Welcome to another episode of HobbyScool, the podcast where we dive into various hobbies and explore the joy they bring to our lives.

In today's episode, we have a special guest, Melissa Shanhun, joining our host, Dr. Destini Copp, to discuss the fascinating world of digital scrapbooking. Melissa, an expert in Photoshop and the founder of Digital Scrapbooking HQ, is here to share her knowledge and tips on how to create beautiful scrapbook pages using digital tools.

If you've ever been intrigued by the idea of preserving and showcasing your cherished memories in a unique and creative way, then this episode is for you.

So grab your favorite photo, open up Photoshop Elements, and get ready to embark on a fuss-free photo adventure with Melissa and Dr. Destini.

Let's jump right in!

Unleash Your Creativity with Melissa's Digital Scrapbooking Magic

Welcome to another exciting episode of HobbyScool! In this episode, our host, Dr. Destini Copp, invites special guest Melissa Shanhun, a Photoshop expert and founder of Digital Scrapbooking HQ, to delve into the fascinating world of digital scrapbooking. Melissa shares her expert insights on how to create stunning digital scrapbook pages while simplifying the photo organization process. So, grab your favorite beverage, sit back, and immerse yourself in the captivating world of digital scrapbooking!

Understanding Digital Scrapbooking

Melissa effortlessly guides us through the concept of digital scrapbooking, which is reminiscent of traditional paper scrapbooking but with a modern twist. Rather than using physical materials like paper and embellishments, digital scrapbooking involves creating beautiful, customizable layouts through software like Photoshop Elements.

Getting Started with Digital Scrapbooking

If you're new to digital scrapbooking, don't worry! Melissa suggests first experimenting with trial versions of software like Photoshop Elements. These programs provide intuitive interfaces and built-in tutorials to help beginners navigate the digital scrapbooking landscape.

The Magic of Digital Scrapbooking Tools

Melissa emphasizes the importance of having the right tools and supplies for digital scrapbooking. She recommends sourcing digital scrapbook kits online from stores or platforms like Etsy, where you can explore a vast array of designs, patterns, and embellishments to bring your scrapbook pages to life.

Mastering the Art of Digital Scrapbooking

Melissa takes us through the step-by-step process of creating a digital scrapbook page. She explains how to use templates or start from scratch by adding elements such as photos, patterned papers, flowers, frames, titles, and journaling. With digital scrapbooking, you have the flexibility to experiment, reposition, and undo any changes until you achieve your desired outcome.

Organizing Your Photo Collection

Dr. Destini and Melissa discuss the challenge of dealing with a large number of photos. Melissa shares her expertise in photo organization and emphasizes the importance of sorting photos by dates as a foundation for further categorization. She provides helpful tips on how to manage scanned photos or those lacking specific dates, making the process less daunting for beginners.

Demystifying Digital Scrapbooking for Beginners

Melissa's digital scrapbooking expertise is not limited to creating stunning layouts but extends to teaching others the art form as well. She offers online classes and resources designed to help beginners navigate the world of digital scrapbooking, enabling them to unleash their creativity and turn their treasured memories into beautifully crafted pages.

Photo Rescue Services

Digital Scrap HQ offers photo rescue services, whereby Melissa assists clients in organizing their digital photos. With her specialized software and expertise, she helps clients identify the various storage locations of their photos (Amazon, Google Photos, iCloud, etc.) and creates an organized system that suits their individual needs.

Conclusion

In this captivating episode of HobbyScool, Melissa has demonstrated the magic of digital scrapbooking. From introducing the concept and getting started to providing expert tips and organizing services, she has empowered listeners to explore this creative hobby with confidence. Digital scrapbooking not only unleashes your creativity but also preserves and showcases your cherished memories in a unique and personalized way.

So, if you're ready to embark on a journey of creative expression and preserve your memories, grab your computer, a few favorite photos, and dive into the world of digital scrapbooking today!

Remember, for more in-depth guidance on digital scrapbooking, be sure to visit Digital Scraping HQ and check out their wonderful classes and resources. Happy scrapbooking!

Mentioned In This Episode

• Where to find Melissa: ⁠Website⁠ and ⁠Instagram⁠

• Melissa's free gift: ⁠5 Things to Know Before You Start Digital Scrapbooking

• Don't forget to join our wait list for the next HobbyScool online learning summit. Our summits are free to attend and you can be the first to know when the next summit launches by ⁠getting on the wait list here.

Follow Us On Social:

Keep Listening:

Pin this and save for later

Transcript:

Dr. Destini Copp [00:00:02]:

And today, my special guest is Melissa Shanhun. Melissa is a Photoshop expert and mama for who loves to help people manage, curate, and enjoy their photos. She found a digital scrapbooking headquarters to help people tell the stories of their life with photos and words. She wants to share the fuss free joy of scrapbooking with your computer through classes that make it simple to get started. Melissa, I am super excited to jump into this topic with you because I can tell you that I have, on Amazon photos, I have probably 30 thousand photos that I have done nothing with. So I know I could do something with all of those. And today, we're gonna be talking about first free photo fun. But before we get started and all the questions I have for you, can you tell the audience just a little bit more about you and how you help people

Melissa Shanhun [00:01:00]:

Oh, well, thanks, Destini. I'm really, excited to be on the podcast with you. so you can probably tell from my accent, I am an Aussie. and that's kind of how I one of the reasons I kind of got into the world of digital scrapbooking because I I was first introduced to that hobby, in a way that probably lots of you wear, creative memories party back in the day. And, I created a little album for my 21st birthday. Then a few years later, I was married. I was living in, country town or, in Western Australia. And I was like, ah, yes. Excellent. I'm gonna start scrapbooking. And I went to the little scrapbook store, and I just couldn't believe how expensive all the supplies were. So I was like, oh, that's, gonna put a dent in the, in the budget. So I was looking around on the internet just to find And I I, actually, I think I ran across an article in a scrapbooking magazine about digital scrapbook And I thought, oh, that could be me. I have a bit of a graphic design background, and I always love computers. And I really was excited about it because I knew that if I I got digital scrapbooking supplies, I could use them over and over, and I they'd never run out. It was the appeal for me. And, since that was back in

Dr. Destini Copp [00:02:42]:

2008,

Melissa Shanhun [00:02:45]:

So I I've been going strong since then, I guess.

Dr. Destini Copp [00:02:50]:

Well, Melissa, let me ask you this. And for those of us out there who may not be as familiar with digital scrapbooking, I think I have I think I understand what scrap booking right? I've seen the big scrapbooks with all the people who have created all these fancy pages and stuff, but I've never I've never seen a digital scrapbook. So can you explain exactly what you're talking about there? What does it look like? What would it mean for me, you know, somebody who has 30,000 photos on Amazon photos that are just sitting there.

Melissa Shanhun [00:03:27]:

So if you think about a scrapbook page, so if you think about a paper scrapbook album, as pretty similar. Imagine if you took a photo of a scrapbook page that someone's made, that's what that's pretty much a digital scrapbook, except instead of taking a photo of a paper scrapbook, we put all the pieces together in a program like Photoshop Elements. So we put we, put a -- patterned paper. We put down a photo. We put down some embellishments. We type out our journaling. And in the end, it kind of looks basically like a digital, like a paper scrapper page. And then what you do with it after that is you can print it out in a photo just like you would any other photo. And what I what I recommend is for people who were just starting is you can just start with a very simple design couple of photos, type in some journaling, and you can end up with a beautiful book. So the end result is something like a photo book, which is can be just as big and and and bulky, but it's usually a bit thinner because it doesn't have certain pieces of paper. but it can end up looking pretty similar.

Dr. Destini Copp [00:04:57]:

Okay. So instead of just like buying a photo book, like, at the store and sticking, you know, photos in it, we're putting them in this, you know, very, you know, this this digital format and putting it out. And then we have this beautiful photo book that we can use forever and ever and probably give it as gifts. Right?

Melissa Shanhun [00:05:19]:

Yeah. That's one of the great things about digital scrapbooking is if I make a scrapbook, say for when my kids were little, I used to love, I made a scrapbook page for them. I, you know, a dozen pages or so, and I'd print it off for myself. I print another copy for the in laws and for grandparents. And it's really great because you only have to make that once. Whereas if you're doing a paper scrapbook, I don't know that you know any paper scrapbook because he's giving away their their precious creations because there's only one of a kind there.

Dr. Destini Copp [00:05:57]:

That's a good that's a really good point. So this is something that you can create and give it out to people. I love that. I love that. So let's talk about how someone could get started in digital scrapbooking. Like, I've really I really wanna understand kind of the process. for me, personally, I'm a little bit overwhelmed. You know, like I said, I know I have at least 30,000 photos. on Amazon. It might be more. I might be, I might be, not doing enough justice there. How would somebody like me? I have all of photos out there, how would I get started?

Melissa Shanhun [00:06:34]:

So what I suggest is you, you start with a what I usually suggest is that you start with a a demo or a trial of the software. And I teach and recommend Photoshop Elements So it's like Photoshop, but Photoshop Elements because it's a consumer level. It's not aimed at professional photographers. It's aimed at people like you and me. So it's got a lot of the same features but they're explained in much more detail. So, that it's really usable and they have built in tutorials in the program and all that kind of I can get a 30 day trial, and I'd say you will start with a couple of one of your favorite photos and a digital scrapbook kit. So you don't actually need to design and make all the pretty fancy things. There's a lot of digital scrapbook designers out there for stores. online. And also on Etsy, you can buy the supplies that match the look. So in at digital scrapbooking, you. I've got a great class called, get started digital scrapbooking, and that would, like, walk you through the exact steps. But I'd just start with maybe you choose one of your favorite photos or a recent photo you love. don't start with, like, anything that feels like too much pressure, like your wedding or something. Like, just, you know, just get a nice, Beautiful photo

Dr. Destini Copp [00:08:17]:

of,

Melissa Shanhun [00:08:20]:

I don't know, Well, I'm I'm thinking like a dog or the kids -- Yeah. Your dog. That's a that's a great one. A dog or a first day at, you know, into or something. And you put you put them all together. So it's just basically you start off with a template for a scrapbook page, which Photoshop Elements has. You drag your photo in from wherever it is, whether that on Amazon or on iCloud or wherever, drag that on, drag on a few pieces of beautiful paper, couple of flowers, a beautiful frame. And, then you just add a title add, some journaling just like you were, you know, word document or something like that. And it's all It's all done, and you've got your first scrapbook page.

Dr. Destini Copp [00:09:15]:

Wow. I love that. So it seems like a very easy process. Now I'm not familiar with Photoshop Elements. It seems like it's fairly easy to use. Is that the only software out there that people can use, or are there other ones also? There is other there is other software. I'm most familiar with Photoshop Elements.

Melissa Shanhun [00:09:36]:

you've been using it for a long time. There's also forever artisan, which is another great option. The the benefit of that program is that it's set up a bit more like, for a full album at a time, whereas in Photoshop Elements, you just work on one pay time. so a lot of people do like forever Artisan, it reminds them a bit more of, like, making a photo book on Shutterfly or,

Dr. Destini Copp [00:10:04]:

other programs like that. Okay. Well, that makes sense. And I am a little familiar with doing the the photo books, on Shutterfly. So the now like, it's clicking for me. I'm I'm getting taking a while, but I'm I'm getting there. so just starting with a photo that just brings back joy and things that we love and or document it. Like, we we start school here this week. So maybe documenting that 1st day of school. So if something's recently happened, start with that.

Melissa Shanhun [00:10:35]:

And I love that one because say if you I don't know. You see those photos going around where the kids are holding up the beautiful Pinterest or whatever. Maybe you didn't do for your kids, but you can add that. you know, you can ask them later. You know, what do you wanna be when you grow up or type in how tall they are, and you can add a bit more to that photo.

Dr. Destini Copp [00:10:59]:

and that's what I love about scrap booking. You can tell the story with the photo, but you can add a bit of a bit more info to it as well. Oh, are there other questions? -- the story. just adding to the page. Maybe you didn't capture everything in the photo, but it's kind of more documenting that memory. What did they how did they answer your questions? What who was teacher that that or whatever. I love that. Love that. any other tips or things that you would like to tell us about digital scrapbooking?

Melissa Shanhun [00:11:29]:

well, one thing I think is important is, if you're thinking about scrapbooking, it with paper or digital. A lot of people kind of feel like, I do that, but I'm just all my photos are a bit of a mess. And I just wanted to you have to have everything perfectly organized to get started. And, actually, I find my customers really get more inspired once they've seen what they can create. So don't feel like you have to get everything organized and everything neat and you can start today. And then as you get more familiar with your software or with what systems you're gonna use, then you can you can worry about that organizing later, or you can just get me to do it for you. Is that something else I offer at digital scrap? HQ is, some photo organizing.

Dr. Destini Copp [00:12:24]:

Well, tell us about tell us about that because I wanna know more. How how would you go about doing something like that for a client. How does that work?

Melissa Shanhun [00:12:33]:

well, there's a couple of different ways. I have classes that you can take to learn how to DIY your photo organizing, which is organizing for absolute beginners, but the service I offer is really great. It's called photo rescue. And I'm meeting with you. I talk with you about where your photos are, if they're on Amazon, Google Photos, icloud, Dropbox, 1 if you name it, if they're on a DSLR, if they're in boxes. We talk about it all, and then we work through, -- plan. And then the best part of it for the digital organizing is I can just do it all for you. I, often work with people in the US, which work out nicely. I, you know, I set my special magical computer, software that I have that organizes everything for you running overnight and In the morning, you wake up to a beautiful tidy photo library with no duplicates and everything in one place.

Dr. Destini Copp [00:13:36]:

So does it put it like in do you put them in, like, albums? Like, if you, like, maybe like a wedding album for all the wedding pictures? How do you do that?

Melissa Shanhun [00:13:47]:

so that's one of the things we talk about in our interview. So with my last, organizing customer, she just wanted hers, sorted by dates and even her scanned photos that don't have, you know, dates in the They're obviously scanned. So that's what we did for her. If you were wanting a specific project like weddings, wedding photos and a lot of events, there's still kind of database. So we usually start with dates, and then we work with you from there. and we use using software to help you, drill down and get more you get more detail in your organizing if that's what you like to do.

Dr. Destini Copp [00:14:34]:

Okay. So, Melissa, can you let folks know where they can find you if they wanna learn a little bit more about digital scrapbooking.

Melissa Shanhun [00:14:45]:

Yeah. Sure. My website is digital scrapbookinghq.com. And, we're pretty active over on Instagram. Did you scrap HQ? Or you can also look me up on Facebook. I'm digital scrapbooking HQ.

Dr. Destini Copp [00:15:03]:

And we'll make sure that those links are in the show notes. And I believe you have a free gift for them also.

Melissa Shanhun [00:15:09]:

Yes. Absolutely. If you're interested to you know, have a look at what would actually be involved with digital scrapbooking. What's your video of me doing it? have a get more of a sense of it. It's a bit over a podcast. I have a great, I have a a great little gift for you, which is called 5 things to know before you start digital scrapbooking. And, you can get that just at the home page of my website. And that would just take you through the very basics. It has links to the software that I recommend, to the stores where you can buy beautiful scrapbook kits. And it just really helps you learn a little bit more and helps you, see what you can do to dip your toe in how a digital scrapbooking.

Dr. Destini Copp [00:16:19]:

Melissa, like I said, we'll make sure all of those links are in the show notes so people can find you. And thank you so much for coming on the show and sharing all of your knowledge about digital scrapbook it was definitely, a new thing for me. I wasn't familiar with it.

Melissa Shanhun [00:16:37]:

Well, I'm so happy to share. Yeah. It's a fun. It's a fun hobby and the best is once you, you know, close-up your laptop, it's it's tidy. Everything's packed away.

Dr. Destini Copp [00:16:49]:

And I love the fact that you can make one make one scrapbook, and you can give it to gifts. You can give it to your mother-in-law your mom and your and your sister is just a a wonderful thing. So thank you so much.

Melissa Shanhun [00:17:04]:

No worries at all. Thanks so much for having me on the show.