Digital Scrapbook Flourishes and Embellishments

All modern scrapbooking uses flourishes and embellishments. They may go by different names, dependent on who is using them. Some may call them brushes. Others may call them rubber stamps. Still others will refer to them simply as embellishments. They are not identical in conventional scrapbooking, but they are fairly interchangeable in usage. All are meant to enhance the page and show off the photos to better advantage.

Digital scrapbook flourishes and embellishments serve much the same purposes. They pull together the elements of a page, decorate it, and make it exciting.

Flourishes

You can use digital scrapbook flourishes well once you understand them. Think of them in the following ways.

1. Digital scrapbook flourishes are graceful in nature. Think of weeping willow branches sweeping the ground in a summer breeze. Or picture garlands of flowers or greens trailing downward from a painted trellis.

2. While being graceful, digital scrapbook flourishes are also sparkling. They are like the short lively tunes played on brass instruments when a dignitary arrives.

3. Digital scrapbook flourishes are dramatic. They do not languish in the background of a page. They demand attention. Think of a graceful, sparkling young actress sweeping onto a stage.

4. Think of a signature with elaborate ornamentation. Perhaps the tail of one letter sweeps around the whole word. That is the feeling of digital scrapbook flourishes.

Embellishments

Just as you can use digital scrapbook flourishes better with understanding, so you can use digital scrapbook embellishments better by knowing what they can do.

Embellishments are also decorative touches, but they are not always as graceful, sparkling, elaborate, and dramatic.

Think of the embellishment as a 3D decoration. It may be flowery or it may be as plain as a baseball bat. It might look as though you cut a picture from a magazine and pasted it beside one of your photos.

Embellishments add interest to a page, but are not always fancy.

Putting It All Together

A digital scrapbook always begins with a new, blank image. You might start a file with a white box 12×12″ square or 8.5×11″. Size is less important than shape since you can shrink the image when you are done. With your basic page in front of you, you will follow these steps.

1. Import photos and place them on the page. Don’t worry. One advantage of digital scrapbooks is the ability to move objects freely.

2. Create or import background paper in colors that complement your photos.

3. Create photo mats or frames to set off your photos. You might use a torn-paper effect, straight lines, or imported frames.

4. Add journaling and captions - with drop shadows or glows around the lettering, if desired.

5. Finally, add a few digital scrapbook flourishes and embellishments.

When you have completed these 5 basic steps, take time to study your layout. You may want to enlarge or shrink a photo, crop it to focus on a particular portion, or sharpen it. You might want to rotate a photo slightly to one side or another.

Adjust the various elements of your digital scrapbook page and then save it. It is ready to print, to share by e-mail, or to save to a CD.