Crossroads Cafe 

  Brianne Nevill

Revisiting Square One

I was sitting here at my computer typing up my hybrid article on fonts when a thought dawned on me; “Not everyone will understand what I am talking about!”  This thought stopped my fingers in their tracks and I deleted every word I had already typed and began again.

That is what this article and the next will be about; putting first things, well, first.  Now I am not going to start at square one on EVERYTHING hybrid, but what I am going to do is point you in the right direction for every question or concern you have about this form of scrapbooking as a whole.  I am going to provide you with a starting off point for information from some of the industry’s top hybrid scrappers.   This issue we will look at resource books for techniques, a digital programs, and printers. 

“From small beginnings come great things.” Proverbs quotes

Guide Books

Jessica Sprague’s definition of hybrid scrapbooking is: 

"Paper and pixels. Type and titles, edited photos and embellishment, printed and placed on a page. Any use of your computer as a scrapbook tool on a paper layout is considered “Hybrid” these days. And many scrapbookers don’t realize that using your computer as a scrapbook tool isn’t an “all-or-nothing” proposition. You don’t have to create all-digital layouts just because you pick up your mouse. In fact, if you’ve ever used your computer to create one of the parts of your paper layout, you’re a hybrid scrapbooker!"  (Sprague Lab Blog: http://spraguelab.squarespace.com)

This is exactly how I view hybrid scrapping.  Don’t think that because you are using Photoshop that you HAVE to create an all-digital layout.  Photoshop is an awesome tool that can be used to create elements for your paper page!  In her two Computer Tricks for Scrapbooking books, she walks you, step-by-step, through a number of techniques that can be used for both digital and hybrid scrapbooking.

Computer Tricks for Scrapbooking - Original edition and Volume 2.  (Both magazines can be found in Creating Keepsake’s online store)

Programs

There are a number of computer programs that allow you to change the look of your pictures, add digital elements, and modify them.  Photoshop (by Adobe), Digital Image (by Microsoft), and Paint Shop Pro (by Corel) are among them, and there are a wide variety of other programs available. 

I, and many other scrappers, use Photoshop. I know a lot of scrappers that are totally intimidated by it.  When I first put it on my computer, I was too; trust me.  Marie Curie once said, “Nothing in life is to be feared.  It is only to be understood”, and I completely agree.  I am sure every scrapper knew EXACTLY what to do when they picked up their first eyelet setter.  See?  You don’t need to use the FULL version of Photoshop (CS2 or CS3) to produce great hybrid results.  My trusty sidekick is Elements (I have Version 5.0, but Versions 3.0, 4.0, and 6.0 are used by many other scrappers).

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