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. :)

Project #1: Blog header redo

Me, oh my.

Today's project is to work on my blog header graphic for Fisher Academy International to replace this lonely image:

It might take me a few days ;) heheh. I've read this page as a guide.

*****

More tutorials here on Everyday Digital Scrapbooking.
I liked this site with all the basics right in the sidebar. nice. and. easy.

Lots of free brushes here.
(but... I don't know how to use brushes yet, heheh.)

Project 365

Whoa, this in all technicalities could become a religion!

Project 365.

Take a picture a day and journal it. Simple.

**********

I REALLY like the idea, but I KNOW I would not keep up with it. It would have to become an obsession, a religion. Remember to take a picture, that's the easy part. But scrap it and journal it. every. single. day. That requires serious devotion.

But I do like the idea. Maybe I'll do it for a month... or a week :)

Here are some posts about it...

A great explanation for why and how HERE.

Here's one of MANY blogs about it...

Read about one guy's recap of his finished project, HERE.

Here's an awesomely cute digital scrapbook line of products for it... Gina even gives away freebies to those who are doing the current week!

Mask layers & favorites

Hahahah. This is funny. I don't know how to do ANYTHING, but I'm reading/learning about mask layers! Well, I'm determined :) And, I know that I'll want to know this someday, so I'm putting it here for later ease.

While I'm here, I'll just go ahead and mention my favorite sites so far in this new journey...

Digital-crea - is a really cool site even if it is in French, and they have a number of beautiful kits... you actually can read it in English too :) - it is also in Euros automatically, but click to convert that too. I especially like weeds and wildflowers - SO very, very nice... and expensive! At oscraps, paislee press & taylormade have some great templates, and Createwings Designs & NatashaNast have really beautiful and artistic kits. After5 designs has a regular Tips and Tricks post on their blog, which looks to be very promising. As well as some great designers. Over at designerdigitals, they have a really neat team who are all very inspirting with their VERY cool challenges, with freebies! I love their creativity and idea prompts.

But I'm not kidding, I think there are 304,982 digital scrapbooking sites all with their own crew of at least 100 people who design and scrap for them. Yikes. I do not have time for this... I cannot possibly see them all. So, soon I will choose my favorite and just not look at all the rest! I think?

Newbie links

As a total beginner, I have a feeling I will be coming back to the daily digi's page with tutorials for newbies very often! They have articles on how to choose software, using templates, making shadows, etc.

photo by Jef Bettens

Here's a whole site with tutorials of every sort, digiscrappingtutorials.com

Creating your first layout:
Here's a tutorial on creating your first layout by previously mentioned and loved Shabby Princess. Of course it is for Photoshop Elements, so get that first ;)

Tutorial using Photoshop & Photoshop Elements by Jessica Sprague. She has stuff online for free as well as a ton of online classes HERE.

Here's a post for beginners from a lady who's got really cool stuff, Ali Edwards!

Oh Happy Day... Freebies!

No, sorry. I myself am not giving anything away :) But I've found two lovely sites with LOTS of digital scrapbooking freebies! (thanks Christie, for the lead on that first one!)

>>Be careful though, freebie hunting has a way of taking over your life if you're not careful ;) <<

...speaking from experience,
there were a couple of days when I was
downloading EVERY free moment,
which is clearly out of control..

Shabby Princess - love her, she was my first lure when it came to digital scrapbooking because of her beautiful kits that she gave away for free! She's been doing this for years! She shares a new kit a couple times a year (personal use only).

[I wish she had a button or blinkie, I'd put it right here ;)]

Ikea Goddess - she scours the web and posts only the best freebies from all over the place. She posts new freebies practically every day (templates, QP - quickpages, word art, fonts, kits, samplers and addons).

O Happy Day... Fonts!

I found this site today with FREE fonts, yay! Yes, there are LOTS of sites out there with free fonts, but this one was VERY user friendly and the people over there are very nice :)
Plus, they have great taste in fonts!

Go have a look!

Resources:
A tutorial on how to use fonts in Photoshop.
Here's a tutorial on how to use cute fonts on your blog.

Open Office

I'm also looking into using this... .
This isn't directly related to digital scrapbooking, but since it has something to do with my computer work, I'm blogging it here ;). I've heard so many good things about this program. It takes up less room on the hd than the alternative word processors. It isn't microsoft. It is also supposedly able to open all .doc files and convert to .pdf right in the program! But the best part is, it's FREE! I have downloaded it, just haven't installed yet. Oh the anticipation!

I'm just so nervous about making such a big life change! MS Office is like a pair of old slippers, it's comfortable. Buying a new pair of slippers would entail a lot of wearing in and stuff... a little unfamiliar at first, but maybe OO could turn out to be a better fit after all?

Here's a tutorial for adding clip art into the program

That link there's for when I actually get the nerve up to make the switch :)

Drop Shadow effect

Alright, so last night I defrag'ed. Today, I fixed the files with errors (deleting them after copying them onto my external harddrive). It fixed the problem with the freezing (I think) on Paint.Net, but it is still SUPER slow. Too slow to work with. I went and got dressed while I waited for it to undo my last 5 actions in the history!

While I am giving this a chance and doing my best to make it work, I'm not sure how long as a beginner I'm going to give this! I'll read some on the Paint.Net website and see what I can find out - maybe my computer is too old...

I'm really anxious to learn how to do drop shadows though, so here's the tutorial I'm studying on that: Tutorial on Drop Shadows

...see how it has kind of a 3D look to it?

That's the image with a drop shadow, in the tutorial he'll show us how to make that effect!

Here's a download to automate some of the steps, forum topic here, download here. That is said as if I knew what I was talking about :) ...I don't. heheh.

There's a simpler tutorial here by Thomas Brennan on wikiHow. And yet another tutorial that is probably easy for smart people to understand, but I felt kinda lost reading it :S and you know what that says about me...

The first step...

I'll be posting my journey from absolutely ignorant digital scrapper... to not as ignorant digital scrapper ;)

"'Where shall I begin, please your Majesty?' he asked. 'Begin at the beginning,' the King said, gravely, 'and go on till you come to the end: then stop.'" ~ Lewis Carrol

"Play is the beginning of knowledge."

~Dan Corsey

Here's my humble beginning...

• Several years ago, a friend gifted me an older version of Elements. Had trouble because I didn't have the registration number... never got around to learning the program with moving multiple times, and various pregnancies :)

• Last year for my birthday, my parents bought me the latest version of Elements, but I had my hopes set on a bundled version online, so they returned it...

• A couple of weeks ago, my brother told me about a digital scrapbooking software, I can't remember what it was called, got me thinking about it again.

• Last week, I listened to an online women's conference, A Woman Inspired. In one of the workshops we saw a basic tutorial for making blog headers... I was inspired. I have LONG been wanting to dress up my blog header a little... no time.

*fast forward to yesterday*

• I downloaded paint.net - as I'd decided I would try that one out first. It was between that and Gimp. Here's some reviews: Review #1 and Article #1. These are both kinda old, but they're what I used to get some orientation when deciding.

Oh my word. Before installing, I had decided to make room on my computer and the .NET framework for Microsoft was big and said it hadn't been used since 2006. Whatever you do, if you have this on your computer the day you are planning to install paint.net -- DON'T uninstall it!! urgh. It took several hours to download it again and then reinstall! shheeesh. I felt like a real ignoramus.

• Today, I've been playing with it a little, but talk about SLOW. I hit rotate image 90* and I have time to go have a snack and come back while it works. Frustrating. Hopefully, it's just a matter of having too much on my computer, which I will remedy in the next couple days transferring stuff to my external harddrive.

Here's a tutorial that I'm watching now on the basics of paint.net:

Tutorial

Amy