How to Transition from Paper to Digital Scrapbooking (or, what to love about digital scrapbooking)

This post is based on a online class by Photo & Story Treasures in 2019 and was updated in 2022.

Memories fade, and photos in digital form are always at the mercy of technology.  Maybe even more important to remember, though, is the fact that photos and memories {have been shown} to increase our happiness, gratitude, and sense of belonging while also lowering stress and anxiety.

At this blog you've seen lots of examples of digital books, from {life storybooks} to {time-saving yearbooks}, but {paper/traditional scrapbooking} remains a favorite method for some people.  As I always say, it's important to find something you love so that you'll do it.  Looking forward to something you enjoy makes it easy.

But what if you're a {burned-out scrapbooker}?

Or what if your favorite paper scrapbooking company is no more?  :( 

Or what if you LOVE the hands-on method of cutting pictures and using fancy scissors and adorable stickers but you just don't have the time (or table space) any more?

Well, you're in luck.  I can help.

If you're a scrapbooker but find it hard to make time for handcrafted pages--or if you've never been a scrapbooker but just need a fun but high-quality way to preserve your photos and memories--you have come to the right place.  

Let's first look at 5 common questions about digital scrapbooking.  And then answer them!

1. Why do people switch?  What does digital offer that paper doesn't?
2. What if I have a lot of paper supplies that I don't want to waste?
3. What digital scrapbooking method or company is the best, and why?
4. Why did YOU switch from paper to digital?  (I'll tell you my experience.)
5. Can I still be as creative with digital scrapbooking as I am with paper?

WHY PEOPLE SWITCH

If you talk to 10 people who switched from paper to digital scrapbooking, you could get 10 answers.  These are the most common reasons I hear:

• Digital saves lots of time due to the ability to duplicate a page and get multiple copies of the finished product without extra work.
• Digital doesn't require a lot of table/work space, and it doesn't require any storage space for supplies.
• You can scrapbook with kids without worrying about what they're touching.  Not having to be kid-free helps busy moms find time for scrapbooking.
• You can resize a photo or a digital sticker to make it fit your space without the limits of physical photos and embellishments that can only be cropped.
• Since all you need for scrapbooking is a computer, it's easier to find time because you don't have to spend time getting everything out and putting it away.
• Digital books--if you use those instead of digital scrap pages--take up a lot less space on a shelf.

Note:  If you have old scrapbooks that are falling apart, want a second copy of a scrapbook, or simply need to save some space, don't miss this tutorial video on how to digitize old photo albums and make digital books from them.

USING UP PAPER SUPPLIES

It is very common for paper scrapbookers to have a lot of supplies (A LOT!), and equally common for paper scrapbookers to not want to waste them!  Many people create what's called Mixed Media scrapbooks, with some of the pages digital and some paper.  

This is what I did when I made the transition.  I created simple pages with paper, and more involved pages (like a big trip or other big event) digitally since it's so much faster and easier.  So when you go through my scrapbooks today, some pages are paper and some are digital.  You can see some of my digital pages above.  

I'm jumping ahead a little bit, but this is my favorite tool for digital scrapbooking because you can do so many things with it!  Layering, drop shadows, all sorts of things.  Plus, you can even "cut" digital papers with edge effects like you can with paper!  There are "rip" effects and everything!

And this leads us to the next question we're going to answer:  What digital scrapbooking method or company is the best, and why?

THE BEST DIGITAL SCRAPBOOKING COMPANY & WHY

I'm sure you'd get different answers from different people, but for me personally, I want certain things from my digital scrapbooking and memory-keeping, and in almost 20 years as a memory-keeping consultant, I've only found one that satisfies everything I want and actually impresses me!  

I have pretty high expectations.  I require my memory-keeping company to:

• keep my photos private (many don't)
• offer me powerful digital scrapbooking software that offers both individual scrap pages and bound books with best-in-the-industry quality, and a 100% satisfaction guarantee
• provide excellent customer service and have excellent customer satisfaction
• provide me a method of digital scrapbooking I can absolutely fall in love with so I have a lot of fun doing it
• provide me a mobile app for convenience in uploading my photos to my account

Bonuses would include an online digital scrapbooking group run by pro scrappers, as well as an option to digitize old family photos from slides or prints (and videos, too!).  And a photo preservation system that allows me to tag my photos and add descriptions to them, too, would be wonderful.

I have found all of that answered in Forever, and their digital scrapbooking software, Artisan.  Here's a basic overview of what it looks like to create in Artisan, but I have a couple more excellent resources for you, too, so that you can love your digital scrapbooking method as much as I love mine!

There is so much that you can do with Artisan software that I have created two additional resources to help!

1. Artisan Cheat Sheet - I put this together when I first started using Artisan to help me remember how to do something I just learned.  I update it periodically, so I suggest you bookmark it!
2. Artisan Quick Tips with Jennifer - This is basically the video version of the Artisan Cheat Sheet, which is nice, I think so you can see how 

By the way, if you want more, the digital scrapbooking group for Artisan meets online and has events every month with bigger weekend ones every quarter.  They have TONS of videos and fun resources (including blueprints, which are like templates) for free, too.  It's called Pixels2Pages and has a monthly or yearly membership fee.  The ladies who run it are called Pixies, which is kind of adorable, and you can learn more about the Pixels2Pages online scrapbooking group here.

Note:  Artisan runs on a PC, but MAC users can use it with a partitioning program.

"SO, WHY DID YOU SWITCH?"

I had scrapbooked--in one way or another--for as long as I could remember.  I made a wonderful friend when I moved to a new city in the mid-90s, and we started having kids about the same time.  She was a scrapbooker, too, and we started getting together for scrapbook days while our kids (who were friends, too) played.  We'd have 3-day stints where we'd leave everything out on a table and come back each day to work.  It was beautiful--a great "me time" for me to be with my friend, and a great playdate for our kids.

And then everything changed.  

In 2009, I moved across the country, and about that same time, Heritage Makers came out with digital scrap pages.  I loved looseleaf pages because I liked keeping my kiddos' artwork and class pictures and such--and Heritage Makers was high-quality, had tons of beautiful digital art, and allowed me to be so creative while scrapbooking faster than paper.

I decided that once I finished up my paper supplies (does anyone ever do that?!) and once my youngest graduated from high school, I'd switch from individual scrap pages to books since they are cheaper and take up less space on a shelf (and I don't have to bother with ALSO buying sheet protectors and binders and everything).  

And then everything changed again when Heritage Makers was purchased and eventually lost not only the creative capabilities I was used to but also the photo cloud storage capabilities I wanted.

This book is jumping ahead quite a few years from 2009, but it's my first digital scrapbooking BOOK made with Artisan by Forever (which is on sale almost all the time, by the way) and the digital art I bought from Forever, and I LOVE IT SO MUCH!

This is a screen shot (below) of me working in Artisan--I'm trying a two-page spread from a blueprint I bought at Forever.  I used it for my whole Florida trip and loved it!

DIGITAL SCRAPBOOKING IS JUST AS CREATIVE AS PAPER SCRAPBOOKING

If you get the right software, digital scrapbooking is just as creative as paper scrapbooking.

The "Artisan Jump Start" video posted above will help you see that digital scrapbooking can be just as creative (maybe more, in my opinion) as paper scrapbooking.  If you'd like to see a couple of examples, here's an Artisan Quick Tip about ripping digital papers

and here's one about adding a drop shadow (or a glow effect)

and here's a fun one about creating your own alphabets--kind of like creating your own stickers!

So come dip your toes in the world of digital scrapbooking and see what it can do for you!

By the way, if simpler digital scrapbooking without designing sounds better to you, Forever has a free program full of professionally-designed templates.  Here's a quick example of what using Design & Print looks like:

Do your friends a favor and share this with them!  Everyone needs a little more happiness in their lives, and pictures are one of the best ways to get it!  So let's make memory-keeping fun and easy.

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