Whether you’re building a traditional or digital scrapbook, it’s important to make your pages “pop” visually. Layering materials and embellishments on top of one another is what creates the third dimension (depth) that separates scrapbooks from most other illustrated books. In this article, you’ll learn some simple techniques for adding dimension to your pages. 

This layout was created digitally using traditional scrapbook materials from My Mind’s Eye (www.mymindseye.com). I scanned the double-sided papers and cardstock embellishments so I could experiment with layouts and change the Confetti “Brothers” theme to a “brother and sister” celebration. I used different degrees of drop shadows — especially on the large star — to intensify the three-dimensional look. 

In traditional scrapbooking, you learn techniques to apply photos, mats, tags and other embellishments to your pages.* As you become more proficient with digital scrapbooking, you can experiment with applying comparable techniques to digital materials. For example, most popular imaging software provides a tool for adding shadows to objects, giving them a three-dimensional effect (see above). Shadows help to separate elements from the background and as I’ll show later, they can accurately reproduce the look of natural shadows cast by elements on a conventional scrapbook page.

I’ve chosen this image from Thailand to illustrate 3-D effects on a hybrid (combination traditional and digital) scrapbooking page. The image “Thai Princess” is embedded in the digital background (below). I used a tropical-themed digital scrapbook kit to build the background — layering two brightly colored “grunge” papers to make the 12x12-inch background and mat, along with orange twill ribbon and “paper” flower accents. Once assembled, the digital page elements must remain in Layers to add digital dimension — a simple process described below. 

This digital page is made with papers and elements from Shabby Cabana, a digital kit downloaded from www.shabbyprincess.com.** (Copyright Shabby Princess 2005)

Digital Shadows

The simplest method to simulate depth in a digital page is to add shadows to the elements. Adobe Photoshop (CS4 or later) and Photoshop Elements both offer “Drop Shadows” in a variety of styles, as well as other special effects in the Layer Styles library. You can use these layer styles on just about any object, as long as it resides on its own layer and is surrounded by empty space (to isolate the shadow). The graphic below illustrates how to apply a drop shadow in Photoshop Elements using the Effects panel on the right side of the screen. 

To apply a Drop Shadow, click on a layer with an isolated graphic (highlighted blue in Layers) then choose the Drop Shadow style from the list displayed in the Styles and Effects panel. Click on the style to apply. If you don’t like the effect, press “Ctrl/Cmd Z” to undo it immediately or use the “Undo History.” (Note that the red arrows were added for illustrative purposes.)

Since the background page will be printed, I wanted to keep the shadows subtle, so I chose Soft Edge drop shadows to be added to the photo mat and flower (below). Note that the shadow is on two sides of the mat, while the more complicated flower has different levels of shadows on all sides.

Soft Edge Drop Shadows were added to the photo mat and flower to give this page the illusion of three dimensions.

I printed the page on a sheet of 12x12-inch inkjet paper with a matte finish (see below). This gave me a base for adding traditional scrapbooking elements, including a second flower printed from the Shabby Cabana kit. I cut the printed flower from a sheet of cardstock and attached several 1/8th-inch thick, double-stick foam dots to its back. The dots lifted the flower high enough off the page so that you can see the shadow it casts when photographed outdoors. (See close-up below.)

This digital scrapbook page was printed on PremierArt Matte Scrapbook Photo Paper using an Epson Stylus Photo R1800 inkjet printer. The orange flower was attached with All Night Media adhesive Pop Dots, measuring 1/2-inch in diameter and 1/8-inch thick. Note the shadow cast by the flower cutout is very similar to the digital drop shadows (below). Reproductions of the hybrid scrapbook pages were captured with a Casio Exilim digital camera.***

The Thailand tag, attached to the upper right corner of the page, was cut from decorative scrapbook cardstock, chosen for its tiny multicolor flowers. I covered the cardstock with a slightly smaller vellum tag, trimmed to fit approximately 1/4-inch from the cardstock’s edge on three sides. Where the vellum covers the paper, it softens the flowers so they look almost like a watercolor painting — illustrating one benefit of layering different scrapbooking materials. 

The tag above was cut from a cardstock design in the Die Cuts With a View (www.diecutswithaview.com) “Pocket Full of Posies” paper stack. Identified simply as “Orange Pink Daisies” (right), the design blended nicely under a layer of clear vellum, which I preprinted with a Thailand logo scanned from a souvenir package. The tiny, hand-carved white elephants represent a national symbol of Thailand. The completed tag was attached using Pop Dots, however, Scotch Foam Mounting Tape would have worked well, given the length of the tag. 

The final embellishment is a very realistic 3-inch butterfly that stands out from the background all by itself. Available at most craft stores, butterflies are growing in popularity and are sold in many materials and designs. (This one is made from feathers.)

As you can see in the illustration above, combining traditional and digital techniques can result in unique scrapbook pages with both visual and tactile features. I encourage readers to experiment with drop shadows and other types of Layer Styles to liven up your digital pages!

* For step-by-step instructions, see www.takegreatpictures.com/photo-tips/scrapbooking/step-by-step-guide-how-to-assemble-a-portrait-page-by-kim-brady

** While Shabby Princes no longer carries the Shabby Cabana kit, it does offer many high-quality kits at www.theshabbyshoppe.com, as well as a generous free download.

*** Because I recorded the inkjet page with a digital camera instead of a scanner, the rest of the reproductions in this article do not precisely match the color details in the printed scrapbook page.