Product Designer

Melanie joined the ScrapGirls product design team in February of 2008 after discovering digital scrapbooking and Scrap Girls at the end of 2006. A sentimental and creative packrat, she was thrilled to find a hobby that combines so many of her passions: photography, writing, graphic design, and general computer geekiness.

Melanie dabbled in paper scrapbooking in the early ’90s when her mother became a consultant for Creative Memories. Her first attempt at a scrapbook was one that detailed all of her addresses since 1987, a total that has now grown to 12, but she never finished it. She tried to pick it up again in the late ’90s when her niece was born, but found that she enjoyed buying paper products more than actually doing anything with them—and she has an abundance of art and scrapping supplies to prove it! Discovering digital supplies and methods has freed her from a tendency to be too much of a perfectionist with her scrapping: Ctrl+Z is this girl’s best friend!

Before becoming a stay-at-home mom in 2002 with the birth of her oldest son, Melanie held jobs as a technical editor, travel magazine editor, bookseller, waitress, nanny, and event planner. She co-authored the first edition Frommer’s Guide to Montana and Wyoming and has lived in seven states all across the country. She currently resides in North Carolina with her husband of six years and three boys. She also enjoys working part-time as a web design consultant.

In addition to digital scrapbooking, she enjoys photography, cooking, homeschooling her oldest son, playing European board games with friends, and going on real dates with her husband, which is a rare treat.

Melanie loves everything about Scrap Girls: the beautiful products, excellent customer service and training, extremely supportive online community, and daily doses of wisdom and inspiration that come from the newsletter. She is thrilled to have the opportunity to explore her creativity here and to be a part of such an amazingly talented group of designers. She looks forward to making many new friends who share her passion for documenting their lives through scrapbooking.

User Name: MelJohnson
Designer Initials: MJO
Melanie's Gallery

Digital scrapbooking is...

• Fast.
• Creative.
• Fun.
• And it saves you money.*

Let Scrap Girls show you how surprisingly simple it can be to become a great digital scrapbooker.

* Digital supplies are less expensive to purchase and can be used over and over and over again...

NEW! Discover your hidden scrapbooking talent today! MORE Scrapbook Software Secrets Revealed for Photoshop (for versions 6, 7, CS, CS2, CS3) will have you doing the same tricks and knowing the same tips as the professionals! With MORE Scrapbook Software Secrets Revealed for Photoshop, you will be creating your own digital elements and enjoying advanced techniques on your digital scrapbooking layouts in no time!

Have a blast doing the more advanced tricks that you see other people and professional digital scrapbookers doing. Learn how with MORE Scrapbook Software Secrets Revealed for Photoshop Elements (2.0, 3.0, 4.0, 5.0, 6.0).

Learn how easy it is to create digital scrapbooking layouts in PSE 6.0 with these easy-to-understand tutorial movies in Scrapbook Software Secrets Revealed for Photoshop Elements 6.0.

PSE 5.0 version available here.

PSE 4.0 version available here.

PSE 3.0 (works for 2.0) version available here.

Find out how easy it is to use Photoshop to create digital scrapbooking layouts and edit your photos! Scrapbook Software Secrets Revealed for Photoshop. (Versions 6, 7, CS, CS2 and CS3).

Learn how easy it is to create digital scrapbooking layouts with these easy-to-understand tutorial movies for Paint Shop Pro X. (Can be used for PSP XI, too!)

PSP 9 version here.

This great eBook will take digital scrapbookers photos to a new layer. Diane Miller's photographs are amazing and her Photography Simplified eBook shows you how you can get fabulous shots, too!

If you're at all curious about using filters and plug-ins in digital scrapbooking , then The Beginners Guide to Filters and Plug-ins for Photoshop and Photoshop Elements (Windows) is what you need!

Paint Shop Pro version available here.

This ebook was created from the popular online class Creative Brushwork. It is perfect for the scrapbooker who want to go above and beyond basic brushing techniques taught in Scrapbook Software Secrets Revealed for Photoshop Elements. Make your layouts shine with the polish that advanced brushwork can bring!

Photoshop version available here.

If you want to take some beginner steps towards improving the type on your layouts, and thereby improving the overall look of your layouts, then this eBook is perfect for you. It's written in a very simple style, focusing on one digitally scrapbooked layout while walking you through ten tips that take type from mundane and awkward to eye-catching and cohesive.

Start to Finish eBooklet - PSE: How to Make a Birthday Scrapbook Page

Nothing could be simpler than learning to scrapbook digitally with Scrap Girls Start to Finish eBooklets. Step by step written guidelines and detailed screenshots will help you learn new digital scrapbooking skills. Included with the eBooklet are the actual digital files you need to create a finished project!

Start to Finish eBooklet - PS: How to Combine ScrapSimple Paper & Photo Templates also available!

Start to Finish eBooklet - PS: How to use ScrapSimple Tools: Custom Shapes & Patterns also available!

Start to Finish eBooklet - PS: The Beauty of Blending Modes: Using them with ScrapSimple Products also available!

Start to Finish eBooklet - PSE: How to Emboss & Texturize with ScrapSimple Templates also available!

Start to Finish eBooklet - PSE: Making a Just Because Card Using ScrapSimple Card Templates also available!

Start to Finish eBooklet - PSE: How to Combine ScrapSimple Paper & Photo Templates also available!

Start to Finish eBooklet - PSE: The Beauty of Blending Modes: Using them with ScrapSimple Products also available!