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Scrapbooking has been popular for many generations all over the world and seems to be gaining in popularity once again. Wanting to preserve special moments has encouraged us to collect mementos such as pictures and small souvenirs, and then arrange them in a creative manner to remind us of those memorable times. While some scrapbookers prefer to use traditional methods using paper, scissors and paste, many have gone hi-tech with digital scrapbooking. It is the 21st Century version of a photo album or a journal.

Digital scrapbooking is steadily growing in popularity. Many traditional scrapbooking magazines have written special issues featuring how to make a scrapbook on your computer. Some hobbyists have introduced digital art to their paper scrapbooks by just crafting certain elements on their computer and then printing them out to put in their normal paper albums. However, there are many testing the waters and making their scrapbooks entirely on the computer. They are finding that it saves time and materials, as well as provides many more options that are not available with traditional methods.

Many digital scrapbookers are also avid photographers using digital cameras and have their pictures stored on their computers. The beauty of their work would be wasted if they were relegated to be stored there forever in folders. Some interesting ways to showcase them have developed. Not only can a digital scrapbook be made relatively quickly, they can also be easily distributed and shared with nearly anyone with a computer.

Digital scrapbooking is really quite simple. There are few must have items in order to make digital scrapbooks though. First, you will need a computer with a relatively decent graphics card. Next, you need digital imaging software such as Adobe Photoshop or software specifically designed for digital scrapbookers such as Scrapbook Max. The advantage of having Photoshop or other similar software is that not only is it designed to edit photos but it can also be used to make layouts such as used on scrapbook pages. Obviously, you need to have the photos. You may also use scrapbook templates such as those that are available online. They can help beginners with design ideas. If you are wanting to print your work, a good quality photo printer and photo paper is also needed.

Once you have assembled these materials, digital scrapbooking is a breeze. Like traditional scrapbooking methods, it essentially involves designing backgrounds, adding the pictures, inserting accents, adding text and titles, and so on. You can make the background look like 50's wallpaper or something far out from the future. You can even scour the internet to find pictures of historic or news events that would add a time frame to your page. The great thing about digital scrapbooking is everything can be easily edited and mistakes can be quickly fixed. If you don*t like how a piece of paper is torn, put it back together and do it again!

Go ahead and manipulate the photo itself adding color to a black and white photograph or make a color photo black and white. You can crop it, make it fade, or add a celebrity to it * digital scrapbooking totally removes all of the limitations and allows your creativity to flow.

Making your scrapbook digitally also means that you will be able to e-mail it or even display it on the internet. There are many places online these days that allow you to store your images and share them with family and friends just by giving them a simple URL to view them. On the other hand, you could choose to print out copies of your scrapbook pages to give as gifts. If you are printing them, you will want to be sure that you have purchased the correct size binder to go with the paper you have chosen. You could also burn it to a CD to have it printed at a copy center if you prefer. Not only is your creativity unlimited, you aren*t limited to a single option for sharing them.