Category Archives: A Note From Me

supplies: fruitcake by Dani Mogstad

The Daily Digi staff and team are wishing our readers, customers, and the ones they love a very Merry Christmas today!  We hope you create some wonderful memories today!

alpha by CD Muckosky, papers clipped to alpha by Sir Scrapalot

When I was in school (back in the day), I remember talking to one of my teachers and saying, “I should…” His response to me was, “The world would be a better place if people would stop shoulding on themselves.”  That phrase has always stuck with me and I actually use it a lot.  I have taken it to mean that we either need to decide to do something  or not do something, but not look back with guilt or regrets.  The word “should” often comes from a place of guilt…especially in scrapbooking.  If we change that SHOULD to WANT, it creates a whole new feeling.  Let’s take a look:

I should scrapbook more.
vs.
I want to scrapbook more.

.

I should use more embellishments on my layouts.
vs.
I want to use more embellishments on my layouts.

.

I should try using less stuff on my layouts.
vs.
I want to try using less stuff on my layouts.

Dictionary.com defines the word should as:
must; ought (used to indicate duty, propriety, or expediency)

The great thing about scrapbooking is that there aren’t any rules and there aren’t any SHOULDS!  As you move into the New Year, resolve to do what you WANT in your scrapbooking…what makes you happy…what is fulfilling to you! If you want to try something different or new….GREAT!! If you are happy where you are….AWESOME!!

Remember; there are no requirements, no rules, so stop shoulding on your scrapbooking!!

Today, we are offering a spot in Ali Edward’s popular class, “Yesterday, Today”. Here’s a little about it:

Join popular blogger and scrapbooker Ali Edwards,  along with a diverse group of memory keepers, as they learn to make meaningful connections to their past in order to live their life in a more thoughtful way. Projects are limited to one layout a week that address the questions listed below:

• Where do you begin creating with photos from generations past?
• What do you wish you knew about your parents when they were growing up? What life lessons do you want to pass on to your children?
• How do you document the challenging times in your life?
• How do you create layouts that tell special stories when you don’t have any photos?

Please leave a comment by midnight ET, Wednesday, telling us why you want to take this class.  A random winner will be chosen.

If you aren’t the person selected to receive this class for free, you can use this coupon code to get 10% off the cost of “Yesterday, Today”:
yesterdaytoday

P.S. Tamara was the random winner chosen from yesterday’s comments on Laura’s post!  She won $10 in product from Laura! Congratulations Tamara!

Every time we do a survey, there are always some questions and comments that come up, that we want to address.  There are usually questions that we have too as we read through them.  Sometimes, I wish I knew who wrote them, so I could send you an email and have you tell me more about what you said.  For instance, there were a couple people that referenced cartoonish kits, will you email me so I can ask you some questions?  There was someone else that talked about not posting their layouts online anywhere, can you email me?  There were more than those and maybe I will address a couple more at another time.  A few of the questions/comments that YOU had are these:

Could you make past daily digi files available for a limited time or something? I missed the first few…

The agreement we have with the designers is that we can sell their contributions in our store for one month and one month only.  After that, they are able to put their contribution in their own store for full market value.  It really is a win-win-win:  Our designers don’t have to GIVE us product that they can never sell; our readers get to try these designers out at a very low-risk; and we are able to fund the site without advertising.

Maybe poll about what designers to include in future TDFs or regularly take suggestions???

We are definitely open to suggestions at any time, you are welcome to shoot us an email.  Part of the purpose of this survey was to figure out what designers our readers like (but we asked it in a sneaky way ).  Scheduling designers for TDF is, hands-down, one of the most difficult parts of my job!  I have been scheduling THE DIGI FILES now for just about a year and it hasn’t become any easier!  I wrote a post awhile back about the process I go through in selecting and scheduling designers (in a nut-shell).  We do give priority to designers that send us an application and show an interest in contributing, but quality is our biggest priority.

I really wish I could get TDD in my email everyday or that you would send me an email everyday!

I would love to send you email everyday, but I think our other newsletter subscribers might get a little upset…lol!  If you would like to receive email from us everyday OR our posts in your inbox everyday, you can.  Just go to the upper right corner and click on the RSS feed button that looks like this:

You will then see an image that looks like the one below.  You can click on the button that says: Get The Daily Digi delivered by email.  That will hook you up with daily emails from us.  You can also subscribe to the RSS feed and get emails for our Inspiration pages where we post additional layouts each time we do a reveal from THE DIGI FILES.

I don’t always get to read the daily digi everyday. I enjoyed it better when you could scroll down and read other posts, I haven’t enjoyed having to click the titles at the bottom of the page to catch up. Other than that, LOVE!

A few months ago, we had several emails about how slow our homepage was loading.  After some time talking to our host (and making some upgrades, but still having slow load times), we determined that the slow load speed was caused by the image intensity of our posts (soooo many images in almost every post, especially The Digi Files reveals).  We were told that we could a) break each post up into 10 pages or more (yuck) b) not use as many images (not an option) or c) break the posts up as we have done.  “C” was just the best option for us to be able to make it so the homepage would load quickly for everyone.  Maybe in the future, we will be able to do something different.

When answering your question about which is my favorite kit I realized that it is difficult to say because I file them by designer not by TDD. It would be great if there was one group jpeg file preview of all the kits so that I could remember which kits/designers were from TDD. Thanks, I really enjoy your site.

I think this is a GREAT idea and will do something like this starting next month!

I would like to see articles/product round ups that are genuine great find not paid promotions of the ‘usual suspects’. I do realise paid promotions fund the site but I would like to see a genuine finds post even if its monthly.

The Daily Digi actually has no paid promotions, no advertising, and no affiliate linking….at all!!  The only funding for the site is through the sale of THE DIGI FILES and designers do not pay to contribute.  So, the product picks we do are very genuine.  We do try to fit in products from designers that have contributed to THE DIGI FILES in the past, because we know that we can rely on their quality and it is our on-going commitment to them.  We do, however, often pick products from designers that have not contributed to THE DIGI FILES as well (at least one, sometimes several per post).

If you want to participate in our survey, but haven’t yet, today is the last day.  We will close it down at midnight ET tonight.  THANKS so much to everyone for taking time to share your views with us!

There were lots and lots of questions posted in the “What You’ve Been Wondering” post that I did at the beginning of the year.  I am going to do my best to answer them If you really aren’t interested in me, my feelings aren’t hurt, feel free to skim or skip to the bottom where I have posted some fun finds from Twitter this week.

Many of the questions that were asked can be answered in the “about me” section of the site, that was just put up about a week ago or so (including a photo ).  Things such as:

• how long I’ve been scrapbooking
• how I found digital scrapbooking
• which Steph I am (yes, I am the same Steph that is on the team…lol)
• if I have kids
• what I like to do when I am not digital scrapbooking
• my goals for the site
• what my digital background is and where else you might have seen me (or my work).

You can also read more about me on my artist’s page.  Some of the things that you will find there are:

• my favorite layout
• who my scrapping idols are
• what I can’t scrap without

You can find out information about my fonts, the 10 things I love and 10 things that bug me in the Fontologie Sponsor Spotilight.

Now, for some of YOUR other questions…

What did you like to do as a teen and do you enjoy traveling?

Growing up, my parents tried to give us experiences instead of things. It was not uncommon for us to get a trip for Christmas instead of toys.  We were fortunate because of my dad’s job, we got to do a lot of traveling for very low cost or free.  So, as a teenager I really enjoyed traveling and hanging out with my friends.  I have lot of really great memories of both.  I am still in touch with some of my friends from my childhood/teen years and enjoy seeing them when I go back home for a visit (I have to give a shout out here to Julie who reads TDD everyday THANKS).  Those two things also helped lead me to scrapbooking at a pretty young age (I have many magnetic albums full of friends and trips…lol).

As a result of my traveling experiences growing up, it is something that I LOVE to do now with my family.  My husband is the king of finding really great travel deals (although Janet did beat him recently…lol…but, her area IS cheaper than the U.S. ).  I am willing to go just about anywhere just about anytime!!  I love seeing my kids experience new things and places.  There are many, many things in this world I would go without before I would give up those memories we create together on trips!  I know when my siblings get together now, as adults, we usually always end up talking about one of the trips and the fun memories we have!  I want that for my kids.

Colors…

There were a couple questions about colors.  My favorite color in general is PINK…has been for as long as I can remember.  As for what colors I like to work with, usually bright colors.  I love more saturated colors and have a more difficult time with pastels.  Some layouts need pastels, but for some reason, I usually struggle with them.

Snacks…

There were a couple of questions about what snacks I enjoy when I scrap.  Those that have scrapped with me know that I LOVE my chocolate covered raisins!  As for sweet or salty…love both!

I get a little jealous of the yummy snack food the Canadians have that we can’t get in the U.S. (they have much better chocolate, but we did finally get lime potato chips here…only took 4 years…lol).

Time…and my one little word

There were a couple of questions on this, “I was wondering is how you manage to find so much to post daily and still design, and keep things so fresh and interesting?”

First, thanks for to compliment!! Designing has really taken a back seat for me since I started running TDD, because I can’t do it all, even though I LOVE it all…lol.

Finding things to post about comes from a variety of places, your questions and ideas, the reader survey, our team, things I see, things I wonder myself, and Katie and I brainstorm on stuff as well.  It’s really great because there are far more ideas for posts than there are days to post…lol!!

another similiar question,  “Do you have a daily schedule? Do you scrap at the same time every day? Do you cook more or get take out? Do you have a cleaning lady? I’m struggling to get everything done in a day…so I’d like to hear how you run things to be soooo efficient! Hee Hee!”

Well, my one little word for 2010 is ROUTINE…lol!! I’m just not very good at having routines, but as I have talked to friends that have very clean homes, they tell me about their routines.  My goal this year is to get better at having morning routines, nightly routines, and routines in general…lol.

I do not have a cleaning lady.  I have a daughter that is a huge help and so is my husband!  I did a post a while back on a couple of tools that help me, Once a Month Mom and Motivated Moms. I just did a big cooking session last Saturday and cooked for 6 hours straight and had 26 dinners in the freezer when I was done!  Now, instead of an hour or two each night on dinner, I spend a few minutes

The thing I keep telling myself is that balance does not mean doing everything perfectly!  I can’t do it ALL and do it all perfectly!  I just try to focus most of my attention on the most important things.

What do you struggle with now or what did you struggle with the most when you first started scrapping?

When I first started digital scrapbooking, I can remember being frustrated that I didn’t know how to do whatever it was I wanted to do.  Now, there are so many tutorials online, that it’s a simple Google search away.

Now, my biggest struggle is making time to scrap all of the layouts I want to get scrapped.  It’s all about priorities!  I love that doing posts on TDD makes me make time to scrap!

What TDD blog post of the week do you enjoy doing most?

Honestly, there isn’t one that I don’t love!  I love learning about all of the sponsors and working with them, so many talented and NICE people!!  I love seeing all of you discover them as well.  I love sharing a tutorial or process and having someone say that they learned from it.  It has been exciting to do some un-digi posts and have you guys say that they are changing you…wonderful!   I am really, really LOVING all of the feedback we are getting from comments this month and might start going through withdrawls when the birthday party is over…lol!!

Lastly,

What makes you happy?

Well, all of the things that are listed above…and then some.

Okay….I am SICK of talking about me!!!!

Let’s end this post with some fun stuff we found on Twitter and digiland this week:

I love this album:

Paislee Press announced a very cool new photography workshop on Friday’s

Misty Cato has this great tutorial on threading elements.

Yin has some free templates up.

I love the mission behind Songbird Avenue and LOVE this charity idea on their blog.  Love these cards too:

Love these:

Love these too:

P.S. Our winner for today’s GIFTaway is Bobbie, who said, “Love it, and just had to buy it.. TDF#11, i could not resist.. I REALLY really want that Adorned kit..” Congratulations Bobbie!  You just won a $10 GC to Paislee Press! THANKS!