[sanot]

what is the best route to really get started here? Do I have enough stuff to get started without being overwhelmed by too many choices? I've watched Ro's tutorials on Scrapbook Software Secrets Revealed that came with SG_Refresh2 Collection and I bought one set of templates (lots of shots) and one kit ABR_BatterUp. I realize I can just "jump right in" and try things out, but I almost feel like I need some direction, to hold me accountable perhaps. Is there a group or a challenge for newbies that will start us at the beginning of the learning curve and keep us going? should I try the chats? where should I start and not get overwhelmed? Sometimes I go for such a stretch without doing any of this, and it feels like I lose what I had learned the last time (sounds like summer vacation for my 3 kids!)

I'm using PSE 7 on a PC.

[Becster]

A newbie challenge sounds like great idea!

You might take a look at the ATC (Artist Trading Card) challenges. It's scrapping on a smaller scale and seems to be a good way to do something quickly without feeling overwhelmed.

ATC Instructions and June ATC Challenge

Also, one of my favorite small-scale projects is the monthly recipe challenge. The new challenge will be posted on June 9th. Here is the May Recipe Challenge just to give you some ideas.

Have you downloaded the Freebie collection? Narrative There are tons of things there to get you going.

Good luck!

[Sara Arell]

Oooh! I like your idea for a newbie challenge too! Becky gave you some great ideas!

[MariJ]

Hmmmm.. My way was to jump right in and learn as I went along. Do you have a favorite subject you'd like to scrap? I started by putting into layouts photo emails that I'd saved. Like when I went on a trip and sent an email with photos to show what was going on -- I scrapped it! I posted questions along the way like you have - that's great.. I find I learn a lot just by doing it.
As for chats and challenges, if you look on the forum home page and scroll down to the "Fun and Games" category, click on the "Challenges" title and you'll find the current challenge. It's a fun way to learn by trying the weekly challenges.
Like for instance, Tuesdays are the freebie challenge where you are challenged to make a layout with a specific freebie from the newsletter. (Have you signed up for the newsletter?)
Saturday is the "Color Challenge" where you are challenged to make a layout with a specified group of colors. Etc, etc...

During the month there are also various chats and crops. You can find them at the bottom of the newsletter (also available on the SG homepage) and truly any of these are fun and all ScrapGIrls are kind and helpful.
From the Forum page, you can access a Calendar for the Month. Looking at it now I see there is a "New Member Chat" on June 14th @6pm MT. There might be others that interest you also. My favorite is the once-a-month ATC chat where we talk about and create little layouts (2.5 x 3.5 inches!) to trade. Since they're so small they're less intimidating!

As for materials, I'm no expert but with the Batter Up collection and the free "A Narrative" Collection (in the Boutique under "freebies") you've got a good start. But, beware -- it's addicting and the SG designers are constantly creating new beautiful goodies!
I started with just collections and went into templates, etc as I went along....

Good luck and keep asking questions and can't wait to see your layouts! Keep asking questions, someone is always around with a kind reply!

[MariJ]

OOps! Sorry for the repeat. As I was typing, Becky was typing about ATC's!

[SandiC.]

When I was first starting I worked right along with Ro's videos. I picked out one photo I liked that I could use with the freebies I'd already gotten. You've really got a lot to work with so far. Then I watched the video. Watched Ro do one step, and then pause the video and try that step. If I got it, fine, I moved ahead. If not I went back and watched the step again. Then tried again. Once I mastered those first baby steps, it all started to come together faster and faster. Taking that first plunge into it is the most difficult, after you've gotten a few skills mastered, the creativity takes over and you can really start to fly.

[SodScrap]

I was going to mention recipe cards, or even a 4x6 layout. Browse through the gallery and pick out some layouts you like. You can use them for your inspiration! You can follow photo/embellishment placement and etc.

I learned by doing, and asking lots of questions here on the mb.


The Narrative free kit has a great collection of things to get you started!!

Can wait to see your layouts!

[teecee]

When I first started digi scrapping, I did the same thing as Sandi. I just worked through Ro's videos one step at a time, pausing, trying things out, re-playing the video if needed, etc. Becky and Marilyn also gave you some good ideas about doing ATCs - they are just (kind of) mini layouts and lots of fun. You may also want to come to the next New Member Chat. It's the best place for asking questions and getting quick answers. Once you start to feel comfortable then you might want to start doing some of the other chats/challenges.
As you go along, just post questions as you need to. Just remember to relax and and have fun!

[tiza126]

With the Refresh collection, the Lots of Shots templates, and the Batter Up collection, I'd say you have a good group of supplies to start with!

As you work your way through Ro's videos, just keep practicing each technique, and you will slowly get the hang of the basics.

The New Member Chats are a great place to come and ask the team questions about anything. We are here to help as best as we can

And as you'll see, a lot of our daily challenges are geared more toward page themes/colors/subjects, rather than technique-oriented, so they are good for beginners and advanced scrappers alike. When you find a challenge you want to try, just go for it! Use the supplies and photos you have, and try. We would love it see it, no matter what skill level you are currently at.

4x6 layouts are a great small size to start with. The templates you purchased will be 12x12 or 8.5x11 (letter-sized), and those are fun to play with as well.

Keep asking questions, and I hope to see some of your layouts soon!

[Cheri T]

You've got some excellent suggestions already...I mostly want to add a big huge welcome from a fellow Iowan:) (We are in Ames)
I'm not sure if anyone mentioned this or not, but the SG University and the tutorials in the newsletter are also excellent ways to gain and then practice new skills. If you click the University link there are categories in a drop-down menu off to the right.

Happy scrapping and never be afraid to ask questions!

[sanot]

Thank you for all of the helpful suggestions! This is such a helpful community to be part of. I’m downloading the Narrative collection as I type this, thanks, I didn’t know that existed! And I didn’t know where to find the challenges, so that’s helpful to know where to look, thanks. ScrapGirls University is another place I need to check out, thanks for all of the suggestions! The chat thing seems a little daunting, but maybe I should just give it a try sometime.

I have a DD age 9.5 and DS age 8 that are also trying to learn digi-scrapping for 4-H, so me trying to teach them what I know and re-watching the tutorials again with them is helping a lot (the best way to learn something is to teach someone else, right?) Actually I may have to work harder to stay ahead of them! Now I just need to find time on the computer all to myself to do my own layouts…LOL.

One thing I can see myself struggling with is how to organize my folders of supplies. I am keeping them together according to collection so it’s easy to see what coordinates, but I’m also copying them into other folders labeled paper (with subfolders by color), embellishments (with subfolders for ribbons, journal tags, fasteners, etc) alphas, and so on…I feel like if I don’t start out organized with this stuff I won’t be able to find it later. I just hope the system I’m starting with will work. How do you do it as you accumulate more and more? Should I be overhauling my system now before I accumulate more? Thanks ladies!

[mimes1]

One thing that hasn't been mentioned is to sign up for the clubs. You get a very good value and the amount of stuff is perfect for holding you over till next month! LOL! I started with the club and Ro's videos. For organizing, I file a little differently than what Ro does, and it works for my brain. I don't tag as I use picasa and that search engine finds everything I need quickly. I used to use ACDSee, and did so for years very happily, so there are lots of options. I would just say find what works for you, and play around to find what works for you while your collection is small. When it gets big the thought of reorganizing is a bit daunting.

[kimmybutton]

Just wanted to say hi! Seems like you have gotten some great advice already. I will encourage you to join a chat. They really are not intimidating at all. Everyone is so friendly and it helped to encourage me when I started!

[Rose Ann]

Welcome!
We all remember being in your shoes. It takes a lot of courage to step out of your comfort zone and post questions, but keep doing it. And the videos help a lot, too. I must have watched them 80 times...LOL.
You mentioned that you think you might want to rethink how to organize your supplies...just curious, what version of windows are you using? Or are you on a mac?

The reason I ask is that I used to separate all my supplies into categories, but I just got Win7, and I stopped separating my supplies because of the gallery feature. I won't enumerate its' many virtues right now (in case you don't have it) but it's totally wonderful. Love it. I think Vista has a version of the Gallery, too.

[tinkerbell11]

I just wanted to Welcome you and say HI!

[Reminiscing]

Another great idea that helped me (which I think wasn't mentioned, but I did skim a bit) is to subscribe to the challenges and chats forums. When you're in any forum, look for the button in the upper right that says "Watch forum." You will get emails any time something new is posted. Getting frequent emails about what's going on reminds me about what I want to do and keeps me on track.

By the way, you can subscribe to individual threads too, by clicking on the Watch Topic button in the upper right. You can also unsubscribe from forums and topics at any time by clicking on the same button. (You'll see the text changes to "Stop Watching" after you've subbed.)

Happy scrapping!

[nicacarol]

Rose Ann, on 08 June 2011 - 08:37 AM, said:

Welcome!
We all remember being in your shoes. It takes a lot of courage to step out of your comfort zone and post questions, but keep doing it. And the videos help a lot, too. I must have watched them 80 times...LOL.
You mentioned that you think you might want to rethink how to organize your supplies...just curious, what version of windows are you using? Or are you on a mac?

The reason I ask is that I used to separate all my supplies into categories, but I just got Win7, and I stopped separating my supplies because of the gallery feature. I won't enumerate its' many virtues right now (in case you don't have it) but it's totally wonderful. Love it. I think Vista has a version of the Gallery, too.

Hi, I'm new also and just had Windows 7 put on my laptop and I have no idea what you mean by Gallery. I'm trying to figure out how to start my first layout and having problems with following directions on Secret since my Layer menu doesn't go along with her video. I'm speaking mainly about layers. I really want to do this. I bought the AdobeShop Elements 5 off EBay and and have all the video tutorials to go along with Elements. Shouldn't be hard!!!! I'm thinking Windows 7 is my problem. Thanks for any help in advance.
NicaCarol

[nicacarol]

Hi, I'm new also and just had Windows 7 put on my laptop and I have no idea what you mean by Gallery. I'm trying to figure out how to start my first layout and having problems with following directions on Secret since my Layer menu doesn't go along with her video. I'm speaking mainly about layers. I really want to do this. I bought the AdobeShop Elements 5 off EBay and and have all the video tutorials to go along with Elements. Shouldn't be hard!!!! I'm thinking Windows 7 is my problem. Thanks for any help in advance.
NicaCarol

[nicacarol]

I even need help knowing how to post here. I think I've done it wrong already.............NicaCarol

[Nica]

nicacarol, on 03 June 2013 - 06:02 PM, said:

I even need help knowing how to post here. I think I've done it wrong already.............NicaCarol

Hi NicaCarol!

First off, let me say welcome to Scrap Girls!!!

As for posting, you're doing just fine. If you get a chance, you might say hello to everyone over here: Meet and Greet. Just click "Start a New Topic" in the top right hand corner (green button).

With PSE and the videos, which video are you struggling with? Have you found the transcripts? Sometimes it helps to re-read what Ro says. That said, I have PSE 7, but here are a few ideas: you'll want to make sure that you are using the editor, not the organizer. Also, make sure that you're under "Edit" not "Create." And, make sure it's "Full Edit" beneath that. The layers palette should be on the lower right-hand side of your screen.

Keep asking questions, that's the way we all started, so we're all more than willing to help.

[nicacarol]

Thanks, Monica for your input. I'm using PSE 5 and it is also in Editor it says Full Edit just under File. I have the layers bin, but a layer is locked, which I dont know how that happened and I can not see a way to unlock it.????? I am watching the video over and over to make sure I dont miss a step, but dont know about the transcripts. Where are they? I've actually done a little digital scrapbooking about 5 years ago and have forgotten everything, so starting from scratch. I am even looking at the older PS videos that I used before.........I will keep asking Questions until I get back on firm ground again.

[Nica]

nicacarol, on 04 June 2013 - 05:04 PM, said:

Thanks, Monica for your input. I'm using PSE 5 and it is also in Editor it says Full Edit just under File. I have the layers bin, but a layer is locked, which I dont know how that happened and I can not see a way to unlock it.????? I am watching the video over and over to make sure I dont miss a step, but dont know about the transcripts. Where are they? I've actually done a little digital scrapbooking about 5 years ago and have forgotten everything, so starting from scratch. I am even looking at the older PS videos that I used before.........I will keep asking Questions until I get back on firm ground again.

Carol, if you double click on a locked layer, it should open a box called "New Layer." It will automatically rename the layer and unlock it for you.

As for the transcripts, they are pdf files that came with the videos. Look for a file called something similar to "Ro_PSE_Secrets_6-7_Transcripts."

[Rose Ann]

Hello!
In Win7 if you open the folder where you have your supplies, you can type in the word of the object you are looking for and it will find all of them. For example, if I am looking for a leaf, I can type "leaf" into the search box at the top of the window, and when I click enter, windows shows me all the leaves in my ScrapGirls folder. Also, if I don't know what I want, but I want a certain color, I can search for "orange" and everything that contains the word orange will be found.

It makes organizing supplies a snap, because all I have to do is combine the smaller download folders for each collection into one folder with the name of that collection. I used to duplicate all my supplies and keep the collections AND each object sorted by category. THAT was a time hog.

Now I have a Folder for Scrap Girls supplies with subfolders for Collections, Easy Pages/Albums, Scrap Simple Paper, Scrap Simple Embellishments, Styles, Actions, Fonts, Shapes, Brushes, and Tutorials.

Hope that helps. Keep posting your questions, we all remember when we were new and are happy to help any way we can.

nicacarol, on 03 June 2013 - 06:01 PM, said:

Hi, I'm new also and just had Windows 7 put on my laptop and I have no idea what you mean by Gallery. I'm trying to figure out how to start my first layout and having problems with following directions on Secret since my Layer menu doesn't go along with her video. I'm speaking mainly about layers. I really want to do this. I bought the AdobeShop Elements 5 off EBay and and have all the video tutorials to go along with Elements. Shouldn't be hard!!!! I'm thinking Windows 7 is my problem. Thanks for any help in advance.
NicaCarol