Happy New Year!

Have a healthy and happy New Year!

In case you missed it...

the first e-version of Digital Scrapbooking magazine can be found here.

Leave a comment here and let us know what you think!

Whatever you celebrate this season, happy holidays from Digital Scrapbooking magazine!

Online Palette Generator

At the Big Huge Labs site you can generate a color palette from any photo. Just upload a photo, or point to one on Flickr, and this tool comes back with a palette of 20 colors that match your photo. The picture above shows the one I created.
Because it's designed for web use, the colors are all in hexadecimal, but you can download an Adobe Swatch Exchange (ASE) file to load into Photoshop or Photoshop Elements where you can add it as a new palette.

renee

Holiday Blog Banner

Here's a quick and easy tip for creating a holiday banner for your blog. This one took me only 10 minutes to create using Wordle and Photoshop, but any image editing program will work. How I did it:

1. Create a word cloud at Wordle. The size of the word in the cloud is determined by the number of times you use the word in your text. I made a list of holiday-related words, then duplicated the ones I wanted to have more prominence. My blog's title had the most duplicates.
2. Modify your cloud. I changed the layout to Horizontal so it would be easily readable as a banner. I also modified the color palette. (Hint: Try using a color palette from Kuler or Colourlovers. That's what I did.)
3. Take a screenshot and open it in your image editing program. I adjusted the size of the cloud to match the width and height for my blog.
   
4. This step is optional if you're satisfied with the banner the way it is, but I decided to use the Shape tool to create the little snowflakes, reducing their opacity so they wouldn't overpower the words.
5. Upload your new banner to your blog!

I like this so much that I'm sure I'll do more as the seasons change.

renee

P.S. You can see the lifesize version at my blog.

online image editing

I'm always amazed when I see another sophisticated online app doing things that once could only be done with expensive software. And they're doing it for free! Modern memory keepers will enjoy the features offered at FotoFlexer, who bill themselves as "The world's most advanced image editor." Try it and let us know what you think!

renee

give a laptop. get a laptop. change the world.

As I was surfing the 'net recently looking for gift ideas, I found that one of my favorite causes has resurrected a campaign from last year. The One Laptop per Child organization's mission statement reads: "To create educational opportunities for the world's poorest children by providing each child with a rugged, low-cost, low-power, connected laptop with content and software designed for collaborative, joyful, self-empowered learning." For $399 you can give a laptop and get one for a child in your life. Or, if you'd just like to donate a laptop, the cost is $199.

happy holidays! renee

Digital Greetings

One of my favorite things about the holiday season is the greetings we receive from friends and family. This year, one of the most delightful is also a digital greeting. It's by our own Anna Aspnes and I hope this inspires you as you create your own digi cards. How many of you are doing digi-greetings this year? I'd love to hear about it.
Thanks, Anna, for letting me share!
renee

Ladies and Gentlemen, We Have a New Format!

Thanks to each and every one of you who offered suggestions for Digital Scrapbooking magazine’s future. While we’re saddened that, due to the current economic conditions, the February-March issue will be the last printed version of our magazine, we’re very excited to announce that the tutorials and inspiration you’ve counted on from DSM will continue in electronic format.

Starting this month, you can get the columns and articles you’ve loved (including Sure Shot, T3, Make It Now, Hi Concepts and more) from DSM experts in your inbox every other week! We’re moving to an e-newsletter format that continues on our website. We were so excited about the e-newsletter’s dynamic capabilities to present tutorials (think video, audio and screen-cast tutorials) in addition to the written tutorials you know and love that we couldn’t wait until after the last printed issue goes on sale (January 13) to start it.

Don’t miss a single issue! The first version of this exciting e-newsletter goes out December 23. Send an email to webmaster@ckmedia.com and write “subscribe me to Digital Scrapbooking’s e-newsletter” in the subject line today.

Thanks again for your continued support of Digital Scrapbooking magazine!

It’s like she's right there tutoring you!

"She" is former Digital Scrapbooking Magazine Creative Team member and Art Director Chris Ford. And she's offering remote tutorial assistance on Photoshop, Elements, inDesign and Wordpress. You can read all about it at her Creativity Included web site.

A lucky few of Chris' digi friends are giving away one free hour with Chris on our blogs. This is one contest you definitely want to enter.

renee

They've done it again!

Wacom, that is. They've just announced the new Pen Scrappers contest. The theme is fall and winter and this is your chance to win a brand new Wacom Bamboo Fun. Several of our digital scrapping friends and I have contributed layouts and ideas to help get your creative juices flowing. We can't wait to see what you come up with!

UPDATE 12/03 from the Wacom press release: Digital or hybrid scrapbookers can upload their fall or winter themed layouts and enter to be the scrapbooking champion. The top ten entrants will receive a Bamboo Fun pen tablet from Wacom. The grand-prize winner will take home a Bamboo Fun, digital camera and printer. Voting takes place online by community members visiting the site and choosing their favorite scrapbooking work of art. The contest runs through January 31, 2009.

renee

Gift Giving Simplified

Giving a gift that makes the recipient's eyes light up is one of my favorite parts of the holidays. But knowing just what that gift should be is often tricky. If you're not a mind reader, then there are online tools that can help you know just what everyone on your list wants. Check out these tips from Stever Robbins, the Get It Done Guy on the Quick & Dirty Tips network, to get that perfect gift for everyone on your list.

Happy holiday shopping!

Calling All Insomniacs and Night Owls!

If you're up late (or early, depending on your perspective) and want to shop in the comfort of your pajamas, don't miss our own Renee Pearson on the Electronic Gifts show on QVC Sunday, November 30 at 2 AM Eastern Time. She'll be demonstrating Adobe Photshop Elements 6. It promises to be the most exciting thing on TV at that time!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wishing our U.S. readers a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday!

Pssst... if you're going shopping for Black Friday deals, check out this site. It shows most of the major ads ahead of time so you can plan your attack. :)

Do you understand your digital SLR?

I confess. I understand a little bit about my camera, but not much. Wikihow to the rescue!

renee

Festive Holiday Gift Idea

Tis the season... to start thinking about holiday gifts. If you're looking for fun gifts to make, we've got a great idea.

Gather your favorite photos and digi kits and create a photo cube. It's quick & easy to personalize for coworkers, neighbord, family, and friends. Featured in our “Gear and Gadgets" column in the December/January 2008 issue, this cool cube can be made easily using the free templates on our site. They're simple to use, and your gift recipients will never know it took so little time to create such an impressive gift! (Don't worry - they won't hear it from us!)

and the winner is...

A big congratulations to Aggie Aviso, the winner of Wacom's first Penscrappers contest!

If you missed this contest, don't pout. According to Wacom, season two is coming soon, with more prizes to be won.

renee

tumblogging along...

"What's a tumblog," you ask? Well, according to Wikipedia:

A tumblelog (also known as a tlog or tumblog) is a variation of a blog that favors short-form, mixed-media posts over the longer editorial posts frequently associated with blogging.

And that's what we'll be doing with this blog. We'll scour the web looking for the latest and greatest items of interest to the "modern memory keeper." (That would be you.) When we find something, we'll immediately report right back to you here. And if you find something, be sure to let us know by posting a comment!

Since this first post is all about tumblogging, here's a find for you, the tumblr site that hosts only tumblogs. Cool!

Don't worry that we've abandoned the meatier posts. I'm sure, from time to time, Jennafer will enlighten us with something substantial. In the meantime, enjoy the tumble posts!

renee

What's the Next Step?

As most of you have heard by now, Digital Scrapbooking magazine will cease the print portion of its offering after the February-March 2009 issue, which will be on sale January 13, 2009. (If you haven't heard, the official announcement is here.)

To say we're disappointed in this decision would be a huge understatement. We're heartbroken. We have worked together as a team to bring you two years' worth of magazine issues, trying to ensure that each issue was even better than the last. You've been loyal supporters since from day 1, and we've loved reading your letters and seeing your creative pages and projects. And although it was nothing but the economy turning along with rising costs that made this decision necessary, it's still very discouraging.

Despite this disappointment, however, we're working on a plan to continue DSM in some form. We still want to bring you inspiring ideas and tutorials for your scrapbooking and memory keeping, and we want your ideas to make it happen. We made each issue of the magazine with your input at the forefront of our thoughts, and we want to make sure we're including your ideas while we plan the next step.

What would you like to see DSM become? An e-zine only? A dynamic e-newsletter with tutorials and inspiring ideas? Something completely different? As we work on these next steps, we welcome your ideas. Leave a comment here or send us an email at editor@digitalscrapbooking.com.

Thanks for your support of the magazine these past two years, and your support of the team these past two weeks. We really appreciate you!

Survey Says... well, you tell us!

Do you find yourself cropping alone since you switched from paper and scissors to laptop and mouse? Would you love to have someone show you in person just how to get those cool digital effects you see in layouts in magazines and online galleries?

Well, you're in luck! Our team is planning the first-ever Digital Scrapbooking Magazine live event, and we want to know what you'd like to see there. What kinds of classes; what level of instruction; which top-ranked teachers; maybe even what you'd like to have for lunch!

Stop by and take our quick survey to help us plan the event. As a thanks for sharing your opinion with us, we'll be giving away a free one-year subscription to DSM. Thanks for speaking your mind; we can't wait to hear from you!

Scrap Beyond the Page with Rhonna Farrer

Hey everyone! It's Rhonna Farrer! I'm so excited to do a 'guest blog post' today at Digital Scrapbooking Magazine's blog! Thanks for letting me play!

I thought it would be fun to share some inspiration ideas of how crafters/artists can use digital scrapbooking kits to create festive holiday crafts!

Digital kits make it so easy to create one-of-a-kind decorations! Here, I created a Halloween pillow to spook things up at home!

Digital candelabra brush + plain pillow+ Ink Jet Iron on transfer paper + computer/printer= cool piece o' decor!

And how about funky Treat Jars!

Digital brushes+ digital kits+ various glass jars + Ink Jet Sticker paper + computer/printer = irresistible treat jars!

And if you're like me, I love to make things to wear for the holidays...but, also recycle! Try taking an old white tee shirt (with a few stains here or there...come on..I KNOW you have some of those) and pair it with digital brushes + digital kits + Ink Jet iron transfer paper + computer/printer = one of a kind tee shirt! Of course, you'll notice here that I got a little creative with the placement of the iron ons!

Now, how DID that stain get on my shoulder? I'll never know!

There are so many wonderfully creative things you can do with digital scrapbooking kits! It's not just for scrapbooking, ya know!

And...who can resist a huge sale over at Two Peas in a Bucket to tempt you with the kits!

Happy Digital Scrapbooking!

Rhonna Farrer
RhonnaDesigns.com

Celebrate Digital Scrapbooking Day with Digiscrap 101!

Hi everyone! Kayla from Digiscrap101 here to share with you some of the fun things we will be doing for Digital Scrapbooking Day.

I don't know about you, but all the Digital Scrapbooking Day fun happening here (DS Shoes, Laptop Skins, and Challenges) have made it difficult to work to finalize all the fun things we have planned for Digiscrap101 and DSD. (All those fun challenges make us want to just sit at the computer and PLAY!)

However, we are staying focused and busily getting ready for the big day! It is like Christmas for digital scrapbookers all over the web - and the party at our site won't disappoint!

On Digiscrap101 we have teamed up with some great designers, online stores and manufacturers to bring you all a fun combination of Tutorials (lots of learning), Freebies (so much it will probably keep you busy until Christmas), and Prizes (Feelin' like a pirate with all this loot! lol).

Outside of your site this blog is the ONLY place you get the big secret of WHERE to go to find all the DSD fun. To be ready for DSD on DS101 you need to sign up as a member of DS101 and then ADD Digital Scrapbooking Day as a friend -

This sets you up to be able to read Digital Scrapbooking Day's blog and get all the videos, links and chances to win.

Those of you who are busy and won't be making it to the computer on Saturday, don't fret. At Digiscrap101 we realize you all have busy lives so we are keeping the fun posts and freebies up through Saturday November 7th. Keep in mind that some freebies are available in limited amounts and may run out before the end of the week so the earlier you stop by the better!

Prizes on DS101 will be drawn and announced during the day on Saturday and also throughout the week - we just can't party for one day - we like to draw it out as long as possible!

One last fun surprise - we talked a Digital Scrapbooking Magazine Editor into doing some tutorials you won't want to miss - word is she brought a prize that any digital scrapbooker would love!

Happy Digital Scrapbooking Day! We hope to see you all on Digital Scrapbooking Day on Digiscrap101!

Tricks and Treats!

Happy Digital Scrapbooking Day! Today we've invited some of our favorite digital scrapbooking superstars to share the excitement of the day with you. Our first guest blog post is from Celeste Rockwood-Jones of pcLayers. --Molly

It's hard to imagine that I truly discovered digital scrapbooking little more than a year ago. As a designer my days are spent sitting at the computer, and now that i'm juggling two toddlers my nights are often consumed with work as well, so i wasn't sure that spending more time at the computer in my off hours sounded anything but exhausting. Then along came Lori Gardner with a convincing pitch for me to design products for pcLayers.com. BAM, I was suddenly thrown head-first into the middle of this inspiring world and haven't looked back.

While the designer in me still loves the feel of an actual printed page at my fingertips, there's a lot to love about digital: the instant community, the ease and accessibility of an array of products and inspirational galleries, the bang for your buck, and most of all (for me) the environmental friendliness of this blossoming craft! Consider me smitten.

In the spirit of Halloween I wanted to whip up a special treat using the "Jack" kit, so last weekend I got busy creating an 8x8 QP to share with all of you DSM blog readers. Problem was, my adorable photo wasn't quite the right colors to match the papers in the kit. But wait, this is digital! Changing the color and hue of a pattern is merely a few simple steps away.

To complement the photo I wanted to replace the orange hues in the patterned paper with blues to match my photo. First I chose Select > Color and used the eye dropper tool to select the oranges.








Then I selected Image > Adjustments > Hue/Saturation, and I played with the sliders until I had just the color I wanted. Voila! An easy trick for instant color cohesion.

What are your tricks for altering product colors to match your photos? Leave a comment here on the blog and on Tuesday November 4th we'll use the random number generator to pick a WINNER to receive $10 to spend at pcLayers.com!



Get your own copy of the "Jack" QP used to create this cute layout. (File is a 10MB PNG.)














For more sweet treats be sure to check out the pcLayers home page on Digital Scrapbooking Day to download a freebie mini album (created by the lovely and talented Natalie that spans an entire year! Here's a sneak peek of the gorgeous cover featuring 7gypsies digital product.

Congratulations to our Blog Header Contest winners!

Notice something new on your screen today? You should! This bright, cheerful design is the work of Amanda Sok, winner of our blog header contest. Congratulations, Amanda, and we hope you enjoy your prize: a gorgeous leather Bay Box album from Scrapworks.

With so many great entries, we had a tough time picking a single winner. And so we've decided to award a runner-up prize to Marissa Carranza, whose design grabbed our attention with its clever use of a laptop as a design element--just the kind of techie touch we love to see. Marissa will receive two kits from Pixel Canvas for her work.


Thanks to everyone who participated in the contest! If you missed out this time, don't worry--we'll have another contest to keep our blog header looking fresh in just a few months.

Digital Scrapbooking Day!

This is just a quick reminder to check out our Digital Scrapbooking Day page for exclusive content. It's now available and you can get to it here: http://www.creatingkeepsakes.com/content/viewissue/951/45.


We hope you enjoy watching our new videos, participating in the challenges, joining our group and learning some great new techniques!


Have a great day!

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween from the Digital Scrapbooking and Simple Scrapbooks magazine teams! We combined forces this year for a killer team costume and we wanted to show them off to you all.







We're prisoners in Warden Martin's Die Cut Row. (Ha ha, get it?) You'll see from the poster that we all have hilarious scrapbooking related nicknames. We've also installed prison bars made out of PVC pipe outside our cubicles so we can really be locked in the pen!We even have tough scars and tattoos!


We'll add more photos of these hilarious costumes throughout the day, but while you're waiting, posting a comment about what you're dressing up as this year. One random person will be selected to win a digital scrapbooking kit!


Happy haunting!

VIsit our Zazzle Gallery!

Show off your digital style with your very own pair of the official Digital Scrapbooking magazine sneakers! Created in honor of Digital Scrapbooking Day, these unique Keds, made on zazzle.com, feature cool swirled brushwork for a hip design you won’t find in any store. Three different colors and styles are available. Get your own pair here: zazzle.com/digitalscrapbooking




create & buy custom products at Zazzle

Design a Skin and Win!

Skins are in! Design a myTego skin and you can win!






Ever think of your laptop lid as a canvas for creative projects? Skin customization is the newest thing in personal electronics.



In celebration of Digital Scrapbooking Day, myTego, a producer of custom skins for all kinds of electronic devices, invites you to participate in a design challenge. If your design is chosen, you’ll win a gift certificate to order your own skins using your design and the opportunity to have your design included in their catalog.




Here’s how to enter:

•Visit the myTego site to see how skins work and how your design can be applied to dozens of laptops.

•Download the PNG template below by right-clicking and selecting Save As.

•Using the photo editing software of your choice, open the template file and design a laptop skin. The design must be the same size as the provided template (3000px wide, 2400px high).

•You may use product from any designer or company All product used must be cited as follows: kit/set name, designer name, store/company website. (Example: paper from "Harvest Moon" kit by Amanda Dykan (amandadykan.com) Submissions without materials list cannot be considered.

•Save your design as a medium resolution JPEG no larger than 600px wide and 480px high.

•Upload it to the Digital Scrapbooking Day group gallery (http://www.creatingkeepsakes.com/component/option,com_groupjive/task,showgroup/groupid,681/Itemid,68/). Entries posted in places other than this group cannot be considered.

•The title of your project should begin with the word “Skin” so we can find it quickly in this alphabetized gallery.

•You can enter as many times as you like.


Prizes and Contest Dates

Three grand prize winners will receive $100 gift cards and three runners-up will receive $35 gift cards for mytego.com.



Entries are due by Sunday, November 9 and winners will be announced by Friday, November 14.


We can’t wait to see what you create! Good luck!

Dazzle with Zazzle Challenge

Dazzle us with your Zazzle shoe designs and win a free pair of custom Keds!







For this Zazzle Digital Scrapbooking Day Challenge we’re inviting you to design your own pair of custom Keds at zazzle.com! A variety of styles are available and you can use any JPG image you like on the shoes.


How to enter:

•Go to Zazzle.com, create an account and pick a pair of Keds to customize.

•Then simply upload your images and start creating! When you’ve completed your shoe design, click View Pair at the top of the page in Zazzle.

•Next, do a screen capture of your pair of shoes. To do this on a PC, press the Print Screen button. Then paste the screen capture in a new document in your photo-editing software and save it as a JPG. On a Mac, press Command + Shift + 3 and the screenshot will be automatically saved to your desktop. Rename it and save it as a JPG at 72 dpi.

•Post the image of your shoes in the Digital Scrapbooking Day gallery (http://www.creatingkeepsakes.com/component/option,com_groupjive/task,showgroup/groupid,681/Itemid,68/). Shoes posted in places other than this group cannot be considered.

•The title of your project should begin with the word “Zazzle” so we can find it quickly in this alphabetized gallery.

•Please include a materials list with your shoes when posting it to the gallery that includes names of all products and fonts. Include kit titles, designer names and the web site that sells the product (if applicable) when you post your layout. Designs should be original and should not include designs already on the Zazzle site.


Enter as many times as you like.



Prizes and Dates of Contest

Two winners will be chosen and each will receive a pair of Zazzle shoes sporting they’re dazzling designs.


Entries are due by Sunday, November 9 and winners will be announced by Friday, November 14.



Contact Us with Questions

If you have any questions about this challenge, please post a comment on this article or email us at editor@digitalscrapbooking.com.

Thanks and good luck!

Scrapblog Digital Scrapbooking Day Challenge!

Challenge: Scrapbook Your Holiday Greeting

Digital Scrapbooking magazine and Scrapblog have teamed up for Digital Scrapbooking Day with a challenge for you. The challenge? Design and display a custom digi holiday card created at scrapblog.com. The challenge starts now and entering is easy. Just:

1. Visit scrapblog.com/digitalscrapbookday/
2. Log in or sign up
3. Create a holiday card
4. Set one of the tags for your design as “DSD”
5. Publish your design on scrapblog.com

Be sure to publish your card by the end of Digital Scrapbooking Day (November 1). The following week, five lucky winners will be chosen, and each will receive 50 printed cards featuring their designs and a free one-year subscription to Digital Scrapbooking magazine!

Get Our Newsletter!

Digital Scrapbooking magazine now has its own newsletter, the DSM Wire! if you want to receive the premier issue, just in time for Digital Scrapbooking Day, sign up by sending an email to webmaster@ckmedia.com with "DS Newsletter Subscribe" in the subject line by the 5 p.m. MST on Monday, October 27th.



You won't want to miss out on this newsletter because they'll be freebies, news, contest information and more!



Enjoy!

See Your Work Here!

Always wanted to see your name in lights... or at least your work in pixels? Here's your chance. We're revamping and rolling out the DSM blog, and we're looking for our first-ever guest artist to produce a blog header that captures the excitement of digital scrapbooking in a fun, fresh way.

Here's how to join in the fun:

• Click the image below to open a full-sized version of a layered PNG file. Right-click the full-sized version (Mac users: Option-click) and save it to your computer.
  
• Using the photo editing software of your choice, open the file and design a blog header. The header must be the same size as the provided template (660px wide, 300px high).
• The header must include the following text (capitalization optional) in the font, color and size of your choice:
• Plugged In [in large type]
• The Official Blog of Digital Scrapbooking Magazine [in small type]
• The header must include the Digital Scrapbooking Magazine logo as shown. It may be repositioned as desired but may not be resized or recolored.
• You may use product from any designer or company. All product used must be cited as follows: kit/set name, designer name, store/company name. Submissions without materials list cannot be considered.
• E-mail your design and work to digital.scrapbooking.mag@gmail.com. Include "Blog Header Contest" in the subject.
• Deadline for this contest is Wednesday, October 29.

If your design is chosen, you'll receive this gorgeous brown leather Bay Box album from Scrapworks, plus bragging rights with all your digi-scrapping friends. You may even see your work in print in Digital Scrapbooking!

Share Your Thoughts and Win BIG!

Be one of the first to fill out our reader survey and be entered for a chance to win great prizes!


12 Winners- 12 fabulous prize packages!


Help us start the New Year off right! Tell us what you’d like to see in our coming year’s Digital Scrapbooking magazine and be part of our Calendar Girls Sweepstakes.


Simply visit http://www.creatingkeepsakes.com/content/viewContest/12181/, complete our reader survey and then enter for a chance to be one of twelve lucky winners who’ll each receive a prize package worth over $485.


For full rules, click here.

Are you stumped by color?

Yeah, me too, sometimes.

So imagine how excited I was to discover the Palette Generator (thanks to a tip on Nancy Nally's Scrapbook Update blog). This tool lets you upload a photo--or select one from a Flickr or Photobucket account--and automatically generates a palette of coordinating colors. Perfect for scrapbooking, creating a new blog header or even planning a new look for your living room.

Once you've created a palette, you can download it in Adobe Swatch Exchange (ASE) format to use in Photoshop or Photoshop Elements, or you can use the automatically generated CSS code to trick out your Web site.

Here's what I got while playing around with a couple of my own photos:

Photo editing on the go

Hey, check this out:

Checking your e-mail in a cafe? Sneaking a few minutes of "me time" at work? Why not spend time getting your photos share- or scrap-ready while you're at it?

FotoFlexer lets you edit your photos online for free. You can do basic fixes (like getting rid of red-eye), erase away blemishes and wrinkles, even--my favorite!--add text and stickers to your image.

It's integrated with sharing sites like Facebook and Flickr, so you can grab photos from your collections there, add cool embellishments and reload them to share.

Have fun playing around... then share your work with us in our online gallery!

Congratulations to our "Have a Ball" winners!

Thanks to everyone who participated in the "Have a Ball" layout contest... we loved checking out your work. (And, just speaking for myself, it definitely put me in the mood for some NFL games this weekend.)

Our winners are:

• Dream Big by jazzmatazz (shown here)--look for this layout, plus details on how jazzmatazz got this cool effect, in an upcoming issue of Digital Scrapbooking
  
• Good to See by Aly D
  
• Kickoff by bunnynose
  
• Baseball 2008 by JenniferJ
  

Congratulations to all our winners, and thanks again to everyone who played! Thanks, too, to Emerald Innovations for sponsoring this contest.

Calls for submissions for April/May issue

Fall is here! Fall is here! My favorite season... the leaves turning, the crisp mornings, the smell of smoke from our neighbor's woodstove (or is that a batch of cookies I left in the oven?). And in the midst of all this seasonal splendor, we're asking you to... think spring!

That's right. We're in search of spring-y layouts and projects to include in our April/May 2009 issue. Here's what we need from our talented readers:

T3: Tips, Techniques and Tutorials

Our hands-on how-to column, "T3," features both cutting-edge techniques from our Creative Team and tips and tutorials from our talented readers. For this issue, we're looking for:

* Spring! Share your layouts about spring holidays and traditions, warm-weather fashion, spring sports... anything that makes us "think spring."

* Shape! Do you have a special tip for using shapes in a layout? A layout featuring strong shapes? A layout or project that's a shape other than a rectangle or square? Send it our way!

Tips. Have you found a great way to use layer blending modes? A quick fix for less-than-perfect photos? Send us your tips of 50 words or fewer on any digital scrapbooking subject, along with a layout or project that illustrates the tip in action.

Techniques. Busy scrapbookers are always looking for ways to make scrapbooking quicker and easier. Send us your time- and stress-saving tricks, along with a layout or project that shows how you've used them to create.

Tutorials. Send us your projects featuring intermediate- to advanced-level techniques, along with complete instructions for achieving the look.

We also welcome layouts on other themes or topics, and we're always in search of seasonal photography and awesome new ideas.

Are You Cover Material?

We're looking for simply amazing reader layouts to feature on our cover. For consideration, layout should have the following:

* a single large, well-composed photo of one (or, at the most, two) subjects, preferably making eye contact with the camera

* "only with digital" techniques combined with a clean overall design

* legible title and minimal journaling

* seasonal focus—for this issue, we'll be looking for spring shots, featuring seasonal clothing and activities.

Please submit no more than three layouts to this call.

The deadline for all April/May submissions is October 26.

How to Submit:

• Save a low-resolution version of your image as a JPEG file no larger than 150K.
• Attach image to an e-mail addressed to digital.scrapbooking.mag@gmail.com Include "T3" or "Cover" in subject line.
  
• Include your name, e-mail address, street address (including city, state, country and postal code).
• Write a materials list including names of all products and fonts. Include kit titles, designer names and the web site that sells the product (if applicable).
• Provide the name of the photo-editing software used to create the layout (e.g., Photoshop Elements, Paint Shop Pro, LumaPix FotoFusion, Scrapblog).

Thank you, and we're looking forward to seeing your work!

Have a Ball Challenge!

Kick it, dunk it, sink it, serve it, pitch it, catch it, toss it!

Whether it’s your dog chasing a ball, your child scoring a goal or your friends watching football, we’re awarding prizes for layouts that feature any kind of ball theme. Four lucky winners will be awarded a football-shaped digital photo ornament and frame from Emerald Innovations (emerald-innovations.com).

To enter your layout for this contest, post it to Digital Scrapbooking magazine’s group page on our new website: http://abc123.sewnews.com/index.php?option=com_groupjive&task=showgroup&groupid=32. Join the site and become a member of the group before posting your layouts. Trust us, it’s worth it. We’ll be hosting challenges and giving away prizes frequently in this group, so get involved.

The deadline for entries is Ocotber 8. Title your posted layout, “Football Challenge” so we can find them easily. Layouts must only be posted to the Digital Scrapbooking magazine group gallery, not the website gallery.

One of winning layouts will be published in an upcoming issue of Digital Scrapbooking magazine.

Flickr Winner!

Hi everyone!


This is Jenny Willden, Digital Scrapbooking magazine's Assistant Editor, posting about our awesome Flickr group. Have you heard of it?


To join, log in to your Flickr account (or sign up for one if you haven't yet) and go to http://www.flickr.com/groups/digitalscrapbookingmagazine Then get busy posting your layouts.


Periodically we'll be hosting contests there and picking random winners from the layouts posted on Flickr to receive prizes. The first Flickr prize winner is Jenny Tsui (known on Flickr as Be2Be) for her adorable layout, "Don't Mess with the Three Tough Guys." To see this layout, click here.We’re shipping a great prize to her for this great page!










don't mess with the three tough guys


jenny tsui | emeryville, california



materials paper from "Cottage Quilt" kit by Amanda McGee, border from "Art Deco Stitching Brush Set - Scalloped" by Amanda Sok (scrapgirls.com) + tag from "Designer Digitals Freebies" set, number from "Simple Spot Numbers" set by Katie Periet (designerdigitals.com) + alpha from "Clean & Simlple" by The Digital Kit CD (simplescrapbookingmag.com) + border overlay from "Vintage Floral" kit by Shabby Princess (shabbyprincess.com) + Denrito and Eras Light ITC font + Photoshop Elements (Adobe)

Let's get artsy! Call for submissions for February/March '09

We already know our contributors are a creative bunch. Now's your chance to demonstrate just how true that is! For our February/March 2009 issue, we want to see your passion for art revealed. We're doing a special issue on art & love, and we're eager to see what you have to share on either topic.

Check it out, and get ready send your awesome creations our way.

T3: Tips, Techniques and Tutorials
Our hands-on how-to column, "T3," features both cutting-edge techniques from our Creative Team and tips and tutorials from our talented readers. For this issue, we'll give special consideration to submissions featuring artistic techniques or treatments or seasonal (especially Valentine's Day) themes.

Here's what we're looking for:
Tips. Have you found a great way to use layer blending modes? A quick fix for less-than-perfect photos? Send us your tips of 50 words or fewer on any digital scrapbooking subject, along with a layout or project that illustrates the tip in action.

Techniques. Busy scrapbookers are always looking for ways to make scrapbooking quicker and easier. Send us your time- and stress-saving tricks, along with a layout or project that shows how you've used them to create.

Tutorials. Send us your projects featuring intermediate- to advanced-level techniques, along with complete instructions for achieving the look. (Check out the step-by-step tutorials in any recent issue of Digital Scrapbooking to see what we're looking for.)

Submissions are due no later than August 27. You can submit using our handy-dandy online form.

As always, thanks so much for sharing your work with us!

And the winners are...

Thanks to everyone (40 people!) who entered our Mini Albums in an Evening special issue giveaway! I used random.org to generate the two winning entry numbers, and they are:

#4: Erin
#25: DJOlsen

Congratulations to our winners! I'll be in touch today to arrange sending you your prize.

Thanks again to everyone who played. Look for more cool giveaways soon here at the Digital Scrapbooking blog.

Blog Giveaway! Mini Albums in an Evening

Mini is big! Cute little albums, from pinky-size to palm-size, are a fun, creative and FAST way to share your memories. And Simple Scrapbooks' new special issue, Mini Albums in an Evening, offers 58 ways to do just that. It's got projects for travel, holidays, baby, pets, school... you name it, there's an idea here for scrapbooking it.

Because the book's focus is on techniques and shortcuts, not specific products, it's easy to adapt any of these ideas to work with digital tools. Check out Candice Palmer's album that packs details of eight birthday celebrations into a single book. Or follow Angie Lucas' lead and create a coffee table-worthy celebration of the people you love with odds and ends left over from other projects.

I got a copy of this issue in the mail last week and I'm already inspired... so inspired I might even sit down and scrapbook! (Shhh! Don't tell anyone!) Plus, I've got TWO additional copies to share with Digital Scrapbooking readers. Just leave a comment on this post with your name and a comment telling what you'd like to scrap in a mini-album, and I'll randomly select two names as winners. Get your entry in no later than midnight Pacific time on Tuesday, August 5 for consideration.

Find out more about Mini Albums in an Evening or order a copy today at Simple Scrapbooks' online shop. Good luck, and happy scrapping!

Hurry up, Tuesday!

We've been tapping our fingers and biting our tongues... and now the Digital Scrapbooking team is thrilled to announce that our brand-new, guaranteed-awesome website will be open for business this Tuesday, July 8, 2008.

Along with our partner magazines Creating Keepsakes, Simple Scrapbooks and Paper Crafts, we're launching a new, bigger and better site where you can learn from others, share your own work and enjoy the excitement and energy of a rapidly growing community. Post your own layouts for feedback and praise... share your thoughts via your own personal blog... build new friendships by establishing in and participating in your own groups. Get immediate notification when we're looking for new submissions or launching a new contest. Plus, enjoy up-to-the-minute access to expert advice, ideas and special features from Digital Scrapbooking magazine. This beta release will get better and more useful every day as you and thousands of other readers join us to build a new DigitalScrapbooking.com.

Come join the fun--we can't wait to see you there. Check out the beta version today (and look for the all-new DigitalScrapbooking.com soon).

Call for submissions for December/January issue

Phew! Is it summer where you live yet? For our friends along the Eastern Seaboard, this call may offer some much-welcome relief from triple-digit temperatures. We're thinking of all things wintry, now... so crank up the air conditioning, throw some carols on the stereo and get ready to share your best work with us!

All submissions are due no later than June 30, and you can submit your layouts via our online form and your tips directly via e-mail.

Do you have a blog, or do you participate in an online message board? Please feel free to spread the word there. We're always looking for fresh faces to feature in the pages of Digital Scrapbooking! And, if you want to make sure you know when we've posted new calls for submissions, just click the RSS button in your URL toolbar (it should look like an orange and white square). You'll get the latest information delivered straight to your desktop.


Time- and Money-Stretching Tips
With tight-packed schedules and thin-stretched budgets, scrapbooking can seem like an unaffordable luxury. But digital scrapbooking gives you the opportunity to save both money and time while still preserving your family's memories.Do you have a great way to economize on printer ink? A super-fast way to edit a batch of photos? Send us your tips for getting layouts done faster or cheaper. Please note that this is not a call for layouts--we're looking for tips only. Payment is $25 per published tip, and submissions are due no later than June 30. Send your tips via e-mail, rather than with our online submission form. Please include the word Tips in your message subject.

T3: Tips, Techniques and Tutorials
Our hands-on how-to column, "T3," features both cutting-edge techniques from our Creative Team and tips and tutorials from our talented readers. For this issue, we'll give special consideration to submissions featuring winter holiday themes and time- or money-saving ideas.

Here's what we're looking for:
Tips. Have you found a great way to use layer blending modes? A quick fix for less-than-perfect photos? Send us your tips of 50 words or fewer on any digital scrapbooking subject, along with a layout or project that illustrates the tip in action.

Techniques. Busy scrapbookers are always looking for ways to make scrapbooking quicker and easier. Send us your time- and stress-saving tricks, along with a layout or project that shows how you've used them to create.

Tutorials. Send us your projects featuring intermediate- to advanced-level techniques, along with complete instructions for achieving the look. (Check out the step-by-step tutorials in our February/March "Kick It Up" column for an idea of what we're looking for.) Submissions are due no later than June 30.

Heartfelt, Handmade Gifts
Have you used digital tools and techniques to make special, memorable gifts for family members or friends? We'd love to see what you've created. From mini albums to photo mugs, share your creative gift ideas with us. Submit low-resolution photos of the project (no more than 100K each) no later than June 30.

Are You Cover Material?
We're looking for simply amazing reader layouts to feature on our cover. For consideration, layout should have the following:

• a single large, well-composed photo of one (or, at the most, two) subjects, preferably making eye contact with the camera
• "only with digital" techniques combined with a clean overall design
  
• legible title and minimal journaling
  
• seasonal focus—for this issue, we'll be looking for outdoor winter shots, featuring winter clothing and activities.
  

Please submit no more than three layouts to this call. Submissions are due no later than June 30.