Finishing touches
If you're making physical copies of your album, there are plenty of ways to create the handmade look that makes a scrapbook special. By adding embellishments to the copies – like rubber stamping, ribbons, and our printable stickers and hang tags – your pages can stand out even more.
You can also make your copied albums stand out by making original covers for them. For example, if your “master&" scrapbook is in a store-bought 12" x 12" album, your copies could be 8" x 8" books bound with ribbon.
Go forth and multiply (your scrapbooks)
These are just a few ideas for creating extensions of your artistic creations. The more ways you can share your albums the better. Take advantage of the amazing technology that's available to you, and explore.
Stitching images together using Adobe Photoshop Elements
Adobe Photoshop Elements is a popular software program with scrapbookers because it's so inexpensive and easy to use. If you'd like to scan a 12" x 12" layout with an 8.5" x 11" scanner, you can do it with Elements. Here are the steps to scan and "stitch together" two halves of a scrapbook page. (These steps are for people who have some experience using the software. If you are using a different image-editing program, your steps will vary. Read your user's manual for details.)
Stitching two images
• Step 1: Line up your layout on the scanner, using the ruler guides to make sure it's straight.
• Step 2: Scan the top half of your scrapbook page. Save the file so you'll remember which part is which. (For example: birthday_topHalf.tif.)
• Step 3: Scan the bottom half of your scrapbook page. Make sure there's at least 1 inch of overlap with the top half. Save it with a clear, descriptive file name such as birthday_bottomHalf.tif.
• Step 4: Create a new file in Adobe Photoshop Elements that is as large as your final page size. For example, if you scanned a 12" x 12" page and you want to create a copy that has an 8" x 8" page size, make your new document 8 inches square, with a resolution of at least 200 DPI. Name your new file birthday_whole.tif.
• Step 5: Create two new layers in your file (layer>new>layer).
• Step 6: Open birthday_topHalf.tif. Select All, then copy and paste it into layer 1 of birthday_whole.tif.
• Step 7: Using the handles at the corners of the placed art, resize the art until it fits into the 8" width.
Resizing an image
• Step 8: Open birthday_bottomHalf.tif. Select All, then copy and paste it into layer 2 of birthday_whole.tif.
• Step 9: Using the handles at the corners of the placed art, resize it until it fits into the 8" width. There should be a 1" overlap between the halves.
• Step 10: Move the halves until they line up. You may want to change the opacity on layer 2 so you can see through it. (In the Layers palette, move the slider under opacity until it reads 75 percent).
• Step 11: Once the halves are aligned, change the opacity of layer 2 back to 100 percent. Flatten the image (layer>flatten image) and resave it as birthday_final.tif.
