Digital Scrapbooking

[Daena]

Another way to enjoy ephemera is through digital scrapbooking. I appreciate the opportunity to incorporate treasured pieces with favorite photos, yet retain the integrity of the originals - no cutting or gluing involved that might prevent me from using them in real scrapbook designs.

I've included an example of a digital scrapbook page. The three children are my maternal grandfather Leo, his sister Deda, and his brother Paul. His parents are Charles and Rhetta Johnson. They are all gone now. I adored my grandfather and his siblings and even now, years later, feel a tug of longing for them. I never had the opportunity to meet my grandfathers' parents, but they occupy a very special place in my heart through the retelling of many stories.

I used Photoshop to create this scrapbook page, but any photo editing program would work. I have also used PaintShop Pro. I belong to a digital scrapbooking site offering free membership. I scanned my photos and downloaded some of the free "papers" and elements offered on the digital scrapbooking site. There are many such scrapbook sites on the web.

Of course, it's not necessary to join a membership to enjoy this type of scrapbooking. You could just as easily email them to friends or post them on your own blogs to advertise your ephemera.

[Daena]

Kyle and Frank, aw shucks! Thank you both very much for your kind words of encouragement. *Blush, Blush!* I appreciate it!

Kyle, please explain more about the collages you do. I'm still learning Photoshop...it's a slow process because there's so much to take in and I work almost full time so I don't have time to play as much as I would like, but I love Photoshop; it's fascinating and fun. I love learning new applications for it. I'd love to see your collages.

Frank, Wow! I never thought about displaying them in that way. That's a great idea! I have only recently started this hobby, so I haven't created too many yet. With family and work, I have other priorities, but I sneak away whenever I can. I'm working on a new scrapbook featuring a wonderful picture of my grandmother and great-grandmother circa 1930-ish, perched on the front bumper of their car. Dressed in trousers and standing in a "Captain Morgan" pose, my grandmother looks like Bonnie Parker, and my great-grandmother like Ma Barker. It's a funny picture, because it's so out of character for these very proper ladies.

The scrapbook site is www.scrapbookflair.com. A lot of other sites would come up with a Google search, of course, but I recommend scrapbook flair for the friendliness of the people you "meet," the different groups and challenges that you can join, and the generosity of the freebies. Some very talented people post their work there, and I find myself inspired browsing through many of the postings.

[Kyle Boyd-Robertson]

I absolutely love what you are doing here. It is beautiful work. I too use photoshop a great deal while archiving and I use a program on my mac called IDVD and create digital slide shows from old photo's and ephemera much as you do with the scrapbooks. I would love to learn more on the scrap booking end of it though. Do you do any collages? I have been doing some study on collaging with photoshop and the end results can be very rewarding. Please share with us the scrapbook site you are a member of. and post more samples soon, this one is great!