DET Focus – Maureen Hlavacek aka “bentrdr”

I had thought for some years that I would like to try something artistic on the computer with my photographs and when I discovered Digital Scrapbook Place, I realized I could combine both the artistic and the memory preservation.

With paper scrapping, I was frustrated sorting through stacks of papers and elements to try to put a layout together so it was exciting to see the coordinated elements and mix and match background choices in the kits in the DSP store.... and with so much depth and realism! 

I might start a layout either with a kit I love or with a photo. I might start with colors, theme of the kit or emotions in the photos, whatever catches my interest. There are also many wonderful memories with no or only one or two photos and a beautiful or interesting kit can make a special layout even with poor photos.  The overlays I've tried for the first time recently are so easy and create such wonderful results and I just love word art to add that special finishing touch to a page. When people are viewing my albums, they always read the word art, even if not always the journaling. 

Changing the colors of a set of papers and elements occasionally to even better match photos was something I learned after taking some digital university (DSU) classes here at DSP, although I still always start with a great kit.  Testament to the popularity and growth of digital scrapbooking and the quality of the DSP kits, last week I took prints of my digitally created latest vacation album to our local paper scrapbook store to have photocopies made.  The store employees were admiring the prints and I was soon explaining digital scrapping and writing down the DSP web site for them!