Digital Scrapbooking Software

Adobe PhotoShop CS Adobe Photoshop is a great application for everything from photo correction to website design. It can also be used for digital scrapbooking. Photoshop was created mostly for businesses and the price tag reflects this. Its MSRP of almost $650 leaves most consumers tugging at their pockets. Photoshop has been used by web masters and web designers for years. It is, no doubt, the most comprehensive image editing program available on the market. With standard features like color enhancement, cropping, re-sizing, and retouching and with new and improved functions like layering, filtering, and workspace customization, Adobe Photoshop is the perfect solution for any serious designer or digital scrapbooker. While Photoshop is very robust, it might be overkill for most digital scrapbookers. It's nice to have so much functionality, but it's easy to get overwhelmed by the vast array of options and the large price tag. Adobe PhotoShop Elements 2.0 Similar to Adobe Photoshop CS, Adobe Photoshop Elements 2.0 captures the best, most applicable features of the original Photoshop, but at a much friendlier price. While Photoshop CS was created for businesses and professionals, Elements was created specifically for consumers. This image editing software uses the same interface as Photoshop, and but with some significant limitations. At an MSRP of only $100, Photoshop elements is a good option. Paint Shop Pro 9 Paint Shop Pro provides a multitude of functions that will bring your photos to life and allow you to incorporate other images and animation into your layouts. PSP begins by removing noise and filtering imperfections from your photos. Then it goes a step further and provides tools that allow you to be the artist. From chalk and pastels, to a smear tool and mixing palette, you can create all sorts of special effects within your image. PSP offers a history palette and a 'selective undo' tool that will correct imperfections long after you may have made them. PSP's personalized configurations can help you to create a completely digital layout by using the photo correction software, graphics creation, and web-page design tools. This is a user-friendly, and pocket-friendly, application.

How to Make Photo Cards

One way to share photographs is with photo cards. Photo cards are envelope-sized greetings printed on high-quality cardstock and sent via postal mail. They can be made with or without a fold. Photo cards can be a greeting or an announcement for a birth, wedding or special day Photo cards can be created on a photograph-sharing website such as Shutterfly or Snapfish. Visit your favorite photograph-sharing website to learn more about creating and printing a customizable photo card. These sites have easy to follow directions for creating photo cards. Photo cards can also be created on your own computer. Here is an example of how to create a photo card of your own. Create a New Document. Open a new document in your photo-processing program, such as Adobe Photoshop or Elements. Make the document the same size as your intended photo card. The size of the photo card should be just a bit smaller than the size of your envelope. Mine will be 5 1/2" x 4". Add Photograph(s). Add your photograph or series of photographs to the document. Resize and arrange the photographs as you would like them to appear on the card. I wanted my photograph to stretch the length of the card so I sized it to fit accordingly.Add a Greeting. Use the text tool to create your own message and/or add a message using a digital stamp. I added a digital stamp, and then used the text tool to add the names. Get creative and make your own personalized photo card to share

How to Make Bookmarks with Word Processing Software

You can use your trusty word processor and clip art, or create a cut and paste collage of favorite clips and craft embellishments (perhaps from scrapbook leftovers) on a nice piece of card stock.

WORD PROCESSOR METHOD: Create a landscape page (wider rather than longer for the larger dimension) then create a table with 4 equally sized columns to fill up the page - each column will become one bookmark. Next, add interesting borders around the cells and any background color you wish.

Insert clip art images or pictures from your computer, digital camera or graphics collections into the columns.Size the graphics to fit within the table columns or use a text box or frame to crop out what you don't want to print. Alternatively, you can edit your art or photo in a graphics program to make it the exact size you need.

Using the same technique (using a frame or text box) add words that will print on top the pictures or add boxes of text with white or colored backgrounds that print on the graphics or around them. For example, make the graphic you add to each bookmark smaller, so it's a decoration at the top, middle or bottom of the bookmark, then add a bit of poetry or a special quote to the rest of the table column blank space areas.

free christmas clipart

i made this one

 Its that time of year again and people are looking for Christmas images to use. Clip art Christmas images for documents, reports, articles, blogs, and websites. Use these fun little clip art images on documents and flyers to hang in your business. You can grab a tree or wreath to end all your blog posts in due to it being December. Need a header image for your website? Why not work in a Santa or some Christmas shapes to make the season come to life. Everyone loves adding an image to enhance the holiday season. The main question many people ask is "How do I know if I really can legally use these Christmas pictures on my article/site/blog?" The answer is very simple, all the images I provided in these Christmas clip art downloads are in the Public Domain. If the problem should ever arrise it is very easy to say where they came from. In each folder I have the URL of the site that claims they are public domain so all these Christmas images can be used free of charge and legally! To help you out I put a few different Christmas image sets together. This way you can download just one or all of them. Some different Christmas folder sets are Santas, Animals, and shapes. The shapes are great for graphic designers and to make your own Christmas images as they are basic and simple designs.       http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_domain

: How to Create a Photo Collage on your computer

Choose a software program or website to work with. You can make photo collages in a variety of design software programs, such as Adobe Photoshop, or you can download free software designed specifically for making photo collages. If you're not comfortable using Adobe Photoshop or similar programs, download collage-making software from shapecollage.com, snapfish.com, scrapblog.com or smilebox.com. You can use most of these programs for free.
Choose a template for your collage. If you're working with snapfish.com, scrapblog.com or smilebox.com, you can choose from a variety of decorative backgrounds and themes. Software from shapecollage.com allows you to arrange your photos in the shape of your choice, such as a cat, a world map or a butterfly.
Read more: How to Create a Photo Collage on the Computer | eHow.co.uk http://www.ehow.co.uk/how_5855719_create-photo-collage-computer.html#ixzz13HILW15Pmport your own pictures to the collage-making software or website. Click "Get Photos" or "Add Photos" and browse your computer's documents for the photo files you want to add. Most programs will allow you to import more than one photo at a time.
Read more: How to Create a Photo Collage on the Computer | eHow.co.uk http://www.ehow.co.uk/how_5855719_create-photo-collage-computer.html#ixzz13HIQdN7M #
Arrange your photos within the template by dragging and dropping them to different locations. Experiment with different arrangements until you find one you like. Add text to the collage if you wish.
Order printed products, such as mugs and posters, from the website you made the collage with. The collage-making software will remain linked with that site, and you can begin your purchase in the software program. Some programs will allow you to print your collage at home for free or save it as a JPG file. You can then burn your JPG file to a CD and take it to a store or copy center to have it printed. Print as many copies as you want.

Photo Collage Cards:a Way to Say Happy Holidays

Will you select a box off-the-shelf, or do you want to do something a little more original?
Who doesn't enjoy photographic greeting cards? Most folks have family members and friends in faraway locations. What a treat it can be to find current photos in your mailbox during the holiday season!
Many families find it challenging to obtain a single group photo that is pleasing to all participants. Not only that, but professionally printed photographic cards can be prohibitively expensive for many families, particularly during the holiday season.
Why not circumvent this challenge altogether? You can create a collage of favorite photos from the year.
As a result, I am free to focus on decorating and preparing for the holidays, instead of fretting over getting those cards out!
 gather your materials:
Card stock (100# works well)
Greeting card envelopes (5 ¾" x 8 ¾")
Personal computer
Holiday clip-art
(This is available free online - see links provided, to get you started.)
Digital or scanned family photos
Address labels
(You can also make these yourself on your computer.)
Postage stamps
Select fun and festive graphics or clip-art for the front cover of your card.
Write a greeting (or pick a suitable Scripture passage or poem) for the inside.
Inside the card, you can create a collage of family photos from the past year. Digital photos are simplest, but scanners work well, or pictures can be digitized at most photo shops.
On the back, you can list your current address, phone and e-mail.
Save, and print. Fold, and address. Stamp, and mail.
Voila! That's it!
Here are the simple instructions: