5 Digital Scrapbook Layouts For Beginners

Today I thought I'd highlight a few digital scrapbooking layouts that are a great study if you're new to layout making. Or maybe you've been making layouts for years, but need a little inspiration. Hopefully these five ideas will help.

My first tip is just put everything in the middle (or on the side, or in the corner). A lot of beginners will make the mistake of trying to fill the whole page with interesting things. But if you fall into this trap you'll just end up in with a lot of stuff and nothing specific for the eye to look at. If you make a specific cluster somewhere on the page, you'll both give the eye the information of where to look, and the surrounding white space will also give the eye a place to rest.

digital scrapbook layout

My next tip is to add some paper layers in a pile behind your photo. This is something I often forget about when I'm staring at a blank canvas, but my paper scrapbooking has helped me put this into focus. When I work with paper I basically take my photo and staple a bunch of papers behind it. Then I stick it on my page and call it done. You can do this in your digital canvas as well. With the shape tool just draw a few rectangles (each on a separate layer) behind your photo and clip some papers to these new shapes. Give them a slight rotation if you're feeling daring, or leave them straight if you like the clean look.

digital scrapbooking layout
digital scrapbook layout

My next tip is to make it big or make it small. Adding a surprise in sizing will bring some excitement to your digital scrapbooking layout.

large text digital scrapbooking layout

small feature digital scrapbooking layout

A key tip used across all graphic design is the triangle rule. Cluster your main points in three spots that can be connected like a triangle. This is important to remember if you don't want to follow the first tip I gave of just making one spot. If you want to fill more space on your layout make sure there's a path for the eye to travel and places for it to rest. This triangle rule is a must for me when I'm making my pocket pages. There's a lot going on, so it's important to make sure there's some sort of path to bring you through the entire layout.

digital pocket scrapbooking layout
the triangle design rule

My last tip for today is to make some sort of grid to help you arrange your stuff. Even if it's a small two by one grid, or you end up moving things significantly, starting in an even grid arrangement can help you get more stuff in with it looking like a mess.

grid digital scrapbook layout
grid digital scrapbook layout
grid digital scrapbook layout

I hope you found at least one of these tips helpful. Let me know if you use one of them!

(And before you go, make sure to take a look at our great collection of SVG files and graphics - they often seem to get overlooked, and there are some superb ones. If you don't know much about SVG, we have a section in our new article that will tell you a bit more about them - https://www.digitalscrapbook.com/what-is-digital-scrapbooking)

5 digital scrapbooking layout for beginners

Recent Comments

Arlisa Hard
Arlisa Hard Wed, 02/10/2021 - 08:30

Great tips

Faith Anderson
Faith Anderson Mon, 12/07/2020 - 12:17

Thank you for this Marisa, for a newbie who tries hard, this is invaluable. SVG's are great too

Kat Kipreou
Kat Kipreou Mon, 11/30/2020 - 08:05

These are really good tips! Thanks

Marisa Lerin
Marisa Lerin Mon, 11/30/2020 - 06:50

Thanks everyone! Glad you found it helpful.

Dexter Smith
Dexter Smith Sun, 11/29/2020 - 16:16

this is really great advice! i'm hesitant to actually start scrapbooking, since i'm a perfectionist and i really dislike when i don't feel great about my first project in a new hobby, so i really appreciate posts like this one!

Rachel Martin ❄
Rachel Martin ❄ Sat, 11/28/2020 - 13:34

GREAT article, Marisa! I would have LOVED this when I first started, because it does sometimes feel like you're just throwing things at the canvas and seeing what sticks, at least at first. Nice job!

Alianne Cecile
Alianne Cecile Fri, 11/27/2020 - 13:28

As a newbie digital scrapper and a beginner level paper scrapper, this was such a helpful post! I'm gonna come back to this when I need help on a layout that doesn't feel quite right. Thanks!

Shannon Maguire
Shannon Maguire Fri, 11/27/2020 - 08:59

Great tips Marisa!