Wednesday 13 May 2009

Hybrid Scrapping


My blog friend Sally over at Sal-utations has recently done her first digital scrapbook layout and asked the question "is digital scrapping cheating?"

This got me thinking. A lot of people digital scrap because it can be quick and easy and you don't end up with a lot of mess afterwards and the results can be amazing. I have seen some great layouts in magazines. They are certainly much easier to share electronically.

For me though and, I think a lot of others, going to the craft shops and browsing amongst all the wonderful goodies, choosing which papers, glitters, paints, chipboard etc to buy is the best feeling and then getting it home and spreading it all over the dining table spending hours deciding what to make, cutting things out, painting and stamping and making a layout that you can touch and say "I made that" is a great feeling. You add it to your already brimming album and look at it when ever you want to.

I like to use one album a year and it's interesting to look back and see how your style has changed and your techniques have improved or advanced.

I have tried digital scrapping with mixed results but read some time ago about Hybrid scrapping and investigated further.

Basically you use some digital images, by printing them out, on your paper layout. There are lots of sites out there that offer free digital kits, 2 Peas In A Bucket offer one each month. You download and save it and then you have a lots of images you can use over and over again that haven't cost a penny. I like to print things out like journalling tags or titles and then colour them further or print them on patterned paper so making them completely unique. You can also use them again and by changing their colour they don't look like the same thing.

There also lots of papers that can be printed out which would be ideal for card makers too. It's well worth investigating.

We like to be thrifty in Yorkshire and you get quite a kick out of making something that has really cost very little. It leaves a few more pennies for that next visit to the craft shop!!!!


The layout at the top of this post of one of our cats, Oscar, when he was just a tiny kitten is a traditional layout on core-dinations black card which has been sanded back round the edges to reveal the blue core. I used matching K & Co papers and Basic Grey figgy pudding letters for the title.
The journaling tags were from a Digital Kit. I opened them in Photoshop Elements, typed in my journalling, printed and then cut them out and then added some ink to ensure they toned with the rest of the page.
I then added some WeRMemoryKeepers embellishments and stuck on some gems to finish off.



I'd be interested to know what anyone else's thoughts are on digital or none digital.

7 comments:

Sally H said...

I love your layout and understand totally the stroking of stash, because I am just the same with my card making stash.Perhaps I should have asked 'Will more people digiscrap in the recession?'If you want to be creative and have no money spare to buy stash, I suppose it is the perfect solution.

Lynne K said...

Great layouts, Lisa. I like the idea of hybrid techniques. I would say it is the best of both worlds. I don't do scrapbooking, but often use scrapping techniques on my cards. I have used papers, both backgrounds and toppers, printed from my computer and then added stamping, colouring (inks, paints, pencils, etc.) and/or embellishments to make them individual. No reason not to use any method available to us, I think. A totally digified scrapbook page just uses a different medium, except that the credit on the back would have to say "artwork created by" rather than "handmade by"!

Having said all that, I too prefer the process of working with inks, stamps, bits and pieces to turn a blank piece of paper or card into a finished item by hand. Sally will vouch for the amount of stash I have to stroke!!

lisa said...

It's great to hear what you all think. We seem to agree you can have the best of both worlds, although nothing beats real stash.
Good point Sally about Digiscrapping in the recession, although you could still print things out and use them for the price of a bit of ink!

Lisax

Debbie Dolphin said...

thanks for your comments lisa.Im sure yours will be great,just like all your lovely work on here.Cant wait to see it
Debbie

Anonymous said...

love it Lisa, I don't do scrapbooking, but what you have done is very inspiring !

lottie said...

I would love to learn how to do scrap booking and more specifically digital work too - so that I could type things up and print them off in a nice way.

To combine the two would be a perfect solution - being the tactile person that I am.

Morag Cutts said...

There's nothing like real stash but I like hybrid scrapping too! Can make your money go a LONG way!