Shutterfly Digi Scrap Blog

Idea Pages: At Shutterfly

Rachel B from the "Picture More" Shutterfly Community Blog shares some creative information about creating a photo book in Shutterfly. Enjoy!

Idea pages will make you look like a design genius with just one click.

I’m in love with the All New Custom Path because it lets me make make my photo books exactly the way I want. I can move and re-size text and photos, add fun embellishments, and choose from an amazing selection of backgrounds and layouts so that my book looks special – like no one else’s.

I’ve completed my sixth All New Custom Path book (did I mention I’m addicted?), and with this latest one I’ve discovered an incredibly useful tool. Idea pages.

What? You haven’t tried idea pages? Stop right there! Don’t edit another page in your photo book until I introduce you to this brilliant resource.

Idea pages are fully designed with beautiful embellishments, perfectly placed text samples, and playful layouts. They give you a unique creative look without all the fuss. You can use them as-is or add tweaks of your own. And here’s why you’ll love with them. They will make you look like a design genius with one click.

Here’s how.

1. Start – begin making your All New Custom Path photo book

2. Select your idea page – after your photos are in place, go to the “Idea Pages” tab on the left side of your screen and click the idea page of your choice

3. Transform your page – your photo book page will immediately transform into that design. Instant genius!

Added bonus tips.

Tip 1 – if you want a wider selection of idea pages, click on the “Get More Idea Pages” link and add as many as you want to your list

Tip 2 -  to save time, make sure you choose an idea page with the same amount of photos that are in your photo book page

Exciting Stuff : At Shutterfly

Just in case you haven't had a chance to head over to Shutterfly and create a book lately I wanted to remind you that they have some wonderful new things going on. Check it out!

Check out the "all new custom path." 

Techno Talk : With Trish Yochum

Trish Yochum, designer at ScrapGirls tells us her technology secrets!

What is your favorite piece of technology?

"My computer is my favorite piece of technology because I constantly make mistakes and/or changes to my work. Doing things digitally allows me to alter my work and save multiple versions to compare and decide what I like best. I guess I should say a computer with a huge EHD to hold all of my variations!"

Share a bit about your photography background.

"I have taken a few photography classes, but am mostly a trial and error kind of girl. I take a ton of photos, so that I have a good selection to choose."

What digital software do you use?

"Photoshop in the Creative Suite 4. My favorite thing to use in PS is masks, because this tool makes it so easy to edit and collage multiple pieces without actually erasing parts the original piece. Have you gathered yet that I have an issue with making art related commitments?"

Do you have any digital tutorials on your site or located anywhere else that you want to share?

"Scrap Girls has an on-line university with lots of great free tutorials."  

Do you hybrid scrapbook and tell us about your experience with it.

"I have used digital scrapbooking materials to make things for parties and presents for people. One of the favorites has always been personalized coffee tumblers."

 

Techno Talk : With Amanda McGee

Amanda McGee from Scrapgirls gives us some "techno talk!" Enjoy. 

What is your favorite piece of technology and why?

"It's difficult to choose my favorite piece of technology. It's impossible, it's like choosing a favorite child. They are all my favorites, each unique and special, and needed in their own special way. So if I have to pick, I'll just pick technology itself, and how it's enhanced my creativity and ability to work at home. I am very fond of my camera and how it enables me to capture special moments in our lives. I love my wacom tablet, and how it helps me create whimsical illustrations. I love the Adobe software for the design capabilities. I can't do any of that without my laptop computer, which allows me to bring it with me whether it's to the room where my kids are playing or to my studio office for some quiet concentration."

Share a bit about your photography background.

"I do not consider myself a photographer. I'm a picture taker and a mommarazzi. However, I have been taking photographs since my I got my first Barbie pink 110 camera. I've upgraded since third grade, going through several 35mm cameras and digital cameras over the years, including an early version of the Sony Mavica that stored the images on floppies. That was a nuisance! Photography bliss happened to me when I bought my first DSLR in 2008 and have enjoyed the challenge of learning how to get out of auto mode. I would say my style of photography is "taking lots of pictures," mostly candids with a few home staged photo shoots in between. Some of my favorite shots are those of my children where I've used a fixed 50mm lens with the aperature setting wide open, and making use of the natural light of the north facing windows in our house."

What digital software do you use?

"I use Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop CS5. In Illustrator, my favorite tool is the paintbrush pen. I love to adjust the pressure sensitivity when I use my wacom tablet to draw over my scanned pencil sketches. In Photoshop, my favorite technique is layering textured papers with the blending modes options. You can create so many different looks by simply changing those blending modes. I use multiply, linear burn, overlay and soft light the most often."

Amanda McGee : Everyday Inspiration

Amanda McGee from Scrapgirls shares some touching digital scrapbook layouts that expresses some everday inspiration.

"I am working on a scrapbook for my daughter that celebrates the year she turned ten, I'm calling it "10 in '10." It seemed as though this past year I saw her grow so much and start changing from a young girl into a pre-teen. I wanted to celebrate the fun everyday simple moments that might not really seem monumental now, but looking back I'm sure she will love to see the little things combined to make her who she is. I'm so proud of the smart, creative and pretty young lady that she has become."

 

 

"I also am really fond of this layout of my handsome son Max, an everyday moment where I caught a great smile and his bright blue eyes."

 

 

Bright Ideas: For Photo Books

Check out these "Bright Ideas for Photo Books" at Shutterfly.

 

Documenting Life : With Christine Gundersen

Christine Gundersen , designer at Digital Scrapbook Place  tells us a bit about a project that really will help all of us celebrate "everday celebrations!."

"Right now I am working on a Life as We Know It project. I am taking a picture every day and then make one layout each week with those 7 pictures, including notes about each picture. The goal is to take pictures of what we are doing and what is important to us. My kids are also taking pictures and so at the end of the year, I am going to put my layouts together and then add a few pages for each child. I am excited to see the differences in the perspective each of us will have.

I started a thread at DSP for anybody else who is interested in this approach and it is amazingly relaxed. If you want to do one layout per month, great. If you want to do a daily post…that’s fine too. Something in between? No problem! I just want people to celebrate the little moments that make up life in between the birthdays, vacations and Christmas."

 

Christine Gundersen : Techno Talk

Christine Gundersen , designer at Digital Scrapbook Place shares some techno-talk with us!

1. What is your favorite piece of technology?

2.  

3. "Ooooooh, why not just ask me for favorite child! I guess I can narrow it down to two. My pen tablet, which has made such a difference for me with my wrists and my D7000. It is so new, I haven’t even figured out all of the buttons but I am LOVING it!"

Share a bit about your photography background.

"I am a self-taught photographer and went from point and shoot/never take it off of auto to completely manual just by reading and picking other people’s brains that know more than I do. I like lots of color and I love close ups. My next item to learn is what to do with my external flash, other than stick it on the camera and shoot. LOL."

What digital software do you use?  

"I use Photoshop and again a big plug for brushes. Especially if you combine brushes with masks you have a very powerful tool.  Digital Scrapbook Place has lots of fabulous digital tutorials  available for a variety of software programs" 

 

Creative Layouts : By Christine Gundersen

Christine Gundersen , designer at Digital Scrapbook Place has some beautiful layouts that she has shared with us. We hope that you find inspiration in her creations.Enjoy!

 
 
 
 
 

 

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