I’ve had a few of my friends  IM me and ask me tips on how to create my LOs even though I am not a pro (I only started July of 2008).  Anyway, these are a few random tips that I read about or discovered on my own.

• Join different scrap booking forums and sign up for their weekly newsletter.  This may be annoying when you don’t want your inbox to be overflowed by emails but this is an easy way to get awesome freebies.  Click here to see a few links.
• New to digital scrapping?  No biggie!  Check out other pro scrappers work to get more LO ideas and inspiration.  Believe me, once you see their work, your imagination would go haywire!
• Rule of thumb (for me anyway):  Don’t make your LOs too busy unless that’s your aim, of course.  Use your elements wisely.  Sticking a  few random objects on your page, does not make for a creative LO.
• Hold the shift key when you are resizing photos, elements, and papers to preserve their aspect ratio.  You wouldn’t want your photos or elements to look too fat or too thin.  Preserving the aspect ratio is a good tip in creating flattering LOs.
• If you’re new to digital scrapping, start by using sketches/templates as your guide.  By using them, you get a feel of  creating layouts and after a few stints with that, you can then make your own design!  Yes, I started with using templates for my layouts, played around with them, and now, I create my own pages without the aid of a layout.  Read about using templates here.
• Just like photography (and other media), it is best to use the rule of thirds in making your layouts.  Avoid putting your subject (photo) smack dab in the middle of the page.  Experiment by moving them around your page and pick one spot that fits your intended design.  Believe me, picking the perfect spot can do wonders to your work and it makes for an interesting LO, too!
• Creatively use different font styles and sizes in your work.  I use a different font for the first letter in a word for an artistic touch.  Remember, do not be limited to just clicking in the test button.  Use different text layers to manipulate each letter to your specifications.  Click here to check out my Word Art Gallery.
• Know your tools.  Familiarize yourself with the software that you are using.  Some of the things that I discovered were through exploring my software and using trial and error.  All my digital scrap booking work is made using Adobe Photoshop CS2.  But whatever your tools may be, it is imperative that you get to know them by heart.
• Let your creativity loose!  I believe this is the best way to come up with awesome pages!

Well, that’s it for now!  I’ll give you guys more updates when I find and/or discover something new!  Enjoy scrapping!

Tags: How-to's
Categories: Tips and Tricks

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 7th, 2009 at 9:19 am and is filed under Tips and Tricks. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.