I
live in Norfolk, England with my partner, 4 cats and 2 tortoises. I am a
qualified basic skills tutor and work as a learning support officer at our local
libraries teaching basic computer skills and computer crafts to the public.
I love teaching
and my job gives me lots of experience teaching beginners.
For the last 25
years, I have tried practically every possible craft. My
most recent being, altered art and making altered books into boxes and shrines.
It was getting a bit out of hand with books and bits in every nook and cranny of
my home, and even a shed at my mothers. You know what it is like when your
craft takes over. In the end, either I had to move or my craft needed to
change!
I was surfing
the Internet one day and discovered scrapbooking for the first time. Like many,
I was shocked to see how expensive hand scrapping could be and how much people
would spend to get an album completed. (I live in an area with very high
unemployment and I am always adapting crafts to make them cheaper).
I
thought if it is only paper, photo’s, colours and journaling, why not do it on
the computer and save by printing it myself (and it only takes up a corner of a
room!). So, I began experimenting with Microsoft Word, the programme that many
people already have on their home computers. I was amazed at the effects I
could achieve with a programme meant for writing letters.
All of my
examples on this page were designed and printed using Microsoft
Word. (click on any image for a larger view)
My experience
with altered art allows me to show you how to make 3-D pages, removable pieces
and windows like you see in the samples. You then just finish the pages with
trinkets, cut-outs etc. Best of all, you never have to worry about decay, fading
photo’s etc, just save it to a CD and you can always print out another copy!
I can also show you how to make your
own album covers and bindings.
My
new project is an instructional booklet detailing the different ways that a
scrapbook page may be constructed. I hope to have that competed by the New
Year.
Recently I
discovered PrincessCrafts.com and was delighted to find a website that
encouraged people to use the computer for scrapbooking.
You don’t need
to be an artist, or a computer whiz to achieve beautiful results using their
beginner to advanced programme.
So, armed with
a complete set of tools (including software and templates) and a really easy to
learn set of lessons, I am now offering to teach Digital Scrapbooking within my
local area.
I am currently
available on a 1-2-1 basis in your own home or we can arrange a venue for groups
with their own laptops. For details of fees etc. please contact me.
