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In this issue
Letter from Team Digital - Lynnette Siler
 One of the most important parts of being a member of DSP has been meeting other members, both online and in real life. I have met people, in person, from New Zealand, South Africa, England and all over America. Online, my DSP friends are scattered the world over. These lovely friends have become happily tangled in my daily life, too. When I needed a pick-me-up, SSSnoo and Tara came to my house and devoted a day to making me feel happy. When my mother was visiting England, CathieMarie took time off work to drive her all over “So she wouldn’t have to deal with trains and whatnot!” When I’ve been going through tough times, the grannies never forget to PM me and ask how things are going and say a few prayers when I need them.
DSP has become more than a place to post layouts, it has become a place of hope, a place of encouragement and a place to visit with my friends ever day.
A Danish Proverb says “The Road to a Friend’s House is Never Long.” It’s even shorter if your friends hang out at DSP.
Lynnette Siler
Forum Mod, Newsletter Editor and DET Alumnus
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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 (11th, 25th September) - 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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New Designer Challenge at DSP!!
It’s called Multiplicity – and we’ve just completed the first round. Four designers got together and chose a color scheme, then asked YOU for background and element suggestions in one exciting thread! After a week we had FOUR different but coordinating page kits, all made with member suggestions. The designers then chose eight random winners from the participants, and the kits are also available in the DSP store. These coordinating kits are fabulous for creating a whole album in the same color scheme; there are so many pieces to choose from you’re sure to find what you need!
Check out the Multiplicity #1 thread in the Designers’ Forum – here , and join in our challenge to make the most layouts using them by Saturday, September 5th – you can still win a prize even if you weren’t playing along in the suggestions part of the challenge.
Find the resulting page kits in the store here!
Come play with us this time and then watch that forum in a month or two for another Multiplicity challenge! It was very cool to coordinate with three other terrific designers on one project, and everyone playing along was making it so much fun!
Elizabeth Weaver
Senior Designer
DET Contest:
Hard to believe that it is time for the Digital Elite Team contest once again to find those elite few who will be representing our designers for the six month term beginning in October! By the time you read this, the new entrants will be feverishly trying to ensure that their layout make the first cut! You can find all the chitter and chatter about the contest HERE. Be sure to join in the fun and support with your comments on the layouts in each round. And if you are not one of them members who signed up, you can always scrap along for fun!
Click HERE to find out more about our Digital Elite Team (DET) and our current members and HERE to see the amazing layouts they always produce.
New Kids on the Block (NKOTB) Contest signup begins September 16th:
The New Kids on the Block contest is a wonderful place for new scrappers to stretch their wings and get some great constructive suggestions on their layouts! There are free kits and opportunities to earn prizes. Signups begin on Sptember 16th and the contest will begin on October 1st.
Find out more about our New Kids on the Block contest and keep an eye out for the signups to begin. If you are not such a new kid anymore, please join in on the comments and suggestions for the layouts in October.
Adobe Crop - We had a great time!:
We had an amazing time at the 2nd Annual Adobe Laptop Crop in San Jose, California. It was an amazing chance to see the inside of Adobe Headquarters and meet some of the members of Team Digital and other GREAT members of DSP. Margie was there, so you know we had a fun time!. Our Head Designer, Lauren, flew in from New Zealand. Designers Kim, Nicole and Christine made it there. Team Dig moderators Meg, Tara, Scamp, Lynnie, Gail and Liz were there. Lauren hosted a great photo walk, which covered the Guadalupe River Park area, the Veteran’s Memorial, the Carousel and much more.
Click HERE to see some of the fabulous member pictures.
HERE to catch up on what everyone had to say about the crop.
And thanks to SailingSue for this great group shot!
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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?
September 2009 Club Digital
Enjoy scrapping the end of Summer and the beginning of Autumn with the September issue of Club Digital. For your scrapping fun there are two great and completely different page kits; one can be used for camping and play fun and the other is rich with romance and heritage. Celebrate beauty with the lovely wildflower overlay and celebrate the beginning of the school year with the school time word art.. Dagwood has been immortalized with her own font this month - and the fun and funky alpha goes with pretty much everything, including the Make a Splash Quick Click!
Club Digital now comes in a choice of resolutions - Choose 200ppi or the new 300ppi version when you download.
This months content includes
- Doodles in Camping Page Kit
- A little Luxury Page Kit
- Wildflower Beauty Overlay
- Funky Do Alpha
- Tell Me More - Journal Box Stamps
- School Time Word Art
- DSP Dagwood Font
- Making a Splash 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 find out more about Club Digital
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Featured Designer - Kim Liddiardn
Hey All,
Wow! I cannot believe it is September already!! I hope this letter finds you and your family in good health and doing well!
September is such a fun month; the kids are back in school and life tends to settle after the run of the summer slows down. I hope you took plenty of memorable photos of your summer fun. Maybe with the kids back in school, we can get more scrapbook pages done before time gets away and it is Christmas time.
Speaking of Christmas, now is a good time to plan or even start your projects if you enjoy crafting for your loved ones. Calendars with photos are always a hit, and you really cannot go wrong with such a personalized gift. Lauren and I have made a nice little collection of calendars and stamps that are easy to use. Check them out HERE.
Here is just a little about me for those of you may be new to DSP. I have been married for 21 years and I am a mother of five children ranging from college-aged to fourth grade. Digital scrapbook design has been a passion/hobby of mine for over 10 years now. My absolute favorite hobby (at this time) **Besides Digital Scrapbook Design** is photography, and as you can imagine, there is lots to photograph! I currently walk with a friend and we take pictures of anything that jumps in front of our lenses.
Speaking of photowalks...It was such a delight to see old faces and meet new friends at the Adobe Crop in San Jose. We had a blast and as always we should have just stayed a few more days! If you haven't seen our photos, check them out HERE: If you haven't been to a laptop crop and/or photowalk, I would really encourage you to join one!
If you would like to chat, I have been hosting Tuesday Morning Coffee since November 2004. We meet in the DSP Chat Room every Tuesday morning at 8AM EST for 1/2 hour. We are a small group who have enjoyed each other's company for quite a while, and if you would like to join us, we would welcome you!!
Currently Meg and I have a fun Photography Challenge called Fill the Next Frame. Post your "jumping on the bed" shots! Let's jump around the world and have some fun!! You can join in HERE:
My latest collection of products are story starter prompts called "Recollections." They are fun prompts as word art that you can use to jumpstart your journaling or story telling process for your scrapbook pages. Be sure to check out the freebie in this newsletter for a free set!
I have rambled about a lot of things, but that is just me. Life is busy and so is the work we do here at DSP. We are passionate about what we do and you and your memories. Thank you for letting us serve your digital scrapbooking needs!
Now go make those memories and perserve them! :)
Hugs!
Kim Liddiard
Senior Designer & Store Administrator
Please visit the store to see my Digital Scrapbook Artwork
Kim’s Links
Click here for Kim’s Team Digital Bio
Click Here for Kim’s Personal Gallery
Click Here for Kim’s ‘Digital De*Lights’ Challenges
Click here for Kim’s ‘Digital De*Lights’ Gallery
Click here for All Kim’s kits
Click Here for Kim’s Blog
Earn prizes and have fun with the Featured Designer Challenge!
(Be sure to check the bottom of the newsletter for a special freebie from Kim to our newsletter readers!)
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Upcoming 2009 DSP Crops and Events
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Member Spotlight: Karen a.k.a. Fulltime RVer
 DSP Member Spotlight for August is Karen a.k.a. Fulltime RVer.
The popular, multi-talented, Karen, says she likes simple designs and calm, neutral colors when she does layouts. “Now that I think about it, I feel the same way about the dulcimer music I play - I love the simple melodies and harmonies.”
Her inspiration comes from the places she goes and the people she meets.
“I love to find and share the interesting tidbits not found in the travel brochures and especially like to do pages that make people laugh.” Says Karen
She describes herself as: “Very, very blessed by a life overflowing with love, friendships, and adventures.”
Congratulations Karen. Thank you for being our DSP Member Spotlight.
Be inspired by Karen’s Gallery, read more about her HERE then share the inspiration by taking part in the Scraplift the Spotlight challenge for September.
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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 four 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 too 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 Orange/Rust to support for our inspiration color for September.
Have you checked out the themed categories 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 Back to School, perhaps you might find some inspiration for our relationship, teachers in the back to school section. Not to mention that Fall is just around the corner.
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 - Wedding Day CD
Perfect for that special day in your life, this CD contains a wonderful variety of kits perfect for weddings and other special events. Don’t be fooled by the word “wedding,” this can be used for so much more.
This CD includes:
Scraps of Life - Wedding Day - (200ppi) Downloadable
Scraps of Life - Wedding Day - (300ppi) Downloadable
Scraps of Life - Wedding Day CD - (200ppi)
Scraps of Life - Wedding Day CD - (300ppi)
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Inspiration for New and Advanced Digital Scrappers!
Digi-Scrapper Inspiration by Mandy
The Fabulous Fade.
Using a gradient mask to create a fast eye-catching graphic layout.
 One simple yet effective tool in our digitalscrapbooking arsenal is the gradient mask. An easy starting point to try out a gradient mask is with a single photo faded into a background.
I created my layouts in both Photoshop (CS3) and Corel Paint Shop Pro X (the programs I use on my computer) but I am sure you will find gradient masks or the equivalent in the package you use.
Open your layout, position your background paper and add your photo layer. From your Layers Palette/Menu, add a layer mask.
Remember: masks work with BLACK and WHITE. Black will hide areas under the mask, and white will reveal. Shades of gray will give you the various levels of opacity in between.
In Corel Paint Shop Pro select the Flood Fill Tool (the bucket) and from the Materials choose the Gradient option. Click on the Gradient image to define its properties. Choose Linear, from the pull down options the black to white gradient, and angle it at 0 degrees. Click on your layout to Flood fill your Gradient Mask.
If your mask is too big to be effective – you can select the mask and move it or resize it. I chose to squash mine down, until I liked the effect of the water fading into the paper. I added my title and dropped that behind the gradient mask to fade it into the background with the photo.
In Photoshop, choose Gradient (hidden under the Paint Bucket tool) and from the gradient menu options select a linear gradient that goes from black to white, or black to transparent. On your layout, click on the mask to ensure it is selected, then click and drag the mouse in the direction of the fade.
Note: Hold down the Shift key while dragging the mouse to get a straight gradient.
Ensure that the gradient starts and ends in a place where the edge of the photograph is not visible through the gradient. It may take a couple of attempts to get the mask the way you envisaged it. If the edge of the photo is visible, you are taking you gradient too far, keep the end point within the edges of the photograph.
Both layouts were framed with edge overlays while added elements move the layout away from a pure graphic design to a fun, mixed styled layout. Next time you want something fast and fabulous… FADE!!!
Digi-Scrapper Inspiration by Meg
Creative Photo Cropping
Cropping is one of the most elemental and useful photo processing choices. It can serve many purposes: resizing a photo to fit a page, removing distracting elements or backgrounds from a photo, creating a new focal point, etc. In scrapbooking, there are many design elements that need to work together to create an artful, balanced page. How you choose to crop your photo can help it stand out amongst all the other elements. Take a look at the difference between the original and cropped version of this photo:
 
This was a simple snapshot, one of many that were very similar. Notice how simply cropping in the edges (and changing the photo's orientation from horizontal to vertical) brings the focal point in to the face and takes the photo from a snapshot to a portrait.
Cropping can also add interest, energy, and mood to a photo. That impression will transfer to the entire layout. Don't be afraid to dissect bodies and buildings! Cropping in extra tight or at unusual angles will bring the viewers' eyes to a focal point they might have otherwise overlooked.
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The photo in the above layout is from my daughter's first day of school last year. Do I have pictures of her that show her smiling face? Sure I do! And those are the ones that were sent to all the grandparents. But for me, and this layout for our family album, I wanted to show her personality. Her clasped hands display some of the nervousness she was feeling that day. And the crooked knee socks, well, those were just too cute, I had to highlight them! Remember: emotion and attitude are conveyed through all body parts, not just the face. In fact, we're all so used to "smiling for the camera", that sometimes the facial expression is not what your subject is truly feeling. Be sure to look for the body language that reveals more information.
Check out the photos on the following layouts and be sure to try creative cropping with your own photos. It's a simple tool that can add a huge punch of interest!
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Be inspired some more - check out the current edition of Inspiration Station News
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 September...
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 September will include:
- Color - Orange / Rust
- Event - Back to School
- Relationship - Teachers
- Style / Trend - Fasteners
- Club Digi - ... September 09
- CD - Wedding Day CD
- 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
DSU is getting back into full swing after a fabulous summer! There is still time to register for our September classes! Late registration will run from September 1st - September 5th and will incur a $10 late fee.
September Classes (register before 5th) will be:
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)
Here is the list of classes for our October term! Further information on these classes can be found on our classes page.
DSU110 – Adobe Photoshop: Introduction to Digital Scrapbooking
DSU130 – Corel Paint Shop Pro: Introduction to Digital Scrapbooking
DSU160 – Adobe Photoshop Elements: Introduction to Digital Scrapbooking
DSU192– Introduction to Graphics Tablets
DSU198 – StoryTelling
DSU290 – Exploring Digital Design Styles
DSU311 – Adobe Photoshop: Creating Digital Elements for Advanced Users 2 (Pre-requisite DSU211)
DSU321 – Adobe Photoshop: Advanced Montage (Pre-requisite: DSU 221)
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 Kim Liddiard. Download the plopper here! (Sizes: 1280x768, 1280x800, 1280x1024, 1680x1050 and 1440x900, are included.)
Add your pictures, 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! Voilą! 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, Kim has created this fabulous set of Memory Lane Prompts. Grab them here! Size: 200ppi or 300ppi
Thanks, Kim, we appreciate it so much!
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Many thanks to the newsletter Team:
Amber K, Kim, Lynnette, Meg, Mandy
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