More from the Art of Digital Design 2 with Carina Gardner

In my last post I mentioned the class I have been taking over at JessicaSprague.com for the last couple of weeks. Our instructor has been Carina Gardner, and she has done a really good job of helping us out by sharing her considerable knowledge. Some people might say that what she is doing is giving away industry secrets, but I think that whether or not she does, it simply doesn't matter. Those people taking the class who are going to have success will have it regardless of the things we were taught. And the information she has given us is all available from other sources...perhaps not in such a concise format, but the curious observer can pick up as much browsing tutorials, purchasing and studying kits from successful designers, and learning the tools they have at their disposal. I think the two most valuable things I have gotten from the class are a few technical shortcuts to make the work I already did easier, and a belief that my work has a place in the digital scrapbook world.

I also want to mention that there a lot to be said for keeping your eyes open to the trends you see around you. I have started some boards over at Pinterest, and I have a special one that I keep for things that might be seeds for future scrapbook designs. beautiful things, that perhaps only I will know how they have inspired me, and I hope to be able to remember that inspiration when the time comes to use it!

Well, anyway. I hope you will like what I've come up with. The preview below is pretty close to finished...maybe just a few minor tweaks here and there and it will be done. Enjoy!

Art of Digital Design 2 Class at JessicaSprague.com

I have been taking the Art of Digital Design 2 class taught by Carina Gardner (at Jessica Sprague.com), and can I say how much I am enjoying it?! Carina is a very accomplished designer...in more ways than just her digital scrapbooking designs, and it has been great to hear from her and draw on her expertise. Also, she's got a really great, down-to-earth personality as I could see during the webinar she held this week.

I am taking this class for a couple of reasons. One, I think you can never have too many good examples of "how" to do digital scrapbooking. Every designer brings different strengths to the table, and it's cool to be able to pick up on new ways of doing things and new ways of looking at the design challenges we all face. Also, Carina has had a large measure of success, so it seems to me that she is a great person to emulate if at all possible. Two, I wanted to know for sure that my work was up to snuff in terms of file preparation and the way the industry tends to do things with the preview.  And three, I wondered what kinds of skills I hadn't even imagined I was lacking in Photoshop and Illustrator. It's fun to pick up on quick new ways to get the job done!

Here are my first two paper pack previews for you to see. I am starting on an element set right now, and sometimes this part can be difficult for me until I find my theme. I don't have my theme yet. Usually I start off knowing my theme in advance, but I'm working on it!