How to make a digital scrapbook step by step
Make a digital scrapbook by collecting image files, choosing a page shape, arranging one sample spread, then repeating its spacing and reviewing the book at reading size.
Choose the photos before opening the page editor. Copy that selection and your keepsake images into a project folder so you can find them together.
Decide how the pages will be read before setting their shape. Tall pages suit single-page reading; a wide spread needs more screen space.
Make a digital scrapbook
Add your photos and keepsakes in tbf scrapbook, then arrange them on the pages.
Prepare files before building pages
Separate the original files from the copies used in the project. Crop working copies, keeping enough of each object to recognise its edges and purpose.
- Choose the sharpest version of a repeated photograph.
- Rotate scans so that handwriting is upright.
- Name the files in the intended order.
- Photograph both sides of a keepsake when each adds information.
Make one sample spread
Try the page with the most items first. Once they fit with readable gaps, use the same margins on pages with fewer photographs.
Start with the largest photograph. Add the keepsake beside it and leave a plain area for your own typed words, avoiding text over a busy image.
Arrange the whole book before fine edits
Roughly arrange all the pages before finishing one. Check that later pages have enough photographs before spending time on borders and colours.
Keep a note of which source files each page uses. Saving a finished edition does not replace your separate collection of original images.
Steps
Collect and order
Copy the selected files into one folder. Add numbers to the working filenames so they follow the intended reading sequence.
Set the page shape
Choose portrait, landscape or square. Draw the outer margin and reserve a binding gap if the pages are shown as a spread.
Build the sample
Try the busiest spread with its photographs and keepsakes. Read the smallest writing at normal page size before repeating the layout.
Review and save
Read every page at its normal size. Correct orientation, missing facts and crowded edges, then save the edition in your chosen editor.
Questions
Can I make a digital scrapbook without scanning?
Yes. Use digital photos and photograph paper keepsakes in even light. A scanner is useful for flat, loose items but is not essential for starting.
How do I stop digital pages looking crowded?
Pick a main image, use a consistent gap between items and leave one plain area. Move a dense ticket or letter to another page rather than shrinking it.
Should all digital scrapbook pages share a layout?
Repeat margins and text positions. Change the photo arrangement when a page has more pictures or a keepsake that needs extra room.