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Post by busy on Jan 25, 2023 21:26:32 GMT
I came to the original Two Peas over 20 years ago as a new paper scrapper. I was pretty into it for quite a while and amassed a ton of supplies and have quite a few completed scrapbooks in my office. Then life got busy (oddly, I scrapped *before* DS was born but quit shortly there after lol) and I quit. I want to jump back in - but in digital scrapping. I don't want more physical stuff - either the SB supplies or the finished pages/albums. What's the digital scrapping tool of choice these days? I'm quite tech savvy, so any software is fine by me but I'm also wanting this to be fun and easy to finish pages, not an endless time suck, so biased a bit toward ease of use over endless options for very granular control. I probably don't want to use Photoshop if I can avoid it, because I like my Lightroom + extra storage subscription and don't want to have to either drop the extra storage or pay more to add PS. BUT if that's definitely the way to go, I can suck it up  It seems like designers are way more decentralized now, with many/most selling directly to end users, rather than via online stores. Who are some of the best digital designers out there now? I'm a fan of pretty clean design and a more editorial or graphic look. Back in the day, I always really liked Cathy Zielske's SB style (and still do), if that helps directionally with the kind of look I'm attracted to. TIA  |
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Post by AussieMeg on Jan 25, 2023 23:45:52 GMT
I have always used Photoshop, so I can't offer any other suggestions. Are you concerned with the amount of space the program takes up, or the amount of space the psd files take up? Would Photoshop Elements be a better option? I pay for 2TB iCloud storage to store all my photos and scrapbook files, to leave space on my MacBook for Photoshop and Lightroom. It's not ideal, but until I can afford a MacBook with 2TB inbuilt storage, it will have to do!  I buy 90% of my products from The Lilypad and The Digital Press. The Lilypad in particular has designers with a very wide range of styles, from simple and clean design, to art journal style. The Lilypad has a SOSN (something old something new) sale every Wednesday, where selected products are half price. Every Friday they release new products that you can purchase for 20% off. And on the first Friday of every month they release their new BYOC (build your own collection). Each designer works with the same colour palette, and you can pick and choose products from multiple designers to make your own collection. You get a certain % off depending on how much you buy. The Digital Press have a Publishers Picks sale every Tuesday-Thursday, where selected products are half price. They also started this year a $2 Steals sale, where you can buy selected designer collaboration kits for $2 every week. If you have a look at each of the designers, and choose ones that suit your style, you can join their mailing list. The usually offer free or discounted products to subscribers. I'll have a bit more of a think about which designers might suit your style and come back to you. I love digital scrapping, and would never go back to paper scrapping! |
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Post by AussieMeg on Jan 26, 2023 0:12:24 GMT
I use a lot of templates for my pages. If I'm not using a sketch, I'm using a template. Designed by Irma sells clean line templates. Anita Designs has some clean templates as well. I have a number of her 'A Story Captured' templates. |
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Post by busy on Jan 26, 2023 0:22:56 GMT
I have always used Photoshop, so I can't offer any other suggestions. Are you concerned with the amount of space the program takes up, or the amount of space the psd files take up? Would Photoshop Elements be a better option? I pay for 2TB iCloud storage to store all my photos and scrapbook files, to leave space on my MacBook for Photoshop and Lightroom. It's not ideal, but until I can afford a MacBook with 2TB inbuilt storage, it will have to do! My current Adobe subscription gives me Lightroom + 2TB of photo storage. I also have 2TB of iCloud, physical backups, and Backblaze, but I like the redundancy of the photo-specific backup in my Adobe sub. I'd have to give that up if I wanted to add PS, or bump up to a much more expensive subscription to have PS, LR, and the expanded storage. I'm not worried about file sizes, just that redundant storage. thanks for the store recs!! I definitely think I'm inclined to use templates. |
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Post by joblackford on Jan 26, 2023 0:27:58 GMT
You might want to check out shannanm.com if you like a clean modern style. She has templates and elements for sale and also has videos showing how she builds pages and books to be printed. She uses Photoshop Elements and blurb. I work in a similar way to her but I use full Photoshop (which is honestly more trouble than it's worth, I want to switch back to PSE at some point). Most of my albums are just photos and a few words with only a couple of extra elements, if any. I like creativebubble.bigcartel.com/products for elements and templates although I don't use a lot of them. Liz Tamanaha/Paislee Press on The Lilypad also has some nice stuff but she's a little too flouncy/handdrawn for my style. Some people use Procreate on the iPad for their digital scrapbooking but I haven't figured out how to make that work for me. |
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Post by joblackford on Jan 26, 2023 0:30:50 GMT
If you can still buy PSElements as an app outright instead of having to do the subscription thing, it's more user friendly and easier to learn than full PS. Much more in line with what the average digi-scrapper needs.
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caangel
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,715 
Location: So Cal
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Post by caangel on Jan 26, 2023 1:17:22 GMT
There's always the option to do app scrapping: PL app or Canva or ?
There's more limitations but sometimes that's a good thing. Depends on what you are looking to do.
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Post by mom on Jan 26, 2023 1:23:54 GMT
If you can still buy PSElements as an app outright instead of having to do the subscription thing, it's more user friendly and easier to learn than full PS. Much more in line with what the average digi-scrapper needs. You can still get it --- I saw it on Amazon. It's definitely the way to go so you dont have a subscription. The Lilly Pad is where I get most of my digital files. Check out Paislee Press -- many people love her stuff. New releases come out every Thursday night. the-lilypad.com/store/home.php |
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Post by teacherlisa on Jan 26, 2023 15:52:50 GMT
AussieMeg is seriously an amazing digital Scrapbooker and wealth of info. I want to be like her when I grow up lol. That said, look into Affinity Photo. It is a photoshop like product w/o a subscription. Kelly Sill has a lot of digital inspiration and education. Ali Edwards has a lot of digital products, 2 classes on hybrid scrapbooking and one about Canva which is another popular program now. I am a digital “baby” so I am still learning (slowly lol)
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Post by scrapcat on Jan 26, 2023 15:58:31 GMT
I use an older version of Photoshop Elements, I believe you can still just buy it outright without subscription.
I’ve been learning & using Canva recently, and really like its ease of use. I can do most of what I need with the free version.
Forever.com also has a digi software called Artisan, that I’ve heard is good, but not cheap. It does have a free trial period.
Consider space for storage. I have most stuff on my Mac and backup to external hard drives.
I still have old CZ and AE templates I use. When Ali E has digital sales, I stock up.
I also like Digital Press (Humble & Create), the Lilypad (Paislee Press), Traci Reed designs, Simple Stories digitals, and Katie Pertiet Designs. Most of these have sales and freebies, you don’t really need a lot to get started.
I have purchased some digitals from Studio Calico and America Crafts when they’ve had good sales.
Most manufacturers have some sort of digital offering, so just have to look around for it.
I am a paper scrapper, but did digital exclusively for a few years & am now getting back into it for a myriad of reasons.
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