Ali: 1 - PSE: 0!

I've dabbled in digi-scrapping for a while now. I still love to physically scrap but digi is fun too and has the major advantage that I can do it while lazing on the sofa watching TV! :D Plus it's good value for money as of course you only have to buy digi elements once and then can use them over and over and over (and, oh my, there are some gorgeous kits out there!).

However, I've found my digi-scrapping a bit limited by the software I was using. I've been using Scrapbook Factory and while it's a great basic program and very intuitive and easy to use, it simply can't do the more advanced functions like blending images into one another or using brushes. I did used to have Photoshop Elements some years ago but my computer has been reformatted/rebuilt several times since then and I've never been able to find the disc to reinstall it. And of course now it'll be several versions out of date anyway. So I've been seriously hankering to get PSE back on my computer for some time... so when I saw Amazon offering PSE 10 for £30 recently, I snapped it up!

It arrived and was installed yesterday and today I have begun experimenting. I have to say that I have never found PSE (whatever version I had) to be particularly easy to get on with - the controls are not intuitive and trying to work out how to achieve the result you want is often an exercise in frustration. However, knowing this in advance, I girded my loins and let battle commence!

It took a serious chunk of time, a lot of googling for info/tutorials - and quite a bit of swearing! - but in the end I prevailed... and so I can now proudly unveil my very first PSE-created digital scrapbook page:

I'm really rather pleased with this. I've managed to achieve the clever, "professional"-looking effect that I see in digi pages in the gallery on UKS and I feel like this is my first "proper" digi page. :)

Btw, all the gorgeous elements on this page are from the Inner Storm kit by Creative Victorian (check em out - they have some stunning kits!).