Online Scrapbooking Classes

Post by Katie

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Online classes are a wonderful resource for scrapbookers of all types, and the past few years have brought an abundance learning resources to all of us via the internet. I (Katie) love to learn new techniques and find ideas and inspiration to keep me motivated in my memory keeping endeavors. I’ve developed quite an addiction to online courses because they have helped me grow as a digital scrapbooker (and a photographer) in many ways. I’ve taken several courses over the past few years for my own personal benefit. I never intended to be a “reviewer” for these classes and I paid for all of them out of my own pocket. In fact, for online classes I use a different user name because I’ve always felt a little nervous signing up as “Katie the Scrapbook Lady”, for some reason. lol! :) Just too much pressure I guess. I wanted to be sure to clear that up and let you know that just like all of our other reviews posts here at The Daily Digi, this one is honest and unbiased.

I truly have had good experiences in all of the online classes I have signed up for to this date. Some have been better than others, but I have always learned something valuable. My only complaint about online classes is that sometimes I never get around to completing them – but that is totally my fault! lol! :) I often bite off more than I can chew and signing up for too many classes at one time makes it impossible to focus on any one of them. I learned this the hard way last fall when I enrolled in multiple classes at once. I knew I wouldn’t be able to keep up with all of them so I looked for courses that would keep the materials accessible to students on a long term basis so I could go back later on to work on the lessons I missed. The problem is, I keep forgetting to do that! So I’m hoping this post will help me as well!

There are several communities that offer online learning courses that range in price from free to hundreds of dollars. The classes vary from a download that you can work along with at your own pace to an ongoing course that last months or even a full year. Here are some of the ones that I have attended and that have caught the attention of our team members here at The Daily Digi.

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BIG PICTURE SCRAPBOOKING:

Overview: Big Picture Scrapbooking offers expert instruction and a unique approach to scrapbooking that unlocks a person’s true creativity, allowing you to easily tell scrapbook stories around life’s special moments so you can ultimately find more satisfaction in life.

Launched in November 2005, we are the first dedicated online scrapbooking education program with members around the world. Our growing community is all about helping you find and explore your creative potential.

We provide a wide range of educational instruction—from free self-paced projects to progressive multi-week courses—but it is our liberating philosophy and approach to scrapbooking that sets us apart and enables you to unlock your ability to easily create stories out of life’s special moments.

Current  or upcoming classes that appeal to all types of scrapbookers:

Current or upcoming classes that appeal to digital scrapbookers:

Current or upcoming classes that appeal to photographers:

Classes I’ve taken and would recommend:

  • Yesterday + Today by Ali Edwards (not currently available) – this was the most amazing class I’ve EVER taken online!
  • Design Your Life by Cathy Zielske (not currently available)  – great way to learn design principles that apply to scrabooking.
  • Me the Abridged Version by Cathy Zielske (not currently available) – a super fun class!
  • Cut the Crazy out of Christmas! by Georgana Hall and Debbie Raymond (not currently available) – tons of great ideas for celebrating and simplifying the Christmas season.

Free classes to try:

*See opportunity to win a free class at end of post!

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GET IT SCRAPPED:

Overview: I’m Debbie Hodge and I own Get It Scrapped! As I watched my friends get digital cameras, I saw them become overwhelmed by the quantity of the photos they now had—to the point that they stopped putting them into the photo albums they’d once kept. I love process (I have an MBA with a concentration in Operations Management) AND I love scrapbooking. I felt like if people just had a “method to the madness” they’d see it was doable–and then they’d get to enjoy the actual making of scrapbook pages.

Since the fall of 2007, I’ve been teaching online classes. Along with an awesome team of crafters, scrapbookers, journalers, and photographers I teach and share information so that anyone who’d like to start memory keeping can do it quickly, easily, and well. We offer free resources and instruction, an active community in the forums with challenges, sketches and online events as well as paid classes that are top-notch.

Current  or upcoming classes that appeal to all types of scrapbookers:

Current or upcoming classes that appeal to digital scrapbookers:

Current or upcoming classes that appeal to photographers:

Classes I’ve taken and would recommend:

Free classes to try:

*See opportunity to win a free class at end of post!

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JESSICA SPRAGUE:

Overview: You are already sitting in front of your most powerful tool for capturing, recording, enhancing, and sharing your memories. My goal is to help you learn how. JessicaSprague.com is the home of the BEST online digital crafting classes, and I’m so excited that you’ve made it this far! At the heart of it all, our site is about telling the stories of our lives, and we use several tools to help us accomplish that mission. First up is software! Second, you’ll need some instructions. As a trained instructional designer, a passionate teacher, and a graphic artist, I offer the BEST digital scrapbooking instruction anywhere. The proof is in the thousands of students who are now making beautiful scrapbook pages to tell their life stories!

Current  or upcoming classes that appeal to all types of scrapbookers:

The classes at JessicaSprague.com all require use of some sort of digital program (Photoshop or Photoshop Elements, Illustrator, etc.) A series of Scrapbook Alchemy classes are offered for hybrid scrapbookers.

Current or upcoming classes that appeal to digital scrapbookers:

Current or upcoming classes that appeal to photographers:

Classes I’ve taken and would recommend:

Free classes to try:

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RENEE PEARSON:

Overview: Renee Pearson’s online learning community for digital scrapbooking and photography related courses.

Current  or upcoming classes that appeal to all types of scrapbookers:

The classes at Reneepearson.com all require use of some sort of digital program (Photoshop or Photoshop Elements, Illustrator, etc.) The upcoming “Just the Basics” course would work well for traditional scrapbookers who want to try Photoshop Elements for hybrid or digital scrapbooking purposes.

Current or upcoming classes that appeal to digital scrapbookers:

Current or upcoming classes that appeal to photographers:

Classes I’ve taken and would recommend: I have not taken any classes at ReneePearson.com but I would like to!  Steph has taken a beginning digital scrapbooking class from Renee (taught at another site) and thought it was very well done.  The lessons were manageable and would be great for someone just starting out.

Free classes to try:

  • There are some free video tutorials in the “Study Hall” for registered members of the site.

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LYNDA.COM:

Overview: Learn the latest tools and techniques with access to 759 online courses and counting! Get unbiased, clear, and comprehensive training in 3D, audio, video, photography, graphic design, web and interactive design, business, and development from expert instructors, 24/7.

Please note – This site is subscription fee based instead of charging for individual courses.  All classes are on-demand

Current  or upcoming classes that appeal to all types of scrapbookers:

Not applicable

Current or upcoming classes that appeal to digital scrapbookers:

Current or upcoming classes that appeal to photographers:

Classes I’ve taken and would recommend:

  • I’ve tried some of the free tutorials and they are great! Now, I just need to subscribe so I can get the full experience. I keep putting it off until I have a month with more free time so I can get the most out of my subscription. Not sure when that will ever happen though!  Steph has had a membership off and on for a while and has learned a lot, especially more intermediate and advanced techniques.  Anytime she wants to knwo how to do something, this is where she goes.

Free classes to try:

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KELBY TRAINING:

Overview: At first glance, you might just see a company that trains people to use Adobe Photoshop. There’s nothing special about that; there are plenty of companies that train Photoshop users. But look a little deeper, and you’ll see that Photoshop isn’t just a software program to us. It’s in our DNA. It’s part of who we are and why we’re stoked to come to work every day. That’s what makes us different. Sharing our secrets, our shortcuts, and a better way to do the coolest techniques isn’t just our job. It’s our passion. We flat out love this stuff.

Since 1993, we’ve assembled a team of the most uniquely talented, highly creative, and passionately driven Photoshop experts we could find. That’s our secret ingredient for teaching Photoshop. The leader of this collection of total Photoshop freaks is Scott Kelby, our creative visionary and the world’s bestselling author on Photoshop. He’s won legions of fans around the world with his passion, his vision, and his amazing way of making Photoshop make sense. His easygoing, plain English, step-by-step style has transformed how people learn Photoshop and he still guides everything we do each day.

When a group like this comes together, made up of real people who are genuinely committed to breaking the mold and changing the way we all learn Photoshop, something very special happens. They don’t create “good solid training.” They create kick-butt training. Period.

Please note - This site is subscription fee based instead of charging for individual courses.

Current  or upcoming classes that appeal to all types of scrapbookers:

Not applicable

Current or upcoming classes that appeal to digital scrapbookers:

Current or upcoming classes that appeal to photographers:

Classes I’ve taken and would recommend:

I bought myself a full year subscription at the beginning of this year and I’m just starting to delve into all the great material at Kelby training, I’m not sure I can get through it all in just one year! Here are a few classes that I’ve taken so far:

  • Elements 8 for Digital Photographers by Lesa Snider – I’m only about halfway through this course right now because it’s massive! (and very educational!)
  • Lightroom 3 Beta Power Session by Matt Kloskowski – I just started this one on Saturday and I’ve already learned a lot. Matt is THE expert when it comes to Lightroom!

Free classes to try:

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CREATIVE TECHS:

Overview: Our little worldwide classroom has been growing fast. Thanks in large part to an amazing community of supporters that has grown up around this project! We’re balancing how much we can give away for free without undermining the economic engine that keeps this online classroom running. We make our money (and pay for the classroom) through people who purchase the downloads for these courses. While the live classes are free, the downloads contain exercise files, higher resolution and iPod versions of the video recordings, and other extras. The more downloads we are able to sell, the more live classes we’ll be able to present for free.

Please note – if you attend a live webinar the course is free. If you want to access the download later on, you will need to pay for it.

Current  or upcoming classes that appeal to all types of scrapbookers:

Not applicable

Current or upcoming classes that appeal to digital scrapbookers:

  • Full Photoshop Master course (6 months) by Jason Hoppes for purchase
  • Illustrator 10 week course by Steve Laskevitch for purchase

Current or upcoming classes that appeal to photographers:

Classes I’ve taken and would recommend:

This site is brand new to me so I have not attended any of the live webinars or downloaded content. I plan to try it in the future!

Free classes to try:

They are all free if you attend the live webinar version!

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GiftAway

* We have some awesome giveaway prizes today thanks to the generosity of several of these online learning communities. Here’s what we have to give away:

One free pass for “Digital Techniques for Art Journaling” with Pattie Knox starting April 5 at Get It Scrapped.

One free pass for the photography workshop with Tracey Clark: Picture Spring at Big Picture Scrapbooking. Class is scheduled to begin April 1st

One free pass for  Collage 101: A beginning course in digital “mixed-media” Instructor: Renee Pearson at Reneepearson.com

One free pass for Album Magic: A step by step course in album creation
Instructor: Anna Aspnes at Reneepearson.com

One free pass for Step-by-Step Design with Illustrator: A beginning Illustrator class
Instructor: Laura Coyle at Reneepearson.com

One free pass for Click It Fix It: Creative Photo Editing with Adobe Camera Raw
Instructor: Tiffany Tillman at Reneepearson.com

That means we will be drawing (randomly) 6 different winners from the comments on this post! Just leave a comment telling us something you would like to learn (it can be in a class from the drawing or a different class not listed, but needs to be scrapbooking related). Be sure to specify a couple of choices for the drawing – for example: if you don’t own Illustrator, you should mention that so we don’t award you the free Illustrator class if you win. :)

All eligible comments must be listed on this post before midnight EST on Wednesday March 31, 2010. Winners will be announced on Thursday April 1, 2010 (no kidding!)

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About Katie

Katie is a team member, contributing writer, and all around go-to gal at The Daily Digi. You can find Katie and her templates at ScrapbookLadyPages.com Read more about Katie here.
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204 Responses to Online Scrapbooking Classes

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  1. 201
    sarah says:
    March 31, 2010 at 11:23 pm

    Thank you for all this wonderful information! I want to learn how to take better photos.

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