I always bugged him about that missing item. I worried that if he ever got into a car accident, that he might need to take pictures of his car’s damage, or of a license plate, etc. and wouldn’t have a way to do so. To me, a camera phone seemed like much more than just a “cool phone feature,” it seemed like a necessary safety tool. But my husband rejected my advice and insisted that he was just fine without a camera phone. To him, a camera phone meant a complex, hard-to-use phone; a phone that would be a nightmare to navigate with unnecessary photo-taking features that he’d never ever use.

So when my husband came home with a brand new phone, one that included a camera (he won it as a raffle gift- there was no way he would have bought it on his own), I was absolutely ecstatic! It’s funny, because fast-forward a few years later, he is constantly snapping pictures with that phone. I’ve scrolled through his cell to find tons of phone-photos of beautiful sunsets, cool cars, and our dogs sleeping on the couch. Every time we go out, it seems like he’s off somewhere, aiming his phone at something and getting a quick pic. It amuses me that someone so resistant to getting a camera phone could now possibly be a camera phone addict.

I think all of us have had experienced a time where we have been resistant to try something new and were “absolutely sure” that a thing, a hobby, a place, or even a person, “just wasn’t for us.” We all are guilty of making excuses like, “I won’t like that.” “That seems too hard.” Or, “I don’t have time.” We all have resisted something at one time or another that could be a lot of fun, not very difficult, and not too long if we were just a little bit more open-minded to a new adventure!

Even when my mom first introduced me to digital scrapbooking, I turned up my nose and was quick to say no. I thought it “wasn’t my style.” Fast-forward life again, and digital scrapbooking is a hobby I am so passionate about that I started my own business with my mom dedicated to the fabulous world of digital scrapbooking: Digital Scrapbooks and More.com!

So, what has digital scrapbooking taught me? Here are three big lessons learned:

1. I am an artist. I never thought I was good at “girly crafts” like scrapbooking, sewing, etc. so I just figured that arts and crafts just weren’t my strength. But I was happily proved wrong. Digital scrapbooking makes it possible to make adorable, personalized photo books, scrapbooks, gifts, and SO much more, without being a good artist, without needing to have good handwriting, and never needing to take a single painting or photography class. It was nice to find a craft that made it so easy to make my own style of beautiful art so effortlessly!

2. I have skills. I’ve talked about how digital scrapbooking helped my career, and it really has. Knowing how to use Adobe software (Photoshop and Photoshop Elements- which I mostly worked with Elements at my workplace!) made me the go-to person for creative projects and made my job more interesting and personally rewarding. It’s amazing how many other careers could benefit from a little digital scrapbooking training: making flyers, brochures, catalogs, ads, company greeting/business cards, enhancing photos, etc. I have increased my skills and enjoyed the benefits within areas I never expected from learning this fun little craft, and I think other professionals could be surprised how it could help them in the workplace too!  

3. I look good. Becoming a digital scrapbooker has taught me how to use the Adobe software, and has also helped me become a passionate photo editor. I think that photo editing tends to have a bad rap in the media, but it’s really a powerfully positive tool if you use it correctly. Just as a professional photographer would use lights for a photo shoot, or a makeup artist would use makeup on a model, you can achieve natural-looking results that make your photos look better with good training. Example: Have you ever shot a photo in a museum and wished that that they allowed you to use your flash? Well, with photo editing you get the “flash back,” with simple, natural tools to lighten the photo. Or have you ever had a massive zit on your face and refused to pose for a picture? Well, there’s no need to be camera-shy, because you can easily remove unsightly blemishes with a click of your mouse! And don’t feel bad about “editing” your photos: If you use make up, there’s no reason why you should be ashamed of “covering up” one measly zit in a photo! Or have you ever taken a picture of something amazing, only to realize later, you wish you could crop something out, or remove a tourist? You can. It’s easy. And now with my digital scrapbooking and photo editing experience, I always feel comfortable in front of the camera knowing that I don’t have to be perfect, or be the best photographer in the world, to take a beautiful, professional-looking photo.

Get photo editing training with Digital Scrapbooks and More’s Digi MakeOver Madness Series!

There’s a million more reasons why digital scrapbooking is a fabulous hobby and might be right for you- no matter what doubts you may have! Try something new this 2010. Learn digital scrapbooking and give it a try, because remember, “What you resist, persists!”

Happy Scrapping,

-Jennifer

Get Digital Scrapbooking Training for Beginners with Digital Scrapbooks and More’s Getting Started Series. This must-have training is available for both Photoshop and Photoshop Elements Users!

It may surprise you that a fun, personal hobby, like Digital Scrapbooking, could actually help strengthen your career, but I know from first-hand experience that it can!

Consider it for a second. Do you have a career where you EVER make any type of flyers, handouts, or work with digital photos AT ALL, WHAT-SO-EVER? If so, you most certainly could benefit at the workplace by becoming a Digital Scrapbooker!

I can actually vouch for this theory, as I have experienced it to be true first-hand at my 9-5 job. I started within a Customer Service Role: answering phones, filing, faxing, and placing orders; but I wasn’t very happy. I was good at what I did, but I wasn’t passionate about it at all. I wanted to stand out and be a little more creative at my workplace. I decided to take the turn towards that creative path when, one day, I was instructed to outsource the project of completing our Product’s Visual Pricelists. These Pricelists were a basic list of thumbnail pictures of all the items we sold and their prices listed beneath. It seemed like a simple project within PowerPoint, but we were honestly paying “an arm and leg” for this Outsourced Company to complete it for us! I decided at that moment that I would just give the project a shot and just do it myself. Thankfully, it was a success, and my boss was ecstatic!

My boss began asking me to take on new challenges and create even more, but things became way too complicated for PowerPoint. Because I was familiar with Digital Scrapbooking and Photoshop Elements, I knew we needed to get Elements to complete the projects he wanted me to do. Elements was only $100 and would save a lot of money in the long run by doing these projects in-house, rather than outsourcing… so the office invested in Photoshop Elements!

I was then in charge of not only making our Product’s Order Forms, but flyers, handouts, and eventually, even our company catalogs! I began using my knowledge from Digital Scrapbooking to resize and fix product photos to email at web-quality to retailers and customers, and increased the resolution to print-quality for our Press Contacts. Because I was familiar with Photoshop Elements and because I understood Digital Scrapbooking, I was able to lighten/darken photos, correct image blemishes, color-correct, add detail like text (with our contact number and address), and insert our logos onto images to create “branding.” I helped create tradeshow collage posters and was able to design and create professional hand outs because I was familiar with layers and layouts as an avid Digital Scrapbooker!

It was truly incredible!

My value at the Workplace was increasing quickly and I became the “go-to” person when it came it any type of creative Marketing Materials. I eventually became the official Marketing Manager at my company. For me, this was exactly what I had hoped for; I loved designing, making, and creating. My positive experience made me even more curious about Digital Scrapbooking and Photo Editing. I figured, the more I could learn, the more I could do within this area (and the less I’d have to do in other areas I didn’t quite like as much!)

Familiarizing myself with Photoshop Elements and becoming a Digital Scrapbooker was one of the best decisions I have ever made to help strengthen my career. And perhaps because it has helped me so much, I see how learning such an easy and fun personal hobby could potentially have the same effect on others!

For example, I have a friend who is a Real Estate Agent. Not only is she not familar with Digital Scrapbooking, but she does not know how to use Photoshop or Photoshop Elements either! I think she just doesn’t realize how much Digital Scrapbooking could directly impact her job in such a positive way! If only she would take Digital Scrapbooks and More’s training and became a “digital career scrapper”!

But why should she become a Digital Scrapbooker? Well, for one, she works with photos of houses and properties all day long. She advertises homes; markets them to the public… she’s a great example of someone who should be a Digital Scrapbooking Pro- a skill that could have positive impact on her careers!

Let me explain in more detail: By taking the Digital Scrapbooks and More’s Getting Started Series in Digital Scrapbooking Tutorials and the Digi MakeOver Photo Editing Tutorials it would teach her how to digitally scrapbook; but  it would also teach her how to use software programs like Photoshop or Photoshop Elements! She would be able to fix all of her digital photos, and she could make the homes she was trying to sell look their absolute best! No more dark or dim images of hard-to-see rooms, or yucky gray overcasts of the yard; but instead, instantly correct and beautify their photos by brightening their colors and make things look as great as they looked in real life!

This was great news! Because the better the photos looked, the better the odds that people would be interested in the property when they ran across it on the company’s website or on Craigslist. Perhaps it could even increase the price of the property itself… who knows, right?

Not only that, but she could even make adorable flyers with these new skills it was easy to go to the next step and make “For-Sale” flyers  using her Photoshop and Digital Scrapbooking skills. She would also understand how to resize images to send via email, and how to bump up the resolution for printing-quality when making physical paper hand outs. These Digital Scrapbooking lessons are skills that could really help your career, and makes it much more than just a hobby about scrapbooking personal photos!

Anyway, I sincerely hope that this story will inspire you to become a Digital Scrapbooker too.

You too may be surprised and be absolutely delighted by how much Digital Scrapbooking could help YOU with your career. Why not just try it? Worse comes to worse, you learn a fun hobby and are great with making your scrapbook pages and photos look fabulous.

It’s a win-win situation either way; so get started on your training and begin scrapping at home (and maybe at work too) today!

To find out more about the Digi MakeOver Photo Editing Tutorials and Getting Started Series in Digital Scrapbooking for Photoshop or Photoshop Elements visit our Scrap Shop!

Happy Scrapping!

Jennifer

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