Digital Scrapbook Layout Ideas for Baby and Children

Digital scrapbooking is often appealing to mothers of young children because all you need is a computer and image editing software. Instead of dragging out boxes of paper, stickers, and adhesives when you want to scrapbook, you can pull up a layout in progress on your computer whenever you have a few spare minutes.

Pictures of children sleeping are a popular addition to any scrapbook album. Reinforce the theme of this type of digital scrapbook layout by choosing patterned paper with moons, stars, clouds, or other nighttime inspired graphics. Frame the photo with a mat that looks like a cloud. Use a decorative font to add a title such as "Sweet Dreams" or "Good Night My Little One."

Song lyrics make for great journaling to tie together a collage of photos from different occassions. Choose a simple and easy-to-read font for the journaling, since it will be the most noticeable element on this type of scrapbook layout. Use filmstrip embellishments to artfully display the photos you have selected. Rotate and overlap the filmstrips to give your layout a casual look.

Don't forget to scrapbook simple moments, like flying a kite. These are often the memories children treasure the most. If your picture has lots of dead space, such as the large expanse of grass in this photo, use the empty spot as a place for playful embellishments. Frame the photo by making borders from two or three different colors of rickrack. Use a handwriting font for the journaling to add to the homemade look of the page.

If your child loves to play dress up, this is a great chance for creative scrapbooking. This superhero-themed layout uses comic book inspired clip art to create a custom background and title. Add bits of striped and polka dot patterned paper to form the borders at the top and bottom of the page. A subtle drop shadow effect was used between the two different patterned papers to give the illusion of depth.

Always keep a camera in your purse to take pictures on family outings. These pictures from a live performance of Thomas and Friends were cropped from larger images and placed on a grid seperated with digital ribbon graphics. The swirl and clock embellishments at the bottom of the page were recolored using the eyedropper tool in Photoshop Elements so they would match the colors of the trains in the pictures. A drop shadow was added to the photo of the boy watching the performance.

The first day of school is an important occasion that deserves a place in your child's scrapbook. Showcase back to school pictures in a layout that features themed embellishments like pencil and apple clip art. Use brushes in your image editing software to add faux stitching to your photo mats. Choose a font that looks like writing on a chalkboard to use for your title. Make your journaling pop by using white text on a dark colored background.

When you're a parent every birthday is bittersweet. You don't need to make a layout with 50 photos of your child opening presents and eating cake, however. Choose four of your best photos and arrange them in a square formation in the upper right hand corner of the page. Place one large themed embellishment, such as a cupcake, present, or party hat, in the lower left corner of the layout. Add journaling in the space beneath the photos and to the right of the embellishment.

A grid template makes it easy to fit a number of small photos onto one page. If you don't have enough photos to fill all of the spaces in the grid, add different squares of digital patterned paper in the empty spots to give the design a bit of color. If possible, try to pick up colors that are used in the photos you have featured. A page done using this technique would work well as the title page for your child's scrapbook album.

Everyday photos, such as pictures of your child playing with a favorite toy, are often the most fun to scrapbook because they let you play with different creative techniques without worrying about finding themed embellishments or seasonal page titles. If you can't decide what type of patterned paper to use for your background, cut and paste three different patterns together for a customized look. Finish off your layout by adding journaling in a circle shape and running the first word of the title down the side of the photo mat.

If you're just getting started with digital scrapbooking, Digital Scrapbook Tutorials may help you master basic techniques.