I have not traditionally scrapbooked in quite some time...a year at least?? (traditional = paper, stickers, scissors, adhesive, etc) because it's sooooo much easier to sign into my computer than it is to print the photos (after organizing and selecting the ones to print), look through the stack of papers and color coordinate them, see what stickers/embellishments I have to go with the theme, find a layout, cut the photos, adhere all the doo-dads to the pages and journal. Journaling is the part I put off until forever. I know what I want to say, but then I gotta type it out on the computer and print it and hope it's the right size...yeah, I could hand write, but I get so sloppy :(. Ok, so my kids are going to know that once upon a time I could use pen and paper to write down my thoughts and see my typos or other mistakes. My mom has great handwriting. I do not.
Digital scrapbooking eliminates most of that "hassle". No table to clear, no photos to print (though organizing them is still time consuming), no glue/stickers/embellishments to buy.
With Heritage Makers, I can crop and enlarge my photos or easily swap them. No glue! Darn Xyron machine always got stuck after I switched the glue cartridges anyway. I can design my journaling around the layout, any size, any shape, any color. There are kits with matching papers, ribbons, letters, stickers, etc. I can use one piece from 40 different kits...or use that one piece 40 times. And now I can take one part of a project and save it to another - woohoo!!
No running to the store to buy stacks of paper, 2-3 different adhesives (vellum, "pop-art"), ink for the stamps, cleaner for the stamps, stamp organizers, every color pen/ink, stickers for known projects. My supply store is open 24 hours a day!!
If a project is damaged, I can order another. If I need three sets of projects for each set of grandparents, I order 3 at once. If I am sending a baby announcement to my cousin in Oregon, HM will slap the stamp on it and address it for me.
There are templates to let me drap and drop my own photos into pre-designed pages. Change the journaling and it's done. HM has a facebook page that issues challenges, I've only done a few, but its a great place to get ideas.
I have thought about all this many times, but I was reminded yet
again when I attended a digi-crop. I used to go to scrap-a-thons;
packing up everything I own and using 2-3 trips. Even several hours
long craft days took some planning if I wanted to work on select
projects without having to bring everything (and even then I always
forgot something). For digi-crops, I bring my computer. One trip.
Maybe two if I am bringing show and tell projects (I am not carrying my
18X20 canvas with my 20 pound computer at the same time).
Having said all that, I still have my scrapbook supplies. I do like to make cards, I do like to make pages. I have mounds of printed photos. I just don't like the set up and take down.
These are some of the reasons I do digital scrapbooking, the reasons why others do (or don't) are as varied as the ideas used to create.
