A question for paper scrappers, turned digi

[ashleygg]

Do you guys find that your digital stuff looks just like your paper stuff? I don't know if it is just because I was a paper scrapper for 6.5 years before trying digi or because that is just my style. I've been forcing myself to try new techniques and products, but at the end of the day... they still end up looking just like my paper stuff.

[earlofoxford]

Oh, yes, I digi scrap very much as I did as a paper scrapper. I tend toward the linear, but occasionally I break out of the box and try something a little funkier. I've tried more different things as a digi scrapper than I did as a paper scrapper, but my style stays pretty much the same.

[dugarner]

My digital layouts have the same basic style---I am linear, square, minimalist, not a lot of embellishments. I was a paper scrapper in the CM style, so I never used metal, brads, acrylics, buttons, etc., etc. on my pages. But now that it's all "1"s and "0"s, I can use anything I want, and my digital pages are a bit more "elegant" (decorated) than my paper pages were.

When I paper scrapped (for about 10 years before I converted), I was on a very limited budget (still am), in a small town with only 1 or 2 scrapbook stores. Now I find that I have so much more freedom because money goes so much further (farther? Uurgh! Linda, help!) with digital. Since I don't consume my supplies, and I'm not limited to what my local brick and mortar store can sell, my style is changing and shifting with almost every layout. I can see someone's page and immediately use it for inspiration, and get as close to it as I want to.

Even though the pages might look just like your paper stuff---that said---I just checked out your gallery and your pages are absolutely beautiful!

[Mary Rogers]

mostly yes! my style has remained the same, but I am stepping outside of the box and trying new things as well.

I just spent the weekend cleaning out my scrap supplies and so many of these completely resemble what is in my digi stash now...

[Mozer]

Yep! For the most part. Sometimes I try techniques that you can only do w/ digital scrapbooking (like extractions). Most of the time my challenge is to try to make my page look very realistic.

[kikimama]

I guess I've not done that many digi LOs yet, but I think a fair number do look like paper LOs that just happen to be digi. I'm trying to have a go at techniques that only work in digi like brushes, photo masks and blending and I love the results. Just more excuses to play.

[PaulaSG]

My paper stuff is simpler than my digi stuff. I *wish* my paper stuff looked like my digi, because I'm more adventurous with digi than I am with paper - I don't have to worry about messing it up And like Mo with digi I try to make my layouts look as paper-like as possible.

[Jen D]

My pages started out looking like my paper pages... but the more I learned they began to change. I think they are a good mix right now. I like all the endless possibilities of digi, but I like that I can make it look as if I did it with paper and 3D elements =)

[tdavenport]

Mostly. Like Paula said though, I tend to be a little more adventurous with digital. Things like stitching are so much easier since someone else has done all the work for me. (: If an experiment goes wrong, I know I can always undo and not be left with one giant sticky mess.

[BrittanyLane]

I think in the beginning I did have the same style but I think I've grown a lot as a scrapper since going digital. I'm with the others who said they're more adventurous with digital... it's so much easier to do things I'd never do with paper. There's so much more freedom. Plus with all the different inspiration and scrapping styles here at this site, I pick up things I wouldn't normally have done.

[janet_o]

Sometimes. When I first started, yes, absolutely. Then I started trying new techniques, which obviously wouldn't work on paper...then I went back to "traditional..." then I tried to be TOO avant garde, LOL...so now I think it's a mix between what they used to look like and much cooler things I can do with digital.

How's that for a non-answer. ;P

[Steph]

Yep, pretty much, but like Paula said, my paper layouts are probably even more simple. I hate machine stitching and won't do it on paper, but I use digi stiching all the time. Every once in a while, I'll do a paper layout that uses a bunch of bright patterned paper and it's very busy, but it's usually only because I wanted to play with that particular paper. LOL!

And, honestly, I think the biggest difference for me is that I can "see" the design much better on a computer so I think my digi layouts just look more polished than my paper layouts.

[Elena]

I tend toward the more "paper real" look and like to layer on the elements... just like I used to with paper. However, I've been a bit more adventurous lately and have been having fun with some blending & masks and incorporating that into my paper style. Also, I LOVE digi stitching! Used to hate to pull out my sewing maching

[FlowerGirl]

I think I started out that way, but started trying new things in digi and veered off in other directions. Although I think a lot of my digital pages still look paper-ish.

[muddygirl]

My paper style was very simple and while that is how I started with digi, I am still evolving and trying new things. I don't think I found my "digi-style" yet, i'm still experimenting. I see so may things in the Gallery and the Shop that I want to try, but a lot of the time I cant make it work for me. Some of the pages that I like the best are ones that are more clean and simple and I guess more like what my paper style was. I'm having trouble getting the balence of 'too little' and 'too much' right, but i guess that is the advantage of digi, you can easily remove and reposition.

Another difference with the digi, is that there are so many products that were not available to me in paper, for example, where I would have just had a mat around a photo, now I have and endless choice of frames and matts to enhance the pictures.

[dorah]

In the beginning I think I tended to stick to paper principles. But as I go along I find that digi is so much more liberating in that you can do something, undo it, and do something else at any point in time. What I really like is that I can buy one thing and just use it and use it and use it. And when I'm done I just close my computer and walk away. I love no muss, no fuss.

[Amy L]

It's been so long since I made a paper page that it's hard to remember! I have definitely evolved with digi. The main thing is that now my stuff is actually straight.

[Steph]

Originally Posted by Amy L

The main thing is that now my stuff is actually straight.

Oh my gosh, yes! Mine, too!!!

[anke]

Mine too girls, I can't make a straight cut for the life of me. I never did scrap a lot with paper, so I really started with not much experience. I do like to be adventurous and try new things with digi, that's the beauty of it. Even the brushes are so much easier. I remember trying stamps on paper, they always looked awful. i am so much happier here!

[Denise Gormish]

Yes and no. Many of the things I do and my general style are the same. But one thing that really drew me to digital was the graphic look I could acheive. There are things that I can do digital to get that look that I couldn't do on paper so that makes things look a little better too. And its easier to add tons of journaling. :-)

[bjrobie]

Since I am new to digi scrapping, I have found my style is still a lot like my paper style. Still lots to learn!

[Julie DeGuia]

I did not read everyone's answers, but for me it is TOTALLY different. I started paper scrapping 12 years ago with Creative Memories, and my style never really changed from their very simple style of white pages, some paper strips on the edges or corners, crop and mount photos, title and journal and then add a few stickers. (And by the way, I still love this style and LOVE the pages I have created in the past.) I like my pages to be flat (no embellishments sticking out) and have A LOT of pictures (because I take so many.) So scrapping has always been about the pictures for me! With digital, now I have unlimited options. I still try to put as many pictures as I can (when appropriate) but now I am playing with all the extras because they won't ever stick up off the pages! Another problem I had with pattered paper in traditional scrapping was the journaling. With a white page it is easy to journal and have what you write show up. If you are using patterned paper then you have to be more creative to get the journaling to show up, but that is much easier with digital - lots more options (and easy to change until you get it right!)

Ashley - I am really liking your style, so whatever you are doing (paper or digital style) it works!

[nativescrapper]

I would say that some of my layouts do look like my digi LO, I havent done a real paper layout for awhile now. But I have done a couple of mini album since I started digi, but that is way different from my layouts all together (digi or paper).

Im not sure if its... that different at all (digi vs. paper) I used staples, brads, eyelets, keys, ribbons, ect...on all my paper layouts and i use them on my digi. The only thing I see different is the frames. I use to just matte the picture with papers and now I have all sorts of different frames...oh yeah ...i also use to dabb the edge of papers. I havent tried that on digi...yet!

[kathleen.summers]

Hi Ashley!

I was all over the map with style in my paper scrapping so it's no surprise that I'm enjoying experimenting with different styles with my digi scrapping. That said, I had a friend tell me last week (in reference to my "Clappy Baby" page) that she was happy to see that I could still scrap in my shabby chic style (the one I gravitate towards the most) when digi scrapping.

I think Brittany makes a good point though, and I look forward to seeing what I'm doing once I've been doing this for awhile.

[beehive50]

I think my layouts still look paper-ish... and I'm totally OK with that! I will say that, since I --gasp!-- still paper scrap, too, that I try way more things digitally than w/my paper supplies. Like adding elements, layering, cropping, stitching... I NEVER EVER get out the real machine! I just experiment more digitally, but yeah... my layouts still tend to come 'round to my simple paperish style!

[wookiegirl]

My digi layouts look a lot like my paper ones - but, as Debi said, I'm okay with that! For me, it's all about making the process easier (and frankly, more enjoyable)... but my style is still the same, you know? I'm sure I'll eventually try some more "digi only" techniques, but I'm happy where I am for now.

[JALong]

I can't say that my style looks the same as my paper scrapping days. I didn't get much done back then. Now I get several pages done per week and I love exploring and trying out all the cool things that only digital can do.

[Lindar70]

I'm like Paula and Terri and others here - my digi layouts really do look like my paper ones for the most part, but I am usually a bit more adventurous with my digi layouts. Love that undo button! And I do still paper scrap - not as much as I digi scrap, but I still do it. I just finished one project for a mag assignment (kind of a heritage mini album), and I feel like I actually created a better project BECAUSE of the digi scrapping that I do.