Use imperfection for that perfect touch

Many digital scrapbooking fans, myself included, enjoy the level of precision offered by the computer and mouse (or even a pen).  However, some of the charm of traditional paper scrapping comes from imperfection, from that human element. Slightly irregular shapes, lines that aren’t exactly straight and handwritten stories help illustrate that someone’s hands touched this artwork.

While we may be pouring the same amount of love into a digital layout, it sometimes takes deliberate acts of imperfection to give a page that perfect finishing touch. For example, this reader put her own spin on last week’s template by rotating the squares a smidge.

This post will share 3 tips for adding paper-scrapped flair to your digital layouts.

1. Not quite square. Using the shape tool in Photoshop Elements, draw a square or rectangle. Then, press the Ctrl key (Cmd on Mac) to drag any corner in a slightly wonky way.

2. Location rotation. Rotate an otherwise square or rectangular shape just a few degrees, to make it look like you just glued it down that way.

3. Stitch it messily. Imperfect stitches are a scrapping staple. Use them to tack down papers or elements so they don’t “fall off”.

Bonus Tip: You can also use templates with wonky paper strips to get you there lickety split!

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And the winner is…
Congratulations Dana! You’re the winner of Scrap Simple #4 and a $10 gift certificate to the digital scrapbook shop of your choice.