True Story

Although I had dabbled in digital scrapbooking starting sometime in 2008, it was actually taking a class in digital collage which sent me spiraling into the frenzy I live in today.  I mean, I went to Michael's today with the intention of doing a memory book with paper supplies but left thinking the only thing I really needed was a scanner! lol!!  Maybe Michael's should start selling scanners?  hmmmm...

For a little history, I have no idea how I found digital scrapbooking at all, but I know that I didn't really find it.  That's confusing.  What I mean is that I learned software existed that could help you make a digital scrapbook.  It allowed much more control than using websites like Shutterfly.  (Side note: Sorry to sound snobby, but that's just not the same.  Plopping pictures into a predefined "Scrapbook" is just like putting them in a sleeve in a traditional picture book.  Don't tell me you "scrapped" anything!)  Back to the story, so I began working this way and loving how quick and easy it was.  I liked that I could change the size of a photo without preplanning and without reprinting it!  And there was a lot of digital paper and embellishments to choose from.
Well, a year or so and a few internet searches later and I discovered a whole new world!  There were classes you could take and all kinds of fun projects for digital scrapbookers.  And you could have the freedom to make things the way you wanted them.  So I dived in and purchased the Bamboo Craft Wacom tablet which came with the latest copy of Photoshop Elements and a few other things which made the price tag appealing. 
Ok, getting closer to the meat here....well, then I found reneepearson.com which is full of all kinds of classes - I've taken several - and had great interest in the offering on digital collage.  That class is what showed me all that I was missing using the scrapbooking software and taught me all kinds of fun things about Photoshop and how I could control the look of my pages, etc.  That's actually how I started this blog too!  So I could post my work and look back at how I had progressed.  Relive my excitement here.
Renee is busy working on a sequel to that class and I am excited to see what she comes up with!  On her blog she has put out a call for layouts using her Melange kit which you can grab for FREE and was made specifically for digital collage.  So, I went back to work with that kit and here is what I sent in:
























I'm hoping she likes it because I would love to win a spot in her new class!!  Hope you can find your inspiration somewhere too!