I always get a tiny bit jealous when I hear people talking about their digiversary. My journey into digital scrapbooking was a long process that I can track back to my earliest days in scrapbooking.  Because of that I can’t pinpoint an exact date that it began.

I started scrapbooking when I was a teenager, putting my photos, memontos, and journaling in the yucky magnetic albums.  I learned how to scrapbook as we know it today in 1994 when the second scrapbook store in Utah opened two minutes from my house.  I thought I would share a bit of my journey with you…..don’t laugh!

I created this layout in 1994 by arranging clipart from the DJ-Inkers CDs in PowerPoint, coloring it in by hand, using an exacto knife around the to images at the top to tuck my photo under.  I LOVED it!

Sometimes, I printed on COLORED paper and cut those out (the anchor and title).

In 1997, I upgraded to COLOR clipart and a COLOR printer.  Still using PowerPoint to arrange images, print and then add my photos.

This was one of my very first all digital pages.  I made it in 2003 using Microsoft PictureIt and a CK Clips and Fonts CD (they were way ahead of their time, the products were great quality).

I made this layout in 2004 when I switched to back to PowerPoint.  I had a hard time understanding the layers in PictureIt and couldn’t find any resources for help.  I understood PowerPoint and how I could create layouts with it (and my dad had bought me a magazine about crafting with your computer that had an article in it about scrapbooking with PowerPoint).  The supplies were again from the CK Clips N Fonts CDs.

Later in 2004, I discovered Scrapbook Bytes by way of a special issue of Memory Makers Magazine all about computer scrapbooking.  I started using PaintShopPro and created 12×12 papers for all of my layouts I had done in PowerPoint.  I printed these layouts on my printer at home on 8.5×11 paper and trimmed them down to 8×8.

That’s when I was able to learn about the power of photo editing programs and my life was never the same!  During May of 2004 and December 2004, I created 120 layouts and loved every minute of it!  What about you?  Do you have a digiversary or was it more of an evolution for you as well?

One of the best things about starting out in digital scrapbooking is that there are so many freebies out there! It’s nice that you can try digi scrapping out using free supplies so you don’t have to make a big price commitment up front. I (Katie) started out with freebies from 2Peas and from The Shabby Princess and I quickly became a paying customer at both sites. Even after years of digital scrapbooking, I still love and appreciate free goodies, but I have found that I’m much more selective now about what I download.

A “freebie” in the digi world is something (usually supplies) you can download to your own computer for free. Designers and stores give away free stuff in order to attract new customers, reward current customers, and generate new traffic and interest in their designs. It takes a lot of effort to put together anything to share online, so no matter how big or small the gift is, the designer invested valuable time in creating and posting it.

Customers love freebies because they get to try out new designers without any risk. If they don’t like the free gift, they don’t have to download it – or they can later delete it from their files. Many times a free gift is an add on to something a customer might have purchased from the designer. Quick pages, extra embellishments, or matching word art can be a fun reward for a customer who purchased a full kit.

THE GOOD AND THE BAD SIDE OF FREEBIES:

• COST: As a former designer, I have been on both sides of the freebie. I have given away my own creations as well as downloading countless gifts from other designers. The saying “nothing in life is free” also applies to the digital scrapbook community. The freebie costs the designer time (money) and even bandwidth costs in some cases (if the designer hosts it on their own server instead of uploading to a file sharing site, each time the item is downloaded, it costs the designer money). The freebie also costs the consumer time to unzip, use, and file the gift. If your storage space is at a premium, the free download also costs precious gigs on your hard drive.
• PIRACY: Even free things can be stolen. If a designer or store is offering a free gift to attract sales and traffic, then they should receive at least one of those things in return. The majority of scrappers who download a free gift, might not go on to purchase something from the designer or store who offered the freebie. Visiting the blog or site where the gift is offered does increase their visibility and might result in future sales or more customer loyalty. Only download freebies from the original source and don’t give them away or share them with others (send them to the original source).
• QUALITY: The great thing about the internet is that anyone can create and share something. The bad thing about the internet is that anyone can create and share something. There is no “quality control” like you will find in a well-established online store. If the freebie creator isn’t selling somewhere established, they might be just starting out. I know plenty of designers who began their careers by offering freebies. It could also be that the designs are not high quality enough to sell anywhere. Even though the price is free, the “buyer” (downloader) should beware. One thing I hear from those who use only freebies is that they can’t tell the difference and they are sure they are getting good quality supplies. I would encourage you to consider the source and to pay attention to detail. Zoom in on the embellishments and look for jagged edges and stray pixels. Compare quality to a kit from a respected designer and see if you can tell the difference. You are spending precious time putting these elements onto pages with your pictures and special memories. Be sure they look good!

SOME THOUGHTS ON FREEBIES FROM SOME OF OUR TEAM MEMBERS:

• Sunghee - I used to collect them so much when I first started digi scrapbooking, but ended up deleting most of them. Those were the files that I download just because it was free regardless whether I liked the style or not. Now, I only download the ones that I like and if I already don’t have the similar ones. I love the quality of the freebies that the well-known digi stores and designers give out. For me, I don’t know how one can only use the freebies and not be tempted to buy all the gorgeous digi kits!
• Melissa S. – I went through the crazy freebie hunter stage. Though I used freebies a lot in my first year of scrapping I then narrowed down to only downloading stuff I loved. Now I still DL freebies but only from my fave designers.
• Jenny B. – I love freebies, but as my stash has grown, I’ve become more selective.  I only download stuff I really like now.  I think it’s a great way to get started, though.  When I first started, I got all the freebies I could from Shabby Princess, and slowly started buying kits from the Shabby Shoppe.  At first, I was very loyal to that store, and couldn’t understand why anyone would use anything else. I slowly started branching out, though, and trying new designers.  I like to try out a designer with a freebie, and then if I like the quality and the style suits me, I’ll go back and buy something.  I think it’s OK to rely solely on freebies, but you have to realize that you’re limiting yourself.  I get most of my freebies from designers’ blogs and stores.  I sign up for their newsletters so I know when to go grab a freebie.  I also follow Digital Daisy’s Hand Picked Freebies blog, but I never download everything she posts.  Even if I liked all of it, I don’t want to spend that much time downloading, unzipping, and filing.

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We here at The Daily Digi love a good freebie just as much as anyone else, but we also pride ourselves in recommending quality products to our readers. Whether we are posting on the page on the site where we recommend freebies, in twitter, or on facebook, we are always careful to only link to freebies from designers/stores that we know the quality of and trust. Our enabling posts are not just about supporting the designers who contribute to the Digi Files (although we LOVE them!), but we also point out products of good quality that we find and love, no matter who designed them. Freebies are no different than a purchased kit in our mind because they both take up valuable time and space in your digi stash.

SOME ADDITIONAL FREEBIES WE RECOMMEND: (all images are linked)

Happy Downloading!

P.S.  Jennifer A was the random winner from Karah’s post yesterday!  She won $25 in product from Karah’s store!  THANKS to everyone that took time to post!  Jennifer, check your inbox.

Layout by Katie. Kristin Aagard Buggalicious, CK journaling font

Do you wish you could create beautiful digital scrapbook pages in mere minutes? Would you believe me (Katie) if I said it is SO easy to speed up your scrapping? Well, it is and I want to show you how! Before I give away the big secret, I want to show you some layouts that were scrapped in super speedy style:

Layout by Katie. Kristin Aagard Buggalicious, CK journaling font

Layout by Melissa S. Paradise Found Tale Feathers by One Little Bird

Layout by Katie. Weeds and Wildflowers Christmas blog freebie.

Layout by Melissa S. Holly Griego Font Pea Sue’s Print

Layout by Katie. Dunia Boys Collection. CK easy going font.

Layout by Melissa S. Flergs FlairyFloss, Impressions of Heritage Alpha

Layout by Melissa S. Flergs FlairyFloss, Melissa’s hand font

Layout by Katie. Artemia (NLA). Traveling Typewriter font.

Layout by Katie. Artemia (NLA). Traveling Typewriter font.

Layout by Katie. Weeds and Wildflowers blog freebie (NLA) CK Easy Goin font

Layout by Katie. I Dream of the Ocean by Holly Designs

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Did you guess the secret? Can you believe that every page in this post was made using a Quick Page?! For those of you who are newer to digital scrapbooking, a Quick Page (also known as a QP) is a predesigned digital scrapbook page that is already put together. All you have to do is add your own photos (and journaling if desired). No matter what your digiscrapping skill level is, you can use a QP. They are so easy to use and SUPER SPEEDY!

We’d love to see the layouts you have done using Quick Pages so we hope you will upload them to our flickr group with the tag of quickpage or use quotes like “Quick Page” – can’t wait to see them!

P.S.  The random winner for Anna’s gift is Cindy J who said “Anna is a new designer for me, which is one of the things I love about the Digi Files…to have that chance to see up close different designers’ works! Very cool offerings in her store…fav is Moments of Love I think…always hard to choose though.” - Thanks Cindy! That’s why we love the Digi Files also! Check your inbox for your gift code.

I (Katie) give my computer a pretty heavy workout each and every day. I expect it to take me all over the world with lightning fast speed, store and edit thousands of images, and create digital masterpieces. Oh, and there’s banking, record keeping, blogging, bookmarking, researching…. well, I don’t have to tell you because I bet your computer goes through the same rigorous routine as well! We require a lot out of these machines and they are usually more than willing to deliver. When something does go wrong, it disrupts our life in many ways.

Like most computer users, I’ve been on the receiving end of a crash and it is no fun! I’ve become a firm believer in keeping my computer maintained and protected as much as possible to avoid potential problems. Regular maintenance also improves the speed of a computer’s performance and provides you with a more organized and productive workspace.

Here are some of my tried and true tips (and a whole lot of links!) to help you keep your computer in tip-top working condition. I use a PC (windows based) so some of these tasks might only apply to those with a PC. I have also asked a few of our team members to help me include some tips for MAC users as well.

If you have never had a hard drive (or external hard drive failure) before, you will. It seems to happen to everyone. For a long time I heard that MACS never crashed. I can tell you from hanging out in forums and reading designer blogs that they do. I’m not sure there has been a crash-proof computer invented. Even if your hardware never fails you, there are other calamities that might intervene. Theft, fire, flood, or even a simple coffee spill can wipe out your system. Protect your data, photos, and digi supplies by backing them up! There are so many options for backing up files, that there really is no excuse to not do this.

Tips & Resources for Backing Up:

• Make backup copies of anything you don’t want to lose by using your computer’s CD or DVD burner. You don’t even need a special program to do this as most systems will let you simply drag and drop your files into the desired drive. An external hard drive is another great method for backing up files. I use 2 of them so if one fails, I will have the other as a backup of my backup. If you are storing your backup CDs or EHD in the same place as your computer, you still might lose those if something were to happen to that location (such as a fire) so it is a good idea to consider some online options or an offsite storage spot like a safety deposit box, or a trusted relative’s home.
• Even though all my photos are saved on my external hard drives, I feel even better that they are also stored on flickr. Because I have a pro account at flickr.com ($24.95) a year, the full resolution size of ALL of my photos is available to me at any time. Read our post about flickr for more details. There are other online photo storage sites, but I haven’t found any that offer full resolution storage for such a low price.
• Online backups are another great way to protect against loss. Steph loves Mozy.com (she picked it as her product pick in the PaperClipping Roundtable podcast episode 18). Online backup sites keep a copy of your computer’s files on their server so you can restore the items your own system if something goes wrong. You can subscribe monthly for $4.95 a month or save money by purchasing an annual plan. There are other online backup sites out there. I have tried a few that I did not like, and I know that Steph tried several others before finding Mozy.
• Keep your desktop and files clutter-free. If you know where everything is stored on your computer, you will be more likely to avoid duplicates and keep things backed up.

Whatever method you choose for backing up your files, be consistent with it. If you only burn CDs every few months, you could easily lose precious photos if your computer crashes between backups. I suggest you add a regular task to your calendar or to-do list to help you remember to back up.

Keep your computer clean and free of viruses and spyware. These are the most prevalent causes of malfunction, so protecting your system against them is very important. Unfortunately, there are cyber-criminals out there who make it necessary to use virus protection programs to keep our computers safe. There are new threats every day and new methods of delivery. I believe a facebook virus compromised my computer a few months ago. Be very cautious about opening suspicious messages on facebook!

How to Protect Yourself Against Viruses:

• Check to see if your computer has any pre-installed virus protection programs. Sometimes a newly purchased computer will also include a subscription to a service such as McAfee or Norton. If you already have something like this, be sure you are using it! Check your system folders to see what’s installed and make sure it is enabled and functional.
• If you don’t have virus and spyware protection, consider adding it. Browsers such as Internet Explorer and Firefox have some anti-virus tools built in to them, but they are generally not adequate enough to block all malware on their own. PC Antivirus Reviews is a good site to go to for comparing various programs.
• As digital scrapbookers, we often download files from all over the internet. Be careful to use reliable sites for freebies and downloads. Free isn’t worth it if you pick up a bad file along the way. If something looks suspicious, don’t download it. If your virus blocker finds a problem with a file, let the poster know. We want you to know that we here at The Daily Digi are very careful about the links we recommend!

With all that we put our computers through, it’s actually amazing they don’t act up more. I’m always amazed that I can move my laptop around the house and haul it through road trips and airports and it still performs beautifully. A little prevention and maintenance goes a long way in keeping a computer running smoothly.

Maintenance and Prevention for the Computer:

• Use the built in system tools to improve speed and functionality. Empty the recycle bin (garbage) regularly. Run disk cleanups and even disk defrags if needed. This article from Microsoft at Work has some great tips for both tools.
• Don’t eat or drink over the keyboard. Crumbs can get lodged into openings, and liquids can seep through and destroy hardware.
• If you are packing your computer around (laptop), use a padded case with plenty of protection. Don’t drop it.
• Use the proper electrical cords and/or batteries for your computer.  Use surge protector cords to protect your system from electrical surges.
• Occasionally clean the keyboard and fan in your computer. After powering off the computer, use a small amount of compressed air to remove debris. Keeping the fan clear of dust will help prevent the fan from overheating. See this list of computer cleaning no-nos for more information.

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Now that I’ve cleaned up my computer, I think it’s ready for some new digi supplies. Seems like a nice reward for a job well done.   I’m off to shop!

P.S. Our apologies for not posting the winner from the Kitschy Digitals post sooner! The random winner for Danielle’s gift is KirstyB – she said “Ooohhh….lovely scrap goodies!! This months digi files is STUFFED WITH GOODNESS!! Love the Woodland Book Lovers stuff from Danielle too!!” Thanks Kirsty! Check your inbox for your gift!

P.S.S. We updated the original post on Kitschy Digitals with a coupon code that is good for both of Danielle’s stores so be sure to check it out!

When I (Katie) first entered the digital scrapbooking world 5 years ago, I felt like I was in a foreign country. I had no idea what most of the people were talking about! Now I often take it for granted that I can easily converse in both “digi-speak” and “forum-language” lol! without always realizing that not everyone is fluent in this terminology.

We here at The Daily Digi want you to have a reference to bookmark and come back to anytime you have a question. We were all new once, and in our fast growing community, there are often new terms and words to learn. No one knows it all, not even us! So if you find an acronym or word that isn’t on this list – please send it our way.

DIGITAL SCRAPBOOKING RELATED ACRONYMS & TERMINOLOGY:

365 -   Also known as “Project 365” or “Photo 365”. Refers to the challenge of taking a picture every day of the year. See our big list of Project 365 resources

AAM – All About Me. Refers to layouts or albums centering around a page about a person. Usually includes information about likes and dislikes and/or personality traits.

ACDSee -   A software program developed by ACD systems to manage photo and image organization. Used by many digital scrapbookers to sort, organize, and tag supplies. See our post on ACDSee for more information, as well as our posts on digital scrapbooking programs and suggested program tutorials.

ACTIONS – A Photoshop action is a saved set of tasks or steps performed in Photoshop that are combined into a one-step process. See our posts on actions and using an action in Photoshop and Elements.

ART RAGE – A software program by Ambient Design for digital painting and adding creative effects to photographs and digital supplies. See our post about Art Rage here

ATC – Artist Trading Card. These miniature works of art can be created in many mediums, including digital. The canvas size is typically 2 ½ X 3 ½ inches. They are often swapped with other artists or collected in a similar way to other trading cards such as baseball cards.

AUTO – The automatic setting on a camera. The camera determines how to take the picture without any input from the user. Read our tips on Getting Out of Auto

BALANCE -  How the visual weight is distributed on a layout. See our design principles post on Balance

BLINKIE – A small graphic (often rotating or flashing in some way) to advertise a site, a favorite designer, or announce a team position. Digital scrapbookers will often display blinkies in a forum signature line, or on a blog. Grab a Daily Digi blinkie and find some great blinkie tutorials here.

BOM – Book of Me. An album about one person (often the person who is usually the scrapbooker). This term comes from Angie Pedersen’s The Book of Me publication.

BRUSH – A tool in Photoshop to customize the shape and appearance of lines. See our posts on brush basics and creating your own brush from a .png file. When you are ready to get more advanced, check out beyond brush basics.

BW – Black and White photo. See our tips for Better Black and Whites

CALIBRATE – Adjusting a computer monitor to display colors to a standard color scale. Calibration is the best way to ensure that printed layouts look the same as they do on a computer screen.  Be sure to check out this post on calibrating your monitor

CHAT – An online chat where digital scrapbookers gather together to talk (type) at a specific time. Many chats are organized by digital stores and/or designers and often have a giveaway product for the attendees as an incentive.

CLUSTER – A grouping of digital embellishments.  See our how-to guide for clustering elements

CONTRAST -  Difference in design elements to create visual emphasis. Read our design principles post on Contrast

CREDITS – A list of the materials used to create a layout or project. When posting a digital layout in a gallery or online, it is a nice courtesy to list the “ingredients’ used so others can find them as well.  See our tip for keeping track of credits on a layout

CROP – A physical or virtual gathering of scrapbookers for the purpose of creating layouts. Digital scrapbookers attend crops as well – either in person by bringing their laptops to a gathering, or virtually by meeting in a chat room or forum and following assigned topics or challenges.

CROPPING – Reducing the size of a photo, or cutting out a specific area of a picture to use. Just like with paper scrapping, you can crop pictures to use on digital layouts. See our tips for digitally cropping photos

CS – Creative Suite by Adobe. A collection of Adobe programs that includes Photoshop and other programs such as InDesign,  Some digiscrapers use the term CS interchangeably with Photoshop because PS is part of the Creative Suite.  See our posts on digital scrapbooking programs and suggested program tutorials.

CT – Creative Team. This is a team that is put together by a online store or digital designer to help them showcase their products and designs. Creative Team members are usually required to create and post a certain number of layouts in exchange for free product and/or other benefits.

DESIGNER – A person who creates digital and/or paper products for scrapbookers to use.

DIGI – An abbreviation for digital scrapboooking.

DPI – Dots Per Inch which is a measure of printing resolution. The industry standard for digital scrapbooking products is 300 dpi.

DROP SHADOWS – Shadowing added by a digital program to add dimension and realism to digital scrapbook layouts. See our post on drop shadows.

DSLR  – Digital Single Lens Reflex camera.  Learn more about DSLR cameras with our posts on I need a new camera, and You must have a great camera.

DT – Design Team. Another name for Creative Team.

EHD – External Hard Drive which is a storage device for files that is separate from a main computer. It is portable and plugs into the computer via USB drive.  See our post on backups.

ELEMENT – A term for a digital scrapbooking item that is not a paper. Used interchangeably with the the term “embellishment”.

EMBELLIE or ELLIE – Shortened form of “embellishment”.

EMBELLISHMENT – See definition for “element”.

EMPHASIS – The most noticeable part of a design. See our design principles post on Emphasis

EXTRACT – To digitally remove all background from an object such as cutting around a flower in the photo and keeping only the single flower image. Extract can also mean to unzip a file.

FLASH DRIVE – A small USB drive for saving and transporting files.

FLICKR – An online storage site that offers both free and paid photo storage, as well as groups and social sharing. Check out our post about flickr and be sure to join our flickr group.

FONTS – A complete set of characters used for typing on a computer. See  Fabulous Fonts for Titles and Font Organization for more information.

FOTO FUSION –    See our posts on digital scrapbooking programs and suggested program tutorials.

FREEBIES – Something given out for free! See our post on freebies for some great resources. Also check out the information about sharing files – it’s not ok to share files, even if they are free.

GRAYSCALE – A colorless image or element meant to be re-colored. See our post on working with grayscales

HERITAGE SCRAPBOOKING – Scrapbook layouts created about generations that came before you.  Find some great Heritage Scrapbooking Inspiration here

HYBRID – Combining digital techniques and/or product with traditional scrapbooking techniques and/or product.  See our ‘hybrid helps’ category for some ideas.

INDESIGN – A software program by Adobe that is often used by designers and/or graphic artists for e-zine or e-book creation.

JPEG or JPG –A file format used for storing and transporting photographs and digital images. For a more detailed explanation visit the Wikipedia page.

JOURNALING – The words included on a scrapbook layout.

JUMP DRIVE – A small USB drive for saving and transporting files.

KITS – A coordinated collection of digital papers and embellishments that are sold together as a set. See Getting the Most from your Kits for some great ideas.

LAYERS – Similar to a set of transparencies that can be stacked on top of each other, to create your layout, used in Photoshop programs (in paper scrapbooking, these are the different layers of papers and items that make up your layout).

LEVELS -  An adjustment tool in Photoshop programs to control the brightness of an image. Read up on our great tips for working with levels.

LIFT – Copying (with credit) another scrapper’s layout. Be sure to read our post on lifting a layout

LO – Layout

LOTW – Layout of the Week. Several sites and forums use this acronym when they pick a favorite layout to showcase.

MAC – The operating system for an Apple computer.

NSBR – Non-Scrap Book Related. This term is used in scrapbooking forums to indicate that the post is off the regular topic of scrapbooking.

ONLINE BACKUP – Storing photos and digital files on the internet.  See our post on backups.

PC –Personal Computer (usually with a Microsoft platform)

PHOTO EDITING –Making changes to a photograph in a digital editing program.

PICASA – A free photo editing and organization program from Google. Check out this post on how to use Picasa

PHOTOBOOK – A scrapbook or photo album that is printed and bound all at once as a stand-alone project. See our how-to guide for planning a photobook,  how-to guide for printing photobooks, and our review of photobook printers.

PIXELS – The tiniest piece of a digital image. See the pixel entry on Wikipedia for more technical information.

PNG – Portable Network Graphics file format used for storing and transporting digital images. Mainly used for embellishments that require a clear background area. See the png Wikipedia entry for more technical information.

POINT AND SHOOT – A compact camera that does not have interchangeable lenses.

POST PROCESSING – Any digital adjustments made to a photograph after it is taken.

PPI – Pixels Per Inch. A measurement of the pixel density of devices such as cameras, computers, and scanners.

PS – Photoshop by Adobe. See our posts on digital scrapbooking programs and suggested program tutorials.

PSD – A Photoshop document that saves in layered format.

PSE – Photoshop Elements (Adobe). Often followed by a number to refer to the release version such as: PSE8 = Photoshop Elements version 8. A consumer priced version of Photoshop. See our posts on digital scrapbooking programs and suggested program tutorials.

PSCS – Photoshop Creative Suite from Adobe. A professional level photo editing, management, and graphic design program. See our posts on digital scrapbooking programs and suggested program tutorials.

PSP – Paint Shop Pro. A graphic editing software program by Corel used for digital scrapbooking. See our posts on digital scrapbooking programs and suggested program tutorials.

QP – Quickpage or Quick Page. A predesigned digital scrapbook page saved in a flattened form with a transparent spot(s) for a photo(s). The only thing left to do is to add a photo or photos.

QUICKPAGE – A predesigned digital scrapbook page saved in a flattened form. The only thing left to do is to add a photo or photos.

RESIZE – To make an image smaller in compression to optimize web viewing and save on bandwidth space. See our post on resizing

SBR – Scrap Book Related. Pertaining to the topic of scrapbooking.

SCRAPLIFT  Be sure to read our post on lifting a layout

SCREEN SHOT – A captured shot of the full computer screen on a computer.  See how to take a screen shot post for more information.

SEPIA  – A tone applied to photographs to enhance brown and gray colors. Read our tips on Easy Sepia Tones

SOOC – Straight Out Of Camera with no editing.

TAGGING – To assign a keyword or term with a data file. Tags can be added to photos and/or digital scrapbooking supplies through computer system folder management or various software programs. See our posts on digital scrapbooking programs and suggested program tutorials.

TDD – Acronym for The Daily Digi

TEMPLATE – A guide for page design. In the digital scrapbooking world, this almost always refers to a layered template file (psd or tiff) that will ‘cut’ your papers and photos to a shape and size with just a couple keystrokes.  It looks similar to a paper scrapbooking ’sketch’.  Read our Layered Templates and Making Templates Work for You posts.

TEXT ON A PATH – Text that follows the outside or inside edge of a shape. Read our post on how to create a text path

TIFF – Tagged Image File Format. A flexible format that can accommodate layered files. For more technical information see the Wikipedia entry.

TITLE WORK – The art of creating a title for a layout. Check out our title-related posts; Terrific Titles for Scrapbook Pages, Fabulous Fonts for Titles, and Cutting Out Titles

TUT – Abbreviation for tutorial.

TWO PAGE LAYOUTS – A layout that spans two pages and looks cohesive in design across the space of an open book. See our post on 2 page layouts and also check out 2 page layouts from templates

TUTORIAL – A step by step description of how to do something. Can be in written, audio, or video form.

UNZIP – To open or undo the zip file format that digital products are delivered in. See our post on Unzipping Fast

WHITE BALANCE – White Balance is a special in-camera setting that adjusts the colors of the image as accurate as possible. White balance can also be adjusted in post-processing using photo-editing programs such a Photoshop. Check out our post on Working with White Balance

If you like to hang out in online forums or chat via email or text, you will find this link to be very useful:

• Common Acronyms from Cassie Jones at Designer Digitals

Now you can speak like a seasoned digi scrapper!

If you look at the layout above very closely, you will see that the fonts and paints follow the texture of the paper.  Have you ever looked at a layout with a great textured paper and on top of that is a font that looks like it’s floating?  It doesn’t take on the paper texture at all.  Suzy is going to teach us the greatest trick to fix that!!  I have used blending modes on layers before, but could never really get them to look the way I wanted, until Suzy shared this trick.

Suzy is a 28-year-old SAHM to a super rambunctious 2-year-old and wife my sweetheart for 4 years. We live in the middle-of-nowhere, which I absolutely love. My background is in biology but I now find myself on the opposite end of the spectrum designing digital scrapbooking supplies and I am LOVING the journey.

I am SO excited to be contributing tutorials to The Daily Digi. Back in February, I shared a text trick as part of my designer spotlight. Steph asked if I’d write up the tutorial with screen shots this month and I am happy to oblige.

When you write on paper in real life, the pen follows the surface of the paper you’re writing on — all the bumps and fun textures add life to the text. And we all know that pens don’t always flow smoothly — except in digi-land. I’ve noticed that sometimes in digital layouts, the journaling looks a bit fake, almost like it’s not quite part of the page, because the texture of the paper beneath isn’t part of the writing like it would be in real life. So I learned this little trick to add some “reality” to my journaling and I’m going to show you how to do it too. You can use this on papers, journal blocks, tags — any paper/element that has some texture. (Note: The step-by-step instructions are for PS users. Blending Options aren’t available in PSE, but I share a tip at the bottom for how PSE users can try to mimic this effect.)
Let’s get started!

1. Place your text layer above the layer you want to “write” on. (In this example, I’m using a bold basic font and a super-crinkled kraft background from my Krafty Stash #2 to illustrate the technique.)

2. Click on the fx icon (bottom of the layers palette) and choose Blending Options.

We’ll be manipulating arrows in the “Blend If” section of the box that pops up. The black arrow focuses on the dark shades of the layer beneath and the white arrow focuses on the lighter shades.

3. Slide the black arrow under “Underlying Layer” towards the right until the text starts to disappear.

4. Hold down ALT and slide the left half of the black slider back to the left so some of the text reappears.

5. Slide the right arrow under “Underlying Layer” towards the left until the text starts to disappear.

6. Hold down ALT and slide the right half of the black slider back to the right so some of the text reappears.

7. Adjust the arrows until you reach the desired effect. Click OK.
I love using this when my text is on a folded tag or heavily textured paper, so that my text becomes more life-like — as if a pen was actually rubbing across a surface. Try it with paint strokes too!

Here’s an example of the technique in action. I used it on everything in this layout — the paint splatters, the journaling, the title, the stamped alpha, the sun burst.

For PSE users: Unfortunately, Blending Options are not an option in PSE. However, you can mimic this technique with a couple of tricks. You can try changing the color of your text and play with the blending modes. You can also use a grunge brush at varying opacities to erase parts of the text.

Thanks for letting me share this fun technique with you. I’d love to see what you do with it, so feel free to link us up to a layout in the comments OR upload to our Flickr Group with the tag: FontsDontFloat.

If

You might remember the post we did awhile back about organizing without tagging.  We received a lot of comments, emails, and even posts in our CT forum from people that really like using ACDSee.  One of those emails was from Aaron, a.k.a. Sir ScrapAlot and it wasn’t too long before I realized that an organizing with ACDSee post would be appreciated by our readers.  I love how Aaron uses ACDSee and thought it would be great for him to share what he knows!

I also talked in that post about my conference call with ACDSee and how I had purchased the software to give it a try (I did not accept their offer of a free copy, because….as you know…that’s not how we do things ‘round here).  At the bottom of Aaron’s post, I will add my experience with the program and thoughts.

Aaron Morris has been digital scrapbooking for almost three years.  His work has been published in Scrapbooking Trends magazine.  For two years now, Aaron has been the creative and designing force behind Sir Scrapalot Designs.  Sir Scrapalot Designs products are currently available exclusively at Polka Dot Plum.  Aaron also blogs about nearly everything at the Sir Scrapalot Designs blog.  Aaron is a dad to two daughters and has been married for eight years.  During the day, Aaron is a seventh grade math teacher to a class that he has worked with for the last four years.  In his spare time, Aaron likes to watch reality tv and listen to music.  You can follow Aaron on Twitter at www.twitter.com/sirscrapalot.

If you’re anything like me, you have tons of digi goodies stashed away.  I can never seem to resist a good sale, or picking up the latest products.  It’s a habit.  In fact, it’s a habit that has led me to over 100GB of digi goodies.  If I had no way to organize them, I would be out of my mind and would never be able to find anything to get my layouts done!

Luckily, a few years back, I got ACDSee Photo Manager.  I knew I needed something to help me organize what I had, and ACDSee fit the bill.  ACDSee works simply: photos/files stay in their original folder, however, you can add “tags” to each file, and use these tags to organize your files.  So say I want to see all my pictures of Uncle Bill, I would click on my “Uncle Bill” tab, and all the pictures that I have tagged as “Uncle Bill” would pop up. What’s also great about ACDSee has an extensive forum and tutorials and tips.  So many people use ACDSee to organize their digi supplies, that ACDSee now offers some free downloadable organizational structures for digi scrappers.  I figured this would be a great place to start.

I downloaded one of the organizational structures, and read up on what I would need to do to “tag” my collection.  The first tagging would entail putting information in for every file – the kit name and the designer name.  Then, each file would be tagged separately.  For example: all the ribbons would be tagged ribbons, all the buttons would be tagged buttons, etc.  This method was VERY time consuming, even breaking it down into small time increments.  What was great about this tagging method was that when I was working on a layout, if I needed a piece of kraft paper, I could find it easily by choosing some of the tags I had used.  Unfortunately, I am more of a “kit scrapper,” I tend to use the items from one kit.  That, paired with the amount of time I would spend tagging, ultimately made this not the best tagging method for me.

Since I am a kit scrapper, I decided that I would start tagging only the previews of the products I purchased, and put them into categories like kits, element packs, alphas, and templates.  I started out with six categories: actions, alphas, element packs, kits, paper packs, and templates.  This tagging method cut down on time considerably, seeing that I only had to tag one file in the folder.  As I started working with this tagging system, I realized that it was a bit broad. I could easily find all of my kits, or element packs, but if I wanted to find a kit by Geek Chic Scraps that I had, I needed to sift through the entire kits category.  So, I added categories for each of the designers I purchase from often, as well as a category for products I had yet to use.

When I wanted to use an element pack from Ali Edwards, I could click on my Ali Edwards tag, and the previews of all of the products I have from her would pop up.  From that point, I can right click the preview and use the “Go To File” option.  That sends me directly to the folder that contained that preview, where I can grab the products I need.  There is more about the Go To File option HERE. This has proven to be the most effective method for me and my tagging.  My workflow goes like this:

1.  All of my files are downloaded into a “To Be Unzipped” folder on my EHD.
2.  From there, I extract all the files to a “To Be Tagged” folder.  Within that folder I have two categories, “Designer” which is my CU designer stuff (yup, I tag all that too) and “Readymade” which is stuff from other designers.
3.  When I am ready to tag (no, I don’t tag as soon as I unzip.  I’m a rebel like that), I go into the “To Be Tagged” folder, and click on the “Ready Made” folder.  In that are all the folders of the products I have purchased.  I click on a number of those folders, even if they aren’t from the same designer.  Then at that top of the window I choose “Sort By” and I pick “image type.”that brings all of the jpeg files together, and I can easily assign them tags that way by dragging the tag over to the image.
4.  Once the preview is tagged, the folder (and if it’s a kit, all the folders that go with it.  I only tag one preview) gets moved to my “PU” folder.  That part really stinks….get it…stinks…PU…well anyways, that’s it. My products are tagged and ready to use.

The ACDSee tagging system isn’t just great for organizing your digi supplies, but it can help you scrap more efficiently too!  A while back, I was intrigued by a post Katie did here on The Daily Digi about her Power Scrapping method.  I knew that I had to try this method.  When I got a chance to give it a shot, I loved the way I was able to get pages done really quickly, but I struggled with keeping track of what I wanted to use.  In my paper days, I would have slipped the pictures and the papers and everything into a folder and put it away until next time.  I could do that on my EHD, creating new folders for each layout and copying files, but that would not only take up more time, but take up precious memory on my EHD.  I was about to abandon the Power Scrapping method, and then it came to me: ACDSee!!  If I could tag my files with multiple tags, I could tag the things I wanted to use for layouts!!

Now, when I am looking to Power Scrap a few layouts, I start out by making a new tag for each one in ACDSee.  I have most recently been using this method for completing our Disney layouts from our trip two years ago.  Once I have the tags created, when I get a few minutes, I look through my pictures and identify the ones I want to use, and tag them with the layout tag.  Then, I can walk away from the layouts for a bit.  When I have a few extra minutes, I can go and look through my templates, and identify the templates I want to use and tag them.  When I get a few more minutes, I can search through my kits, and identify the kits I want to use for each layout, and tag the preview of them.  That way, when I am ready to sit down and put the layouts together,   I can click on the tag that I used for the layout, and all the pictures I want to use for it, along with the template and the preview of the kit all pop up.

I drag the pictures and template into the image basket, which is a section of the ACDSee window where you can put files you intend to open.  Then I use the “Go To File” command to go to the kit and start picking papers and elements.  As I pick them, they get put into the image basket as well.  Once I have everything I want to start the layout with, I select them all using CTRL+A, and drag them all into Photoshop, and they all open.  I am ready to start creating!

So that’s about it.  I really do use ACDSee for everything, I can’t imagine scrapping or designing without it.  Hopefully I’ve been able to give you some ideas to use when you are organizing your own digi goodies.  I guess the bottom line is this: anyone can tell you how you should do it, but if it doesn’t work for you, it’s not worth it.  Figure out what works for you, and go with it!

I (Steph) have tried a couple different organization systems (the organizer that comes with PSE as well as Adobe Bridge).  I found both of them a little klunky and neither really met all of my needs (I won’t go into all of the reasons I didn’t care for them).  I really, honestly thought that ACDSee would be the same, plus I did NOT want to spend my precious scrapping time tagging!

I will say, that I am very happy with ACDSee as compared to my prior experience with other programs.  The more I got into using it, the more I liked this program for organizing.  I started by downloading Janie’s orginizational structure. I knew that I would only be tagging the previews because as I thought about it, if I started tagging each button as a button, then I would also want to tag the color, etc. and that was just too much.  I am usually a kit scrapper, except for a few favorite things (like my favorite stitching, staples, Kraft paper, etc.) and those are now tagged as favorites.  Out of Janie’s original structure, (btw, if you know who Janie is, let me know, so I can tell her thanks), I knew that the themes, seasons, and holidays would be the most useful for me.  I also added some themes of my own (such as Hawaii and Disney for the kits that I knew I would want to use on those vacations).  I then added a designers category and started adding designers and tagging the previews with their names as well.  In the template category, I added more tags with more numbers, because so many template designers are coming out with awesome templates that have tons of photos on them.

If you have a lot of stuff and the thought of tagging everything is overwhelming, but having your stuff organized and tagged seems like a dream, then just start with the previews and go from there.

If you are NEW to digital, I would highly recommend getting ACDSee and starting with it now You will thank yourself later!

An IMPORTANT NOTE:::  You MUST backup your database, so if you have a computer or drive die on you, you won’t lose all of your tagging.  If you aren’t using an online back up service such as Mozy, You can find step-by-step instructions with screenshots here (it really is easy and they system actually walks you through it, I was able to do it without a tutorial very easily).

Also note: The Daily Digi does not use affiliate marketing, so all links are affiliate-free

I (Steph) am so very excited to share with you these posts by Kim over the next few weeks!  She is amazing and we are very lucky to have her here sharing her talents and fabulous project with us.  Here’s a little more about her:

Kimberly Lund has been scrapbooking for a decade and has been exclusively a digital scrapbooker for six years. In the past, she was an Honorable Mention in Creating Keepsakes Hall of Fame contest, and has had her layouts published in Creating Keepsakes and Memory Makers publications. She is a mom of 3 teenagers, has been married for twenty years, and spends her days teaching early childhood special education. For the past five years she has a blog committed to documenting her family’s life at www.documentlifenow.com. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, photography, and plotting ways to avoid riding “Wildfire” on her next trip to Branson.

I’m not much for making resolutions, mostly because I never complete them and I hate to consider myself a slacker, so it’s easier not to make any. I did, however, spend my New Year in a self-reflective mood. Instead of resolutions, I made a loose “projects I’d like to complete” list. At the top of the list was a travel journal. My family travels. A lot. I’ve made scrapbooks about those trips, but I’ve never really just made time to write the story of a trip. I thought I might want to include a photo here and there, but mostly, I’d want it to be about the story.

For those of you who don’t now me, I’m Kimberly Lund, and I originally started scrapbooking in 2000. My family was taking what I then thought would be a once in a lifetime trip to Walt Disney World, and I wanted some way to remember all those magical moments I knew we’d be having. It’s been a decade since that time, and things haven’t changed much. I’m still scrapbooking, although I switched from paper to digital in 2004. I made a conscious decision in late 2006 to just focus on telling stories, stepping away from my goals to be published in scrapbooking magazines (although, hey, you may have seen me in a Creating Keepsakes or Memory Makers back in the day). In 2009, I started designing digital scrapbook kits and giving them away monthly on my blog, Document Life.

Looking back at my original motivation to start scrapbooking, it wasn’t a once in a lifetime trip. We’ve been to Disney parks four times in the last decade, and to Branson, MO, dozens of times. In the last decade, vacation has changed from something that “might be fun” to something that is an essential part of our family life. We are always planning a trip.

After I booked and paid for our Spring Break accommodations, I knew I had better get serious about my travel journal project. From recent projects I have done, I knew that it would be crazy helpful if I had the “meat” of the journal done before we left on the trip. I spent a winter weekend writing up some journaling prompts to help myself focus on what I wanted to remember about our trip. I wanted the prompts to be fairly generic, so I could reuse them for future trips and trip journals. Somewhere along the way, I thought that maybe my fellow memory keepers would like to read about my project. Maybe even use my journal prompts. I was sharing my idea with my friend, Steph, (who coincidentally had emailed me with a vacation planning question), and she thought it would be a fun idea for a class here at The Daily Digi. I’ve been reading this site since the day it started, and I’m so excited to be sharing this project with you here.

The class: Come Away With Me, A Travel Journal Project

Course Objectives:
Students of this class will create a daily journal to take on upcoming vacations. Students will then use the journal daily during their trip to record specific aspects of their trips. Upon returning, students will not only be able to reflect on their journal experience, they’ll have a long lasting record of the trip for years to come.

Sound good? Are you in? Want more information first? Read on!

Supplies You’ll Need:

Journal
First, you’re going to need a journal. I personally like to use spiral bound journals so I can add ribbons to the binding. It’s pretty that way. Size doesn’t really matter, but if you’re going to include the printed prompts in your journal, they are sized to 5.5×8.5″ (with 5.5” on the top), so you may want to keep those dimensions in mind while you’re shopping. It’s not a requirement of the class to include the prompts in your journal, so if you find a journal you love, buy it. Make it yours.

For my own journal, I chose to go with an upcycled book. I just love the idea of taking a used book and turning it into a journal. I usually go with a Little Golden Book journal when I’m getting ready to journal, but due to the size of the prompts, I went with a Dr. Seuss type book. Two of my favorite etsy sellers who have upcycled journals are Overdue Industries and ThisHandmadeLife.

Pen
You’ll also need a good pen. Personally, I’m a blue Bic pen girl. Get something that will make you happy when you’re writing.

Printing
Finally, you may want a color printer, or a good online developer if you decide to print the prompts.

If you’re a totally digital scrapbooker, you may decide you want to do this project on your computer. That is just fine. You can make it work however you’d like. I’m a much faster typist, and sometimes I’ll type my journal entries late at night or first thing in the morning, then later grab my pen and transfer my entry to my journal. That’s OK. It’s also OK to save your journaling now, and make a layout using it later. You could even just type your journal entries in a word processing program, and print later. It’s your journal, so it can take whatever form best fits you. It’s most important to get that travel story captured.

Syllabus:

Week 1 (this week): Introduction to Come Away With Me, a travel journal project. Supply list.

Week 2 (April 16th): Before You Go (Planning Is My Favorite Part). Printable cover, prompts 1 and 2.

Week 3 (April 21st): Before You Go (Planning Is My Favorite Part), part 2. Prompts 3 and 4.

Week 4 (April 27th): Come Away With Me, part 1. Days 1, 2 and 3.

Week 5 (May 5th): Come Away with Me, part 2. Days 5, 6, 7 and 8.

Week 6 (May 12th): Footnote.

Each week, the prompts will be available as a .pdf file and as layered templates in case you want to use your own digital supplies to personalize them. You may want to start thinking about how you’ll use these prompts, and in what form you want them for your trip.

There will be no final, although I would love to see your finished journals at the end of the summer (you can always upload them to The Daily Digi Flickr group with the tag: “vacation journal” -be sure to use the quotes in the tag or Flickr will see it as two tags, not one). In the meantime, let this idea sit in your mind. I promise, this won’t be a huge commitment on your part. A few minutes spent preparing the journal, no more than 15 minutes each day while you’re on your trip. A trip souvenir that will be treasured for a lifetime. I’d love to have you come on this journey with me.

If you’re in, leave a comment and let us know. You can grab a blinkie or a button to post in your message board signatures or on your blog (please upload to your favorite image hosting site). For the next five weeks, I’ll talk you through the process of creating your physical journal, and the prompts you’ll need to put your story on paper. See you next week!

P.S. Our winner in the random drawing from the comments in yesterday’s post is, Tamara who said: I like More Than Words and Mixed Emotions. Thanks!  Tamara, you just won $10 in product from Dunia’s store, check your inbox!

P.S.S  If you have been wondering where our Basic Design Principles posts went, they will back this Friday with another guest that I am super excited to introduce to you!

I promised you a few of weeks ago that we would be having a full review of printers for both layouts and albums.  I know we all have our favorite printers (I did before trying them all out).  But, there have been a few new printers join the market in the last while and maybe you have been wondering how they would measure up.  Today, I will be telling you all about the results I had when I printed the same layout at several different sites.

Please note:  THE DAILY DIGI does not have paid sponsors, we do not accept paid (or traded) forms of advertising on our site from other sites, services, or designers, nor do we have affiliates.  No coupons or discounts were asked for or used in the printing of these layouts.  I have only ever printed at Costco and Winkflash before printing layouts for this review.

I set up accounts at each printer under a different name and had the layouts shipped to a different address other than my own.  All, in the hopes, that I could provide you with the most accurate and unbiased information to help you pick the best printer for you.

On every layout, I ordered a matte or lustre finish, this is just my personal preference.  I also chose the “no correction” or “auto correct off” option at each site.

This is the layout I had printed, all supplies are by SirScrapalot:

Results

These printers’ results are in alphabetical order.  I rated each site in the following ways:

Intimidation Factor: How intimidated I felt about the site in general, before even setting up an account or uploading.
None = not intimidating
Mild = mild intimidation
High = I was very intimidated and if it would not have been for doing a review for TDD, I would have quit.

Ease of upload: How easy was it to find the upload area and select the photos for uploading.
5= Awesome very easy, no problems
3= okay
1= Pretty bad,, lots of problems

Photo colors: How true the colors printed compared to my calibrated monitor.
5= perfect
3= somewhat different
1= very different

Paper/element details and colors: How true the paper and element colors were compared to my calibrated monitor.
5= perfect
3= somewhat different
1= very different

There will be some other information included in each review, such as amount of time for uploading and the amount of time it took me to complete an order from start (getting to the site) to finish (hitting submit).  I am also including bits of information that I think you might want to know.  Let’s get started…

Artscow

Intimidation Factor: mild, there are so many products on the homepage that it was a bit overwhelming.

Ease of Upload: 2, it took me forever to find where to upload the photos and how to purchase individual layouts.  I finally found them in the canvas printing section.

It took me 2 minutes and 13 seconds to upload a 3600×3600 layout.  It was 20 minutes to place the order from the very start to the finish.  Choices on finishes were glossy or matte.  I printed an 8×8 matte and 12×12 matte. 8×8’s are $1.99 and 12×12’s are $2.99. The shipping charges were $6.98.

Photo colors: 4, photos were a little darker.

Paper colors: 4, colors were a little less saturated.  Detail on all paper colors was kept (even white).

Other information: The prints came packaged in a tube and I didn’t think I would ever be able to flatten them.  They did flatten out when I set them inside my scanner for awhile but are still wavy.

The most odd thing to me was how they trimmed my layout. The borders on both sides of my layout were the same, but on this print it was wider on the left side than the right. The border on the top and bottom on my layout were the same as well, but the border on the print was slightly larger on the bottom than the top.

Costco

Note:  I have been printing at Costco since they started offering 12×18 prints in my area…at least 4 years. So, I can’t really rate the intimidation factor.  However, almost two years ago, they went through a site redesign and I have had problems uploading ever since.  I usually select the one-by-one upload option and do okay.  You also need to select the high-resolution option because the “faster” option (low res) is selected by default.  Because of these things, I would have to give Costco a 2 on ease of upload because it’s not easy and I have been using them for a long time.

It took me 1minute 23 seconds to upload a 3600×3600 layout.  I always pick my orders up.  They contract out orders that are shipped, so this review does not include orders shipped.  12×12’s are $2.99 each, 8×8’s are $1.49 each.  When I place an order for layouts, I usually put 3) 12×12’s on a 12×36 canvas for $4.99 ($1.66 per 12×12) and take the CD in to be printed, then I come home and trim. I have also been known to print out several 6×6’s at one time (on a 12×18 canvas or a 12×36) for my kids to have copies.

Photo colors: 4 photos were darker and seemed off on the hue a bit as well.  They also seemed blurry.

Paper colors: 4 colors were a little less saturated, detail on papers were kept, however they seemed blurry.

Other information: Being able to upload and then go pick up layouts the same day is really wonderful!!  The flexibility of sizes is a bonus too, not to mention the prices!  I was a little surprised at the blurriness especially when compared to the other prints.

MyPicTales

Intimidation Factor: none

Ease of Upload: 3, I didn’t like having to enter ALL of my information (including shipping) before even uploading anything.

It took me 1 minute and 56 seconds to upload a 3600×3600 layout.  My only option was a 12×12, no finish or paper options, these prints are 99cents.  It took me 11 minutes from start to finish to place an order.

Photo colors: 1, photos were very, very washed out and looked like they had been lightened quite a bit

Paper colors: 1, just as the photos, the papers seemed to be washed out, but not as bad as the photos were.  There was no texture detail on the white paper behind the journaling.

Other information: The paper is a cardstock quality (matte).  I don’t think the paper would have bothered me if the images would have been closer to what was on my computer, because once it is in a sheet protector, it’s not that noticeable.  Overall, there was a really big difference in appearance though.

MPix

Intimidation Factor: mild, because it is a site directed at professional photographers and it was a little intimidating at first. Once I got going though, it was not too much different than any other site.

Ease of Upload: 5, no problems at all

It took me 2 minutes 10 seconds to upload a 3600×3600 layout.  It took me 15 minutes to place an order from start to finish.  It was $5.95 for a 12×12 on “e-paper”, $2.75 for an 8×8 on “e-paper” (which I think stands for endura) with lustre coating, and $1.99 for an 8×8 on “e-paper”.

Photo colors: 2, quite a bit darker than what was on my monitor

Paper colors: 2, were darker as well, but the worst was that there was absolutely no texture on the white papers behind the journaling on the 12×12’s.  There was a slight amount of texturing on the 8×8’s, but only if you looked really closely.

Other information: Based on price and the fact that Mpix caters to photographers, I thought the printing results would be much better than they were.  I thought I would be struggling with the choice of paying so much to print awesome layouts.  I was sadly disappointed.

Persnickety Prints

Intimidation Factor: none

Ease of Upload: 5, I really liked that I only had to enter my name, email address, and password to get started.  Their uploader is java based and my vista and java don’t play nicely, so I had to do the one-by-one uploader, but not a big deal and not their fault.

It took me 2 minutes and 16 seconds to upload a 3600×3600 layout.  The 12×12 premium matte paper was $1.99 ($1.79 after 200 prints).  The 8×8 premium matte was 99cents.  It took me a total of 14 minutes to place the order from start to finish.

Photo colors: 5 the colors in the photo were almost perfect!

Paper colors: 4, there was some loss of detail on the white paper.

Other information: The black journaling seemed to have a yellowish/greenish cast to it.  I checked my black in Photoshop and it was a true black.  I’m not sure if this is because of their printing process or just something done differently on my layout.  This order was received the quickest out of all of them.

Scrapbook Pictures

Intimidation Factor: none

Ease of Upload: 2, It took me quite a bit of time and clicking to figure out where to go to upload layouts.  Once I uploaded the layouts, it took me a very long time to figure out how to order the different sizes and finishes of the same layout.

It took me 1 minute and 55 seconds to upload on 3600×3600 layout.  The 12×12 matte layout was $1.49, a 12×12 pro matte was $1.69, 8×8 matte was 89cents, 8×8 pro matte was $1.49.  It took me 30 minutes to place an order from start to finish.

Photo colors: Photos were very dark compared to my monitor.

Paper colors: 4, slightly darker in color, no loss in detail on white paper.

Other information: The pro paper is a heavier weight paper, but the images were more true in color on the regular paper.  All things considered, I would skip the extra cost for pro paper and stick with the regular.

Ordering on Scrapbook Picture was the most frustrating of any of the sites.  It did not seem to be very intuitive to me.  Not only that, but after I received my orders from all of the other sites, but one, I decided to check on my order and somehow, I didn’t send it.  I really thought I had sent the order because I had to enter so much information.  I finished placing the order, but then when the order came it wasn’t right.  I got two 12×12’s on regular matte paper and no 8×8’s.  I called them and they had the whole order reprinted and I got it 5 days later.

Scrapping Simply

Intimidation Factor: none

Ease of Upload: 5

It took me 2 minutes and 2 seconds to upload a 3600×3600 layout.  It took me 12 minutes to place my order from start to finish.  I ordered a 8×8 matte 99cents and a 12×12 matte for $1.99

Photo colors: 5, colors on photos were perfect

Paper colors: 3, colors were almost exact, but there was a total loss of detail on the white paper.

Other information: As I was writing this, I went back to the site to check on something and it looks like you have to install some software in order to upload and order layouts.  I clicked on the button for those that would prefer not to install the software and I got an error.  I decided to install the software (only because I am writing this, otherwise it would have been a no-go for me), but then it also wanted me to update my browser.  At that point, I quit.

Winkflash

note: this site had a total redesign since I ordered Christmas cards there 3 years ago, so it was like starting over.

Intimidation Factor: none

Ease of Upload: 3, I thought at first that I could upload without registering, because the site let me upload when I clicked on upload.  Where that layout went, I will never know because they never asked me for my information after that.  Then, I had to register and go through the whole upload process again.  Instead of taking you to an upload area, it should redirect you to a register/login page.

It took me 57 seconds to upload one 3600×3600 layout.  I could only see an 8×8 option (matte or glossy) for $1.49 with 89cents shipping on that one layout.  It took me 13 minutes to place the order

Photo colors: 3, darker and more red in tone as well.

Paper colors: 3, darker and some loss of detail on the white journaling paper.

Other information: The trimming on this one was really odd as well.  It’s almost as if it were printed full-bleed on the top and left edge and then the right and bottom were trimmed to make the 8×8 because there was more trimmed from those edges.

White House Custom Color/WHCC

Intimidation factor: extremely high

I set up an account and they said they would follow up with information on what I needed to do to upload prints.  A week later, I received a letter in the mail, telling me that I must submit test prints before ordering anything.  After you upload test prints, they mail them to you, you make sure your computer likes their printer (by installing profiles and all of that fun stuff) THEN you can order some layouts.  This site caters to professional photographers and I have heard wonderful things about their prints.  I was not able to get the layouts done for this post, but will follow-up when I do.

Where will I be printing?  I think for stuff that I need right away, I will still be printing at Costco.  I will also be saving up my layouts to print with Persnickety.  The colors in the photos and the papers were almost perfect!!  I really was surprised at the differences from printer to printer and how many of them got it wrong.  Persnickety was really the only one that got it all right.

I think I would also like to try Scrapping Simply again, IF they get that redirect fixed so I don’t have to install a bunch of stuff.  They have some great prices on canvases, from what I could see (couldn’t find anything with a link to them to see for sure).

All in all, I was surprised at how well some of the newer printers did (especially Persnickety).  Because so many of my digi friends use Scrapbook Pictures and love them, I expected to love them as well, but the love just wasn’t there… Sorry girls!

Hopefully, this gives you some concrete information that you can use in making your own decisions about which printers you want to try!  I will be back, as promised, with reviews on photobooks/albums.

P.S. Your purchases of THE DIGI FILES go toward paying for posts like this.  If you found this post valuable and have not ever purchased THE DIGI FILES, you might want to start grabbing them! PLUS you get so much good scrapping stuff, how can you lose?

Yesterday, in Wendy’s contributor feature, I told you that she would be here today with a tutorial on installing and using her actions that are included in THE DIGI FILES this month.  This was something I requested from her, because I know actions can be intimidating at first, but once you give them a try, you will quickly become addicted.

If you purchased this month’s Digi Files, you may have noticed some of my actions in your download. For some of you, this may be the first time you’ve ever downloaded an action. Don’t let it intimidate you! We’re going to walk through one of the actions all the way from installing them to using them.

When you unzip your download, you will find several folders organized according to the version of Photoshop or Elements you use. Each folder contains all the files you need to install and run the actions. Let’s take a look at each version and go over how to install. (NOTE: Included with your download is a PDF file that goes over all the installation instructions for each version.)

PHOTOSHOP CS+

There are several ways to install actions in Photoshop. The easiest, however, is to double-click on the ATN file. (I recommend Photoshop be running before you do this.) The actions will be automatically loaded into your Action Palette. To view them, click WINDOW>ACTIONS and scroll to the bottom of the list where your new actions will appear. If the Action Set is collapsed, simply click the arrow to the left of the palette to expand the Set and view all the actions included.

To launch the action:

1. Cick on the action name (ie. WZ_ScrapIt10).

2. Press the play button on the bottom of the palette (the triangle).

PHOTOSHOP ELEMENTS (PSE)

Installing actions in Elements is much more difficult, but once you get the hang of it for your version of PSE, you’ll be a pro! The tricky part is matching up your version of PSE with your operating system. In every version of PSE, you will install the action (ATN) and thumbnail (PSD or PNG). In newer versions of PSE (6-8), you can also install a file for placing the actions in categories (XML). Make a note of the files you’ll need from the list below and have them ready to copy into the correct locations.

PSE 4: ATN & PSD thumbnail (one for each action in the set)

PSE 5: ATN & thumbs.PSD thumbnail (one ATN for each action, only one thumbnail total)

PSE 6: ATN, PNG thumbnail, XML (one for each action in the set)

PSE 7 & 8: Classic Mode-ATN, PNG thumbnail, XML (one for each action in the set); Action Player-ATN (only)

1. Before you can install your actions, you must be sure to SHOW HIDDEN FILES AND FOLDERS. Actions should be installed using the Admin Account.

2. Quit Photoshop Elements.

3. Copy your ATN and thumbnails into the Photo Effects folder. (See the PDF tutorial for the exact location of this folder for your version of PSE and your operating system.

4. If you have PSE 6 or 7, you need to copy your XML file into the Metadata>Layer Styles folder.

5. Now that the files are in place, you need to delete your cache files to force Elements to rebuild the thumbnails. Delete the thumbdatabase.db3 file and the mediadatabase.db3 file. These will be recreated when PSE is started the next time. (To locate your cache files, see the PDF tutorial.)

6. Launch Elements. Click on your Effects Palette and you’ll see the following:

To launch the action:

1. Create a new document in any size.

2. Click on the Photo Effects button.

3. Select the Action Category name from the drop down menu (ie. WZ_ScrapIt).

4. Cick on the action thumbnail (ie. WZ_ScrapIt10). TIP: Hovering your mouse over the thumbnail will show the full action name.

5. Press the APPLY button on the bottom of the palette.

Now that we have loaded our actions and now how to play them, let’s walk through using one of them. We’ll we working with Scrap It {10} and using One Little Bird’s kit from The Digi Files #15. Are you ready? Let’s go!

Using Scrap It {10}

First, let’s talk a smidge about what Scrap It is going to do. Scrap It is a new way of using templates. Basically, the action will lead you through opening and placing each paper, element and photo. You can control the size, placement and shadows as you go. When we are done, we will have a layout based on the layout below.

supplies for layout in preview by ZigZagScrap (collab)

1. Prepare your files. Each Scrap It action comes with a tutorial that has a list of digi supplies you will need. Feel free to make minor substitutions. Scrap It 10 needs:

1 Background paper

1 Paper for upper matte

1 Paper for journaling

1 Paper or bottom matte

1 Frame

1 Element (bottom right of frame)

1 Hanging tag

1 Fastener

1 Element (next to tag)

1 Small Element (next to frame)

Title & Journaling

2. Launch the action. (PSE users be sure to have a blank file open first.) You will see several messages introduction the action. Press CONTINUE.

3. Eventually, you will be asked to select a background paper. Browse to the paper, select it and click OPEN. I choose a green paper. The action opened it, copied and pasted into my new file. (I realized at this point I meant to choose the plum paper. Instead of starting over, I will continue on, and just swap the paper out at the end.)

4. On the next screen, I’m asked for a second paper for the matte. Select one and watch as it’s added to your layout.

5. Next the action asks you to select a light colored paper to go behind the journaling.

6. On the next screen, you will be prompted to add your drop shadow. Adjust the settings to your liking and press OK.

7. Finally, you will be asked for a pattern paper for the bottom matte. Then, adjust the shadow settings again.

8. You will be asked for to select a frame and to add a drop shadow. Then, the action will move your frame. At this point, you can resize it by clicking the corner anchors, or reposition by clicking and dragging. When you are done, press ENTER (or in PSE, click the Green Check mark).

9. Next comes the photo. Select your photo, add the shadow when prompted, then position it under your frame. It’s okay if it sticks out. We’ll crop it later.

10. You will now be asked to crop your image under the frame by contracting the selection. Enter a number large enough to inset from your chosen frame but small enough that it doesn’t contract beyond the frame border. Usually 10-30 pixels works well.

11. Next we’ll start adding elements. Follow the instruction along, selecting the elements, adding shadows and positioning when prompted.

12. After you’ve placed the rest of the elements, the action will add text for the title. Position it. You can edit it when you are done.

13. The action now adds text for the journaling. Finally, you will see a message letting you know the action is complete. Press CONTINUE (PSE users should not press CANCEL or it will cancel the entire action and delete the file.)

14. Your layout is now complete. Edit your journaling and title. Adjust elements, or add additional ones. Or, swap some out if you change your mind. I decided to remove the Title word and use the word art included in the kit. And, I swapped my green background paper out for the plum one. I even moved my elements around a bit. I still might go back to this one and add some more finishing touches.

15. Save your file and you are done!

Actions can help save time and these Scrap It actions are great for creating quick layouts in just 10-15 minutes. If you have any questions, just post a comment and I’ll be back to help! I hope you enjoy these Scrap It actions! I’d love to see the layouts you create with them, so feel free to leave a comment with a link.

P.S. It’s Steph and I just wanted to let you know that our random winner for $10 in product from Studio Wendy is Sandy who said, “Wendy’s actions are amazing! There is only one set for PSE that I don’t have yet, and that is the Scrap It Collection 2. I will be adding that to my collection soon. If you haven’t tried any of her products, please take advantage of the coupon and give them a try. You won’t be disappointed! Her Cluster It and Scrap It sets are real timesavers. Her photo action sets are awesome. The photo book actions and templates are so helpful when you want to print your pages. {Can you tell that I am a huge fan?!!! ;~)} Thanks for the coupon, Wendy!”