It is possible to file your digital scrapbooking graphic files, find what you need, AND know who created the graphics.

Here's a question that I get asked a lot: How do I manage my digital scrapbooking supplies? It's really easy, once you realize that you can use your computer's folder and file renaming functions to help you along.

This is the general listing of folders I have for my scrapbooking supplies. These are sub-folders under the main supply folder which I have named 0_Scrapbooking. I used the numeral in the name so that it would always be the top folder in my list.

• Alphas
• Backgrounds
• Cards and Crafts
• Embellishments
• RoStuff
• Templates
• Transparencies

These are the sub-folders under the Alpha folder. See how I have divided them up by colors?

• Full PNG (These are the full sheets of PNG files that we provide to you.)
• Full JPG (These are the printable sheets that we provide to you.)
• Yellow White
• Peach Orange
• Black Grey
• Green Blue
• Brown Tan
• Red Pink Purple
• Multi
• Metals

Backgrounds/papers. Just looking at the folders makes me want to open them up and start to scrapbook!

• Black Grey
• Blue
• EZ Pages
• Green
• Multi
• Orange Peach
• Pink
• Purple
• Red
• Tan Brown
• White
• Yellow Gold

Embellishments. I had fun coming up with some categories that worked for me. I sat and thought about what uses I have for the embellishments and then this break-down came to me. So far, it has worked like a charm.

• Borders
• Buttons
• Designs Shapes Cute Stuff
• Doodles
• Envelopes Folders
• Fasteners Eyelets and More
• Flowers
• Frames
• Full Sheets PNG (These are the full sheets of PNG files that we provide to you.)
• Full Sheets JPG (These are the printable sheets that we provide to you.)
• Notebook Paper Journaling Things
• Picture Corners
• Ribbons Bows Tassels
• Stitches
• Tabs Bookplate Paper Holders
• Tags
• Words Quotes Titles

These are the Templates. That ScrapSimple Paper Template folder is jam-packed with fun things. In fact, I was up at 2 a.m. making a ScrapSimple layout with some fun pictures I found of Julianne. (She takes lots of pictures of her friends and herself.) They were so cute I just couldn't wait to work with them.

• ScrapSimple Paper Templates
• Other Templates
• ScrapSimple Card Templates

Example of what one of the actual 'container' folders looks like. This one holds my transparencies.

This is one of my favorite embellishment folders. I call it "Fasteners, Eyelets, and More." It contains all of the little do-dads that you would use to make it looks like the supplies are attached to the page with something. Before I organized my folders so well, all of my embellishments were in one great big folder and it seemed like it took forever to find what I wanted (and I missed a lot of great stuff, too).

Now it's a snap!

One last thing that you will need to do while organizing your supplies: If any of the designers that you have purchased supplies from haven't given you enough information in the file name to be able to remember who created them, you can quickly rename them in Photoshop Elements 2 and 3, Photoshop and PSP's File Browser option. (PSE 4 has a more complicated solution.) You can also rename under the Windows File Browsing option.

All of the Scrap Girls files are SUPPOSED to be named so that you can easily tell whose things they are and what collection they belong to: For instance:

• DEB_Fascination_Alpha1_A.png would be a letter "A" in the alphabet that belongs to Durin Eberhart's Fascination Word Art Biggie.
• MRE_SSPaper_Diamonds_Fence.png would be a paper template from Melissa Renfro's ScrapSimple Paper Templates: Diamonds.
• The three letters on the first of the file name are the first initial of the designer's first name and the first two initials of their last name - with a few exceptions. ASO and AFT are both Amanda Fraijo-Tobin, TCS is Thao Cosgrove and Ro is me, Rozanne Paxman!

Hope this little system helps make your scrapbooking easier!

- Ro

P.S. You ARE backing up your supplies to CDs and DVDs, right? Tell me that you are. Don't depend upon hard drives because they fail! They wear out - just like shoes, cars, and people do. You can use this little system to help that backing up process, as well. Just periodically back up your "supply folders."

P.P.S. Because you also will have your original zipped folders (Windows keeps them around despite unzipping them), you should also back them up on a CD or DVD, too. This guarantees that you have your original files safe and sound. You can't accidentally ruin them while scrapbooking.