Christmas
and the Christmas holidays have always been one of my most favourite times
of the year.When we were young, I remember the excitement of christmas morning when, along with my sisters and brother, we opened the door to the lounge to check if Santa had been to see if he had left any presents and to make sure he had had his fill of the biscuits and beer that had been left out for him. We followed the same traditions with our now grown son and daughter and are now so lucky to get to relive these magical times with our two grandsons.
As scrapbookers we not only want to remember these special times but we want to capture and preserve them for others too. And so the camera will do double duty over these holidays capturing those special gatherings of family and friends, watching for those wonderful expressions that come from children delighted with what they find under the wrapping paper, for people happy and chatting around the table, or just relaxing in the sun or snow as it may be in your part of the world.
Whatever the holiday that you celebrate at this time of the year remember to take lots of photos and to put your thoughts and feelings together with those photos into layouts that you can use to remember long after the holidays have passed.
From me and my family downunder in New Zealand and my team mates here at DSP we hope the you have a wonderful time creating and capturing those precious memories.
Karen
Johnson
Photography Moderator
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It is a wonderful opportunity to ask questions about DSP and digital scrapbooking. Whether it’s a question about navigating the site or how to get started, the girls are on hand to give you some answers. And everyone who attends the chat will get a link to a free kit! Trying out digital Scrapbooking for the first time? Use your free kit and try your hand at a layout . . . we know you will love it!! More details here including how to use the chat room!
Are you thinking about posting your first layout? There's a special first layout challenge for you. Post your first layout to DSP this month and you may be a random winner for a free page kit!!
Welcome to DSP! We
know you will love it!
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Are you a member of the club?
Ever wished for a monthly fix of the best digital scrapbook products money can buy delivered direct to your inbox? Well now you can have it. Club Digital is the hottest club in town. Each month you receive a wonderful selection of scrapbooking products. Something to suit every style and level of digital scrapper.
You will always receive two complete page kits, a plopper or an overlay, an alpha, word art, a font, and a set of png "stamps" for your scrapping pleasure! And don't forget the quick click template included in each Club Digital pack. Plus, Club Digital subscribers get an extra gift of an exclusive coupon for use on future purchases in the store. All this for the incredible price of $5.99 or even less! That's well over $23 value for such a great price!
The longer you subscribe, the cheaper it becomes and the better value for you.
In this month's Club Digital you will find a superb variety of quality items to start your holiday scrapping season. 2 wonderful Christmas themed kits and a gorgeous very elegant, multiple photo plopper, a grungy alphabet, some fun word art and some great snowflake stamps along with a really versatile multi photo quick click and an exclusive font makes for a great value set this month.
Here are some sample layouts done by our designers with this month's Club Digital!
Buy a 3-month subscription
and go into the draw to be upgraded to a 6-month subscription! Buy a 6-month
and you might win an upgrade to a 12-month subscription! And all those
who buy a 12-month subscription will go into the draw for a $30 coupon
for the DSP store!! In addition every month there is an exclusive contest
for club digital subscribers with great prizes.
Click here to subscribe to Club Digital today!
It
is hard to believe it is this time of year again! The time really seems
to fly by. This is always such a busy time of year and it is so easy to
get caught up in the commercialism of it all. My goal for this time of
year is to remember the true reason for the season. It is a celebration
of the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ. It is a time to spend with loved
ones. That is what truly matters this holiday season, and when I do get
sidetracked I try to remind myself of that. I encourage everyone to do
the same. Make sure you soak up every moment this season - spend it with
loved ones and just enjoy one another. I joined DSP right before Christmas two years ago. I am reminded of why it is I started scrapbooking in the first place. I did it to help capture those memories. To always have something to look back on. Before we know it we may not have all our loved ones with us, but we will always have the memories and we will always have them in our hearts!
This Christmas I hope we all keep the right mind and heart, and make a lot of heartfelt, wonderful memories! Hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday!
God Bless,
Amber
Gray
DSP Designer
(Be sure to check
the bottom of the newsletter for a special freebie from Amber to our newsletter
readers!)
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Member
Spotlight: Whisper PinkDecember's Spotlight Member is none other than Chris . . . perhaps better known as Whisper Pink! Her gallery is full of beautiful layouts of her family, especially her sweet granddaughter, as well as many layouts documenting her fantastic on-the-go life! Read more about Chris here and see her wonderful gallery here.
Then make sure you
check out the December
Scraplift the Spotlight Challenge! Thanks Chris for being our spotlight
member!
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It's
Shop Time!
It’s time to
SHOP …let’s get those baskets at the ready.
Shop
Time Inspiration by Erica
"If you love fresh, innovative ways to display your works of art
that take your layout beyond
the digital page then you need to check this out now! Digital scrapbooking
doesn’t get much faster or easier than this… here you’ll
find some fun and delightful ways to showcase those beautiful scrapped
pages and wonderful photos. With Christmas knocking at our door you’ll
find some great inspirational gifts to give to your special loved ones
that have been created with your own loving hands."
"I
was instantly drawn to the ‘Ready
to Go’ blank board blocks, three convenient sizes and so easy
to add your own personal touches. My dear son works hard all day and he
loves to take time out of his busy schedule to just flip the cubes to
see the beautiful smiling face of my grandson that I’ve scrapped
especially for him. There are so many uses for these versatile blocks
and they are ideal altered art pieces. Wrap them, stack them, string them,
write and journal on them, turn them into photo cubes, puzzles, and game
pieces. We’d love to see what you come up with!"
Then be sure to check out DSP's line of customizable Christmas gifts! From travel mugs to ornaments to frames, stockings, countdown calendars, and the cutest Santa Clip Stand, you'll be sure to find the perfect gift for the fussiest on your list!
And with all that shopping, be sure not to forget yourself!! DSPware is the perfect way to tell the world about the most addictive hobby out there! The newest design, "You might be a digital scrapbooker if . . . " will have you smiling all day!
Of course, you'll need supplies to scrap all the holiday and winter memories you'll soon be making. Be sure to check out the latest CD, Scraps of the Season, Winter Wonderland. A fun, seasonal CD filled with 12 page kits!
Ho Ho Ho! Its that time of year again. Why not put your newfound digital scrapbooking skills to the test and create a special gift for someone in your life.
If you are anything like me, and LOVE a sale, you would have certainly purchased some digital scrapbooking goodies during the November sales. Here is the perfect opportunity to dip into all those purchases you downloaded and eagerly unzipped, or arrived in the mail.
Start out with a Christmas card. Use one of the stunning cards or card kits from the store, and add some word art, or try your hand at creating your own design using the papers and elements from one of the kits on the new Winter Wonderland CD. Alter a simple template or browse the galleries for card layout inspiration.
Then move onto the gift: A layout, printed out, makes a wonderful gift. If you find the idea of doing your own layout from scratch a bit intimidating as a beginner, or even if you find you are running out of time, why not choose a ready made plopper, all you have to do is add your photos and any journaling, and you have a beautiful layout in a flash. Even consider giving a whole album as a gift – using an instant album.
Looking for something special for Mom, or a sister, or even spoil yourself, with a Make it Mine Photo Purse and one of the purse ploppers. (My photo purse is not only a great conversation piece; I am literally stopped on a daily basis by Mom’s or grandmothers who would love one.)
On Christmas day, sit back and enjoy the ‘ooh’s’ and ‘aah’s’ when the recipients admire your gift. If you used a plopper or instant album, let that be your little secret!
Digi-Scrapper
Inspiration by Meg
Every December I take hundreds of photos, capturing each
tradition and documenting each beautiful grin on my kids' faces. By
the end of December, I'm exhausted. Last Christmas season was documented
in a single two-page layout. I don't even want to think about all those
photos I didn't use!
So this year, I'm trying to stay ahead of the action and allow myself
to actually enjoy the season without worrying about having enough energy
left over to create anything. I decided to create all the pages to fill
a board book, but add the photos and journaling as we go. After the
holidays are over, all I have to do is print it out, glue it together,
add a ribbon or two, and I'll have an entire album capturing this Christmas
season!
Check out some "Before" pictures of my book:
The
rest can be seen in my gallery here.
If you have more than a few layouts in your gallery (or a few hundred!),
you probably have a good idea how to design pages before taking the
photos. I challenge you to give yourself the gift of premade pages for
the holiday season! Find a series of kits that have similar colors (check
out the holiday
section in the DSP store!) and prepare several pages that will take
you through the various events and traditions of December. Leave plenty
of space for photos and journaling, then set them aside. They'll be
ready and waiting to be finished later after all the presents have been
opened and traveling is done. When you're aching to use the 942 photos
you've taken, but have not a speck of creativity left in your head!
I'll share my finished project with you next month, and I expect to
see yours' in the gallery, as well!
For more inspiration
be sure to check out the DSP
Blog and sign up for the DSP
Store Newsletter! (To receive the store newsletter, after logging
into the store,
click on My Account. Scroll down to Email Notifications and click on
subscribe to newsletter and be sure you are checked to receive the emails.)
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Would you like to receive two kits for the price of one, or maybe even THREE for ONE? Yep, you can often receive multiple DSP products for the price of ONE! How? By attending the designer chats or participating in the designer challenges.
In many of these chats, the designer has a FREE digital scrapbooking product for you just for showing up and jumping in on the chat. Never been to a chat before? No problem! Many of us attended our first ever online chat here at DSP. Just like the rest of the place, the chat room is friendly, too! Then the designer usually assigns a challenge – either in the chat, or in the forums, or both. If you choose to take on the challenge of using the designated product and posting your layout to their challenge gallery, they'll show their thanks by giving you - yes GIVING you - a bonus product!!! They’ll do this even if you missed the chat! How awesome and easy is that??? So check out the chats and challenges and jump in – there’s no better or easier way to stretch your scrapbooking dollar!
And in that What's
Happening at DSP thread, you'll see lots more fun challenges; like
the member hosted monthly lyrical challenge, SNL, Bootcamp, IOTW challenge,
announcements of upcoming contests like NKOTB and Trend Setters and so
much more! Check out the thread to be inspired, to be challenged, and
to have fun!
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I can't believe it's December already! We're busy decorating our house, shopping for presents, and anxiously awaiting Christmas to arrive. Have you started thinking about your New Year's Resolutions? DSU has great classes to help you improve your scrapbooking skills. (and they would make a great holiday gift idea for you!) Here are some of the classes we are offering in January.
DSU192:
Introduction to Graphics Tablets
DSU193:
Card Making: Digital to Hybrid
DSU250:
Adobe Photoshop: Photo Correction (pre-requisite DSU110 or similar experience)
DSU295:
Art of Journaling
If you would like more information regarding these classes, please visit our classes page. We would love to hear your suggestions on future classes! Send your suggestions and comments to me at dsu@digitalscrapbookplace.com.
Amber
Dean of DSU
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Desktop
Calendar PlopperA newsletter exclusive! Specially designed ploppers for your computer desktop. This month's offering is by Amber Gray, using her American Christmas Page Kit and her Santa's Workshop Alpha. Also using Kim Liddiard's Calendar Grid Brushes Set 2. Download the plopper here! (Both 1024 x 768 and 800 x 600 are included.)
And just like any
of our ploppers, put your photos on a layer underneath the desktop plopper.
Angle and size them as you please, add journaling, and save it as a
jpg. Then update your desktop wallpaper background by browsing to your
new image! Voilà! Favorite photos matched with this month's calendar
to help keep you up-to-date all month! Look for a new one each month
in our newsletter!
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All new members receive a free gift. Feel free to pass this on to your friends!
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