Have you ever asked yourself why your pages don’t look as good as you want them to be?
Have you ever tried comparing your pages to other digital scrapbookers and thought what is wrong with yours?

If you are, then you are in for treat today because I will be discussing 3 of the most common digital scrapbooking mistakes that digital scrappers do. Although these are common to new scrapbookers, it is possible that even a seasoned scrapbooker is guilty of doing this. The graphic below best describes these mistakes. Take a look at them and check if you are guilty of one or all of it.

Let’s break it down and see how each of these mistakes affect the overall look of your digital layout.

1. Drop Shadows

Drop shadows play a vital role in all of our layouts. It can either make or break your creation. On the first image above, you will see a layout with no shadow at all. It looks ok but it looks flat and it has no life at all. On the second image, I used the default drop shadow in Photoshop and the layout looks a little bit different but it still lacks the life I am looking for. Finally, on the third image, the elements have been shadowed better and it looks the best among the 3. However, there is still something wrong in the picture – the journal text! Yes, it is over-shadowed and it looks like it is floating on the page.

 In traditional scrapbooking, if you write something on your page, it is directly written on your paper. So, journal texts must not be shadowed. That goes true to other elements such as brushes, paint splats, rub ons and smears.

Now, how will you be able to shadow your papers and elements? In Photoshop, you just need to highlight your layer, right click and select Blending Modes and this window will pop out. Select Drop Shadows and adjust the properties as you desired. But if you are too lazy to deal on the shadows individually, I have a shadow style in the shop called Me and Mye Shadow styles. It has different shadows for several elements and papers and with just one click, you’ll achieve the look you want.

2. Resizing Photos and Elements

Resizing elements isn’t really very difficult. In fact, it is one of the easiest to deal with. The problem is, not all scrapper pay attention to it. If you resize your photos or elements just by simply adjusting the transform tool, it could end up stretched.

Not to worry though, there is an easy solution to this.

You can resize your images or elements using the transform tool in photoshop BUT press the SHIFT key while doing it to maintain the ratio of width and height.

Easy peasy right? Check here for a more detailed resizing tutorial.

3. Misuse of Elements

Digital scrapbooking is very similar to traditional scrapbooking. If you want to achieve a realistic look to your pages, you must carefully consider how you should use each and every pieces of in your layout. Just like the image above, you can have many uses of a staple – you can attach it on papers and other elements but you cannot use it on some elements like the ornate frame.

Why?

Think about real life scrapbooking. Will you try and staple an ornate frame? You can’t, right? It’s the same in digital. You can use it of course since it’s digital, however, the layout will not have a realistic look to it.

Carefully place your element pieces in your layout and consider how you will layer each of them.

Now, my question is – have you been guilty of one or all of the above? Let me know on the comments and tell me how this article helped you. And if you know a friend who can benefit from this article too, please do me a favor and share it to them.