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In this issue
Letter from Team Digital - Tina Chambers
 As August arrives each year, my heart grows heavy. Another summer is coming to an end, another new school year just starting. This year it's an even bigger moment for me. My son is going off to Jr. High. He's heading to a new building with kids from 7th to 12th grade. I know that this will be an exciting time in his life, these next few years, but it will also be stressful. More work, more play, and more peer pressure. But heck, I'm more worried about myself! My little baby is growing up. Yet another year, yet another big moment.
My challenge to you this month is to look at the big moments just passed or upcoming in your life. Let's get them all down in our scrapbooks. From a new school year to weddings, to new babies, new jobs, new homes, big birthdays and more. The years are full of little moments that all add up to a lifetime of memories. Let's not forget.
Rose Kennedy said, “Life isn't a matter of milestones but of moments”.
Don't miss them.
Tina Chambers
Senior Designer
www.digitalscrapbookplace.com
store.digitalscrapbookplace.com
tina.digitalscrapbookplace.com
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New to DSP?
New Member Information:
Are you new to digital scrapbooking or new to DSP? Join Digital Elite Team (DET) members Sands and Mars for a New Member Chat. The chat is every other Friday at 10 pm EST (14th, 28th August) - You'll find all the information here.
Here 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, someone will be on hand to give you the answers.
Posting Your First Layout:
Are you thinking about posting your first layout? There's a special first layout challenge each months for you. Post your first layout to DSP this month and you may be a random winner for a free page kit!! You'll find all the information here.
What’s Going On
If you need to know what is going on, you need the What's happening at DSP thread or the Calendar.
Welcome to DSP! We know you will love it!
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 Adobe Crop - It’s NOT TOO LATE:
There are still some spots left for the 2nd Annual Adobe Laptop Crop in San Jose, California. This is an amazing chance to see the inside of Adobe Headquarters and meet some of the members of Team Digital. Margie will be there (which GUARANTEES tons of fun!). Our Head Designer, Lauren, is flying in from New Zealand. Designers Kim, Nicole and Christine will be there. Team Dig moderators Meg, Tara, Scamp, Lynnie, Gail and Liz will be there. Lauren is having a Fabulous Photo Walk on the Friday, which will cover the Guadalupe River Park area, the Veteran’s Memorial, the Carousel and if we have time, the River Street Historical District.
Click HERE to catch the excitement in the DSP Adobe Laptop Crop Forum.
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Some Useful Links:
 blogger  facebook  flickr  myspace  twitter
New Products Club Digital Events Freebies Tutorials Mentoring Terms of Use Contact Us
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Club Digital
Are you a member of the club?
August 2009 Club Digital
Enjoy scrapping all your summer fun with the August issue of Club Digital. For your scrapping pleasure there are two great, must-have page kits, one is bold and green with an eco theme, and the other is funky and fun in a paper style. There is also a super three photo delightfully girly plopper, and a set of swirly stamps. Also included is a set of love word art, a brass steampunk style alphabet, and a great quick click to help you scrap your summer photos. And don't forget, as always, there is an exclusive font.
Club Digital now comes in a choice of resolutions - Choose 200ppi or the new 300ppi version when you download.
This months content includes
- Distant Memories Page Kit
- Green Tea Page Kit
- Very Girl Plopper
- Steampunk Brass Alpha
- Whimsical Swirls Stamps
- Love Thing Word Art
- DSP Font - DSP Bees Knees
- Summertime Heat Quick Click
Club Digital is the hottest club in town! Get your monthly fix of the best digital scrapbook products for an incredible price! Something to suit every style and level of digital scrapper!
Club Digital includes two page kits, one plopper or overlay, a quick click template, an alphabet, some wordart, a font, and png stamps! And there's more! We now include an exclusive store saving coupon just for Club Digital customers. Not only are you saving by being a member, but you receive a coupon that increases your value savings! On top of that, you can can enter an Club Digital exclusive challenge just for members (with great prizes)!
Over $27 in value for the incredible price of only $5.99/month or even less with a longer subscription! Club Digital is just $17.97 for three months ($5.99/month), $33.00 for six months ($5.50/month), or $59.88 for a full year ($4.99/month)!
Club Digital now comes in 2 resolutions. Choose either 200ppi or 300ppi from the drop down box to select your choice of resolution.
When you purchase, you are automatically entered in to the following drawings:
Buy a 3 month subscription and go into the draw to be upgraded to a 6 month subscription
Buy a 6 month subscription and you might win an upgrade to a 12 month subscription
Buy a 12 month subscription and your name will go into the draw for a $30 coupon for the DSP store.
Welcome to the club!
Here is a selection of layouts created by the DSP Team Digital using this months Club Digital Selection.
Click here to subscribe to Club digital today
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Featured Designer - Carole Hardenn
 Well, it's that time of year again. Summer is drawing to close and school is looming just around the corner. In that strange juxtaposition, the days seem to stretch out forever and fly by in a mad rush all at the same time. My daughter is thirteen now, and starting high school. High school! Whatever happened to kindergarten, and Barbie dolls, Beatrix Potter, and Blues Clues? Those things have been replaced with South Park, Apocolyptica, and books with names like "Dead Is A State Of Mind".
It seems we're entering a new stage in our relationship, not so much a drawing apart, but a definite blurring of the parent-child distinction. My daugher is now becoming my friend. She is no longer in awe of me, like when she was little, and I knew all the answers to her questions, like "Why is the sky blue", or "Where do rainbows come from?" The questions she asks have become tougher now, and much harder to answer. Sometime I don't have the anwers at all, but that's okay, because she needs to see that I am not perfect, not someone to be in awe of, just another human being trying to make the best way I can in this world.
I took some pictures of my daughter recently, and I kept getting a sort of deja vu feel about them, as though I had seen them somewhere else, and then a week or so later it  suddenly hit me. Of course! She looks like my mother! How could I not have seen that before? It's all there, the high cheekbones, the shape of the mouth, the blue-grey eyes, the nose, the shape of the brows, even the tilt of the head. I had always joked about how her personality (i.e., her extreme stubborness) was just like my mom's. I suppose that it's fitting that the last grandchild in this generation would be so like her. It makes me wonder what traits will be passed down to the next generation. What will my grandchildren inherit from me? My artistic ability? Maybe my passion for music, or my love of nature and of animals? Surely not my tendency to talk to myself, or my scatter-brainness! And please, oh, please don't let them get the thinning hair!
As scrappers, we avidly document every detail of our family's lives, but rarely do we include ourselves. Maybe it's because we're usually the ones taking all the pictures, or maybe we just don't want to see the wrinkles, or the bad hair days, or those extra few pounds that we can never seem to lose. But I've begun to realize how important it is to include ourselves in those pages, because someday a granddaughter, or maybe even a great-grandaughter, might see just a bit of themselves in us. :)
Carole’s Links
Click here for Carole’s Team Digital Bio
Click Here for Carole’s Personal Gallery
Click Here for Carole’s ‘Share the Luv’ Challenges
Click here for Carole’s ‘Share the Luv’ Gallery
Click here for All Carole’s kits
Earn prizes and have fun with the Featured Designer Challenge!
(Be sure to check the bottom of the newsletter for a special freebie from Carole to our newsletter readers!)
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Upcoming 2009 DSP Crops and Events
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Member Spotlight: Lisa a.k.a. Boobearsmama1
 DSP Member Spotlight for August is Lisa a.k.a. boobearsmama1.
A peek at Lisa’s gallery, packed full of gorgeous layouts, will reveal the source of her scrapbooking inspiration – her lovely daughter. With so many lovely layouts, you are sure to find inspiration in her gallery.
Congratulations Lisa.
Thank you for being our member spotlight.
Be inspired by Lisa’s gallery, read more about her HERE then share the inspiration by taking part in the Scraplift the Spotlight challenge for August.
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It's Shop Time!
My Memories Suite:
My Memories Suite is a premium digital scrapbook application that allows users to make beautiful scrapbooks that can be enhanced by music, narration, video, and the Internet. Create digital albums in minutes using one of many designer templates, or design your own pages using page kits (click here for a tutorial). Share your albums as beautiful hard bound books, print individual pages, watch them on a DVD, or view them on the computer as an interactive CD. You can even share them on an iPod or turn your pages into printed greeting cards that can be mailed directly to family and friends. The robust features of the software provide the graphic tools to make beautiful digital photobooks, while at the same time keeping all your memories—your pictures, videos, and music—preserved in one place.
It is the ideal tool for the beginning scrapbooker who wants to get started and create some awesome albums AND the sophisticated scrapper who wants to create something a little different and very special.
Shop Time Inspiration
It’s time to SHOP… let’s get those baskets at the ready.
We are half way through the year and what have you scrapped? The good news is that there are six month’s left in the year and that’s lots of time to tell the story of what has been happening in your life. It is not to late to participate in Project 365. Check out the forum and the gallery for loads of great inspiration. There is also a wonderful Project 365 category in the store.
Did you know you can do a search for any color you want, it's so easy to find just the right products when you do a color search. Search for product for your project by color. Or search for Yellow to support for our inspiration color for August.
Have you checked out the theme gallery lately, you’ll find lots more kits plus some awesome word art, ploppers, alphas and wow – loads more ideas. Here’s the theme for our inspiration event hot fun in the summertime, and another one for our inspiration style groupies. Perhaps you might find some inspiration for our relationship, friends.
Gift Certificates Send anyone the perfect gift!! Gift Certificates are a wonderful way to say - Happy Birthday, Merry Christmas, I Love You, or even Just Because!
Did You Know...
...you can get to the store by typing shop.dsp.me in your browser URL bar? Get to the store even faster!
Do you love the product you just purchased and want to tell others? Please consider doing a review ... pass the good word along! We love to hear from you.
Happy shopping
Featured Product - Bold and Bright CD
Color rules with this CD which features 12 kits all exploding with bold and bright style . When you need a kit that will stand out from the crowd this is the CD you will turn to every time.
This CD includes:
- A Brighter Day
- Lighten Up
- Loud Whisper
- Pop Princess
- Pretty Bright
- Rock Steady
- Shiny Happy People
- Starburst
- Stick with me
- Teenage Superstar
- True Original
- Vividly Vivaceous
See everything included on this CD here.
Scraps of Fun - Bold and Bright - (200ppi) Downloadable
Scraps of Fun - Bold and Bright - (300ppi) Downloadable
Scraps of Fun - Bold and Bright (200ppi)
Scraps of Fun - Bold and Bright (300ppi)
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Inspiration for New and Advanced Digital Scrappers!
Digi-Scrapper Inspiration by Mandy
Miniature treasures: ATCs and, Mini Cards
Do you love miniatures? Does the idea of telling a story in a very small space seem magical? If so, have you tried your hand at creating Digital Artist Trading Cards (DATCs)?
Yes, some of you may say, I have done one for a Laptop Crop. Great! Now try moving away from a “business card” or “the all about me” ATC and try your hand at a themed card or mini-card.
For those of you shaking your heads, or wondering what a DATC is. They are miniature works of art, created on 2 ½ x3 ½ inch (64x89mm) cards, small enough to fit inside standard card-collector pockets and a perfect size for swapping and posting though the mail.
Usually signed by the artist, these can be original one of a kind (OOAK); part of a set (usually a limited edition); or part of a series of cards belonging to a themed set. Although they can be created in any medium, a term you will often see associated with ATCs is “ephemera”. Items like stamps, envelopes, clipped images from magazines and newspapers – items that can be given a new life through recycling (think: collage items). In the digital world we can easily reproduce all these art mediums and design styles. Sharing electronically or printing, has never been easier.
Aside from swapping and collecting these tiny creations, they can also be incorporated into other works of art like scrapbook layouts, altered books, journals, or added to decorative items like decoupage boxes. They can be framed, or grouped in a frame to make unique wall art. They can be mini-scrapbook layouts or grouped sets punched and tied together with ribbon to make mini-albums. Embellished with a bit of lace or ribbon, they can be used as gift tags, cards, or invitations – for example a Coffee Break card can have a message written on the back saying: “Meet me for coffee, Wednesday at three”.
A newer trend for scrapbookers has been to decorate and swap mini-cards. Often called Mini Moos (derived from the name of a printing business) they were designed for use as small social networking cards– something to give a friend instead of a larger, formal business card. These little cards are 1 1/8 x 2 ¾ inch (28 x 70mm). Although they originated from a different (and commercial) idea, these little cards are now a popular trading card in their own right. They would look lovely on a layout, on a gift or other artwork.
With all the Internet-based printing companies available online, it is easy to get sets of cards printed. As with all printing, remember to take into account any bleed or crop areas along the edges of the cards when you design. Nothing is more disappointing than having something critical trimmed off the edge.
Some theme ideas: Tea Time; Friendship; Coffee Breaks; Family; Love and Inspirational Quotations. The possibilities are endless.
P.S. Did you know? The modern ATCs developed out of the mail art movement. In 1997 Swiss artist M.Vänçi Stirnemann hosted an exhibition of over 1,200 hand-made cards. He asked artists to create their cards to swap with him on the last day of his exhibition. The idea was not only a success, but spawned a worldwide phenomenon.
Digi-Scrapper Inspiration by Meg
The Wonder of Photoshop Actions
In Real World Adobe Photoshop CS2 by Bruce Fraser and David Blatner, the authors tell us “the trick to being really productive and efficient with computer technology is being lazy. Yes, it’s a paradox, but it’s true—the lazier you are, the more likely you are to find the really efficient ways of doing things so you can get out of work faster and go to the beach.” Well, I’m all about getting out of work faster and going to the beach, so how can I be both lazy and efficient? That’s where Photoshop Actions help out.
Adobe help files define an Action as “a series of tasks that you play back on a single file or a batch of files—menu commands, panel options, tool actions, and so on.” Basically, they allow you to push one button and have lots of things happen, quickly and automatically. They are generally used by photographers and digital scrapbookers to “post-process” photos (to edit or add special effects). So, how can we use actions and why?
My answer, illustrated:
This photo of my favorite dogwood tree is perfectly nice, the light shines through the petals softly and the house behind it adds a neutral (but meaningful to me) backdrop. However, notice how the mood of the photo changes when I try out some of Robyn Gough’s new Photoshop Actions:
In these examples, I see history, dreams, wistfulness, joy, and maybe a bit of sadness. Granted, I know the stories behind the tree and the house, but look how much easier it will be to tell those stories when the photo can help convey so many different emotions!
My favorite action is Robyn’s Faux Lomo Action (lomography usually refers to a process that produces “effects like light leaks, vignette framing and deep saturated colors” [lomography.com]), and I used it to create this half-sized page:
This effect gave the photo strength and importance, taking it beyond a simple photo of a lovely tree. The vignette frames the image and the slight blur and strong saturation pull me into the memories I think of whenever I sit beneath that tree.
Even if you’re new to digital scrapbooking, give actions a try, they add a wonderful dimension to your photos and pages, with very little effort!
(If you do not use Photoshop, or want to try another method for fun effects, check out DSP’s selection of overlay stacks!)
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Artful Activities: Creating Moments into Memories
When you first join DSP you want to devour every little bit of information there is and it seems a bit overwhelming at first but the absolutely best place to visit first off is the 'What's Happening' page, it's packed with useful information to help you choose to participate in a designer run challenge or contest or make a date to be at one of our awesome chat session. To find out the daily and weekly fun at DSP check out the calendar of activities, there's never a dull moment at DSP and you're sure to find something to your taste to challenge you artistically
Coming Events:
Keep watching for other upcoming events in August...
Contests, Challenges and Chats
- Designer Exclusives: Our Designers are the best there are and they are really generous, if you enter one of their challenges you’re more than likely to receive a chat and/or posting bonus just by using their nominated kit for the challenge. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain – like more stash for less bucks with these great challenges.
- Inspiration Station (IS News)
This is a call to all dedicated DSP scrappers to ‘strut your stuff’ and inspire us with your creations. Just choose any or all of the calls for layouts the current month and you could be showcased in our Newsletter or Blog. We have a few rules so check them out and then join in the fun. Check out the current edition of Inspiration Station News or here for Previous Issues
- Calls for August will include:
- Color - Yellow
- Event - Hot Fun in the Summertime
- Relationship - Friends
- Style / Trend - Groupies
- Club Digi - ... August 09
- CD or Mega Kig - Bold and Bright
- Project 365 - a project for how YOU scrap. Check out our Project 365 chats and the Project 365 store category.
- Scrapolution – It’s a DSP evolution, a scrapping revolution, and our New Year’s resolution:
It's a SCRAPOLUTION!!
It’s all about YOU, our members, our friends, making scrapping goals and Team Digital supporting, guiding, encouraging, joining, and cheering you on every step of the way. Check out the current themes and prompts.
- Scrap with the DET – Digital Elite Team and DET Alumni
Our past and current Elite group of scrappers have some great challenges going at the moment and you’re sure to get well chosen CC should you need it – learn from the best
- Elite Challenges - be sure to check out the challenges run by our DET Alumni and DET.
- The Grannies If you’re a Granny or a Granny In Training (GIT) or just a Wannabee, you might like to see what other Grannies are up to, what challenges they have going. There is never a dull moment when you join this happy band of digi scrappers.
- IOTW - Item of the week – Abby
The Item Of The Week is priced to sell and generally costs only a few cents; so create a LO using only the IOTW and be in a draw to win a free kit.
- SNL - Saturday Night Live - MarsOlson & Debbers
This is where anyone can create their own digital scrapbook kits to share with other SNL’ers, from elements and papers to word art.
This is just a small selection of popular challenges that DSP currently has running but be sure to check all of them out here. And we have a special blinkie to place in your signature to always remind you where to find the best scrapbooking challenges on the web. Check the end of the first post in the What's Happening thread for the blinkie code.
Happy Scrapping!
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DSU Information
It’s never too late to learn and DSU is the place to do it. There is still time to register for our August classes! Late registration will run from August 1st - August 5th and will incur a $10 late fee.
Here is the line up of classes we are offering in September. For more information regarding these or any of our other classes please visit our classes page.
DSU110 – Adobe Photoshop: Introduction to Digital Scrapbooking
DSU160 – Adobe Photoshop Elements: Introduction to Digital Scrapbooking
DSU190 – Layout Design (2 week class)
DSU211 – Adobe Photoshop: Creating Digital Elements for Beginners(Pre-requisite- DSU 110 or similar experience)
DSU221 – Adobe Photoshop: Montage (Pre-requisites: DSU 110/160 or similar experience)
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 Plopper
A newsletter exclusive! Specially designed ploppers for your computer desktop. This month's offering is by Carole Harden. Download the plopper here! (Sizes: 1280x800, 1280x1020, 1680x1050 and 1440x900, 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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Newsletter Challenge
We are always striving to make our newsletter more interesting and useful. If you have an idea, let us know about it! If it's an article idea, a feature, even something you'd like to write, shout it out to us. So, put your thinking caps on and come up with some new features, article ideas, or something fun you'd like to see in our monthly newsletter. Then email it to comments@dsplace.com. (Please type "Newsletter IDEA" in the subject line of your email.) We can't wait to see your ideas!
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Newsletter Freebie
Exclusively for our newsletter readers, DSP Designer, Carole has created this fabulous plopper. Grab it here! Size: 200ppi or 300ppi
Thanks, Carole, we appreciate it so much!
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Many thanks to the newsletter Team:
Amber K, Carole, Kim, Lynnette, Meg, Mandy,Tina
If you're not a registered member of our site why not Join Now!
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