Tutorial for Digital Scrapbooking With GIMP

With GIMP, you can create digital scrapbook pages that you can print out and store in a book.

GIMP is a free graphic design program in the public domain. You can download the editor from its official website and begin using it to create images and edit photos, making it a popular piece of software for digital scrapbooking. Whether you want to create small, simple pages or poster-sized masterpieces, you can use GIMP to coordinate your efforts developing multi-layered documents of all sizes. Once you have installed the editor, launch the program and start scrapbooking.

Things You'll Need

• Computer
• GIMP
• Digital photos
• Digital scrapbooking elements

Instructions

1. Create a new file, or workbook, to begin scrapbooking. Select "File" and "New" to prompt the related pop-up box to appear. You can select a "Template" from the drop-down box if you want to use a preset, such as "US-Letter (300ppi), or you can enter in your own dimensions, such as 12 inches for the width and height. Selecting X and Y resolutions of 300 pixels per inch is standard for creating clear, high-quality scrapbook pages. Press "OK" when satisfied with your settings.

2. Insert a scrapbooking background file by selecting "File" and "Open as Layers." Locate in your documents what image you want to insert and press "Open." Repeat this "Open as Layers" process to insert all embellishments and photos you want to use to create this specific page. If the "Layers" toolbar is not already visible, you can select the "Windows" tab, clicking on "Dockable Dialogs" and "Layers."

3. Use the "Layers" pane to order your embellishments and pictures according to your preferences. In the pane, select the thumbnail of the layer you want to move and then use the up and down arrows to make the necessary changes. For example, use the up arrow to bring your photos or a ribbon to the foreground.

4. Locate the "Move Tool" icon in the main toolbar and click on it to begin positioning your scrapbooking elements. After clicking on the corresponding thumbnail in the "Layers" window, click on the element in the workbook itself. You can now use the arrow keys on your keyboard to move the element selected; for example, you can move it more to the right or to the top of the page.

5. Insert text as desired, using the "Text Tool" icon located in the main toolbar. Click on the icon and then click in the workbook to create a text box; type your desired content such as the year "2012" or the name of the child being shown "Michelle." You can select your "Text" settings from the main toolbar, choosing a font, size and color; you can also use the "Move Tool" to reposition your text as is necessary.

6. Save your image, clicking on "File" and "Save As." Enter a file name followed by a picture extension such ".jpg" or ".png." If your file has more than one layer, an "Export File" pop-up box will appear. Select "Export" and then "Save" to condense your layers into a picture file. You may additionally want to save your workbook as a workbook itself, preserving the layers so you can further edit it. To do so, use GIMP's workbook-native file extension ".xcf."

Tips & Warnings

• If you do not want to insert pre-made digital scrapbooking elements that can be located online or purchased in clip-art packages, you can create your own designs in GIMP. You can use the "Bucket Fill Tool" located in the main toolbar to decorate large and small spaces alike, selecting the "Fill Type" to fill a space with the foreground color or one of the pattern presets shown in the settings.

• If you have low-quality, low-resolution photos that you are working with, you may find that a file setting of "300 pixels per inch" does not work for some of your scrapbook pages. If needed, select a setting of "100" instead.

References

• GIMP: Getting Images into GIMP

Resources

• GIMP