Digital Scrapbooking Tips

We are enjoying the fall weather so much that we’ve been opening our windows each afternoon to let the fresh air in. It’s hard to believe that the holiday season is just around the corner and retailers are already dressing their windows for the holiday season.

Now that November is upon us, it’s time to get a jump on holiday preparations. One of my favorite holiday timesavers is to use Ready-Made Card Templates to multi-task. Once I have created the holiday card, I use the template in several other ways: as personalized gift tags, custom placecards for the holiday table, as photo mats and as scrapbook page elements. By thinking creatively, you can stretch your holiday budget and save a few minutes, too!

Ready-Made Card templates are designer cards that contain a transparent “window” for your photos. To get started, open a photo and a card template.

Get the Move Tool and drag the photo onto the card template document. The photo will be on top of the template, so move your cursor over to the Layers Panel and drag the photo underneath the card layer. You’ll see the photo peeking through the transparent window.

Press Ctrl T (Mac: Cmd T) on your keyboard to activate the Transform controls. Use the corner handles on the bounding box to resize your photo and the circular arrow handle to twist or turn your photo.

Add text by clicking the template layer. Get the Type tool and make your font selections (font name, text size and color) from the Options Bar across the top of the editing screen. Click on the card layer and begin typing. When you are satisfied with your text, click the checkmark to confirm the type.

You can add digital elements to your card by opening the element file and using the Move tool to drag it onto the card template.

Save your card by choosing File > Save As from the Menu Bar. Give the card a new name. If you are sending your card to be printed, select the .jpg file format to flatten it and format it.

Resize your card to make tags or placecards by selecting Layer > Merge Layers and picking up the Crop tool. Type the new size in the Options Bar before dragging out a rectangle over your entire card. Click the checkmark to confirm the crop.

After printing your card, you can add 3D elements such as brads, glitter, ribbons, buttons or other craft items if you like. So, although card templates are predesigned, you can make them your own!

Next week, we’ll continue holiday preparations. Learn how to save your holiday dollars by printing several cards, tags, or other projects on one page.