Beginner Tutorial on Using Digital Scrapbooking Kits to make a Layout
 in Adobe Photoshop Elements

It is recommended to first create a Quick Page Layout using the Quick Page Tutorial before trying to make a layout from a digital scrapbooking kit.

Before getting started there are a few things to consider. What do you want to make? A 12x12 layout or an 8x10 layout, a slideshow or another type of project. For the purpose of this tutorial, we will be creating a 12x12 layout to be used in an album that will be printed, as well as shared at Scrapbook Your Own Website.

Start by downloading your free monthly kit (with membership) or by purchasing one. Once downloaded, it will be a "zipped" file that you need to unzip in order to use it. Windows XP has a built-in zip program. If you are using a Mac or older version of Windows, you may need to download a program to unzip your files such as Winzip (www.winzip.com). (Click on how to unzip a file for a quick tutorial.)

Step 1 Open Photoshop Elements version 2.0 or higher. Choose Start from Scratch from the Opening Screen in versions 3.0 and higher. For version 2.0 simply open the program.

 

Step 2 Kits are typically arranged in groups. Open the Papers folder and select a paper that will be used for the background of your layout.

From the top bar if you select Image>Resize you can confirm the measurements of your paper. Note, in this example, the paper is 12 x 12 and the resolution is 300. This is print quality. If your only intention is to post the image on a website like ScrapWow.com you may want to consider optimizing it (making the file size smaller by decreasing it to 'screen resolution.'). See Optimizing Photos in the Help Center to learn how to do this.

Step 3 Open each of the photos and elements you would like to use and drag them onto your layout file (the background paper you have just selected). Reference the Quick Page Tutorial for details on how to do this.

Step 4 Arrange the Layers accordingly and Move and Rotate your photos and embellishments to your liking. Once again, reference the Quick Page Tutorial for details on how to do this as well as how to add a Title and Journaling. It's that easy!

*Be sure to save often! Ctrl + S is the shortcut on a Windows machine.

If you have further questions please email us at help17 (AT) ScrapWow (DOT) com