Digital Tutorial - Holly Jolly Advent

It's been *FOREVER* since I did a Scrapbook Max tutorial! If you've browsed my blog at all, you know that's the digital program I use exclusively for everything you see on my blog and in my shop.  So, I thought it would be fun to show you how easy it is to use to make one of my most popular printables...

8x10 Holly Jolly Advent

 I love Scrapbook Max and have used it for over 3 years... it's easy, designing is a cinch and you don't have to be a graphic artist to create awesome projects.  Keep reading and at the end, I'll tell you how you can give Scrapbook Max a test drive for free!

Scrapbook MAX is basically a "drag and drop" type of program and there is no fancy layering functions you have to worry about. Using the icon bar at the top, you simply choose photos and "graphic elements" to drop in... and very easily can resize, recolor, shadow and drag any piece where ever you want.

In the icon bar at the top of your workspace, there is a small red daisy.  I click on this anytime I want to bring in a graphic element from a digital scrapbook kit.  My library is full of kits, but my most favorite digital designer is Just so Scrappy.  I love the style of her kits, they are packed full of amazing elements AND she only charges $1.50 for each kit!  In fact, her designs are so well done and affordable that everything you see on my blog or in my Etsy Shop was created from one or more of her kits!

As you can see, when I first pulled in my green paper, it wasn't big enough... it didn't fill my white workspace.  So, I just clicked on it to "grab ahold of it" and pulled it to the edge of my workspace.  It does distort the graphics to "pull" them non-proportionally, but in this case... I liked the result.  I then used the same function (the red daisy) to add a red paper element on top. 

Now that I've got my background set... the fun part begins!  Still using that red daisy icon, I started dropping in all the elements I thought I might want to use.  I like to randomly lay elements together to see how they coordinate and then I start playing around with my design.

Thankfully I don't have to deal with a complicated layering system (like in PhotoShop).  There are a few icons on the top menu bar that allow me to push elements in back of or in front of each other.  I did that with my striped paper.  I wanted it behind the red, but in front of the green.  EASY!  Then I started dragging my "bulbs" over to form my tree.  Once I got going, I was able to use universal copy & paste functions (like CTRL C & CTRL V) to make more bulbs.  These bulbs were actually buttons and brads, but by making them bigger (clicking on them and pulling them outward)... I was able to size them how I wanted.

Now that I'm finished with all of my elements, it's time to add some text...

On the menu bar at the top, there are a few icons for adding different types of text or journalling boxes.  In my opinion, text is only as cool as the font it's written in!  So, having a good collection of fonts is key to finishing off any digital project... if you need help finding fun ones or installing them, check out my this font tutorial HERE.

It so happens that I created my tree with 24 bulbs.... that by the way, happen to be the perfect size for Candy Kisses!  Which means this cute tree is also a fun advent calendar for Christmas! 

A quick and inexpensive way to prepare this printable is to laminate and punch holes in the top corners to attach ribbon for hanging.  Another easy way to display this printable is in an 8x10 acrylic frame.  I've seen them at Target and Walmart for less than a few dollars.  I would not recommend ModPodging this particular image to a tile... in my experience red ink from my printer bleeds onto the white (turning it pink)!  Eeeek!

For those of you out there who what to make your own and give digital design a try...

Scrapbook MAX offers a free 30 day trial, CLICK HERE for the download!
Then, here are a few posts on my blog that will help you get a good test run out of your trial:

What is Scrapbook Max?

Digital Design 101: Getting Started

Digital Design 101: EZ Halloween Layout

However, just in case jumping in to digital design isn't your thing... 

You are welcome to visit my MY SHOP and order the finished PDF file {HERE}!

Special Thanks to Just So Scrappy... Her digital kits are AMAZING!

Happy Designing!

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