A couple years back, a close friend of mine followed her dreams and quit her job to move to Paris, and work in the fashion industry. She barely spoke French and has had an entry level position here in New York City. She did it for a year, and now her and her hubby are in Los Angeles so he can get a break into the music scene.
We started a diary that we would each write in for a few months then mail to each other. It is past due for me to mail the diary back, but I must say….I have a lot to tell her!
So imagine you and your closest friend have been BFFs since grade school. You’ve weathered boyfriends, breakups, and breakouts together, as well as first jobs, cars, and apartments.
Recently, your BFF broke the news that she is moving to a new city. She got a great job offer that she just couldn’t pass up, and within a matter of weeks, she’ll be settling into her new home.
While you have promised to visit each other as much as possible and hold marathon texting sessions, you want to give your best friend something tangible to remember you by — and something that she can look at whenever she is feeling lonely. Thanks to the magic of digital scrapbooking, you can create a beautiful memory book to present to your BFF.
The following tips will help you get started:
Digital Scrapbooking 101
Unlike traditional scrapbooks that use paper and plenty of printed photos, a digital scrapbook relies on the computer and some graphics software to create a gorgeous memory book. You can use a combo of clip art, photos, notes and more to make the digital scrapbook, which can then either be printed out or emailed and stored on your computers.
Gather Your Photos
Before getting started on making the digital scrapbook, organize the zillions of photos that you have of the two of you and your many adventures. You can use your scanner to transform old Polaroids into digital files, and if you have saved old postcards and other tokens of your friendship, you can take photos of them with your phone.
To make sure that your precious work is not lost in the event of a computer crash, save all of your files on a cloud server as you go; this way, you can still access all of your work in case your laptop stops working.
Create Your Own Template
As The Daily Digi notes, it is fun and relatively easy to create your own template for your digital scrapbook; the website offers easy-to-follow instructions that even newbies can tackle. To start, purchase a photo editing program like Adobe Photoshop Elements 13 from Amazon; this will allow you to organize your photos and edit them, as well as create and share your digital scrapbook. For the best quality, use a 12-by-12 sized page with 300 dpi and you can experiment with either white or colored backgrounds. Using the text tool, add in your titles and notes, and then start dragging the photos and other images onto the pages. Be sure to save your work as you go—both to your computer’s desktop and to the cloud server.
Work with a DIY Scrapbook Website
If you are unsure about using photo editing programs, simplify the process a bit and work with a company like Shutterfly; the website has templates built right in that you can select and use to create your digital scrapbook. The site also offers plenty of help and tips on how to upload images and make everything look just perfect. When you are done, you can order printed books of your masterpiece, or send it electronically to your BFF.
Tell me about you long distance friendship @ReporterandGirl or on Facebook!
