Digital Scrapbooks and More Blog

When I first started teaching “in-person” digital scrapbooking classes, I was surprised how the seats filled up with senior citizens. I guess I imagined my classes would bring in loads of new moms interested in digitally scrapping their babies and infants.

Well, as surprising as it was to me that my first classes filled up with more seniors than new moms, the seniors absolutely thrived within this new hobby!  Both men and women in that age group were interested in learning and did incredibly well. They even came in to class as couples and wanted to learn about digital scrapbooking and photo editing together! It was wonderful and I really enjoyed teaching the classes.

 I discovered that seniors came to the class because they wanted to know more about computers, in addition to learning a new hobby. They wanted to scrap all the digital photos that their children were emailing them of their grandchildren! They also wanted to scrap the personal photos of family, friends, places, and times that were very special. They wanted to preserve the greater family history that only they could write and scrap about!

Many seniors discover that they really enjoy digital scrapbooking and that it is a fun and exciting hobby for them once they get started.

Here are some tips that I learned while working with seniors that might be helpful if you are a senior and want to start this hobby, or if you want to give the gift of digital scrapbooking to a special senior in your life.

PS. These tips can help anyone new to digital scrapbooking- not just seniors!

Making it Easy to Learn Digital Scrapbooking in 3 Steps:

To get started in digital scrapbooking you need 3 things (besides a computer): a graphic computer program, like Photoshop or Photoshop Elements; you need training so that you know how to use these programs and digital scrapbooking techniques within them; and you need digital scrapbooking supplies to scrap with.

So, let’s take each of these items and break them down into manageable steps:

Step 1: Buy Graphic Software(Adobe Photoshop or Adobe Photoshop Elements) in order to begin digital scrapbooking. Here are some ideas to keep in mind when selecting graphic software:

• Pick a graphic program that has good features and a solid brand that won’t go out of business next year (a bad brand could mean losing all your scrapbooking pages!). Adobe’s Photoshop or Photoshop Elements are the leading graphic programs with a very good history of being a solid, reliable brand with lots of features perfect for digital scrapbookers. Read this article to know more: WARNING: Digital Scrapbook Pages That Become Lost Forever! …Don’t Let This Happen To You!
• If your senior is less familiar with computers, you might want to consider Photoshop Elements rather than Photoshop (see this article: Photoshop vs…….. Photoshop Elements. Photoshop Elements is a more user-friendly version of Photoshop and definitely more cost effective than Photoshop! Photoshop Elements is still a powerful graphic program and actually has several additional features for digital scrapbookers that Photoshop doesn’t even have! Plus, if your senior ever wants to upgrade to Photoshop learning Elements will help you more easily make the transition.
• Those that are newer to computers, like those that are only used to using email and a basic word processing program might want to consider getting Photoshop Elements 7 rather than the newer Photoshop Elements 8. Both programs are very similar, but Photoshop Elements 8 has a new feature that can make it frustrating to someone new to using computers and just learning digital scrapbooking. However, if your senior is comfortable with a computer, uses several different kinds of computer programs, and knows how or would feel comfortable using shortcut keys, then by all means, get them the latest version of Photoshop Elements 8  as it does have a few other new features that are nice to have. Both programs are about $75 and you can find  rebates that make the price closer to $50! See these deals: Photoshop Elements 7 or Photoshop Elements 8.

Step 2: Digital Scrapbook Training using Photoshop Elements or Photoshop.They will need training that not only teaches how to use Elements or Photoshop software, but also training that covers digital scrapbooking too.

Digital Scrapbooks and More’s Getting Started Series in Digital Scrapbooking for either Elements or Photoshopdoes exactly that! It assumes the person knows little about both the graphic program and digital scrapbooking, so it starts right at the beginning!

This training comes with video tutorials that show you how to use both Photoshop Elements (or Photoshop) and do digital scrapbooking! The training also comes with Step-by-Step printable guides that shows many of the steps in the video to work at a slower pace and to use as a refresher – these guides come with pictures too!  Besides the Step by Step guides, it also includes Cheat Sheets with quick reference info on some of the key aspects of the lesson. Some of the individual lessons also come with bonus training and/or digital scrapbooking supplies! The whole series on CD version comes with everything including Lesson 1-6, and an extra bonus digital scrapbooking kit!

This training is available as a CD version or as individual downloadable lessons.

Help when Picking Training for Seniors:

• When working with seniors, many found it easier to have everything on a handy CD, instead of downloading and unzipping each lesson. You can buy the whole Getting Started in Digital Scrapbooking for:
  Photoshop Elements 8
  Photoshop Elements 7
  Photoshop CS3 or CS4
  (Just make sure your training matches your version of your graphic software!)
• However, if you senior is computer savvy, or if you can help them, you can buy each lesson as a downloadable training:
  Downloadable Lessons for Photoshop Elements 8
  Downloadable Lessons for Photoshop Elements 7
  Downloadable Lessons for Photoshop CS3 or CS4
• If you pick the downloadable training, then help your senior by downloading and unzipping it for them, or showing them how to do it. Here are some helpful information on downloading files (see video version) or unzipping files (see video version)
• Whether you pick the CD version or the Downloadable trainingyour senior’s computer will need to have the FREE Adobe Acrobat Reader on it. Installing the free reader will allow them to open and read the Step-by-Step guides and Cheat Sheets. Hot Tip: Check their computer and if they need the program or need to upgrade their graphic program, go to Adobe’s website to install the FREE Acrobat Reader.  Also, they will need the FREE QuickTime player so that they can play and watch the training’s video lessons. Get the player at Apple’s website.

Step 3: Buy Digital Scrapbooking Supplies.Next, your senior will need digital scrapbooking supplies, kits,  brushes, and more! You can get all of those things at Digital Scrapbooks and More’s Scrap Shop. Once your senior has the training to do digital scrapbooking, the sky is the limit and they will be ready for digital scrapbooking supplies!

There are so many things to choose from like Digital Scrapbooking kitsthat often come with digital scrapbooking papers, embellishments, sometimes WordArt or Alphas and more!

You can pick digital scrapbooking supplies that have a theme,  a color, go with a certain season, or are made for a specific holiday.

Like this Christmas Elegance Scrapbooking Kitis a digital scrapbooking kit rich with Holiday-decadence! It includes digital papers, frames, embellishments, WordArt and even Quick Pages!

With this Christmas-inspired Digital Scrapbooking kit you can make Christmas Cards. Or use digital supplies to make gifts such as calendars, aprons, puzzles, scrapbooking albums and much more! See this kit and all the gifts that were made from it! This timeless kit is a wonderful way to begin creating classically beautiful holiday digital scrapbooking projects!

Once you start using digital scrapbooking kits your senior might want to try Custom Brushes and get the training for that too!

Read this article to find out some of the fun things you can do with custom brushes and digital scrapbooking! See Halloween Photoshop Brushes and Digital Scrapbooking Projects

And since seniors usually have lots of photos that need to be organized, they might want to get training on Photoshop Elements Organizerthat teaches about organizing photos, digital scrapbooking supplies,  how you can burn CDs of the photos to make copies, and give to family members!

Here are some helpful articles on this topic of Organizing Photos that you might want to read or show to your senior:

Article 1: Introduction to The Organizer within Photoshop Elements
Article 2: Clean up for Fall and Organize your Photos and Digital Scrapbooking Supplies!

There is so much to do and learn! This hobby can bring hours of fun and enjoyment too!

Have a Happy Holiday and give a senior you know the gift of this rewarding hobby ~ Digital Scrapbooking!