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From the Editor
When I started digital scrapbooking in early 2003, I didnt
even know that what I was doing had a name. In 2004, when I
found online digital srapbooking communities, I was excited
to have somewhere to go to ask questions. There was only
one community at that time that was specifcally for digital
scrapbookers. Information was pretty centralized and easy to
fnd.
Now, I often think about how overwhelming it could be for
someone just entering digital scrapbooking, with the over-
abundance of information available. I have learned by talking
to many digital srapbookers that it is easy to miss a tool or tip
that can really make life as a digital scrapbooker easier. I have
heard so many digi scrappers wish for a place to go to fnd ev-
erything they need to know about digital scrapbooking in a
format that is easy to refer back to. I have seen many new dig-
ital scrapbookers having a hard time getting started because
they are simply overwhelmed by information and resources.
My hope is that this Manual can be a place for digital scrap-
bookers to refer back to from the beginning of their journey.
A tool to help them feel less paralyzed and more empowered.
- Steph
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About The Daily Digi
At THE DAILY DIGI, we are dedicated to bringing
you the best in digital scrapbooking on a daily basis.
The best quality products, the best resources, infor-
mation, tutorials, and more so you dont have to
spend your time surfng and navigating the internet
looking for it. Our daily posts include information,
tips, techniques, motivation, and new ideas on vari-
ous aspects of digital scrapbooking. The Daily Digi
is completely advertising free and afliate free: the
products we recommend are here because we have
tried them (typically paying for them ourselves) and
like them.
Our revenue source at The Daily Digi is our mem-
bership program: The Digi Files and The Digi Game.
Where our members get over $50 of digital scrap-
booking supplies, layouts ideas, techniques, tu-
torials, and exclusive collections for only $7.50 per
month.
About Us
Steph is the owner of The Daily Digi as well as own-
er, producer and host of The Digi Show. She has
been a passionate memory keeper for as long as she
can remember. She loves seeing people make their
heart sing through documenting their memories.
Katie a.k.a. Katie The Scrapbooklady is a contribut-
ing writer, team member, and Stephs go-to-gal at
The Daily Digi. She is also the co-host of The Digi
Show and writes almost daily on her own blog.
Steph and Katie became acquainted several years
ago while working on a digital designers creative
team. They have found that they work well togeth-
er and will often email each other about the exact
same idea at the exact same time. They have en-
joyed this working relationship and friendship that
started online with a common passion for digital
scrapbooking.
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Getting Started
Layout by Heddy, supplies: by Pink Reptile Designs
What Is Digital Scrapbooking?
At The Daily Digi, we like to defne digital scrap-
booking as anything that uses technology to docu-
ment memories. This includes, blogging, Facebook,
Flickr, a Word Doc, and our favorite: using software
to create scrapbook pages. This book will be ad-
dressing things that will help you as you learn to
create scrapbook pages using software.
A lot of the terms we use in digital scrapbooking
can be confusing, so we put together a list of terms
and defnitions to help beginners navigate through
it all.
Freebies
We know that we started downloading digi
scrapping freebies even before we knew what to
do with them. Not all freebies are created equally
and you will fll up a hard drive very quickly down-
loading everything you fnd. Only download what
you truly love and know you are likely to use. As
most digi scrappers become more experienced,
they usually fnd that they gain an appreciation for
quality digital scrapbooking supplies and down-
load less and less freebies. This becomes especially
true as they start to buy supplies and compare the
quality to many of the free products available. Here
are some more resources to help you fnd and un-
derstand freebies:
A list of resources for quality free digital sup-
plies.
Freebie 411
Downloading and Unzipping
Downloading digital products and unzipping
them can take forever! We have two tools that weve
discovered to speed things up:
1) DownThemAll
2) UnzipThemAll
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DownThemAll is a plugin for Firefox where you
can right click on a downloads page, select Down-
ThemAll and choose each item on that page you
want downloaded. It will then download all of the
items at one time. You dont have to keep going
back and clicking each link individually. The two
drawbacks with DownThemAll is that it doesnt
work on all sites and sometimes, even when you
only click the link one time, it will make it look like
you attempted several times and you will need to
get the links reset by an admin of the site. We are
not sure why this happens. If you dont use Firefox
(on a Mac or PC) then here are some others to try:
Chrome: You will need to install Download As-
sistant and then one of the other download manag-
ers they suggest in the list on that page.
Internet Explorer: You can read reviews on vari-
ous download managers on Cnet
UnzipThemAll is an unzipping utility for PCs that
allows you to unzip many zipped fles at one time
after downloading. There are a lot of tools similar to
this on the market. You can fnd some resources and
reviews listed in this post on The Daily Digi.
If you need information on the basics of down-
loading, saving, unzipping, and what is included in
the typical digital scrapbooking supply folder, see
this post on Ali Edwards site. She also covers some
useful information on unzipping on a Mac.
Problems unzipping
It doesnt matter if you are on a Mac or PC, at
some point, you will encounter a problem with a
fle when you try to unzip it. There are a variety of
errors you might see, such as: the fle is corrupt, the
fle is empty, etc. There are many reasons this could
be caused; there is a great resource at DigiShopTalk
listing most of them and what you can do to fx it.
Usually, you just need to delete your fles (and zips),
empty your trash, temporarily disable your frewall,
and download again. Some of the errors can be
overcome by using an unzipping utility as previ-
ously discussed.
Sometimes, PC users will have a difcult time un-
zipping a fle that was zipped on a Mac (the creator
of the zipped fle is using a Mac). The easiest way
to get around that issue is for the PC user to use an
unzipping utility as discussed previously.
When a PC user unzips a fle created by a Mac
user, the zipped fle was created on a Mac, there will
often be additional fles with funny names when it
is unzipped. They are usually called .ds____ or Ma-
cOSx. These can be deleted without causing any is-
sues with the product fles.
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Backing up
Anyone that is storing digital data needs to have
a back up plan in place. We subscribe to the phi-
losophy taught in the Digital Asset Management
book: data should be stored on 3 sources in two
diferent physical locations. So, if you have data
on your computer, backed up to an external hard
drive (EHD), and backed up to an of-site location,
then your data would be stored on three sources
in two diferent locations (two of the sources are in
your house and one is your of-site backup). If you
have data stored on your computer, on an EHD and
also on an EHD that you take to a friends house.
Then your data is stored three diferent ways in
two diferent locations.
Does it seem overboard? Maybe, but if you cant
imagine losing any of the data you have, it is bet-
ter to be very safe than even a little bit sorry. It will
happen, computers (Macs and PCs) have hard drive
failures. Here are some additional resources:
My Back Up Plan Right Now
I Almost Lost It All
Totally Geeking Out: a Digi Show episode
where backing up is discussed.
How To Chose an Online Backup Service
Reviews of Online Backup Services
Using Flickr as a Backup
Shopping
The amount of digital scrapbooking stores and
sites on the internet these days can be overwhelm-
ing. How does a new digital scrapbooker fnd qual-
ity products? How do you go about fnding and
buying products you want or need for layouts?
Each store has a group of designers, their own cart
system, and diferent ways of fnding things in the
stores. Not to mention sales, deals, and promotions.
We have some great information on The Daily Digi
with tips for navigating it all.
Smart Shopping for Digi Supplies
Power Shopping Digi Style
By becoming a member of The Daily Digi, you
get to try out designers at a very low cost.
This way, you can try new styles, new design-
ers, and fnd out what you like the most.
We have a list of all of the past contributors
to The Digi Files. These are designers that we
know have high quality products.
Each Friday The Daily Digi does a Funtastic
Friday post where we shares deals, sales, and
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exclusive coupons from past contributors.
We also share any great products or sales we
fnd going on around the community.
Organizing
After downloading lots of freebies and doing a
little shopping, you might wonder: How do I orga-
nize all of this stuf so I can fnd it later? There are
a lot of diferent systems and even programs that
will help you do this. We can share all of those with
you, but the only way for you to know if something
will work for you is to try one of the systems out
and see how it goes. Most digital scrapbookers will
need to make adjustments in their organization
system as they go and thats okay! Here are some
more resources on organization and systems:
See how Steph, Katie, and Ali Edwards organize
their digital supplies in the post Digital Scrap-
book Organization 3 Ways
Organization ACDsee Style explains how to use
the ACDsee program to make organizing easier.
Using Lightroom to Organize Digital Scrapbook
Supplies (free class) by Kayla at Digiscrap 101
Listen to The Digi Show episode Get a Prenup
all about digital scrapbook organization issues.
Theres an entire section at The Daily Digi de-
voted to organization so be sure to check it out!
Managing and Using Fonts by Veronica.
Organizing Fonts
What program/software should I
use?
There are a lot of diferent programs on the market
that can be used for digital scrapbooking. Most of
the tutorials and resources in the digital commu-
nity are for Adobe products: Photoshop Elements
and Photoshop.
Since we primarily use Adobe products, that is
what we recommend. You can often get discounts
on their products through educational pricing (you
just need to have a child in school, homeschool, or
be in school yourself). They ofer thirty day free tri-
als on most of their products.
If you arent sure what to use, you can fnd a helpful
guide on The Daily Digi that lists some questions to
ask yourself to help you fgure out which software
is best for you.
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Start Scrapping
Layout by Kim Lund, supplies: Wild Blueberry Ink, font by Darcy Baldwin
What Photos Do I Start With
For many beginners, the frst impulse is to start
at the beginning of your digital photo collection
and work forward. We like to encourage scrappers
to start where they feel inspired. Pick some photos
you are excited about and start there. Many times,
the photos we are most excited about are some
weve just taken. It might be a photoshoot, it might
be an event (a birthday or holiday), it might be a
vacation. Look through your photos and see what
makes you excited to get going and start there.
Many scrapbookers fnd when they move to digital,
they no longer feel compelled to get caught up
or to scrap in order. If scrapping in order is one of
the things that makes you happy, then keep doing
it. If a desire to get caught up is giving you guilt,
then let go of it! In this digital age, with the amount
of photos we take, its not very realistic for us to
document every single memory we make. Follow
your heart and do what makes you happy!
Heres some information on scrapbooking out of
order:
Why I dont Scrap in Order by Janet Phillips
Some of My Favorite Pages
You Dont Have to Scrap in Order
Un-Chronologically Organizing My Albums
How To Start
If you are sitting down to make your very frst
digital layout, you might feel overwhelmed about
where to start. The best advice we can give is to
just dive in and try! Once you open your program
the next step is to start working with photos and
digital scrapbook supplies. The nice thing about
digital scrapping is that even if you make a mis-
take you can always hit the undo button, so dont
be afraid to have fun and experiment.
Doing My First Layout (resources for many dif-
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ferent programs).
How To Use Quick Pages In Photoshop by
Paislee Press.
Free Fifteen Minute Class by Jessica Sprague
Making a Layout by Kami and Suzy (free kit
included)
Creating Your First Layout in PSE by Misty Cato.
Templates
A digital template is very similar to a sketch in
paper scrapbooking. It is a layered fle (often in a
PSD fle format for use in Adobe products as well
as a layered TIFF fle for use in other programs as
well as Adobe). A template has the design part
done with spots for photos, papers, and elements.
You just drag in your photos and supplies and
then cut them to ft the spots provided. Using a
layered template is a great way to get started in
digital scrapbooking:
Check out Stephs FREE class on getting started
in digital scrapbooking with a layered template.
The class includes supplies and three tem-
plates.
Layered Templates 101 with Paislee Press
Using a Layered Template in PSE with Kami and
Suzy at Scrap Orchard
Creating Layouts with Layered Templates by Ali
Edwards (includes layered templates)
Using a Layered Template in PSE by Misty Cato
Using a template with Sahlin Studio
How to make your own digital template
Listen to The Digi Show episode all about tem-
plates and why we love them.
Beyond the First Layout
When you are ready to learn more of the ins and
outs of your program and digital scrapbooking,
here are some resources that are a great value:
Jessica Sprague has lots of great classes on all
diferent topics in digital scrapbooking.
How to use Photoshop for Digital Scrapbook-
ing is also a great online class.
Renee Pearson has a class for beginners called
Back to Basics.
Several classes on various digital scrapbooking
topics at Big Picture Classes.
Learn new techniques and efects at The Daily
Digi.
Learn some tips and tricks to save you time at
The Daily Digi.
Drop Shadows
Hang out in digiland for very long and you are
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bound to see and hear about drop shadows. Drop
shadows really can make or break a layout, so most
scrappers want to get them right. If you would like
to learn more about shadows, check out these
sites:
There is a large drop shadow section at The
Daily Digi with lots of videos, links to tutorials,
resources, and tips for various programs.
Peppermints class on drop shadows (for PSCS)
Advanced Drop Shadows at Mscraps
Better Drop Shadows tutorial by Peppermint
Create Realistic Drop Shadows with Sahlin
Studio
Shadowing Clear Elements and Pockets on
Traci Reed
Drops Shadows with Mscraps
Advanced Drop Shadows with Mscraps
There are several designers who have made drop
shadow styles to make it easier on scrappers that
might not want to spend valuable scrap time
tweaking shadows:
Kristin Rice
Flergs
One Little Bird (Peppermint)
Acrylic Shadows by K Studio
K Studio (regular shadows)
Free Shadows and Tutorial by Megan
Great Looking Pages
Understanding basic design principles and digital
scrapbooking techniques will help you put to-
gether beautiful pages that represent the special
memories you are documenting. If you take a little
extra time to learn about topics such as: placement
of photos and embellishments, size and scale of
items, use of color, and good photography, you will
be more satisfed with the end result. There are a
lot of great resources to help you create your very
best pages:
The Daily Digi has a large section of design
help posts.
Learn how to use specifc digi supplies (ribbons,
fowers, styles, etc.) by reviewing these posts.
Sign up for a free 12 part email course on de-
sign from Debbie Hodge of Get it Scrapped.
The photography posts at The Daily Digi are
flled with tips and resources to help you cap-
ture your memories in their best light.
Katrina Kennedys Capture Your 365 site is a
wonderful place to go for photography inspira-
tion.
Digital Photography School is a great resource
for all things related to digital photography.
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Journaling
Every digital scrapbooker should know about the
importance of journaling. So many scrappers worry
about the RIGHT way to journal, but we like to
talk about the WRITE way to journal because
there is no right or wrong way to journal. When
you include the written word and combine it with
photos, the memory is fully documented. Without
a story, your pages dont have a voice and many
precious details will never be shared. The best way
to grow your journaling skills is to keep on writing,
even if its just the very basic details to explain a
photograph. Everyone has a unique perspective
and your pages will be much more meaningful if
you share your own!
There are many journaling posts at The Daily
Digi with lots of ideas, examples, links to tutori-
als, and resources.
If youre looking for great fonts to use for jour-
naling and titlework, be sure to check out the
Type category of posts.
Listen to The Digi Show Episode Wordy Mc-
Gee to hear some tips and ideas for journaling.
suzyQscraps has lots of posts with journaling
ideas and tips.
Keeping Track of Supplies
There are a couple of really good reasons to keep
track of the supplies you used on a layout:
1. Later on, you can refer back to the list if you
need or want to know who made a supply you
used on a layout.
2. If you share your layouts online, it is proper
ettiquette to post a list of supplies used. This is
considered a common courtesy for your fellow
scrappers and may be required by some de-
signers in their Terms of Use (TOU).
There are several diferent methods to keep track
of what supplies you used on a layout:
Keep track in a word doc, excel spreadsheet, or
text fle.
Add a layer to the fle with the supplies used
and put it in the bottom of the layers stack or
make it invisible.
Use some actions that will add the supplies you
used to a layer as well as to the metadata of the
layout.
Sharing Your Layouts
Your layouts will mean so much to your friends and
family so be sure to share them! Many digi scrap-
pers love that they can email pages to their loved
ones, share them on a private or public blog, and
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upload to online galleries. When you share your
creations in online communities, you also connect
with other digital scrapbookers and often fnd
friends and fun opportunities to grow as an artist. If
you want to post online, there are a few resources
that will help you:
Posting to online galleries (including a tutorial
for resizing a layout to post)
All about credits
A Flickr tutorial for photographers and digital
scrapbookers
Something fun for you on Flickr (our fickr
group that you can post layouts to)
Resizing and Saving Layouts to Web with Misty
Cato
Putting It All Together and Printing
When your layouts are fnished, you will most likely
want to print them for full enjoyment. While some
digital scrapbookers leave them only in digital
form, we love to see the printed page! It can be
confusing to know where to go for printing servic-
es so we have some great posts to help you out:
How to Guide: planning an album or photo-
book All about albums
How to Guide: printing photobooks and al-
bums for digital scrapbookers
Twelve diferent photobook companies re-
viewed
Layout printing reviews: companies compared
All about albums (how to store your printed
layouts)
Enjoying the Process
Digital scrapbooking can be a rewarding way to
enjoy your memories and express yourself creative-
ly. We believe it should be fun, but we also real-
ize that sometimes you might feel stuck or like
youve lost your mojo. That happens to everyone
and its perfectly normal. Here are some ways you
can keep your heart singing with the joy of digital
scrapbooking:
Overcoming Road Blocks
Make the most of your creative time with our
time saving tips.
Finding your mojo
Get inspired from your own archives
Where does inspiration come from?
Listen to The Digi Show podcast to hear our
experiences and get to know people all around
the digital scrapbooking community
Read The Daily Digi site to keep up with ideas,
designers, products, and more from all over the
digital scrapbooking community. Theres some-
thing new every day at The Daily Digi!
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We asked some design-
ers and digi scrappers
what they wish they
would have known
when they frst started
their journey into digital
scrapbooking. Heres
what they said:
From Our Team:
Wendyzine
Terms of use (TOU).
When I frst started, I
deleted all my TOU fles.
Now when I go back to
something old, I have
no idea what the terms
are!
Shadowing...I think
most of us overshadow
when we frst start, or
dont shadow at all.
Ive learned so much
about shadowing now
that I cringe at all my
previous graphic design
projects outside of the
digi world! LOL
Saving layered fles. I
cannot tell you how
many times a customer
contacts me about how
to print layouts when
they cannot make ad-
justments because they
didnt save the layered
fles.
Amelia
Biggest for me would
be organization from
the very beginning
(Picasa or something
similar!) That and how
much I was going to fall
in love with it!
Heddy
I wish I would have
known about... Organi-
zation of supplies - via
tagging or folders
Clipping masks (and
how to use templates)
Backing up supplies,
photos, and layouts
Shadowing
Trina
Organization, orga-
nization, organiza-
tion. When I started I
originally took all the
elements out of each
kit and grouped them
by ribbon, button, etc ...
talk about a nightmare!
The importance of sav-
ing credits (so you can
upload, know where
to upload to for closed
galleries, and properly
credit the designer too!)
Templates are NOT
cheating (I used to think
that, but I fgured out
theyre just another tool
to use)
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Jenn Lyndsay
The diference be-
tween 300 dpi vs 72
Melissa Lewis
Your style will change
drastically so dont go
and buy $100s in the
frst month. Try a few
things and decide what
you like.
How to resize pictures
without distorting them
- I see this SO often in
new digital scrappers.
From The Digi
Community:
Ali Edwards
The thing I really wished
I knew when I frst start-
ed scrapbooking (either
digital or paper) was
that the actual story
itself, my words written
out on the page, was re-
ally the most important
thing. I love the photos.
I love the embellish-
ments and the process
of design. But in looking
back what I wished I
would have spent more
time on was getting
those most meaningful
stories written down.
CD Muckosky
I wish I would have
known about masks
when I frst started digi
scrapping. I did a lot
of permanent erasing
and then I would move
things and have to start
over...not cool! I Love
how I can erase things
with a mask and then
just add it back in when
I change my mind (
which I know I WILL at
least a few times!)
Katrina Kennedy
I wish I had known it
was okay to put just a
photo and a few words
on a page. I struggled
to be like everyone else
with embellishments
that werent me. My fun
really began when I let
all of that go.
Peppermint
Granberg (One
Little Bird)
I wish I would have told
more stories on my
early pages! I was so
excited to play with ev-
erything - the elements,
my photos, the page
design - that I lost sight
of the entire goal, which
was to document some
actual memories. I was
basically making a really
pretty photo album. :)
Anna Aspnes
Add the story behind
the photos in whatever
way works for you. The
art keeps the process
fun but it is the forgot-
ten little details that you
will treasure in years to
come.
Debbie Hodge
I wish Id understood
that the key to getting
looks that I love is to
have them make sense
visually. And the key
to having a page make
sense visually is to layer
elements realistically
and add drop shadows.
Kayla
Lamoreaux
I wish I would have
known how important
non-destructive photo
editing was. I edited
and fattened so many
photos. Im so glad I
found a program where
I can edit a photo and it
still preserves my digital
negatives. If I could only
go back in time...
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Krista Sahlin
What do I wish I would
have known when I frst
started digi scrapping?
I wish I would have
known to jump into a
scrapbooking commu-
nity right away. This is
the best place to learn
at a faster pace, get
wonderful ideas and
inspiration, ask others
how theyve done a
technique & to partici-
pate in challenges that
encourage you to try
something new and
learn in the process.
Crystal Livesay
I wish someone told
me at the very begin-
ning that it wasnt a
competition. Back
when I started it was
all about what teams
you were on and how
many views/comments
you got, it all got very
competitive.. I am grate-
ful that I learned that
isnt what is important,
but the act of actually
preserving memories
and telling our stories
that matters.
Elise of Elises
Pieces Designs
Save your layouts in
their layered format
before fattening! The
pages in my frst printed
photobook all have an-
noying borders because
I hadnt accounted for
the printing companys
bleed lines. If I would
have saved the pages
in psd format, it would
have been such an easy
fx.
Laura Banasiak
I wish I had known
about the drag and
drop function in Pho-
toshop. It would have
taken a lot less time
than Select All + Copy
+ Paste! (from Steph:
the drag and drop
method is using the
move tool to move an
item or photo onto a
canvas by dragging it
and then dropping it).
Meredith
Cardall
I wish that templates
had been available
when I frst started
digital scrapbooking.
Templates are a great
jumping of point for
layouts and they really
take the fear out of
digital scrapbooking!
Secret Stash
(Erin)
How to properly resize
photos proportionately
for my pages!
Tracie Stroud
I wish I had known
that mommy brain
would set in one day
and I wouldnt always
be able to remember
exactly when I took ev-
ery single photo. I look
back on some of my
early layouts, and while
I know approximately
the time frame the pho-
tos were taken, there
are many that I cant
narrow down exactly.
Now I try to include a
date at the very least on
every single layout, and
preferably a little more
information about the
photo and/or event.
Jennifer Labre
Back up your fles! This
includes all of your
photos, scrapbook sup-
plies and your layouts.
Back them up on DVDs,
EHDs (external hard
drives), anywhere you
can and use multiple
sources. Ive lost photos
and scrapbook pages
that I cant get back. It
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can happen to anyone
at any time. So start a
back-up system right
away.
Heather T.
I wish Id known about
some of the major gal-
leries (DST, MSA, etc.)
where people post
layouts that you can use
not only as models, but
as resources for where
to purchase the stuf
you like the best. There
wasnt anything nearly
as useful as The Daily
Digi when I started, and
I spent a LONG time
emulating, and buying,
styles that I didnt really
resonate with, just be-
cause I didnt know any
better (and Im kind of a
dork *giggles*).
Wimpychompers
I wish I knew how to
correctly work with
shadows, those things
can really make a page
beautiful. Oh and titles,
those can really ruin a
layout if not done cor-
rectly.
Miss Mint |
Peppermint
Creative
I wish I would have
known the importance
of securing both my
designer name & store
name on every social
networking platform
possible. Theres some
random dude on
YouTube who took the
username Peppermint
Creative before I could
because I didnt think
to take it until recently.
Doh!
Kristin Rice
If I had to pick just one
thing, I think it would be
how to check for quality
on designs. Knowing to
check for stray pixels,
and to view designs at
100% would have saved
me from wasting a lot
of time on layouts with
products that were low/
poor quality.
Kat, Designs by
Kat
I wish I knew how easy
it is working with and
making shapes. Now
that I know, designing
with shapes saves a lot
of time.
Queen of Quirk
I wish I had known how
to recolor elements and
papers to stretch my
scrap stash even further.
I was always in awe of
those who could do it
well. :)
Yin of Yin De-
signs
I wish I knew how
quickly digital supplies
would food my hard
disks and that I had
been selective in down-
loading them according
to my style. It probably
is not possible without
hindsight, but I also
do wish I could have
known how to catego-
rize the supplies accord-
ing to how I now tend
to search for them!
Jenn Barrette
When I frst started I
wish I had known not
to compare myself to
other scrappers. There
is so much talent in this
community, and I found
myself feeling down
about my pages. Finally,
I learned to scrap for
myself and my family.
Not worrying about the
trends, gallery stand-
outs and how many
comments my layouts
get in the galleries. I am
a much happier scrap-
M
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7
per now!
Scrapping with
Liz
Bought products are
so much better then
freebies! When I frst
started digi-scrapping
I only used stuf I could
fnd for free. After buy-
ing my frst few kits I
realized it was defnitely
worth the money.
JennCk Designs
I wish I had known my
program better. Ive
learned a lot over the
years, but it was frus-
trating at frst!
SuzyQ Scraps
When I frst started
digital scrapbooking,
I spent hours search-
ing for and download-
ing freebies ... only to
fnd that a lot of those
freebies were lacking
in quality. I thought
I was going to save
myself a lot of money.
What I ended up do-
ing was wasting a lot
of my valuable time. I
wish I had known early
on where some of the
best sites were so that
I would have spent
less time downloading
poor-quality freebies
and more time scrap-
booking.
Studio Flergs
One thing I wished I
had done back then
that I do now... time sav-
ing actions & templates
for repetitive tasks. I
have actions & tem-
plates saved for every-
thing now, trim & save,
alpha maker & cutter,
ad maker, bundle pre
viewer etc... such a big
time saver for me and it
is perfect each & every
time within seconds!
Kate Hadfield
I wish I had realized
that I would never be
caught up and would
always have more
photos than I could ever
manage to scrap!
Lisa Sisneros
I wish I would have
known that shadow-
ing makes or breaks a
layout--its really worth
the time and efort to
seek out the best tech-
niques and learn how
to shadow your layouts
well. Some of my frst
layouts had such ter-
rible shadowing and
it makes them look so,
well, fat, LOL!
Gina Cabrera of
Digital Design
Essentials
I wish there would have
been more user friendly
tutorials for shopping
carts and web design.
Veronica
Spriggs
I wish I had known from
the start the very spe-
cifc needs of a digital
designer and the proper
questions to ask when
selecting a web host
to meet my needs. Ive
had some horrifc expe-
riences with web hosts
and know there are lots
of designers out there
who share my plight.
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Chelle of
Chelles Cre-
ations
I wish Id started us-
ing shortcut s from
the beginning. They
make scrapping so
much faster, my favorite
shortcut (in ps/pse) is
using Alt-Click & Drag
to duplicate elements,
alphas, layers...every-
thing.
-The End-