Mom's blog again. This time I just have to tell you about my experience with digital scrapbooking.

I tried it for the first time a few weeks back. We had gone to California to visit my in-laws, and we were wracking our brains to come up with a gift to thank them for their hospitality. I decided a scrapbook of the trip would be a great gift, but I knew there was no way I'd have the time to do a traditional scrapbook.

So I decided to go digital. It was great.

I've been scrapbooking the traditional way -- with stickers and paper -- for about 12 years, and I've finished more than 10 albums that way. I love doing it. I love expressing my creativity, reliving our family fun and chatting with my girlfriends.

But going digital had one big draw: speed. In about three hours I had an album done.

I selected my pictures, uploaded them, added captions and headlines. I used Creative Memories free software, so I had follow the pre-determined picture format. (But it's free!)

It was simple to use. Point, click and move a picture. I could change the color of the text. I could put a picture on the cover and a title. It allowed me to do all the basics things one would want, although eventually I'd probably spring for the $59.95 program. That allows you more flexibility and choice in picture placement, size, embellishments.

A few days after I put my digital scrapbook together, I proofed it, tweaked a few things, ordered it. Less than a week later, it had arrived at my in-laws' home. They loved it. I haven't actually seen the finished copy because I sent it directly to them, but my father-in-law's thank you e-mail speaks of it being of high quality.

This doesn't mean I'm ready to turn in my page trimmer and circle cutter. I still much prefer old-fashioned scrapboooking mainly because I love the social aspects of scrapbooking. (In fact, tomorrow I'm spending the day at National Scrapbooking Day) But to do something different, scrap an album quickly or make a gift, you can't beat going digital.

Anyone else have experience with digital scrapping? Please share.

Taken From Syracuse.com