I've been viewing a lot of LO's and i just want to say everyone's LO look great. I'm so lost as to how to start and what to do. I have lots of digital photo's of my 1 year old baby girl and i want so bad to make a scrapbook of them that i can print, but everyone keeps telling me that computer gen. scrapbooks are tacky and the ink fades in time and just don't look near as pretty when you print them out. I have a lexmark z 605 printer. Does anyone out there have any suggestions on how i can print my LO where they wont fade? My daughter has grade 3 kidney failure so buying a new printer is not an opption and haven them printed for me is also not an opption due to the exspense. I was also wondering if anyone knows of a cheaper way to make the pages look more hand done then buying fancy stickers and paper, and all the other stuff that you need for scrapbooking? Sorry for taken up so much of everyone's time. I will be so greatful for any answers anyone can give me. These photo's mean the world to me sence my baby was not even supose to make it past birth.
Keep up the great work and hope to be posting some of my own work soon if i can figure out how to do that. Yes i'm also new the computer also.
di_blue_eyes

Sounds like you've been talking to people who don't know much about computer-scrapping! Well my dear...you have come to the right place!
You can achieve beautiful pages...that don't look tacky. And...even if your printer isn't that great or your pages fade...you can ALWAYS reprint them later!
I have an article coming out in the Nov. ezine about how to achieve that "hand-scrapped" look. There are tons of papers and elements in our elements section to replace buying expensive papers and stickers that you can't reuse.
What program are you using? I would highly recommend checking out the tutorials section. There are tutorials for "how to create a basic page" with every program.
Post lots of questions here...that's what we are here for.

I'm so sorry to hear about your daughter. Digital scrapping is going to be a great way to preserver all those precious memories you have of her.

I am a photoshop user that i have been working with for several years but only to crop and lighten my photo's. I sure didn't know i could do all this with it. I just tried to make the vellum env. and found i'm not to good yet with following directions . Thank you for your reply and i'm sure i will have tons of questions as i try to learn scrapbooking with photoshop (and i thought this program was so easy).
di_blue_eyes

Welcome to the site, and welcome to computer scrapping! Sorry to hear of your daughter's illness. I think it is wonderful that you want to capture as much of her life as you can, on paper.

I am a Photoshop user, too, and there is SO MUCH to learn! It can be very overwhelming, but the more you play with it, the more you will learn. Try your local library to see if they have any books on your version of the program - I know my local library has a "Photoshop Elements for Dummies" type book, and other Photoshop books as well.

You will get better at following the directions over time. I just started computer scrapping in January of last year. I knew how to use Photoshop for scanning and to manipulate the colors in my photos. But there is so much more that can be done!

It makes me really and that someone told you scrapping was tacky. Did they feel that way about all scrapping, or just computer scrapping? Either way, it makes me go to hear that. They must not know much about it. They certainly haven't seen the SBB members' pages if they say that!

I print at home. I figure if I get rich, someday I can take all my pages on CD and get them printed. It's only about $2 a page for an 8x10 LO at Costco or Kinko's, and prices are copming down all the time. Maybe soon it will be even more affordable.

One thing to keep in mind as you get started, is that you want to work in 300 dpi. 72 dpi is good for web graphics, but if you want to print them out, start with your canvas at 300 dpi. I learned that the hard way - it was a very time consuming and frustrating lesson to learn!

I print on Kodak Photo Paper, which I get at Costco - 100 sheets for $24.95 - sometimes on sale for $20. I refill my ink cartridges with the $16.99 kit at Costco. You can probably find these items for similar prices on eBay or at your local office supply store.

As long as your print outs are in an album (Don't use those "magnetic sheet" albums, use a scarpbooking album - I find Pioneer 8.5x11" albums on sale at my local AC Moore craft store for $8.99 and I like them alot so far - top loading, post bound) or behind gl*** (if you want to frame some) they will not fade dramatically. Home printing ink has come a long way, technologically speaking, in the past decade.

As far as making realistic scrapbooking style embellishments, check out the Elements section here - there are so many wonderful things you can use again and again for free!

PLEASE, do not let someone's comments stop you from preserving those precious memories of your daughter. You will cherish your pages forever!

__________________
My layouts!

Sorry to hear that someone is dissuading you from using this new media to create some memories for your family. Someone told me the same thing, but you know, everything fades. You name it, it fades. Besides, I do believe the inks are getting more stable. As for the Tacky part, I have a feeling there's some pretty Tacky stuff in every creative endeavor, even in handmade scrapbooks, which I do too, and like as well. Computer scrapping is relatively new, so it must be scary territory for some. Just do what makes you happy. You are on the cutting edge! Hugs to your little sweetie for me.

I just checked out a webpage that really got to me cause i hear so much of it here in my real life and i thought this town was the only place that is so narrow minded. Guess it takes all kinds to rule the world. Any way the addy is www.twopeasinabucket.com/mb....hread_id=374447

I almost joined them to post to this one thread there.......

I just printed my first two lo's and gave copies of them to my mother who is 80 years old. TeraLyn is her 54th grandchild. She has photo's of them all. Infact I gave her copies of the very photo's that i put in the layout. Why am i maken such fuss over cg scrapbooking? Well let me tell you.
My daughter has grade 3 kidney failure. We don't know from one day to the next if we are going to get to hold this little angel god blessed us with again. When i gave my mother the photo's of her she carried on about how cute she is and everything like a grandmother should, and then she put them in a box with all her other photo's. (kinda hurt to know that they got put away like that, but that's how mom is keep everything together and in one place and if the house catches on fire i got all my photo's). Well now today i gave her copies of the cg scrapbook pages i made of my daughter. I expected them to land in the box, but they didn't. She was so happy with them she cried the entire time she put them both in frames, kissed them and hung them on the wall "Now everyone can see them when they walk in the door, and see what a beautiful grand daughter i got" Talk about shock. I also have copies of these same lay outs on my wall. I printed out copies for her other grandma, and also my bother in FL who is so upset that we might lose her before he can get to see her.
Pluss if TeraLyn makes it to adult hood she has copies in her scrapbook. Now i would really hate to think of the cost and the hours it would take to make that many copies by the "real way" of scrapbooking.
I would also like to add this. How many mothers have babys and toddlers who just love to grab anything they can pick up and stick it in there mouth? With cg scrapbooking you don't need to worry about little hands reaching up on the table and grabing pens, glue, your paper, scissors or anyting else, and sticking them in there mouth. Oh sure i know some are sitting out there and saying right now well my baby wont do that. Bet me. the phone rings and you got to go answer it. or the door bell, or another child in the house gets hurt and starts screaming. Are you going to take the time to pick up every thing and put it away? Then go take care of what ever it is? Accidents happen. i just got to say it. I would love to see the baby or toddler that can pick up an entire computer and stick it in there mouth.
So all you who are new to this like i am and even thoughs who are old hat. Use this one on anyone who says cg scrapbooking is tacky or not the real thing or what ever they can think up.
I love the old way of scrapbooking and until i found this site i had never seen a cg page, but from what i've seen here these ladys and yes men are artist who have just found a differant medium to use to create there art. I'm proud to be part of this group, and proud to be a scraper no matter form i choose to use.
di