Digital Scrapbooking Terminology that I needed to learn

The part that got me most was talking to my sister about scrapbooking.  I swore Tink was speaking another language.  It wasn't a new language but the terms were new to me.  She kept asking me about layers and elements and papers.  Uhhh... what?  Ok, the papers actually made sense but sometimes in the middle of a conversation I lost track of what it would mean.  There are some good sites out there with scrapbooking term definitions and I will include links to them at the end of this.  I just want to put down what I think the terms mean in my environment!

elements: I get this confused with embellishments.  Elements are any piece in a scrapbook page.  The paper, a layer, an embellishment... you get the idea.
embellishments: decorations you put on the page that are not photos.  It can be frames, buttons, swirls, stars, dots, spiderwebs or ... you get the idea.  Yet, when you go to buy just embellishments, you will find them in element packs.  No wonder I was confused.

file extensions:  psd, png, jpg, pspimage and more!  png and jpg are pretty generic files that can be used by most programs you would use with digital scrapbooking.  psd is the extension for the photoshop program and pspimage is the extension for paint shop pro program.  There are more, but those are the most common.  The other one you may see is zip.  This is used to package a bunch of files together and you need a program that can read the file and 'unzip' or break the package down back into individual files.

layers: The hardest one for me.  Take 3 pieces of 8 1/2 x 11 paper of different colors.  One red, one blue and one green.  Cut the blue in half.  Cut the green into quarters.  Lay the red one down and put one of the blue halves on it toward the top.  The blue piece is called layer 2.  The red piece of paper is layer 1.  Take one of the green quarters and on the red - anywhere.  That would be considered layer 3.  It works the same on the computer using the different programs to create digital layouts.  Every time you add something to the scrapbook page, you are adding layers to it. 

templates: these are usually digital files that are black, white and grey in color with the embellishments marked out on them as well as where the photos and journaling should be put.

HERE is a good site that has terminology definitions on it.  I am leaving some terms off until a later date.  But understanding what you are reading and what someone is explaining to you helps make a huge difference in how much you retain and are able to utilize.