Leaping into Digital Scrapbooking!

In a recent post I spoke about the different niches that are out there that you could potentially make an income from.  Two of my own goals are to be financially independent and be a work at home mom.  On my journey to WAHM status, I've thought about a few things that sounded interesting to me.  A few years ago I kicked around the idea of doing scrapbooks, it's fun and a great way to preserve your memories, a lesson I learned the hard way twice!  I can really get into scrapbooking but then I also find myself getting a little overwhelmed and losing my creative juices.  So recently I came across digital scrapbooking and I wanted to know more. 

So what is digital scrapbooking? It's basically another way that you can preserve your memories with  your computer using software such as Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Photoshop Elements or Jasc Paint Shop Pro.  If you are not able to purchase a program such as Adobe, you can download GIMP, which is a free image software to create your digital scrapbook.

Much like traditional scrapbooking but on the computer instead.  Just as buying paper supplies, the software used can vary from inexpensive to expensive.  Instead of going to a traditional store to buy supplies, a digital scrapper will purchase their inventory from online stores.  Once all your supplies have been gathered, you use your software to create your pages and place everything where you want them to be.  Joining forums and finding other blogs on scrapbooking will also provide valuable information.

Before investing in any special program, take the time to check out the free digital scrapbooking sites that are out there to be sure that this is something you want to get into.  I found Smilebox while searching for free digital software on google and have found it fairly simple to use.  You can also use Smilebox to create animated postcards, greeting cards, slide shows, in addition to creating scrapbooks.  The initial service is free, you can try them out for 14 days free and if you like it, upgrade for $5.99 a month or $39.99 for a full year.  The free service will allow you to email or post to facebook but if you want to print or save your creation to a dvd you must sign up for their monthly or yearly service.  This is a great way to test the waters before jumping in with both feet!

I will continue to learn as much as I can about digital scrapbooking and look into using the tutorials and other helpful sites that I can learn from.  This may be what I'm looking for, but only time will tell as I have other ideas I wish to implement. 

Ho'o maikai!