Marisa Lerin's Blog | DigitalScrapbook.com Digital Scrapbooking

How To Get Started Digital Planning

By Marisa Lerin Mon, 01/16/2023 - 13:22

I've been talking a lot about digital planning the last several months, it's been a new hobby of mine in 2022. As I'm more or less all in at this point, I thought it might be time to share a little of what I've learned.

Hardware and Software
I use an iPad (7th generation) and an Apple Pencil (1st generation). On the iPad I use the app Goodnotes, where you can import any PDF as a notebook/planner. Goodnotes also comes with several options to create your own notebook/planner, so it's worth checking out the page templates that are included. To add a planner or notebook you've downloaded to Goodnotes, just click on the big + icon and choose Import. This will let you select the new planner/notebook from your iPad.

(I have little knowledge of using an Android based tablet for planning, but I've heard that Penly is a good option. If you use it, let us know!)

Like making the switch to digital scrapbooking, I have loved the freedom that comes with digital planning. I have wanted a paper planner to work for me for many years, but it never did. Being able to create exactly the planner spread I want, plus change it when it's not working, has really helped me to create and stick with a new routine. Also, there's easy access to all the stickers you could want and I don't have to store them in real life.

I can talk more about my personal planner journey in the future, but for now, I'll recommend a few (free) starter planners that you can take a look at and see how they work for you.

Planners

To start we have lots of great options right here at DigitalScrapbook.com . Choose what you like and build your own planner from the ground up.

I've also just released a set of planners that you can use to build your own planner.

Passion Planner also has several free samples you can download and try out.

What both DigitalScrapbook.com and Passion Planner will allow you to do is create your own planner one page at a time. If you're interested in a finished planner that's dated and hyperlinked (so you can more easily move among the pages) I'd suggest checking out the Digital Planner Addicts Facebook Group. Designers are often sharing planner freebies and you should be able to find something to give a test drive and help you figure out what you're looking for.

In the following video I go over briefly how to add a PDF to Goodnotes, and also how to add a PDF to an existing notebook in Goodnotes.

Stickers

To get started with stickers, you can drag any JPG or PNG image onto your planner page. Download whatever you like from DigitalScrapbook.com and add it to your planner page for the day. We also have some sticker sheets that have already been formatted for Goodnotes, so you can import the sticker notebook and copy the stickers from there. I show both these methods briefly in this video:

You can find our DigitalScrapbook.com stickers here.

When I'm looking to buy stickers, I'm not usually looking for the more typical planner sticker, but I'm just interested in finding something cute. The following are two digital sticker designers that I love. If you have a lead on another store that sells cute stickers, please let me know!

If you have any questions or want to share your favorite planner, please do so in the comments!

My Digital Travel Journal

By Marisa Lerin Wed, 01/11/2023 - 22:00

In the past year I've been experimenting with Goodnotes on my iPad and seeing what kind of digital journals I can keep. One thing I've tried out is keeping a digital travel journal. Simpler than a scrapbook, I just add a few photos and bits and pieces as we're traveling.

I've found a big bonus to going digital for my travel journal, is not only do you have to carry a lot less stuff, but especially here in Mexico we get no paper ephemera. Often when you travel there's ticket stubs, maps, etc. But here we never get any little bits of paper. So going digital makes a lot of sense when there's nothing physical I'm trying to include. Also, it's a lot easier to browse the internet to look for interesting graphics to include from the places we've visited.

The hardest thing to get used to for me is not being able to shadow my elements. I generally have been using frames that are already shadowed and trying to convince myself that the no shadow look is okay. I may ultimately end up making some shadowed elements just for use in my travel journal.

The planner I'm using is from DPlanStudio. I do most of the journaling in the Goodnotes app on my iPad, with a little here and there done in the Photoshop app also on iPad.