I've been paper scrapbooking awhile and thought I might like to get into computer generated scrapbooks instead.....It all seems to be a little overwhelming! I don't even know where to begin. Can anyone direct me where to go for step by step "how to's"? I'm just trying to even get an explanation of how it works. Anyone else seem lost as me?
Thanks for letting me pout!

Raises Hand - yes I am as lost as you are Hee hee

ok count me in

Glad I'm not the only one. Now what do we do? lol Calling all professionals... give us a clue where to start. Any why is there never anyone in the chatroom?

I'm fairly new too and it IS overwhelming, especially when you look at all the cool stuff that is posted on this site. When I first looked at the gallery, my first thought was that my ugly layouts would stand out like a sore thumb (and maybe they do and no one has had the guts to tell me, ha ha ha).

All I can advise is baby steps (remember "What About Bob?")

You haven't mentioned which computer programs you are using, but I started with digital image pro, which seemed to be the easiest and most user friendly. Then I just jumped into the tutorials and scraplifted, scraplifted, scraplifted (copied). Then when I felt confident, I jumped into Paintshop pro 8, which you can do more. Now I'm starting Photoshop, which has been sitting on my computer for the last 2 years unused because I was scared of it. I'm doing things that I never imagined I could do and I just follow the wonderful tutorials on this site and on others I found just by doing a dogpile search on tutorials.

One thing that has helped me a lot is jumping into the speed scraps. At these times, there are tons of people in the chat room and when I had questions, they were more than happy to help me (and believe me, I need it!!!). Also, they provide you with some kind of inspiration and you just have to find a picture and go with it. I use a lot of the freebies to help me too.

Sorry this is so long. I just wanted you to know that I've been there...and probably still am in a lot of ways, but I've come a long way. It took me 3 months of lurking before I got the courage to post a layout and no one told me it sucked (even if it did!). Now I'm looking for some helpful comments so I can improve.

I'm also overwhelmed by the amount of pictures I have, but I just tell myself I don't have to scrap everything and I just pick the ones that give me ideas. It's funny, I started off scrapping my Hawaii vacation, thinking I would just stick with that for awhile, but now I'm pulling pictures out from other events as I get inspired from the gallery (I spend a LOT of time looking at others stuff).

Good luck and please pm me if I can help in any way!

Deb

P.S. I didn't really answer your questions directly, but I started with the tutorials about creating a basic layout and went from there.

Deb gave you all some great advice and yes, we've all been there to.

Make sure to check the tutorials. They cover all the major programs. If you run into problems or have a question, just come into the forums and ask for help. Just make sure to say which program your using! I don't try to answer PSP questions because I have never used the problem. But I love to take a crack at PSE questions. Plus you'll receive much more specific directions if the other users know what program you're using.

Have fun and just take it one LO at a time!

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Stacy
My Gallery

avatar photo by Marja Flick-Buijs downloaded at sxc.hu

glad to have you around! if you have any photoshop ???'s just message me! I'd be glad to help!

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Laura Vanderbeek

http://www.vanderbeekimages.com
http://www.skrapbookdesign.com

We have an SBB Newbie Orientation the first Monday of every month (so in abt 2 weeks) which I strongly recommend you attend to get used to the site. Once you get used to the site, you can take advantage of the tutorials and tips we offer.

You can access the Chat Room, where it is held, by clicking on the Chat link right under the SBB Banner at the top of the page. You must have Flash Player installed in order to get the chat system working, and you can dl that from the button Amy & Kristie have placed on that page if it is not already on your computer.

I think some 'easy' decisions you can make are what size you want to do [8x8, 8x10, 8.5x11, and 12x12 (though has own issues with printing) are all popular], what kind of layout you want to do [graphic-looking or paper layout-looking], and what photos you want to scrap first. This will make you feel like you have accomplished something and prompt you into further exploring your program and how it works.

Good luck! Digital scrapping is an amazing hobby and one I would be lost without.

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><> LeeAndra <><
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