It has been a long time since I have taken any type of school or course, and I remember the biggest challenge of being in class was just to stay awake!  In the spring I was debating going back to school and was looking into graphic design programs at the local colleges.  I decided that the time just wasn’t right for our young family and, perhaps, I will look into it again in a few years when the kids are in elementary school.

To satisfy my need for learning more about scrapbooking, design, and Photoshop, I signed up for a couple of online courses with Scrapaneers.  I am just finishing the final week of my first course,Title Express with Tiffany Tillman, and I have been loving it!  It covered typography basics, choosing and pairing fonts, and included many Photoshop techniques for creating amazing titles.  She did such a great job with all the video tutorials that I feel 100% more confident using Photoshop Elements for scrapbooking.

Digital Elements from “Monsters Under My Bed” by Micheline Martin.

Digital elements from Kitty Designs, brushes included with class.

The following layout shows a really cool technique for have the picture pop from the title and is a type of subway art.  This was my husband’s favorite and I liked it because he thought I was a super star digital scrapbooker!

Digital Elements from “Adorned” and “Huntington by Paislee Press, brushes included with course.

This next layout had my favorite technique: creating chipboard letters from a flat font.  I really felt like a pro when I successfully created the word “Pause” to look like distressed, paper-covered chipboard.  (I had to show my husband what real chipboard was for him to be truly impressed!!)

Digital elements from “Fairytale” by Paislee Press and One Little Bird, and “Worn” by One Little Bird and Sahlin Studio.

I am just working on the final assignment for the class and I am waiting to get hit with some inspiration!  I will post it as soon as it is done, so be prepared to be wowed!!

Leah