FREE-Webajeb's First LAYERED Quick Page!!!

 Webajeb-Layered-Quick-Page-001

Introducing...the very first....LAYERED QUICK PAGE!!!  WOOT!

This is not just a template, and it's not just a quick page - it's BOTH!  Each element is still on its own layer in a .PSD or .TIF file (download either or both!) and has NOT been flattened to a .PNG file.

You can choose to either pop your own photos into the spaces provided OR move any of the elements around, resize or recolor them, change the title, swap out the elements with your own or another designer's, pull the individual elements out to use in other layouts, whatever your little heart desires!  The paper and elements are created by me, and are copyright-free, so have fun with them!  Giving credit to me is appreciated, but not required.  {The ONLY thing I ask is that you do not rename them and sell them as your own.}

I'm VERY excited about these . . . even though they are going to take longer to create than regular templates . . . hm, they'll take longer to create than regular quick pages, too . . . still, I'd love to have found something like these out there in digital-land myself, especially when I was a beginner digital scrapbooker (and in many ways I still am since there's always so much to learn).

The inspiration for this first layered quick page came from a layout I did for a client a year or so ago.  I've always loved the bright, pastel colors and the sticker look of the sun and title elements.  The fun background paper is one I created using a photo of my Mom's parquet entryway floor as a texture, then playing with color overlays.  The sun is a standard Photoshop Custom Shape and the font is Flowerchild, available free at urbanfonts.com.  To make them look like stickers (with the white border) I added a size 16 white stroke on the outside.  Add a drop-shadow and you've got the sticker look. It works with pretty much any custom shape and or text.

Here's the original layout:

I do have a problem, though, and I need your help.

I don't know what to call these!  I don't want to just call them "layered quick pages."  Boring!  So that's where you come in.  If you've got an idea for a fun & catchy name, please leave a comment, or send me an email.  If I pick yours, you'll NEVER pay for a Webajeb "Layered Quick Page" - Ever!  I'll simply send you each new file in an email when I post it!  I'm hoping that bribe will prompt you to put on your thinking caps and hook me up with an awesome name.

The other thing I'd love is feedback after you've tried using this.  What worked, and what didn't?  What should I do differently?  I want these to be as useful as possible for you, so any and all critique will be welcome!

Download the file from 4shared as a .PSD here, or as a .TIF here.

Free Digital Scrapbooking Templates with Easier-to-Use Features!

Webajeb-Template-026

Here's one of my latest templates.  I say "one of" because I've got a dozen or more new ones created, I just haven't had time to get them uploaded.  I will be doing that over the next week or two, so be sure to check back here frequently or, better yet, subscribe to my blog so you don't miss a single one!

Here is today's template used in a layout:

Since the photos I wanted to use were all landscape-oriented I turned the template on its side, added a textured background, an overlay on the arrow element, and finally, got a little creative with the title.  Next I created a simple, one-photo layout to use as a facing page for a nicely balanced 2-page spread:

So - What are the new "Easier-to-Use" features of my templates?

First, I'll now be offering all my templates in both .PSD and/or .TIF format. The two formats will be packaged separately in downloadable .ZIP files; you will be able to download EITHER format or, if you like, BOTH formats.  I will no longer be zipping the two formats together, as I have done on occasion in the past, because it makes a downloadable file that's just too big for many user's systems to handle. (NOTE: I'm looking into also offering the templates in .PNG format if I find there is enough interest, so if you are interested, be sure to let me know!)

The second feature has been an integral part of my templates for awhile now but many people either don't know about it, or don't realize its significance.  Simply put, the name of each layer in my template files that is meant to be used for "clipping" begins with a plus (+) sign.  For example, in today's template there are 10 layers meant to be used for your photos, so the layer names would be as follows:

+ Photo 1
+ Photo 2
+ Photo 3

and so on, with the presence of the Plus Sign to indicate that this layer is suitable for clipping a photo (or paper).  I can't claim this idea as my own; Jessica Sprague began doing this with her own templates and she wrote {in a blog posting, if I remember right} that she hoped other designers would do likewise.  I loved the idea so am more than happy to include it as a feature in my own templates. I think you're going to love it, too!

Third, all of my templates will now include a topmost layer with numbers to identify each subsequent layer.  As far as I know no other designer is doing this.  This layer can be turned on or off as you desire, while you are working with the template, and then it should be either hidden or deleted before printing or publishing your layout. The first image of today's template posted at the beginning of this post shows the template with the numbers layer turned off, or hidden.  Here is the template with that layer turned on:

No more trying to figure out which layer is which in the template file!  The numbers correspond to the layer names in the .PSD or .TIF file and make it easy to select the exact layer where you intend to place your photo.  Just click on the numbered layer you want THEN drag in your photo.  The photo will automatically land just above the layer you selected.  Clip the photo to the layer, resize it, and it's done!

Ready to try out the new Easier-to-Use features?  Download Webajeb-Template-26 in .PSD format here or in .TIF format here.

Enjoy!

Digital Scrapbook Layout Using a Template - Point Pinos Lighthouse

Hi all,

More fun with templates!

Not only do I enjoy creating templates myself, I also love using templates created by other designers. It's such a nice way to jump-start creativity, don't you think? Plus, when you use a template as part of a challenge, it's even more fun. You get to see how other people have interpreted the same template, you may get the template free to use in the challenge and, for some challenges, there are prizes.

Free Digital Scrapbooking has a monthly template challenge. I based the above layout on the May 2009 template which you can get here. Take a look at all the other entries, too, while you're over there and, what the heck, pick up some free digital scrapbooking stuff, including several more templates!

There are lots of other types of challenges for digital scrapbookers, too, everything from a challenge to start with a bit of word art and build a layout around it, to being given a list of what you can and cannot use on your layout. I just today found a new site called Digi Dares that posts a digital scrapbooking "dare" each week. Here is the "Dair Flair" (challenge) for this week:

"Create a page with any shapes except squares or rectangles on it. (This does mean the background cannot be a square)
Use only b/w photos.
4 fasteners (must all be different types of fasteners–button, staple, tape, glue, tie, clip, etc.) **CAN HAVE AS MANY AS YOU WANT BUT MUST HAVE AT LEAST 4 DIFFERENT TYPES**"

You can see example layouts by the Digi Dares C.T. here.

Every participant receives a coupon to the sponsor-of-the-week and they are also entered into a drawing to receive the grand prize of a $10 coupon to each of the Digi Dare sponsors.

If you've never participated in a challenge, I encourage you to try one. Just about every scrapbooking website offers some sort of challenge or contest. Next time you're feeling uninspired go find a challenge. You'll get a little boost to your creativity, find fresh ideas, and maybe even win something.

Know of any really fun challenges or contests? E-me and let me know, or leave me a comment!

Have fun!

Judy, This Template's for You!

First, I want to show off a layout my BFF, Judy, made with one of my Page Heroes:
She did a great job! Judy is a brand-spankin' new digital scrapbooker. She's been learning Photoshop Elements and having some success and some frustration.

I sent her some of my Page Heroes (quick pages) to try, thinking they might be easiest to start with, and she loved them. When she sent me her completed layout she said: "Those are so darn fast and handy! I can't wait to try the other ones. Really nice the way the pictures just slip up underneath. I didn't add any extra embellishments or do anything else - just stuck the pictures in."

Then Judy proceeded to ask if it's possible to change the "color & stuff" of the Page Hero. This made me smile. Well, yes, you COULD change the colors, at least, using some more advanced techniques . . . but pre-made pages like my Page Heroes aren't really meant to be used that way. They are meant to provide a super-fast and easy way to whip up a layout in mere minutes.

I smiled because Judy's question indicates that her skill level & her understanding of layers has already moved beyond Page Heroes which have a single layer with cut-outs for photos. She's already chomping at the bit to change the page elements!

Judy, your next step is TEMPLATES! To make the transition to templates easy for you, I've taken the same Page Hero - Hearts - and turned it into a template. Here it is FREE (for a limited time):

Download from 4shared

or

Download from mediafire

(More templates can be found here)

(More Page Heroes can be found here)

Don't forget - ALL Digital Scrapbooking products by Webajeb are
COPYRIGHT-FREE!!!

The downloadable zipped file contains the same template in two different formats; .PSD for Photoshop and Photoshop Elements users, and in .TIF format for users of digital scrapbooking programs that don't work with .PSD files. (Thanks to Grace for the suggestion to include .TIF files!)

Templates have multiple layers with each element on a separate layer. Recolor the elements, clip digital paper to them, re-size, duplicate, or remove them, whatever your little heart desires, Judy! Templates can be thought of almost as a pattern, or guide; something to jump-start your own creativity. The resulting layout can be completely true to the template or have no noticeable resemblance at all. Most are somewhere in-between. Every scrapbooker makes the template his or her own.

Templates give beginning digital scrapbookers the opportunity to learn all kinds of new skills while providing a starting point, or base, for a completed layout. Tutorials abound on the internet, as do online digital scrapbooking classes, both free and paid. Just a few of my favorite places to get help when I was learning are:

Digital Scrapbook Place

Scrap Girls

Photoshop Elements User (this link is specifically for PSE 5, other versions are on other pages of the website).

Blogs have become a fabulous source for tutorials in the past couple of years:

Jessica Sprague has a ton of great info and tutorials.

Kayla Lamoreaux's blog, Digital Scrapbooking 101, is chock-full of great info for both beginners and advanced digi-scrappers.

There are tons more, just do a Google or Yahoo search specifying the particular software package you use (including the version), include the word tutorial as well as the specific task you want to learn such as recolor elements, create text, etc.

Judy has suggested that I include with my downloadable Page Heroes some basic instructions on how to use them, and I think it's a great idea! I'll be writing something up soon, and also for my templates, and then including the documents in each downloadable bundle. If they are not needed, the instructions can be ignored, but if they are needed, it could make the difference between a fun experience and a frustrating one.

Feedback like Judy's, and Grace's, is helping me become a better digital designer.

So grab my free template, make it your own, and then send me your feedback, suggestions, and layouts. I'd love to hear from you!