Paper Vs. Digi Scrapbooking: Do I Have to Choose?!

The simple answer here is NO!

When I first started scrapbooking over ten years ago I was of course a paper scrapper only.  It wasn't until about five years ago that I had even heard of the digital form of my favorite hobby.  Just like DVDs and BluRays after them--I swore off digital scrapbooking, mainly due to the fact that I couldn't see wasting my sizable paper stash, but also because my favorite thing about scrapbooking was the texture and the dimension it lent to my photos. In 2009, curiosity finally got the best of me. I found Photoshop and took some AMAZING classes from the talented Pattie Knox that allowed me to bring a realistic feel to my pages that I had never thought possible.  I embraced the wonderful world of digital scrapbooking with open arms! (And you'll be happy to know my husband finally talked me into getting a BluRay player too!)

Though I found myself digital scrapbooking more and more--I still couldn't give up paper scrapping.  There are just some things that you can't capture with digital. And lets face it after experimenting with fabric on my pages and paints and mists--I realized I didn't want to give up all of my wonderful paper goodies! So what to do...I was at a crossroads...was I a paper scrapper or a digi scrapper?  And then I had an epiphany--why did I have to choose?

The Things I Love About Paper Scrapbooking

• The texture and dimension 
• The ability to hold and feel it--it seems more real.
• The glitter, the fraying the, the stitching, the splatters...its all so fun and expressive! 

The Things I Love About Digital Scrapbooking

• It's quicker and cleaner and you can scrapbook ANYWHERE (if you have a laptop)!
• You aren't limited by things like color or product.
• No mistakes...if I don't like it--I fix it!

Bringing Them Together?

• Try typing your journaling to cut down on mistakes and to save space.
• Print out your photos with fun frames and captions to add to your paper layouts.
• Try out using your digital papers, alphas and stickers to use on your paper pages--you might find they come in handy! 

To this day I still do both paper pages and digi pages, and a few that are somewhere in between!  I keep my paper pages in albums and share my digital los online and reserve them for the occasional photo book--although many people have their's printed quarterly or annually.  Having just had my second son, I find myself digi scrapping more because of my limitation on time, but still love to steal a few hours in my studio to complete a paper page or project.

So the bottom line--you don't have to choose if you don't want to!  You can even bring the two styles of scrapbooking together if you like!  Do what makes you happy and you'll have a wonderful page to show for it every time!