How to Use Digital Scrapbooking Kits in Silhouette Studio

Digital scrapbooking is one of those awesome busy mom hacks for those who love to scrapbook, but are short on time - you know like me (the mom who is still working on her 5 year old's first year album).

Silhouette School weekly contributor Becky Dykes is here today with a Silhouette Studio tutorial on how to use Digital Scrapbooking packs in Silhouette Studio.
When we first started with our Silhouette CAMEO cutting machines (you know, back in the dinosaur age), it was all about the scrapbooking. But scrapbooking is so time consuming, I had completely given up on it, because I was so far behind on my layouts.... until someone introduced me to Digital Scrapbooking. I was even more excited when I realized I could use Silhouette Studio as my digital scrapbooking software!

Digital Scrapbooking is exactly what it sounds like: scrapbooking in a digital format. You set up and design your scrapbook layout on your computer, in design software (like Silhouette Studio).

For those who still wish to keep a physical scrapbook in print format, the pages can be printed and kept in traditional scrapbooks.  You can even have a hybrid of Digital and Traditional Scrapbooking, where the majority of your scrapbook layout is designed and printed, then you can add embellishments as you choose and apply them to the printed copy for the 3D effect.

Digital Scrapbooking was one of the first design tools I experimented with when I was new to the Silhouette.  Of course, my layouts weren't anything to turn cartwheels over, mainly because I was just using the tools I had on hand.  I finally jumped into the deep end and started purchasing actual digital scrapbooking packages and WOW, what a difference it made.

So let's go through the basics of how to find and use digital scrapbooking tools. The first thing to go over is the benefits of purchasing Digital Scrapbooking packages. While you will find that you can use your own images and designs, Digital Scrapbook tools have added dimension -- meaning that they are actual images that look 3D instead of flat images like most cut files.

Scrapbooking packages also come in corresponding colors and patterns.  So instead of searching for coordinating patterned paper and special buttons and embellishments, they all come together in a neat little package to make the perfect pairings.

When purchasing scrapbook packages, quality is important so that it will print in a high resolution (we'll revisit printing later on).  There are several online store websites (and of course, Etsy) that sell quality packages are reasonable prices.  Remember, what you are buying are files that you can reuse over and over, so don't feel like you need to purchase a new package for each and every layout you are going to do.  As with other crafting tools, as you accumulate an arsenal, you'll eventually learn how to match and pair your purchase with your own designs or even start making your own from scratch.

Go ahead and launch Silhouette Studio on your computer, then edit your Design Page Settings for the size of layout you need. Most scrapbook pages are 12"x12", so that is what we are going to start with. You may also want to turn on or off your Print Border, that's personal preference. Again, we'll get to printing towards the end.

Once you've purchased a Digital Scrapbooking package, you'll see that they are usually a combination of JPEG and PNG files. You'll import them into Silhouette Studio to store them in your library and then bring them into your Design Space as needed.

If you're like me, you can also use the drag-n-drop method to just pull over the ones you want into your Silhouette Studio work area directly. Be careful when bringing over digital papers, they can be rather large.  You'll probably want to resize them right away. If you need help importing images into Silhouette Studio, be sure to check out Melissa's post on how to use downloaded graphics here.

Next, you'll want to import the photos for your layout.  You will do this the same way as the other images.  If you need to crop your photos, you can also check out Melissa's post on how to crop photos in Silhouette Studio here.

As you get them all imported, you may experience problems with your layering.  From time to time, I have to go into my layers and do a little manual maneuvering my removing excess layers and such.  You may not have this problem, but if you do, check out how to use layers in Silhouette Studio here.

Once you get everything imported and all your layers straightened out, designing your layout will be like using any other cut file or image. You will simply arrange them in a format that is acceptable to you, and then save.

Don't forget that these large files that have a lot of imported images and patterned papers take up a lot of space - they will also significantly increase the file size.  You'll want to work on these individually so you don't lock up your memory (and your software) and you would be best to export these to an external hard drive of some sort so you don't clog up your computer (just my two cents!).

So now let's talk about printing. You have your layout set up and ready to print so you can slide it in your scrapbook sleeves. You have a few choices to consider:

• Are you printing 12"x12"? †If so, you will need to send to a commercial printer or invest in a wide-format printer.
  • If you are sending to commercial printer, you will need to save this in a PDF format -- you can check out printing oversized prints here.
• If you don't need 12"x12", then you can print on your regular home printer (obviously).
• Also consider the quality of your home printer and the cost associated with sending to a commercial printer.

If you'd like to see more about my layout, a few designing tips and where I get my files from, hop over to My Paper Craze!

Note: This post may contain affiliate links. By clicking on them and purchasing products through my links, I receive a small commission. That's what helps fund Silhouette School so I can keep buying new Silhouette-related products to show you how to get the most out of your machine! 
 
Thanks for coming to class today at Silhouette School.  If you like what you see, I'd love for you to pin it!

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