Part 2: Now what?

Here's the next section of our how to get started in digital scrapbooking. You should now have downloaded the free ebook and have READ it. If you haven't read it then don't bother going on to the next step. You should be in the process of getting or already have your software. Or are trying out the free trial version while your waiting.

The next thing you need to do is.... LEARN THE SOFTWARE! :) Now this is not easy. Especially when it comes to Adobe. It is not intuitive. It will take you some time to figure out layers, what they are and how to even use them. Don't try to just jump in and start scrapbooking with this software (unless you have used it before.) You will get frustrated fast! You will give up and decide it is way too hard for you. But if you don't give up I promise you will LOVE this software and you will use it for everything, even things non scrapbooking related. So here is what you should do...

First off you need something to play with. So download this free kit from Scrapgirls. It will give you plenty to start playing around with. You'll need supplies to actually learn your software, but you might as well wait until you have learned the techniques and are feeling comfortable before you start buying products. That way you'll know exactly what products you want and will make the most of your money.

Now PSE is not that easy to learn. You will easily get frustrated. You can try figuring it out on your own, hunting down tutorials on the web or using Adobe help. Or you can fork over some money, which will be worth every penny, and have someone show you exactly how to digital scrapbook, how to run PSE, how to get started with tips and techniques that will make your life sooo much easier! I promise. This is the ONLY way to go.


The CEO of scrapgirls has created some videos where she does just that. She shows you exactly how to get started, what to do and you can watch them all on your computer. You can stop them anytime and practice what she teaches you, you can rewatch them over and over again.

THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT: She has different videos based on which version of PSE you have bought. Make sure you purchase the right one. You can either purchase the downloadable version or the cd version. Pay attention before you purchase. The image above is for the newest version of PSE 6.0. It comes with some scrapbooking embellishments and papers to get started. The others do not. But if you ordered version 3.0, make sure you purchase the version 3.0 videos or you will be very frustrated as well.

You can find all the different versions and read about them here.

Well that's the next step. You need to practice on your new software and you need to learn it. There is no way I can teach it from a blog, and there is no way I'm going to try to do it from a blog or an email when there are other better more efficent sources for doing it. So get started on that, and we'll share more tips tomorrow! :)

Missed Part One? You can find it here.