Contest fever

Hey! Anybody wanna win this?!

I do! :)

Make sure to copy and paste the following text **
into your entry and if you win, I win too! whoopee!
**referred by: belovedscraps.blogspot.com

Click HERE to enter and win!

Here’s a preview of the October Spooky & Sweet Collection:

Click HERE to enter to win!

I LOVE contests!

PS. I've been away for SO long because we've moved, settled in to the new place, and become busier than ever... So for now, this is a hobby that has to take back burner to the rest of life for the time being. But I will be back, I'm not quitting!

Organization

What we have going on around here is file OVERLOAD! I have mentioned in other posts that I have been collecting freebies from various places online for the last several years. In the past I've just saved them to a CD or DVD, labeled that and put it in with my pile of other CDs awaiting the day when I become a full-fledged digital scrapbooker. Hah!

Well, lately I've been collecting in great quantities! I now have an EHD (external hard drive) which means I can collect a LOT of stuff... and of course I am doing just that :) But, what good is it to have a bunch of stuff to work with if you don't know what you have or where to find it? So, I have come to realize that organization of these files is somewhat important (an ever-so-slight understatement). heheh.

So, I'm beginning to form my own system of organization.
For now it looks like this:

1. I keep all my files zipped. That way I know that I'm not messing with the original files! I unzip folders on an as needed basis (which at my level is not very often yet!! hahahah).
   


2. I click on the zipped file and save the preview of the contents in my Previews folder, (Most designers save a .jpg copy of the preview in the .zip file, I copy and paste this to the aforementioned folder) I keep the Preview folder on my Desktop for easy access. Inside the Preview folder are the following folders:
   
• /Kits - paper packs also go here
  
• /Templates
• /QPs
• /Project 365 stuff
  
• /Misc: Anything that is not one of the above or a full kit/sampler - word art, elements only, etc.


3. Next I sort the files into, Scraps/By Designer - Here I have a new file for each of the different shops/forums I've registered with and picked up freebies from. Here's an example, I'll put the RAK I won from Christie Lemmon here - Scraps/By_Designer/InspirationLane/ChristieLemmon. The reason I do this is, some forums in order to earn points for posting a LO you have to use all their stuff. With this system, I can easily go to the shop/designer's folder, grab what I have, throw something together and voila - I'm ready to post! I do NOT do this with all my downloads, just the ones that I have paid for and the freebies that I find on the forums that I will consider posting to in that hopefully not-so-far-off-day when I become an official digital scrapbooker. ;)
   


4. Next I put a copy of the same files into, Scraps/All_My_Stuff - under one of the following folders (this is so that when I scrap and I pull from anywhere to put my page together, when I just don't care about mixing stuff or I don't know whose stuff it is that I want to use, I can find what I want by category).
   
• Alphas
• Brushes_Masks_Actions
• Calendar_365
• Elements > Element_Clusters
  
• Fonts
• Frames_Shapes
• Hybrid
• Kits_Samplers_Addons
• Papers
• Quick Pages
• Templates
• Word_Art

One cool related thing is Picasa! Picasa scans your whole computer (or only selected files if you wish) and grabs all the photo files so that you can easily see, edit or upload them from one place.

I like it.

It is a program that basically accomplishes the same thing as my Previews folder, except the files have to be unzipped in order to see them in Picasa, and since I keep mine zipped, that's why I use the Preview folder plan (Picasa sees my Previews of course). When I get to the point of unzipping all of my stuff, it will be REALLY cool to see every single thing I have SUPER easily!

Anyway, I've got a long way to go on organizing, but that's what I do for now.
Feel free to leave me some tips, or tell me what you do in the comments :)

Advice for the newbie! Contest alert.

Hey, I just wanted to put a little plug in for ScrapGirls...

The BESTEST best thing about ScrapGirls are their newsletters. I've been receiving them for about 4 years now! They send out a little freebie... every. single. day. Woohoo! I've been accumulating these for quite some time, I have them all on my external hard drive or backed up to CDs. Yep, all of them. So... when I REALLY get started, just think how much I'll have to work with!! Sign up for the newsletters HERE. Today, you could walk away with this cool paper:

Ro, the brain behind the thing, is having a most excellent contest on her blog. I went ahead and entered even though the question is, "What advice do you have for new digital scrapbookers?" Hah. I am new! But this is what I said...

Oh! I'd LOVE to win this book!! I'm still SO new... even though I've been receiving ScrapGirls newsletters for about 3+ years!!! Hahah! I've been slowly accumulating freebies with the hope that SOMEDAY I'll start digiscrapping for real. In the last 2 months, I've gotten fresh inspiration as my youngest child (of 5) is now almost 2... I am beginning to see the possibility of a little more free time in my future!

hahahah...maybe ;)

My best advice is, just start! In your zone-out time, start playing around with whatever photo-editing program you have (paint.net and gimp are two free options, but there are many). Start playing around until you start to feel comfortable with doing the basics, cropping, text, resizing, etc. Start collecting freebies. Start simple... you can always go back and scrap those pictures again someday if you don't like your work later on! There is so much online to help you on your way... (online tutorials, freebies, designer's blogs, etc, etc)
Just start! :)

I hope, hope, HOPE I win the book!
Amy
Tarapoto, Peru*

(*don't worry... I have a US mailing address as well ;)

That is the advice I have for myself! ;) And I'm taking it, even if very slowly...

I am STARTING! yay.

Now, I hadn't been to their actual site for a long while, so while linking-up this post, I saw they've done TONS of rennovations! It looks great! I must say that they have a LOT of stuff in their shop which you can find by using their search bar. And by subscribing to their newsletter you'll find out about their almost constant sales (not to mention the freebies). So, don't ever pay full price, wait for the sale (not that I've bought anything yet...). On their homepage they're even sporting a 10% off coupon for 1st time customers. AND, you'll also find a free e-book and starter kit for beginners. So, what are you waiting for? Check 'em out.

Have a wonderful day!
Amy

365 project - free templates

Hey! I just found a super neat blog by a cool gal that has been posting some REALLY great free templates over the last several years, the latest of which are all 365 project related. They are mostly all still available on her site! (with exception to a very few links that didn't work)
We're talking probably nearly a hundred free templates! Have a look at M Originals

Here's a sneak peek at her most recent, that I love, love, LOVE in a timeline format... (click the image to go there and grab it - while you're there check out all the other great stuff she's done!)



So, you know, when I start my 365 project... after I finish my first ever digiscrap project... then I will use this! hahah.

I'm still in the gather information (and freebies) stage...

I wonder if I will ever move beyond this?!

Yes.

I am determined.

And this project 365 idea is really growing on me.

Have a GREAT day!!

Project #2 - Trip report

I'm looking at this article today, and hope to give a more thorough read soon.

Introduction to the Elements of Design

I STILL haven't finished my very first project, but will post a picture when I do! :)

I did have to put together a couple of pages for a presentation I gave the other day, but because I still haven't learned how to use paint.net to a point where it is fast and smooth, I used picasa! They look hauntingly power-point-presentation-like.

Here they are in all their primitive glory...

evernote

Remember it all; sounds good.

Compile all the notes you write... ever. in one place. Then, find it when you want it.

Oh yeah, and it's FREEEEEE!

An irresistible idea.



This looks like just the 'coolest' thing...
I'm totally going to look into this, just as soon as I have a second... in other words, I have no idea when, but I really, really want to :)

Read more HERE and HERE and HERE.
Thanks for the tip Janet! :)

more drop shadow links

Okay, because of traveling, and now living in a big disorganized mess for the last week, I have NOT been able to work on my new blog header! :(

But when I was downloading freebies from ikeagoddess while I zoned-out tonight, I somehow ended up finding these two drop shadow tutorials. yay!

yep. someday these are gonna come in real handy.

simple drop shadows in PSE
advanced drop shadows in PSE

I find it somewhat hilarious that I'm blogging about this while I'm off to such a tortoise-paced start. Someday, I'll be glad though... even if just for laughs. :)