Announcing the Bag Full of Memories Contest!

Brought to you by SnapTotes and MemoryTrends Magazine... check out these cool bags and this great contest!

SnapTotes and MemoryTrends Magazine present Bag Full of Memories page contest

Show off your pages when you're out and about with a personalized photo bag!

Photo bags are one of the most popular ways to turn a snapshot into a gift. But personalized bags aren't just for photos. Any digital image--such as a digital scrapbook page--­can make a beautiful bag. (Check out Melinda Alexander's layout on the example pictured here!)

The Bag Full of Memories Contest is now accepting entries for the chance to see your digital page on a photo bag by SnapTotes. Winners will receive a bag featuring their pages ($100 value). Name the local scrapbook store where you buy albums and magazines and the store will win a starter sales kit with eight bags (a more than $500 value.) For more information, and to enter, visit www.snaptotes.com/contest. Deadline for entry is June 30, 2007.

For other ideas for using digital designs to create one-of-a kind wearables and accessories, and to see Melinda's layout up close, check out the August/September 2007 issue of Digital Scrapbooking.

Looking for your best work!

It's that time again--the time when we're asking you to submit your best digital and paper/digital-fusion projects for our review and possible inclusion in the October/November issue.

Our submission forms will be up and running at both the Digital Scrapbooking and Simple Scrapbooks sites in a day or two; the deadline for all is Monday, April 16.

Here's what we're looking for this time around:

Simply Stunning
Send us your layouts on any subject—we'll give special consideration to projects with a seasonal (fall) theme, but all styles and topics are welcome. If there's a special story or inspiration behind your layout, please share that with us as well. Submissions are due no later than Monday, April 16.

Kick It Up
Calling all tech-savvy scrappers! We're looking for layouts and projects created with any software package featuring intermediate- to advanced-level techniques. Submissions must include clear instructions to inspire our readers. Send us your images and instructions no later than Monday, April 16.

Scrapbooking Software Roundup
Digital scrapbookers have a huge variety of programs to choose from for creating layouts and projects. We'd like to see what you're doing with the software tools you have available. Submit your layout along with the following information:

• how long you've been scrapbooking digitally
• the name of the program you use, and how long you've been working with it
• your favorite feature of this program
• step-by-step instructions for achieving any special effects or techniques featured in your layout

We'd like to see layouts created with the following software:

• Corel Paint Shop Pro
• LumaPix FotoFusion
• Microsoft Digital Image Suite
• Scrapbook Max!
• ACDSee
• Lasting Impressions MemoryMixer
• Adobe Photoshop Elements
• HP Creative Scrapbook Assistant
• Any other widely available software you're using for digital scrapbooking
  

Submissions are due no later than Monday, April 16.

Thanks for sharing your talents with us! We can't wait to see what you've come up with.

Last day to submit!

Reader submissions for our August/September issue are due by midnight Mountain time tomorrow. Here's what we're looking for, if you need a refresher. And yes, you can submit via our own DigitalScrapbooking.com submissions page now!

Looks like we still have a few questions about subscriptions. To recap: magazines left the printer on the 21st and are now being mailed. You should see yours in your mailbox sometime in the next few weeks--let us know if you've not seen it by March 20 or so. (It should arrive well before that!)

So... what do you think?

New site's up, and we've even had a couple of magazine spottings. Can't wait to hear what you, Dear Reader, think of it all.

(Will it prejudice your opinion if I tell you my husband spent a good half-hour this morning poring over the magazine and pointing out his favorite layouts?)

Help! My subscription has been suspended!

So lots of subscribers have been checking their account status and seeing that it's "suspended." Aack! Are we not going to see our magazines?

No, no... all is well. Here's the skinny from our circulation department:

"If you are checking on your magazine subscription and it says it is "suspended," that's a good thing. "Suspended" means circulation has processed your request for a subscription, that your first magazine will be delivered soon, that your bill will arrive shortly after the first magazine and that once the bill is paid your account will go from "suspended" to active. It's just a routine process to put the second issue on hold until the bill is paid."

So, hey... you heard it here first. All's well... your mag will arrive... and digital scrapbooking will continue to be a positive force in your life.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Show us your work!

We've just posted our calls for submissions for the Aug/Sept issue... exciting stuff. This issue has a special fashion focus, and one of the calls reflects that--other than that, we're always looking for stuff that's seasonal, meaningful and just plain swell.

For this issue, subs are still being taken through the Simple Scrapbooks form. Head on over there, scroll down to the calls and send us your best stuff.

Here's what we're looking for:

Reader Gallery: Send us your layouts on any subject—we'll give special consideration to projects with a seasonal (back-to-school or fall) theme, but all styles and topics are welcome. If there's a special story or inspiration behind your layout, please share that with us as well. Submissions are due no later than Thursday, March 1.

Fashion Flashback: Do you remember your favorite party dress from childhood... the cute pair of jeans you wore all through high school... the bikini that caught your husband-to-be's eye at the beach? What about the darling sailor suit your son wore as a baby or the silk dress your mother pulled out of the closet for every night out with your dad? We're looking for layouts that celebrate the link between special clothes and special memories. Whether it's a purse or a prom dress, a necklace or a necktie, show us the role fashion has played in shaping your life. Send us your design-conscious digital layouts with journaling that tells the story behind your favorite fashion-related memories. Submissions are due no later than Thursday, March 1.

Kick It Up: Calling all tech-savvy scrappers! We're looking for layouts featuring intermediate- to advanced-level techniques with clear step-by-step instructions to inspire our readers. Send us your layouts and instructions no later than Thursday, March 1. Please note that layouts submitted for this call can only be considered if they include complete tutorial instructions and a full materials list that includes your application and any third party extras (filters, actions, textures, brushes etc.) that you used. See here for the kind of step-by-step information we're looking for.

Please submit all work saved as high-quality JPEG files, no larger than 100K each, and include complete materials lists for all. We also ask that you submit each layout in a separate email. Please submit no more than five such emails per call category.

Here comes the first issue! Plus some As to your Qs

Please see end of post for updates from our circulation department.

Wow! The first issue is coming off the presses next week. We've all worked so hard to get this to happen and now the day is finally almost here. It's a relief and kind of a scary thing at the same time... like sending your child off to college and hoping she'll do a good job. Can't wait to hear what everyone thinks of the magazine once it's in your hands.

And when will that be, you ask? Our estimate for subscriber delivery dates is around February 21 or 22. Post here when you get yours and we'll see how quickly the USPS is scattering the Digital love around the world.

A couple of you have had questions about the subscription process. Here are the answers I've come up with so far:

How many issues are in a subscription? Six. We're publishing bimonthly, just like Simple Scrapbooks does, and we're alternating months--so you'll have a fresh source of inspiration every month!

How much for a Canadian/foreign subscription? Just add $6 to the overall price for a subscription in Canada or $10 for one in any other non-U.S. country--still a great deal.

Edited to add: Some subscribers have called our office to find out when the first issue would be mailed and told it would not be until April or May. Although the cover date of this issue is April/May, it IS leaving the printer next week and mailing out immediately. Also, several commenters have mentioned not yet receiving a bill for their subscriptions. I've contacted our subscriptions manager to find out when those bills will be mailed and will post here as soon as I find out. Thanks for your patience!

Edited again to add: I've just heard back from our circulation department with answers to all our questions! Invoices for subscriptions will be mailed about one week after the first issue ships, so subscribers should be starting to see bills around March 1st or so in the U.S., a little later in other countries. If you want to check and make sure your subscription actually processed (like maybe if you haven't seen your first issue by March 5th or so?), you can contact our circulation department to check: 877-300-0265 or DigitalScrapbooking@palmcoastd.com.

Let me know if there's anything else I can answer for you! And keep an eye out for our all-new Web site... coming soon.

How decorative!

Oh man... this is killing me! We're running a feature in the June/July issue on home decor projects created with digital tools/techniques... and these things are so lovely I just wish I could share them with you already.

It's so hard to keep a really, really good secret!

My Boys

Shot this in our family room last week with the Photobasics kit from Westcott: two lights, a couple of backdrops and a positioning mat (which I didn't use here) all in one easy-to-use package. We're profiling it in the April/May issue of Digital Scrapbooking.

(No, Fisher's not really wounded. Apparently, "[he] was playing with a pen in math class and Mrs. Z. called [his] name and [he] looked up really fast and the pen just went all along the side of [his] face." Uh-huh. And this "accidental" mark proved the perfect accessory for playing Pirates at recess later...)

After the tinsel settles...

...it's back to work, blogging and scrapbooking!

Sometimes the line between the two gets so thin it threatens to disappear. What is a personal blog, really, but an electronic scrapbook? Photos, stories, the desire to share--just three of the essential elements found in both.

Do you have a blog? Have you ever thought of your blogging as scrapbooking? What about a family blog, where all members are invited to read, contribute, share? I've seen a few of these and loved them. In fact, my mom--the original technophobe--suggested the other day that we start one to let the far-flung members of our family communicate, sharing snippets of our lives from California to Washington, D.C.

Maybe that'd be a good New Year's resolution... and a much easier one to keep than the ones always at the top of my list: to exercise and lose weight!

Are you a scrapbooking blogger? Please feel free to comment with a link to your own personal or family blog. Show us what you're doing that's cool, unusual or just a lot of fun!

Calls for submissions

It's that time again--we're looking for reader submissions for the second issue of Digital Scrapbooking.

Guess what? The deadline is incredibly tight! It is next Monday! Wow!

But you are digital scrapbookers, and "speed" is your middle name. Also, you probably already have neato stuff sitting around just waiting to be submitted.

Here's what we're looking for... please note that you'll actually need to go to the Simple Scrapbooks site and fill out the form there to turn in your work.

Digital Scrapbooking: Reader Gallery Send us your layouts on any subject--we'll give special consideration to projects with a seasonal (summer) theme, but all styles and topics are welcome. If there's a special story or inspiration behind your layout, please share that with us as well. Submissions are due no later than Monday, December 11.

Digital Scrapbooking: Everything Wedding It's the season for wedding bells... and we need your help! Send us your layouts on ceremonies, bridal showers, bachelor(ette) parties, receptions or anything else wedding-related. We're especially interested in showcasing weddings with a unique cultural twist—anything from a Renaissance-garbed bridal party to a ceremony reflecting your ethnic heritage. Submissions are due no later than Monday, December 11.

Digital Scrapbooking: Kick It Up Calling all tech-savvy scrappers! We're looking for layouts featuring intermediate- to advanced-level techniques with clear instructions to inspire our readers. Send us your layouts and instructions no later than Monday, December 11.

Please feel free to share this call with your scrapbooking buddies, too. We're looking forward to seeing your work!

Wish list for digital scrapbookers

Ho ho ho, everybody! It's that time of year again... the "Charlie Brown Christmas" soundtrack is streaming from my computer speakers, there's an enormous fir tree taking up most of my family room and some dreadful person has filled my kitchen counters with COOKIES. Must... stop... eating!

So in the spirit of the season, I've collected a few goodies that I think any digital scrapbooker would be thrilled to find wrapped up with her name on them:

• Adobe Photoshop Elements 5.0. This update to a longtime favorite is worth more than a few seconds' glance. Check out the new black-and-white conversion tool... it lets you choose from pre-defined settings like Landscape, Portrait and (my favorite) Urban/Snapshot for a truly artsy effect in seconds. Another fun addition: the Flipbook feature, which allows you to combine a series of photos in an animated sequence. Just like drawing on the corners of your math book in high school! And if you've got a family member who should be scrapping digitally but isn't yet, the new Layout tools might just make her a convert. All she has to do is pick a pre-defined design, add photos and choose a theme to create a good-looking scrapbook page in seconds.

• Leica D-Lux 3. Yes, it's pricey--but it's a Leica! This cute little 10.0MP package offers Leica's legendary lens quality, optical stabilization for razor-sharp images and the option of shooting in RAW format--a feature not available in your average point-and-shoot camera. And if you buy it in black, it will "brass" over time from wear, just like the classic Leicas prized by photographers from Sebastiao Selgado to Henri Cartier-Bresson.

• Breathing Color inkjet canvas. Deck your halls with personal works of art. This professional-quality printable canvas, available in four color/texture options, is perfect for turning a favorite photo or layout into a wall-worthy masterpiece. Plus, it's available in sheets or rolls, so you can make a print as large as your printer will allow.

• Herman Miller Mirra office chair. If you put in as many hours of screen time as most digital scrapbookers do, you know the toll it can take on your shoulders and back. The Mirra chair is roomy, fully adjustable, really cool-looking... and you can get it in red!

What's on your wish list this season? Let us know what you're hoping Santa sends your way!

Back from MemoryTrends and rarin' to go!

It's been three weeks now since my husband Jim and I hopped into our car and headed for the MemoryTrends convention in Las Vegas. With the rest of Digital Scrapbooking's staff (Lin, Lynda, Renee and April) plus two of our awesome board members (Anna and Jen), I spent three intensely busy days brainstorming, planning, and talking with other manufacturers, retailers and designers about what's new in the industry.

The good news? Not once did I hear anyone express the opinion that digital scrapbooking is not "real" scrapbooking. Yay... we're mainstream! ;) The even better news? Many of the freshest, most exciting new designs at the show were obviously inspired by digital trends and techniques. Brushwork, digital grunge, complex layering... if you've seen it on a digital layout, it was probably on a piece of paper somewhere at the show.

Though we've been getting the magazine up and running for months now, I think everything we saw and heard at MemoryTrends helped to bump our excitement up to a whole new level. The positive response both to the news of the magazine's launch and to the concept of digital scrapbooking in general was just tremendous. Retailers, for the first time I've seen, really seem to want to participate in digital's explosive growth--and I'm thrilled to see so many manufacturers working to come up with ways to help retailers make a bold new step into offering digital product.

Now to harness some of that lingering excitement and get back to work on writing and editing...

Have something cool to share about digital scrapbooking? We want to know! Leave a comment here or e-mail me at redmolly+dsblog@gmail.com.