Remember those old, faded traditional scrapbooks and postcard albums, with pretty greeting cards and postcards glued into them and the paper all yellowed and worn?
Melanie Grimes, a photographer and digital scrapbooker from Southampton, remembers the scrapbooks kept by her great-gran - "great creaky crumbling albums, full of gorgeous postcards and the occasional old, old photo. Oh to have those now…".
Melanie is one of the UK digital scrappers leading the way in creating a modern interpretation of those old, much-loved albums. She describes her pages as "digitally vintage" with a handmade, worn look and they are just as evocative and clearly made with love and care as any paper and glue version. And she has found a beautiful solution to the question of what to with all those digital photos that might otherwise just sit on the computer hard drive and never be looked at. And with four children, plus a cat and a small flock of chickens, she has plenty of photos to work with.
(all products from Designer Digitals)
Mel prints her albums as hard backed photobooks (at Blurb) and loves to see them lined up on the bookshelf, a collection that is growing month by month thanks to the speed and ease of digital scrapbooking. I spoke to her about her scrapbooking approach and how she loves the creative freedom and "no limits" of digital scrapbooking:
How long have you been a scrapbooker?
"I can't remember how long I have been scrapping…I think I've been scrapbooking before I knew what it was - it took some time for it to catch on in the UK. I used to add sequins, tickets and decorated photo corners to my photo albums a long time before 'scrapbooking' appeared in any shops. I did paper scrap for a year or so. I found it incredibly frustrating, and got glue over everything. I also found it was a 'how shall I use what I have' thought process and not, as I find digital scrapping, an artistic 'what can I do to set off this photo best?' challenge. I have been digi scrapping about 5 years now I think.
Digital scrapbooking gives me much more freedom. I like to be able to do whatever I dream up - blend it, blur it, recolour it, and not be limited by what I can buy or what colour paper I have left".
What is your approach to creating a new layout?
"My process is usually to start with the photo ... pick a theme depending on the photo, or the message I want to get across, use colours from the photo (that can be from the background, the clothes, eye colours- whatever). I add elements until I am happy, the background is usually the last thing I add. and funnily enough the background is often the thing I find hardest to choose.
I always try to make it look real, it matters very much to me if a staple is on top, or if a ribbon should be tucked in, etc etc. I always have a date on my page.
Where do you get your inspiration?
"I am inspired by everything - packaging, advertisements, old books, pinboards, fonts, other peoples pages, trying to get a mood or feeling across on the page….. you name it, I have got inspired by it! Although I can do, and often have done, pages of all styles, I do particularly like making vintage look pages with a handmade, worn look."
Do you know any other digital scrapbookers in the UK?
"I know hardly any local digital scrappers sadly, but I know people from the Designer Digitals boards that are in the UK. I'd LOVE to have digi friends nearby. I found Designer Digitals (www.designerdigitals.com) when I was looking for a digital scrapbook store. I found a few but kept coming back to DD. Their look and style suited what I wanted to be able to do. I still find that. It doesn't matter it's US based (Designer Digitals has scrapbookers active in the gallery and the message boards from all over the world), well not until occasionally when some elements come out with words spelt 'wrong' {distinct lack of the letter 'U' over there ;)}!
* because of this in my kits and element packs brit-speak versions are provided :-)
What are your favourite things to use on your pages?
"FRAMES. If all I was allowed was one product, it would be a frame. I've made whole books of just a white page with a vintage frame around the photos. It adds lots of character and yet is incredibly simple. SO many different frames make me happy :).
Having said that I like ribbons, fasteners and tags. And journal spots, and post cards...
And worn photo edges and worn page edges work so well with my look".
Another English scrapbooker with the hand-made, vintage look is Georgina from Herefordshire, who uses the high-tech hobby of digital photography and scrapbooking to turn out beautiful pages about her children Archie and Evie.
Georgina loves being able to bring up her children in the country. "I like knowing we can go off for a ramble around a wood or through a field, see some sheep, jump in muddy puddles...". After days like this she has lots of wonderful photos, but they don't just sit on her hard drive. For her, the ease of digital scrapbooking and the lack of mess are what what sold her on the hobby.
Why did you take up digital scrapbooking?
"I like to think of myself as a crafty person, I used to adore making cards (these days I whip one up as and when I need it - I always feel guilty if I buy one!) – I now find it difficult to fit in such crafts, as time is at a premium since going back to work, indeed, my main creative delights tend to be playdough and sticky pictures!
I started digital scrapbooking after up-grading my point and shoot camera to a Panasonic Lumix bridging camera in 2009 (half-way between a point and shoot and SLR!). I began to take lots and lots of photographs – which was great – but – there are only so many photo frames you can fill and display without them taking over your whole house! That’s when I turned to digital scrapbooking – a perfect outlet for my photographs. I no longer had to subject my photographs to a life-time, unseen, on my computer’s hard-drive. I mean, why go to all the trouble of taking photographs, if no-one’s ever going to appreciate them? The digital era is so amazing but I do worry that even though we take zillions more photographs than our parents did – we seldom print them off and I fear there’ll be a whole generation of ‘lost’ photographs all hidden away on dead hard-drives.
Before finding digital scrapbooking (a search on the internet!) I did do some traditional paper scrapping. I have a mini album of my son's first year. I gave up when he started crawling and invading my scrapping supplies (which were never all that brilliant as it's so hard to find quality, up-to-date stash in the UK (and expensive!). Now, instead of having to put my stash away (or hide it from my husband – LOL!), I just turn off the computer. Perfect!"
What's your scrapping process and where do you find your inspiration?
"I guess the first component of each new page is simply the photographs themselves. I try to match the papers and elements to the context, mood and colours within the pictures. I especially like to co-ordinate the colours - infact I am rather obsessive about this, I think I may have scrappers OCD (if I can’t, I use B&W or a muted photograph!). After adding the photographs and papers, the design of my pages tends to be quite manic. I am by no means orderly. I love to surf through my stash and pick bits out from here and there. I tend to do a lot of placing then deleting of elements until the page looks just right. I'm quite a quick scrapper, I can do a page an evening.
I also like to have a starting point – a template or sketch or simply inspiration from a magazine or on-line gallery. I find staring at a blank page so very daunting. I always leave the journaling right until the end – when it’s late and I’m tired and the threat of typo errors is extremely high!
How would you describe your style?
My scrapping style is certainly chaotic and busy! I like to include a lot on my pages. I’m much more comfortable with multi-photo LOs too and I just love adding lots of elements. I’m not afraid to say I have an irrational fear of ‘white-space’ and clean lines – although I always admire the work of others who are able to achieve a slick, graphic look! Saying that, I have tried my hand at lots of different techniques, especially through Designer Digitals. It's a great place to learn.
Do you know any other local digital scrapbookers?
I know one other UK digital scrapper - Carolynn who is also active at Designer Digitals. She is from Herefordshire too and although we've chatted lots on-line have never actually met - we are hoping to soon!! A digital scrapbooking buddy sounds so exciting to me!
I found Designer Digitals through a google search. I used to love surfing the gallery but always thought the pages were so out of my league - the creme de la creme of digi scrapping! It took me ages to book up the courage to finally upload a page and as time went on I gradually began to really immerse myself in the wonderful and supportive community at Designer Digitals. I have learnt so much about all things digital since joining them and have developed my photography skills along the way.
It really doesn't matter to me that it is based in the USA. The girls (and the odd guy!) on there are from all corners of the world - I think it's great that folk with the same interests can come together in one place.
Georgina mentioned Carolynn, another English digital scrapbooker who is part of the community at Designer Digitals and who is creating gorgeous pages for her son Charlie.
For Carolynn, a single mum and fire-fighter, digital scrapbooking is the perfect creative release. "it's safe to say my life is a little hectic at times.......trying to juggle a fulltime job along with the trials and tribulations of a living with a toddler!! Hooray for some 'scrap therapy' at the end of each day, it's a perfect way to unwind".
When did you take up digital scrapbooking?
"I've only been digi scrapping since January of this year (2011) so I'm very much a 'newbie' in digi world. I've never been a paper scrapper and it was only by chance that I discovered digital scrapbooking. I was browsing the internet (I forget what for now) and somehow found myself on a scrapbooking site. I didn't even know such a hobby existed but I was hooked there and then, it was the perfect thing for me as a single parent, housebound evening and with a hard drive full of photos!! I absolutely love it and I don't think I've ever felt this passionate about something before in my life."
Where do you find your inspiration?
"All my inspiration comes from the super talented scrappers that upload their pages to the gallery at Designer Digitals. I have learnt so much since I became a member and if ever I get 'stuck' on a page I just have a quick browse through the gallery and there will always be something on someone's page to get me going again"
How would you describe your scrapbooking style?
"I like my pages to look quite worn and shabby and I like lot's of layers and details. I really admire layouts that are clean and simple but have yet to create one myself!! I'm very particular about colour schemes and like my papers and embellishments to compliment the photos. I'm currently making a book for my sister about her travels around South East Asia and I'm going for a very feminine and vintage feel to these pages which is very different to the whimsy and fun pages I make with Charlie's photos."
Do you know any other local digital scrapbookers other than your online friends?
"I don't.......however I know the VERY talented scrapper Georgina through Designer Digitals who also lives in Herefordshire and I am meeting her and her gorgeous children later this month for a 'camera walk' in a very beautiful country park near to us both. She has been a huge inspiration to me and has definitely influenced my own style of scrapping......I'm so excited about our little get together".
How did you discover www.designerdigitals?
"I discovered DD from seeing the designers credited on various other galleries I'd been browsing. I absolutely love the products and how active the community is. I was completely bowled over by how friendly all the members are and I have learnt a huge amount about every aspect of scrapbooking....... from photography and technical stuff to page design and colour schemes".
(Achieving the shabby hand-made look is easy with lots of vintage and distressed products at Designer Digitals, as well as advice, tutorials and support for newbie digital scrapbookers:
digital scrapbooking united kingdom UK, england, digiscrap UK
