Letter From Team Digital - Nicole Young

Hey there lovely scrappers!!!  Take a deep, deep breath….no seriously….I know you didn’t actually do it….DEEEEPPPP BREATH….ok…that’s better!   No this is not your daily yoga routine… it’s my way of saying STOP and enjoy the moment!  Yeah, yeah, I am going all Dr. Phil on ya, but seriously…how many times do we “plan” our pictures, we dress our kids in cute outfits that will match the latest kit we purchased, we arrange our photo subjects JUST perfectly and we capture that…well…perfect shot, right?  And lots of times that great, fabulous in fact, the perfect twinkle in their eyes, the flawlessly blurred background.   But what about those “moments” the NOT so pretty ones, the ones that are much more REAL LIFE!  The toddler bursting into tears, the baby with a crusty old nose, the kids with messy hair and chalk all over their clothes, yes THOSE are the moments that are REAL LIFE, that contain those stories that we want to preserve for our children’s children to see!  So grab your cameras and resist the urge to wipe your kid’s faces, change their clothes, and brush their hair.  Just snap away!!!  Take a moment… BREATH… and enjoy that PICTURE PERFECT PHOTO that isn’t so PICTURE PERFECT!

And yes….I am in the car…with a mess of junk in the back….hey, at least I’m not driving!  (but I promise, there’s a story!) ;)

Nicole Young
Senior Designer

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Upcoming 2008 DSP Crops and Events:

Monthly Crop – repeats first Friday of every month Troy, Ohio

Weekend Retreat for Central Plains States USA, Clear Lake, Iowa. November 14-16, 2008 - check it out here.

Please check here for those interested in any crops that may be happening in your area.

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Here is a wonderful opportunity to ask questions about DSP and digital scrapbooking. Whether it’s a question about navigating the site or how to get started, someone will be on hand to give you the answers. 

Posting Your First Layout:

Are you thinking about posting your first layout? There's a special first layout challenge each months for you. Post your first layout to DSP this month and you may be a random winner for a free page kit!! You'll find all the information here

Welcome to DSP! We know you will love it!

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Some Useful Links

Club Digital 

Each month you receive a wonderful selection of scrapbooking products. Something to suit every style and level of digital scrapper.

You will always receive 2 complete page kits, one plopper or an overlay and an alphabet, some great word art and more - a font and a set of png "stamps" for your scrapping pleasure, and don't forget the quick click template included in each club digital pack. 

Now club digital subscribers get an extra gift of an exclusive coupon for use on future purchases in the store. 

All this for the incredible price of $5.99 or even less!!! 

That's well over $23 value for such a great price 

The longer you subscribe - the cheaper it becomes and the better value for you!!!!!

Buy a 3 month subscription and go into the draw to be upgraded to a 6 month subscription, by a 6 month and you might win an upgrade to a 12 month subscription, and all those who buy a 12 month sub will go into the draw for a $30 coupon for the DSP store. 

In addition every month there is an exclusive contest for club digital subscribers with great prizes.

This months selection includes 2 unique and quite different  kits- one bright and funky and one dark and trendy, a versatile and elegant  one photo plopper, a tiny twill like alphabet, some stamps for date insertion , very versatile Blessings  Word Art, a great quick click template and dont forget the exclusive font. 

Click here to subscribe to Club digital today

Here are some sample layouts done by our designers with this month's Club Digital!

Click here to subscribe to Club Digital today!

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It's Shop Time! 

Shop Time Inspiration by Erica

It’s time to SHOP… let’s get those baskets at the ready. 

"For man, autumn is a time of harvest, of gathering together. For nature, it is a time of sowing, of scattering abroad." - Edwin Way Teale

Living in the North Island of New Zealand, I don’t get to see the beautiful autumn tones that you members in the Northern Hemisphere do.  I know you will have taken lots of fall photos ready to scrap, you’ll see we have a great selection of fall kits in the shop and don’t forget that many of our nature kits are ideal for this time year.  

Children find Halloween such a magical time and with this just over you’ll have some wonderful photos just waiting to be scrapped.  I love to see all the cut-out pumpkins and sweet costumed children with their wee painted faces.  And what fun the adults have too, pretending to be scary monsters or vampires. We have some lovely Halloween and Magical kits; why not go take a look.

“Come forth into the light of things; let Nature be your teacher.”  - William Wordsworth

Scraps of the Season - Falling For You CD - Shippable  - Scraps of the Season - Falling For You CD - Downloadable

Here is just a peek at some of the kits you get on the Scraps of the Season - Falling For You CD.

Don’t forget our November Club Digital is now in the shop, the designers at DSP are the best there are and you get an awesome deal when subscribing to Club Digital – all your favourite designers delivered direct to your inbox at the beginning of each month, can’t get much better than that.

Happy shopping…

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Give yourself the gift of Gratitude.

As we enter November, it is inevitable that many of us take stock of our year. This got me thinking about Gratitude. In this time of world-wide economic crises, which will probably touch most of our lives, a Gratitude List will remind us of all those wonderful things we take for granted each and every single day. As scrapbookers, we can create more than just a journal of our blessings, we can use our art to create a visual feast as well.

My aim was to create something I could pin up next to my monitor, as well as put into my scrapbook album. I decided to adapt the idea of an ABC list for this project and create a double-page Gratitude A-Z List Layout

If you are looking for some ideas for a list, I found some on the internet  here.

For the list, I considered the options of journaling strips, tags, or a big journaling bock, but liked the idea of doing the whole layout as a series of squares, with most being allocated to journaling the A to Z lists, a couple for scattered photographs, and some being removed to give space for the Word Art I had chosen.  Gratitude and With Thanks by Tina Chambers. 

Having decided to layer on heaps of visual treats from my carefully stored DSP goodies, I had to choose a neutral background for the layout, and a co-coordinating paper for the journal squares, to ensure that they did not visually compete with the journaling or elements, and would allow for a vastly different array of elements to mix on one layout. I selected backgrounds from Nicole Young’s Love Potion and Love Potion 2. On most squares I added doodled frames from Elizabeth Weaver’s Art of Life 2. I wanted there to be some conformity, without it being uniformly symmetrical.

It was then simply a case of adding the journal lists (I used a handwritten font – DSP Lauren, and DSP Stamped Kasbah for the Alphabet letters), choosing a couple of photos, and positioning the word art before the real fun began – placing all my treasured elements tucking some under, layering others on top. If you are anything like me (ADDICTED) you will probably also have a good few kits to choose from, but if you are still fairly new, remember to have a good look in the freebie gallery.

Whether you choose to do a Gratitude List Layout, a mini-album, or a couple of more formal layouts, the time to do them is now – and reap the rewards when your gratitude journaling helps sustain a positive attitude over the coming months.

Digi-Scrapper Inspiration by Meg 

Dining with Digital

 

Holiday season is well upon us all and the stores are overflowing with little knick-knacks and decorating bits.  When you're wandering the aisles, looking for the perfect extras to finish out your table, don't forget to check your hard drive, as well!  The DSP store can be sorted by theme, and the holiday section is packed just as full as any in your local paper goods shop.

 

My favorite part of the holidays is definitely gathering around my mother's table with assorted far-flung relatives and friends.  I used Kim Liddiard's "Plenty to be Thankful For" kit series in creating place cards for our table. 

These are very simple to make, using standard 4 x 6 photo paper, your chosen digital designs, and a bit of glue or tape.  In your design program, create a 4 x 6 canvas and cover it with the background of your choice.  Any design elements, names, etc. should be kept in the bottom 1/3 to 1/2 of the canvas.  Print and fold: either in half for a tent style place card; or in thirds, using the bottom fold as the base of your place card.  Because I used a tape runner adhesive, I actually shaped a very thin forth fold as a lip I could tuck behind the front of the place card.

 

And don't forget the kids' table when making your place cards!  Use a fun frame element to add a photo to the card, allowing the kids to find their place easily! 
On this card, I added a coordinating ribbon to the base for increased stability.

 

You can simply prop these on the table or fill them with napkins, silverware, or seasonal decorations! 

 

And don't forget to give your guests an easy way to share their thoughts with a set of journaling cards like this one! 



Align rows of journaling elements on a letter sized canvas, backed by a matching background, and print onto cardstock.  Cut the cards apart, use a rounded corner punch, create a small hole in the upper corner of each, and tie them together with a pretty ribbon. 

 

Leave this set of cards on the table with a pen and allow your family and friends to add their notes throughout the meal.  You will be left with a wonderful memento of your gathering!

 

Happy holidays to you all, enjoy decorating with digital!

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Be inspired some more - check out the current edition of  Inspiration Station News

Take a look at these awesome, hand made cards.
If you would like to learn how to make these quick and easy
holidays cards, then check out the tutorial.

 

Passionately Pink Event
November 15th

On November 15th, DSP will be going Passionately Pink for the CureR to raise funds for the fight against breast cancer.

Forum: Passionately Pink - Breast Cancer Awareness Event
Gallery: Passionately Pink - Breast Cancer Awareness Event

Keep watching for other upcoming events in November...

Contests, Challenges and Chats

Designer Exclusives: Our Designers are the best there are and they are really generous, if you enter one of their challenges you’re more than likely to receive a chat and/or posting bonus just by using their nominated kit for the challenge. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain – like more stash for less bucks with these great challenges. 

Featured Designer:  Suzanne C Walker - Senior Designer  
BoGo-A-GoGo  Chat with Suz and Z for the Prompts and Props Challenge on 11 November.
Suzanne's Designs
Suzanne's Gallery

Team Letter: Nicole Young - Senior Designer 
Graphically Challenged
Nicole's Designs
Nicole's Gallery

Inspiration Station
This is a call to all dedicated DSP scrappers to ‘strut your stuff’ and inspire us with your creations. Just choose any or all of the calls for layouts the current month and you could be showcased in our Newsletter or Blog. We have a few rules so check them out and then join in the fun. 

This month’s calls will include:

Color:  Silver / Grey
Events: Family meals eg thanks giving but other traditions as well.
Could also include romantic couple style dinners, BBQs, get togethers to watch the big game.
Relationship: Teacher/Mentor
Style / Trend:  Quick Clicks
CD:  Falling for You
Club Digital:  November 2008

Click Here for Our Current Calls

Inspiration Station Call Submission Terms

Guidelines for Submissions

Be inspired some more - check out the current edition of  Inspiration Station News 
Click Here for Previous Issues
Click Here for Our Current Calls

Scrap with the DET – Digital Elite Team and DET Alumni
Our past and current Elite group of scrappers have some great challenges going at the moment and you’re sure to get well chosen CC should you need it – learn from the best.

Get it off Auto – Lauren and Jennifer
Weekly How To basics for everyone who wants to learn more about their camera capabilities.

The Grannies
If you’re a Granny or a Granny In Training (GIT) or just a Wannabee, you might like to see what other Grannies are up to, what challenges they have going. There is never a dull moment when you join this happy band of digi scrappers.

2008 Baby Albums – lianne99 (Tara)
You should go see some of these adorable albums of our future digi scrappers – join Tara and all the other mothers in celebrating your little ones life.

DET Boot Camp – Run fortnightly with different leaders
This is great training ground for all DET hopefuls; it’s about honing your skills ready for the next DET Contest. It’s also the place if you just want to gets some really great CC to help you move to your next level of accomplishment.

IOTW - Item of the week – Abby
The Item Of The Week is a priced to sell and generally cost only a few cents so create a LO using only the IOTW and be in the draw to win a free kit.

SNL - Saturday Night Live - MarsOlson & Debbers
This is where anyone can create their own digital scrapbook kits to share with other SNL’ers, from elements and papers to word art.

This is just a small selection of popular challenges that DSP currently has running but be sure to check all of them out here. And we have a special blinkie to place in your signature to always remind you where to find the best scrapbooking challenges on the web. Check the end of the first post in the What's Happening thread for the blinkie code.

Happy Scrapping!

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We are always striving to make our newsletter more interesting and useful. If you have an idea, let us know about it! If it's an article idea, a feature, even something you'd like to write, shout it out to us. So, put your thinking caps on and come up with some new features, article ideas, or something fun you'd like to see in our monthly newsletter. Then email it to comments@dsplace.com. (Please type "Newsletter IDEA" in the subject line of your email.) We can't wait to see your ideas!

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Newsletter Freebie  

Exclusively for our newsletter readers, DSP Senior Designer, Suzanne C Walker has created this gorgeous Plopper.  Grab it here! 

Thanks Suzanne!

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