You know how there are people who are "early adopters"? People who see the latest tech gadget and must have it in hand immediately? Well, I'm not one of them.

I am afraid of technology. It moves so fast that I feel constantly left behind. I panic a little bit inside whenever I hear a news story about spy robots the size of a house flies (true story) or monkeys who can play video games WITH THEIR MINDS, thanks to some electronic gadget placed on their heads (freaky monkeys). I still can't decide if I find the following video really cool or absolutely terrifying: Lucky for me, I married a graphic designer/tech hound who keeps me from hiding way back in the 20th century (wink, wink). Because of him, we always have the latest design programs on our Mac, and I've been able to take baby steps into the photo-editing and digital design worlds over the years. (And having a job in both physical and online publishing hasn't hurt either!)

Why am I telling you this? Because I can relate to a fear of all things digital! But little by little, one miniscule step at a time, I've been converted to new digital worlds. Like iTunes. Like online shopping. Like blogging. Like eBooks! And even to a bit of hybrid scrapbooking.

If you're a bit tech-phobic yourself, rest assured that Special Effects for Digital Photos and our Retro Digital Frames will give you an easy, non-threatening introduction to a handful of very useful digital tricks.

I promise, these techniques are not scary, they're not too hard, and they'll open your mind to previously undiscovered worlds. (And you don't have to give up your patterned paper and glue stick stash!)

If you want prenatal steps (instead of baby steps), try Cathy Zielske's Quiz Printables for a bit of hybrid scrapbooking fun. As Cathy's page demonstrates above (as seen on her blog today), these you can just download, print, write on, and glue to a page. OR, if you're an advanced user, open the files in Photoshop and work your magic!

See? Even advanced digi divas can benefit from Ella's latest offerings. For example, my husband, an 18-year veteran of the graphic design industry, learned a couple of new approaches from Renee's eBook. You see, in the digital arena, there can be a dozen different ways to approach any one task, and you never know when you'll find just the shortcut you were looking for!

Well, enough preaching for now. Make sure to check back all week long for more digi fun.

~Angie

Sneak peek: Coming soon! An Ella-themed digi designs pack that advanced users will LOVE and even newbies could find some fantastic uses for. You know you want it.