I started by sketching out a design for my card with simple pencil and paper.  Once I decided roughly what I wanted, I went onto the computer and drew the hills and printed on watercolor paper, then drew the sunflower and clouds and printed them on cardstock. I actually wanted to print everything out in color, but I ran out of yellow ink…so I had to improvise. The hills were actually watercolored in but the clouds already had blue when printed. I also added some sparkle via heat embossing to the clouds. The rest is regular cardstock, stamping and embellishing.  Although I also spent a whole lot of time cutting a slice of cork and gluing the string to it! I could have added some faux stitching with a pen, but this time around added the paper piercing for the border to add a different look.  I think it’s pretty cool to be able to create a card from scratch and that enables you to really match up the colors and elements. I love digital cardmaking, whether all digital or hybrid, because it gives me to the power to create what I need.  A digital stamp image, a background or some embellishments maybe?  I can print things out in color to match perfectly as well…the possiblities are endless.  I hope you will try hybrid card making as well.  If you want to use my images, feel free to download below…although that sunflower is pretty tedious to cut out, I must admit!

Yarn Love Digital Stamp Set

This set includes 3 separate images of yarn love, as shown below.

$1.00 USD

Heart Buttons Digital Stamp Set

This set includes 2 different button digital stamp images as shown below.

$1.00 USD

Whimsical Happy Animals Digital Stamp Set

This set includes 3 different animals – happy cat, happy monkey and happy dog.

$2.50 USD

Winter Weather Girls Digital Stamp Set

This set includes 5 different girls in a winter dress, rainy day coat, peacoat, skating attire and all bundled up!

$4.00 USD

5 digital stamp image in both JPG and PNG formats

Five Owlies Digital Stamp Set

I created these cute illustrations, a set of different owl personalities!  There’s wiseguy, big mister, masked, blocky and chubby.

$3.50 USD

5 digital stamp image in both JPG and PNG formats

Recently, I started getting into digital scrapbooking and realized that I have been doing it all along, just entirely outside the industry. I am a collector of ephemera and usually create albums to celebrate a specific experience, preserve photos and create keepsakes for family.  Often I’m in such a rush to finish albums because I don’t want to forget the details and want my thoughts to be as fresh as possible. For example, I have 5 siblings…so a family event means I have to make 7 copies of an album so my parents and all of us kids can each have a copy.  It’s a lot of work! So, I switched to designing online and printing books (or scrapbooks) of photos to ease the workload and also because digital photography does lend itself to working digitally when I switched entirely off of regular film (wow, that was a long time ago).

However, I was never in tune with the scrapbooking community out there.  I didn’t know of any companies or designers specifically, it was more just buying some things that looked cool – whatever was available locally. Digitally I created my own designs – much more graphic designy in style than the layers of texture I see in many layouts today.  Now that I’ve looked into the industry of scrapbooking a bit more, I have discovered so many designers that share tips and tricks, so many household names and most recently started listening to a podcast, The Paperclipping Roundtable. I really enjoy listening to experienced folks and what they think about scrapbooking and the experience. It’s a hobby, yet it’s a way to preserve memories and there are so many ways to do it.

The podcast discusses a specific topic each week and they have talked about tools, the process, time management and why people don’t scrapbook.  As a beginner I’ve definitely thought a lot about why people do scrapbook – I mean, who would be listening to the podcast if they are NOT scrapbookers?  Perhaps the generic impression or definition of scrapbooking is what scares people away, however when people do scrapbook they form their own definition that keeps them going. I am more interested in why people DO scrapbook.  I honestly don’t think scrapbooking has to mean making pages that go in a book…unless that’s what you want. Like many out there, I am more into the process than the final result.  The act of picking a topic that allows you to relive a moment or reflect on an experience in a creative way is the “high” of it all. I know many scrapbook to preserve memories…which is great…but they are specifically your memories because inevitably it’s your interpretation of an event or experience.

Another aspect is that I think the industry controls too much how we preserve our memories…or perhaps I mean that the industry causes many to think they must preserve their memories in a certain way … to be worthy of sharing perhaps?  Which is so not the case.  If my husband stapled a few pictures onto a sheet and wrote a heartfelt sentiment to give to me that would be worth more than a glitzy packed with the latest greatest trend design layout.  That’s how I feel even after just a few short months of being introduced into this world, the frenzy (even through the web) of CHA and all the tooks and designs and jazz out there. Don’t get me wrong – I love new designs and new products to play with – I just don’t think it’s necessary for everyone and people should not feel that it is necessary. You are the only thing necessary, because you are celebrating your moments, your experiences, your thoughts. Scrapbooking is ultimately for you…and the fact that others can share in your final product, can be inspired and reminisce and pass it on in the famly, well, that’s just icing on the cake.  The creative experience is why I think you should scrapbook.  I think perhaps the industry is not doing a good job in getting that message across, so that truly everyone should scrapbook one way or another.  Otherwise, it does seem like something very far away and untouchable for those looking from the outside… how could they ever start?