Loading and tagging elements in PSE Organizer

Now that we have all these fun new kits what do we do with them?  It is time to bring them into the organizer and tag them so we can get to playing with them.  Watch the video below to see how I do it.

Organization Part 4

Now that the Elements Organizer is all set up lets talk about where to put the kits on your hard drive.  I have tried a couple of different approaches but I finally settled on a system that works great for me, so I will share it with you.
Open up your Documents Library and make a new file.  I named mine (0_Scrapbook stuff).  With the number 0 at the first it appears at the top of my list. I like this because then I can find it.  I then opened that file and made a new file and named it (1_Need to File) 

This is the file that I download everything too.  I extract it there and just leave it there until I am ready to move it to a permanent file then it goes into my organizer.   Here is my reasoning….  When I buy or get a new kit I am not usually going to tag it in my organizer right away so I just put it in my need to file folder.  Then at the end of every month I move all the files in my “need to file” file to a folder with the year I bought it  inside that folder is a folder for each month labeled with the year then then month. Because I am going to have many years with a January  or 01 name it need to be unique and if I put the year first that made it unique.  Also if I used numbers instead of Jan, Feb etc. they will fall in order.  Once the kits are in a permanent  place I can put them in my organizer.  You don’t want to move files once you have them in your organizer because it can’t find them and will have to search your hard drive for them. There are web-sites that told me to organize by designer or by element but that didn’t make sense to me since I am doing that in the organizer.  Also there is away…. I will show you for the organizer to take you right to the folder on your hard drive where you have stored a kit so if I ever just want to know where something is on my hard drive I can still do it.  Anyway it works for me.  Do what makes sense to you.  I know this is a bit confusing so if you have any questions just let me know.

Organization Part 3

Let’s start making some tags!  Watch the video and let me know if you have any questions.

You can download my tags here!  WHOO HOO!

Installing Fonts

Part of the tutorial I pointed you to in this post about doing your first layout, asked you  to download and install three fonts.  I had someone ask me how you do that so I thought I would show you.  I will have a lesson later about fonts where to find them, using a font organizers etc but for now this should help… also I like to scrapbook but I am not great at videos …just warning you.

Organization Part 2

Okay I am going to show you how I organized my digital files.
I found it worked better for me to have a catalog for my photos and one for my digital scrapbook supplies. The more you have in your organizer the slower it will run. I also did not like seeing my photo with all my digital stuff… a little OCD but I like things neat and tidy! You may like it all in the same place. It all about your personal preference I am just giving you one option

So to create a new catalog, open up your Photoshop elements organizer then go to File, Catalog You will a dialog box that looks like this

Click on New and name your new catalog… you can see that I have two catalogs “Family Pictures” and Crafts & Scrapbooking”  Uncheck the box that says” Import free music into this catalog” if it is checked  Your new catalog should look like this

Now you need to decide how you want to tag things.  Here is an outline of how I tag my digital elements.

How I have me things Organized…  RED = examples

1.       Store

a.       The stores Name Sweetshoppe

                                                               i.      Name of Kit Birds of a Feather

2.       Ideas

a.       General  ( I put things I find in the web here that inspire me, or I want to try)

b.      Kit ( I usually will tag the kit preview here so I can just look at all my kits and see colors if I want to match a kit to colors in my pictures)

3.       Seasons/ Themes (my list is crazy long pick and choose what you would use)

a.       4^th of July

b.      Autumn

c.       Babies

d.      Birthday

e.       Boy

f.        Camping

g.        Christmas

h.      Disney

i.         Dog

j.        Easter

k.       Exercises

l.         Family

m.    Friend

n.      Girl

o.      Graduation

p.      Grandma/Grandpa

q.      Halloween

r.        Heritage

s.       Kids

t.        LDS

u.      Leaders/thoughts

v.       Medical

w.     Men/Masculine

x.       Mom/ Dad

y.       Music

z.       New Years

aa.   Nice sayings

bb.  School

cc.    Sipblings

dd.  Spring

ee.  Summer

ff.     Thanksgiving

gg.   Thank you

hh.  Vacation

ii.       Valentines

jj.      Wedding

kk.   Winter

4.       Embellishments

a.       Arrows

b.      Backgrounds ( I call them backgrounds instead of papers so they will be at the top of my list here)

c.       Banners

d.      Bookplate

e.      Borders, corners

f.        Brackets

g.       Buttons

h.      Calendar

i.         Cute stuff

j.        Doodles

k.       Epoxy

l.         Fasteners

                                                               i.      Brad

                                                             ii.      Clothes pin

                                                            iii.      Eyelet

                                                           iv.      Gem

                                                             v.      Paperclip

                                                           vi.      Photo anchor

                                                          vii.      Pin

                                                        viii.      Ring

                                                           ix.      Staples

                                                             x.      string

                                                           xi.      tape

m.    Flair

n.      Flowers and Plants

o.      Frames

p.      Hardware

q.      Hearts

r.        Journaling stuff

s.       Newspaper

t.        Overlay

u.      Ribbons and Bows

v.       Splats/scatters

w.     Stiches & Patches

x.       Tabs

y.       Tags

z.       Ters/folds

aa.   Tickets

bb.  Topper

cc.    Words quotes/Titles

5.       Colors

a.       Black

b.      Blue

c.       Brown

d.      Cardboard/craft paper

e.      Clear/Acrylic

f.        Copper/Metal

g.       Green

h.      Gray

i.         Orange/rust

j.        Pink

k.       Purple

l.         Red

m.    Silver

n.      Tan

o.      White

p.      Wood

q.      Yellow/gold

r.        Multi Colored

                                                               i.      Dots

                                                             ii.      Floral

                                                            iii.      Picture

                                                           iv.      Plaid

                                                             v.      Stripes

6.       Alpha

7.       Tools

a.       Brush Sets

b.      Folds & Tears

c.       Instructions

d.      Photo Mask

e.      Shapes

f.        Stich Stuff

g.       Styles

h.      Textures

i.         Word Paths

8.       Crafts

a.       These are different craft thing I have downloaded like a calendar, cards, etc

9.       Scrapbook pgs

a.       These are finished scrapbook pages… they really don’t need to be stored here but I like to.

 

Make an outline of how you want your elements tagged then check back here and I will help you get it all set up in the organizer.

Digital Scrapbooking Give it a Try!

Here is the first page I ever digitally scrapbooked:

Give it a try. Create this same page with your own pictures and colors! First go here and download the free kit called Vintage Florals from Shabby Princess. It will come in a “Zipped File” just right click it and select extract all. You can then delete the Zipped file.


Go here for the complete Tutorial. ( Video and/or written for Photoshop Elements 5 and older. You can still use this tutorial for newer versions of PSE but you may have to hunt a bit for the tools)
WARNING… it is very addictive!

Here are some other links for tutorials to help you out with that first layout:
Misty Cato Created For PSE8 (Can be adapted for PS and /or other versions of PSE)
Atomic Cupcake Created for PSE2 (Can be adapted)
Pickle Berry Pop (register to receive the free starter pack and free mini-kit)

Digital Scrapbooking Place and The Daily Digi are also great places to get answers and to help you get started.

  The Daily Digi has complies a list of sites with free tutorial here .

Saving Money by Digital Scrapbooking

I have always enjoyed Scrapbooking and the creative outlet it provides, but I didn’t like the expense or the mess it made to make a page. A couple of years ago I found a web-site that got me excited about digital scrapbooking and when I found that I could do it for next to nothing I was hooked!

There are actually many reasons I found digital scrapbooking better than traditional paper scrapbooking.

It is inexpensive

• There are endless “Freebies” out there. There are a lot of really good freebies.
• Many computers come with photo software pre-installed. I found my computer had Photoshop elements (PSE) on it. While there are many software choices available, I find that most of the free tutorials out there are for Photoshop Elements. You can get a Free Trial of PSE Here

• You can alter digital elements to any color you would like to match any theme and stretch your purchased supplies even more.
• You can re-use your paper and elements like buttons as many times as you want which saves additional money.
• You can continue to switch elements (without wasting them) until your layout is just right.
• It is much faster than traditional scrapping (and time is money).
• Cost to print at a store like Costco is around $1.49 for 8X8 and 1.66 for 12X12  Go here to see a list of places that will print scrapbook pages, prices and Ease of use .
• o   My Favorite is Persnickety Prints     http://www.persnicketyprints.com/ $ 1.49 per page but they have a half off sale twice a year.  I also can store all my layout there so they are never lost.
  ·         You NEVER have to worry about running out of an alphabet sticker again. You can re-use and re-use.
  ·         No more big bulky scrapbooks. Fit more pages in one book. Fit more books on your shelves.
  ·         No worries about elements being archival and damaging photos
  ·          Shop all the online digital stores any time for exactly what you need and get it instantly downloaded! (Save money on gas!)
            
  ·         Multiple Copies –
  ·         I have a friend who is making a paper scrapbook for each of her kids, the traditional way is way too much work and expense with digital you just hit print!
  
  
  ·         Sharing your Scrapbook - there are more ways to share your scrapbook pages than just in an album. Scrapbooking digitally makes it easier to share your pages with friends and family through email, on the web, or in slideshows
  CONS
  ·         Software that can be expensive
  ·         Not having your own handwriting on your pages (Or have a font made of your handwriting.)
  ·         Not being able to easily include physical mementos (ticket stubs, receipts, etc). But they can be scanned and included