As much as Americans are looking forward to this coming Thursday, Thanksgiving Day, I have a feeling that many people are just as much looking forward to the day after Thursday…otherwise known as BLACK FRIDAY.  This day is touted as the biggest shopping day for Americans.  While this is true for customer traffic, as far as actual sales numbers go, the Saturday before Christmas takes the prize.  Regardless, Black Friday is a shoppers dream day (or nightmare) with stores opening as early as midnight and offering amazing sales and deals to kick off the holiday shopping season. Electronics for 50% off, limited supply toys going to the first 100 customers, and even pre-Black Friday sales.  It’s a day to get up early, fight the crowds, and save big.  Or, if you are like me, it is a day to stay in jammies all day, eat some left over turkey, and scrap. But, whatever floats your boat

Leaving all digi sales aside, here are some places you can check out while you make your “gotta be there” store list for Friday.

BLACK FRIDAY ADS

SALES FOR BLACK FRIDAY

BLACK FRIDAY INFO

THE BLACK FRIDAY

Layout by Steph, supplies: template by Janet, Free2b by Cafe J (The Digi Files#9), fonts FO-Giggles and Typewriter Scribbled (journaling at the end of post)

When I read the comments in Janet’s announcement that she was leaving, I was overwhelmed with your love for her and the respect you have for her decision. There were so many memories shared by you about the THE DAILY DIGI and Janet! Bretta shared this quote and advice, “Don’t be sad it’s over, be glad it happened!”

One of the many things that Janet has taught me is that I need to scrap about my scrapping life.  I have been on several teams, had layouts published in magazines, and met some amazing friends, and sadly (until now) I have nothing to show for that part of my life!  I thought before Janet left it would be GREAT to have our team and our readers scrap some layouts about their memories so far of TDD, Janet, and how each has influenced your life. (Janet knows nothing about this until now, because I am 100% sure she will read this! :)).

You can post the layouts and link us up here, or if you would prefer not to share the layout publicly, just email it to me.  Either way, I would LOVE to have a full resolution jpeg, so we can work on getting this put in an album format for her.  What better way for her to document her life with THE DAILY DIGI than to have layouts created BY hear readers!?  Here’s my email:

Here are some layouts from our team to help inspire you:

Layout by Karen, supplies: template by Janet, kit by Joyce Paul, journaling strips Lauren Reid, and alpha by Kathryn Wilson.

Layout by Jacki, supplies: Cafe J Free2B from the TDF #9. Frame is from Glamorous Christmas by Jules Design and easel is from The Art Workshop by Jofia Devoe, font is Typewriter.

Layout by Katie, supplies: Keep it Simple Template by Janet Phillips, Glee kit by Rachel Young, Font is CK Easy Goin.

Journaling from Katie’s layout reads:

When I heard that Janet was starting a new site called “The Daily Digi”, I knew it would be something amazing! Every experience I had previously with Janet online had been positive and I could tell she had a true passion for digi scrapping as well as making and keeping special memories. Within the first week that The Daily Digi went live, I was sure that it would be my favorite new online stop! I have never missed reading a post since day one. I have learned so much from all the posts and I especially love Janet’s real life approach to documenting the stories that make up our everyday lives.

As a blogger myself, I know how difficult it is to commit to posting each & every day. The Daily Digi is a reliable source of DAILY inspiration though, and I love that I can count on finding something new to motivate me to continue and improve my digital scrapbooking skills each and every day.

I would be ungrateful if I didn’t take the chance to personally thank Janet for letting me be a small part of her big dream. Being a team member at The Daily Digi has been one of the most rewarding creative experiences of my life! Thank you Janet, for being an example of someone who is willing to share their talent unselfishly with so many others. Thank you for building a site that brightens my every day routine. Thank you Janet, for just being you!

I know that The Daily Digi will continue on to be THE source for inspiration and ideas for digital scrapbookers. It is easy to build upon a strong foundation. It is amazing to think of how much I have learned from almost a full year of posts.  It is exciting to think of all that is still to come.

It is so cool that 1 person who lives halfway around the world from me, can have such an influence on my life. Whenever I take pictures of Oreos, make

a muffin tin meal with my kids, add a border to my scrapbook page, or simply use a layered template, I will always be grateful to Janet and The Daily Digi for showing me new ways to be creative!

Journaling from Steph’s layout reads:

As far as Janet and I have been able to figure out, we first met, in 2006 on a team we were on (now retired designer). We really aren’t sure how it happened, but before long we were emailing. Janet was always someone that I not only respected for her wonderful layouts, but because of the way she lives her life. After joining her creative team when she started selling templates, we really got to know each other.

When I went to Florida in March of 2008 with Matt, I emailed Janet and she brought her husband and cute kids to my hotel to swim and we chatted poolside! Not a bad way to meet a friend for the first time. I was amazed then that she was everything she appeared to be online and then some! We had such similar beliefs and outlooks that our friendship felt really comfortable.

When Janet told me about TDD, it was like a dream come true for me and I was thrilled that she wanted me to be part of it all. We had the same vision for the site and each of us brought different strengths that would help TDD grow. We have spent many hours IMing and visiting not only about TDD but about our lives. We have seen each other through some big life changing events and decisions. She is a great example and support to me. I am blessed to have her in my life! As I move forward with TDD, this dream of our hearts, I hope I can continue with that dream and then some!

When I (Katie) first started digital scrapbooking back in 2005, I used the desktop computer that everyone shared in our house. Soon, we found ourselves battling over computer time and I developed a longing for a laptop of my own. It seemed that everyone in the forums posted about how they could take their laptop anywhere and scrap all the time. This motivated me to start selling my own digital designs and idea files so I could save enough money for a laptop of my own. By 2006, I had my very own laptop and I was thrilled to finally be able to scrap somewhere besides at our home office desk.

Over the years, I have learned a lot about what it truly means to be a portable digi-scrapper, and I can honestly say it isn’t all about having a laptop (even though that does help). Oh, and I will let you in on another secret… no one can really lay on a tile floor (like the model in the above picture) and work comfortably! Even if you are working on a laptop, you will need a place to sit and a few other basic supplies.

IF YOU ONLY HAVE A DESKTOP COMPUTER:

You aren’t going to be very mobile in general. Most of your digital scrapbooking, photo editing, online shopping, and other computer related activities are going to happen on that desktop computer. If you want to take your work to another location, you will need to have supplies backed up on dvds or cds, SD cards, flash drives, or an external hard drive and use another computer. If you are traveling to visit a friend or relative and want to bring these things along, you should be sure they are ok with you using their computer and check to see if they mind you hooking up a device like an EHD into their system. Understandably, some people will not like this idea.

It’s ok to take a break from online activities and your computer once in a while anyway (yes, I actually do believe that!) so if you don’t have a laptop, consider it a great way to force yourself to take some time out for other things. If you really want to use someone else’s computer for scrapbooking related activities, consider editing photos online with a website like picnik or photoshop.com. You can also upload pictures to online sites such as flickr or post entries to your blog for future inspiration.

IF YOU HAVE A LAPTOP:

Not only can you work in different areas around your house, you can also take your laptop on the road for ultimate flexibility. The amount of mobility often depends on the type of technology and accessories you possess. A lighter laptop will be easier to pack around. If you have an extra battery on hand, you won’t be tied down to an outlet for charging as often. If you have a lot of free memory space, you can keep a good amount of supplies right on the hard drive of your laptop. If you are reliant on an external hard drive, that can also be packed up and moved around, or you can use a selection of your supplies that are backed up to a flash drive or SD card. I rarely pack my external hard drive because I find it cumbersome, but if I were going on a long trip where I would have a lot of scrapbooking time, I would certainly consider it.

If there is a wifi internet connection around, most laptops will be able to hook you up to the internet. If you are staying in someone’s house you might need to see if they have a router that you can tap into with their password. This might not always be possible. I’ve stayed in plenty of places without an internet connection and I often find that I can get a lot more scrapbooking done without the distractions of hanging out online.

PLANES, TRAINS, & AUTOMOBILES:

I have actually digi-scrapped in a moving car, in an airport, in the waiting room while my car was being serviced, as well as several other unusual locations. I have been able to do this because of some advance planning and organization. If I have a folder loaded with kits and templates I want to work with, that is a big help. Also having a folder of photos to use makes it easier to get down to the business of scrapbooking on the go.

Once your laptop leaves your house, it is a good idea to use a protective bag or case of some sort. Avoid dropping the laptop of course, but if you do, then hopefully a padded carrying case will decrease the damage. I use a Swiss Army computer backpack when I travel with my laptop because it is so easy to carry. This same backpack is the carryon I take on airplanes and it holds everything I need to travel, even my camera(s). There are plenty of fashionable laptop bags in office supply stores, Target, Walmart, and even on Etsy. Be sure you pick a bag with enough room to add a few other important essentials (like a mouse and power cord).

PACKING LIGHT:

When I travel, these are the things I always bring (unless I will be without electricity):

• laptop
• laptop power cord
• wireless mouse
• point and shoot camera
• extra camera battery
• wrist brace (I have wrist issues)
• iphone and charger

When I’m going on a bigger trip, I pack accordingly. I still only use my computer backpack to carry everything that I need.

• laptop with power cord and extra battery
• wireless mouse with extra batteries
• point and shoot camera with cord, extra battery & charger, extra memory card
• dslr camera with cord, extra battery & charger, extra memory card
• dslr macro filters. I did not bring the extra lens I have in this case
• dvds for burning pictures to share and a sharpie for writing on dvds
• flash drive and SD card loaded with digital supplies
• iphone with charger cord

I actually took these photos while on vacation at my Mom’s house so I can tell you honestly that these are the things I pack when I want to scrap and take photographs. No matter if I pack light or pack up all my goodies, I always feel a little nervous about carrying such an expensive bunch of gear around. Of course, it’s nothing compared to what professional photographers pack around, but it’s a lot to me! I’m careful to keep my backpack on my body or I lock the strap around my leg when I’m sitting in the waiting area of the airport. I also try to be aware when I’m going through the security lines since that is where a lot of theft can occur.

I do realize that I’m lucky to have such a great collection of electronics and gadgets to help me digi scrap in almost any location. It has taken me several years to collect this gear and not all of it is essential. Please don’t feel like you have to have a lot of “stuff” to be a successful photographer and/or digiscrapper.

Here are a few great tips that are helpful:

One last reminder…Don’t miss out on the places you are going to by spending the whole time with your head buried in your laptop. Enjoy the scenery, the experiences, and of course, the people!

Up until a couple of years ago, I (Steph) had about three designers whose product I always used.  I was on their creative teams, LOVED using their designs, and was quite inspired by them.  I couldn’t imagine creating a layout without their work on it!  Then, one day, I decided to branch out a bit and I started going to different digi stores and buying goodies that looked good in the previews.  There were many times, that I would unzip a kit and look at the elements up close and be so disheartened by the money I just spent.  I did find a few new designers that I fell in love with and still love today (Amanda Heimann comes to mind).

Fast forward to now and I can’t tell you how many new-to-me designers I have found in the last year through The Digi Files!  Almost every month I find a designer whose designs I am not familiar with, but blow me away!  There have been so many times I have thought, “How did I not know about this designer!?” (that thought is usually followed by, “I must be living under a rock!”).   Pamela Donnis and Kitty Chen are two designers that rocked my socks off in The Digi File.

When Janet first came up with the idea of  The Digi Files, one of the many benefits that she saw coming from them, was that the readers would be able to try new-to-them designers at a low risk.  This brings us to a question that many of you asked in our survey, how do we decide who will contribute to the files?  When The Daily Digi was first launched, sponsors were on an invitation only basis.  However, we have recently started accepting applications from designers and stores.  We love it when designers let us know that they would like to be a part of  The Digi Files and we do give them priority.  We still do invite sponsors without getting an application from them, because there are just too many designers that we love that have not been able to be sponsors yet (but just you wait…teehee)!!

When we get applications, we keep them on file for…well…forever.  As I get ready to do invites (about quarterly), I will go through them and first look at designs.  I look at everything up close, far away, stroke it for stragglies, and sometimes even scrap with it.  If a designers’ product needs improvement, I add them to my ‘watch’ list and each time I do invites, I will run through their store and check them out again.  I have even been known to buy something while I am there, to get a better idea of what their current product is like.  No application goes unread, no designs unlooked at, and nothing will be deleted.  Sometimes, I love a designer’s designs the minute I look at them, but because of our scheduling cycle, it takes me a while to get back to them (although I am thinking I will set up an automated email to at least confirm receipt for everyone).  The next thing we look at after quality designs is how this person interacts in the forums and their reputation.  We also look at their blog and make sure their conduct is professional.  After all of that is done, we have to look at who we have scheduled already and make sure that we don’t have too many designers from the same store or too many designers with similar styles or product (For example, I figure you don’t want more than one template designer each month).  Then, I email out invites, hope it doesn’t go into their  spam folder, and start plugging designers in.

All of that (and so much more) is what goes into bringing you The Digi Files each month.  A grab bag filled with quality product from AT LEAST 7 (SEVEN!) different designers equaling at a MINIMUM, $30, FOR ONLY $5!!!  The Digi Files are designed to stretch you as a scrapper by giving you the opportunity to work with designer’s products you don’t normally.  Our team has LOVED this challenge each month and some of them have expressed that they fell in love with designers they had no idea about!  Karen said, “I became a huge fan of  TaylorMade Designs after using her stuff in the Digi Files a couple of months ago. I find that I now want everything in her store!”  Katie said, “Yin! I had never tried any of her templates but after using them in TDF - I love them so much!”

So, what about you?  Have you been stuck using the same two or three designers, like I was?  Are you ready for a challenge?  I would love to hear about who you have discovered from playing with your Digi Files!

THE DAILY DIGI is thrilled to have OSCRAPS.COM with us as this month’s store sponsor.  Oscraps is one of the top stores in the digi world.  They have amazing designers with a huge variety of styles and specialties.  We’ve been privileged to have a number of their designers as previous sponsors and I am excited to have the whole store with us. They have some GORGEOUS products and I am sure you are going to find some new designers to swoon over.

For THE DIGI FILES 9 the designers put together this BEAUTIFUL and HUGE kit.  Can you believe all of this??

Where else are you going to find an incredible kit like this, PLUS tons of other goodies…all for just $5.00??

Here are some layouts from our artist team:

CLICK TO ENLARGE

Layout by Jacki: his one using “Winter Wonderland” from the TDD Files #9, Stitching from Gina Miller. Font is Century Gothic. Template #78 by Yin Designs.

Layout by Rachael: Winter Wonderland from OScraps (part of The Digi Files #9), Ric Rac from Fee Jardine (part of The Digi Files #9)

Layout by Katie: Winter Wonderland collab by O Scraps from The Digi Files 9, font is Century Gothic

scraps was launched in 2005 by Vicki Stegall. Her vision was to have a site that offered both a wide variety of styles from high-quality designers and a warm, friendly place for digiscrappers to gather. Today, Oscraps is home to 23 wonderful designers, the welcoming Cheery-O’s and the inspiring Virtuos-O’s along with more than 22,000 members, a good portion of whom make Oscraps their home.

STORE

BLOG

FORUMS

GALLERY

- our awesome Oscraps family
- time to scrap
- the annual Oscraps trip to Cozumel
- the Twilight and Sookie Stackhouse threads in the forum
- being an international community
- a great pair of jeans
-  the daily Ooo’s
- all the eyecandy in the Haps
- caffeine
- our customers, of course!

- pirates
- mean people
- long lines at Starbucks
- slow internet connections
- SPAM in the forum
- blurry photos
- dieting
- being a thread killer
- not having enough hours in the day
- negative attitudes

And now for a good look at Oscraps HOT PRODUCTS this month!

(all images are linked)

A BIG THANK YOU TO

Oscraps for being with us at THE DAILY DIGI this month!

As a THANK YOU to our readers, Oscraps is offering 15% off your order, November 18-25. Use code

dailydigi-Oscraps

If you think back to origins of the word “scrapbook” you quickly remember back to your mother or your grandmother saving scrips and scraps of paper and other items and adding them to a book.  When I was a child I used to love looking through my mother’s wedding album…looking at all the newspaper clippings, wedding invitations, napkins from the reception. I just loved that the little details of her day were preserved for me to look at.  As I grew older, I was a pack rat and saved everything — every movie theater ticket stub, every note from a boyfriend, every receipt from a fun day.  Seeing this little scraps made the memories come to life.

As digital scrapbookers, we often miss the opportunity to include these pieces of our story.  We are so devoted to our kits and element packs that it is easy forget about the real thing.  Now I don’t know about you, but one of the things I love most about digital scrapbooking is that my pages lay flat. Adding in “real” items to my pages will make everything big and bulky.  And sometimes, I want to keep the original so I can’t just add it to a scrapbooking page (think college diploma!) So, in order not to miss out on the “real” things, I scan them!

Early on in my scrapping days I scanned often. One of my very early pages included the covers to my daughter’s “potty books” — the books we read together while she “waited for the potty to come.”  The books are now old and falling apart (four kids later) so I love that I have them forever saved through scanning. That and the fact that I still have them both memorized! Oh, and please excuse the poor design of this page…I made in over four years ago!

Since we have moved house a lot, I have also gotten good at scanning in kids artwork so that it doesn’t all have to move with me! Again, an older page.

I was so inspired by some of the pages from our team that now I want to scan everything!

This layout, by Ana, includes her daughter’s hospital bracelet from when she was born.

This layout, also by Ana, totally blew me away! She scanned in the hair from her daughter’s first hair cut!  Isn’t it AMAZING?? Ana had this to say, “Although I feel that in this case the real hair would be better (of course I still have it kept in a keepsake box!), I did this layout about the first haircut my daughter had. I scanned the plastic bag in which the hairdresser put her curls. It was a bit hard to do the extraction and recreate the transparency of the plastic, but anyway, I think the result was nice.”

Rachael has also been scanning stuff in for a long time.  This layout, from 2006, includes the ticket stub to a Red Sox game.

Dúnia made this gorgeous layout with a scanned letter from her family.  What a precious keepsake!

Jacki is a scanning queen!  She says she uses her scanner all the time — from ticket stubs to artwork.  Check out these incredible layouts!

Layout by Jacki — daughter’s artwork

Layout by Jacki — letter to the tooth fairy

Layout by Jacki — boy scout badges

Here are some ideas of things that would be great to scan:

• ticket stubs
• birthday invitations
• special cars or letters
• covers of favorite books
• pregnancy tests
• diplomas
• recipes with mother/grandmother’s handwriting
• theater programs
• packaging to favorite foods
• pieces/cards from favorite games

Want some tips on scanning?  See THIS SITE.

Happy scanning!

We are thrilled to have Nathy — aka Cinnamon Designs — with us here at THE DAILY DIGI this month.  Nathy’s designs are full of gorgeous, soft color palettes, realistic elements, and whimsical themes.  Everything is just so soft and pretty!  I love it all!  Take this month’s THE DIGI FILES contribution, for example.  LOVE the beautiful fall colors and whispy elements.

This stunning mini kit is just part of a massive amount of product that comes in THE DIGI FILES 9.  You can get it HERE for just $5.00.  Our team had so much fun playing with this kit!

Layout by Katie: Cinnamon Designs Breeze from The Digi Files 9, Anne Made hand crafted alpha from The Digi Files 9, Template by Kaye Winiecki

Layout by Jacki: Breeze by Cinnamon Designs, Wordart from Thankful freebie by Silversword 71 (Shabby Pickle)

Layout by Karen: Cinnamon Designs Breeze from The Digi Files 9; Amy Hutchinson Sunburst alpha; Font is Lettering Delights Abe Lincoln

Layout by Rachael: Breeze by Cinnamon Designs from The Digi Files 9, Template by Amy Martin from The Digi Files 9

Layout by Janet: Breeze by Cinnamon Designs for THE DIGI FILES 9, paper tear by Steph Krush, font is CK Ali’s Handwriting

Name: Nathy
Hometown: Belgium

My name is Nathy Geuens, I’m 37 years old and live in Belgium with my boyfriend and my fur babies in a small town called Mons.

STORE: Cinnamon Designs at After 5 Designs

BLOG:  Nathy’s Blog

I came across DST  a few years ago and loved, loved all these layouts I saw in the gallery, I than started purchasing some designer kits.  This lead me to give designing a try, and start offering occasional little freebies on my blog.  The rest is history LOL!!

Almost three years now!

Both, but I would like to scrap more often, I spend most of my time designing.

Pretty much!! Around 3-5 hours day.

I would say Catitude, I’m  a cat girl, and I had so much fun designing this kit!

I would say my Citrus zest kit and any of my Commercial use stashes

Hot, suffocating weather
Mean people
Huge piles of dirty laundry
Closed windows
Traffic
Headaches
Dirty nails
Spiders
Ginger
Turtleneck Sweaters

And now let’s look at some of the other fabulous products from Cinnamon Designs

And here is some eye candy to get you in the mood to scrap!

Layout by Katie: Cinnamon Designs Crafty Madness kit, Template by Janet Phillips (collection 18), fonts are Calibri and Fontologie Messy Bessy

Layout by Rachael: Party Time by Cinnamon Designs at After 5 Designs, Template by Janet Phillips

Layout by Rachael: Carefree by Cinnamon Designs at After 5 Designs

Thank you so much, Nathy, for being with us here at THE DAILY DIGI this month!  Your products are so sweet and beautiful!  We look forward to future releases!

As a THANK YOU to our readers, Nathy is giving you 25% off your next order!

25% off
code:TDD25off
expires:nov 31

P.S. Today is the last day to take our survey and get the FREE template!!

Have you packed your shoebox yet?

This week is National Collection Week for Operation Christmas Child. OCC delivers shoe boxes of gifts to needy children all over the world.  In 2008, over 8 MILLION shoe boxes were collected from families in the US, UK, Canada, Australia, Germany, Netherlands, Finland, and Ireland.  These precious boxes, filled with gifts for kids who otherwise would have no Christmas, were delivered in countries all over the world.

Children in Africa receive their gift boxes

As you start your own holiday planning and the to-buy lists for your kids grow miles in length, why not take some time and take your kids to the store to make Christmas great for a child in another country?  It’s easy: Just get a shoe box, choose if it will be a for a boy or a girl, fill it with gifts, include a $7 donation to help cover shipping and project costs, and drop off at one of the thousands of locations.   Everything you need to know can be found RIGHT HERE.

Most of us want to teach our children that it is more blessed to give than to receive…well, here’s your chance.

A few weeks back, I decided to take an impromptu girls getaway trip.  A friend of mine came along and then fab friend and scrapper, Kellie (joelsgirl) met up with us.  We had two days of food, shopping, and great conversation!  It was fun to meet up with someone who, had it not been for digi scrapping, I never would have known. Kellie and I had met once before, and it was fun to see her again years later.   Making the jump from online to in real life  is a pretty easy one!

Over the past four and half years, I have had the amazing privilege of meeting some amazing people online.  Although we may live in different places all over the world, they have become some of my closest friends.  So naturally, when I have the opportunity to meet some of these amazing people “in real life,” I jump at the chance!  Over the years I have been able to meet some amazing scrappers and great friends!  And although we have never been together in person, we chat as if we lived down the street.  I LOVE having such a strong common bond.

It has been three and half years since my first digi meet up and with all the great people I have since met, it was about time I scrapped about it!

T-B, L-R:  Kellie T., Penang (April ’06)  Janelle and Jen Caputo, Michigan (Dec ‘06)  Whitney Bushman, Colorado (May ’07)  Laura Kannady (LauraKaye), Colorado (May ‘07)  Kellie Penn and Hollie T, Chicago (July ’07)  CHA gang (Kellie, Kim H, Hollie, Jen Wilson)  Jen Caputo, Chicago (July ‘07)  More CHA (Tracie R, Deanne R., Heather Ann), Chicago (July ’07)  CD Muckosky, Las Vegas (Sept ‘07)  Steph, Orlando (March ’08)   Jacq, Singapore (Aug ‘08),    Kellie T., Kuala Lumpur  (Oct ’09)

I am so happy to have these memories preserved…and I sure hope I can add to it some day!  I love my digi friends…whether online, or in real life!

Some of our artist team members have also enjoyed getting to meet some digi friends in real life

Layout by Ana: Backgrounds Circle of friends, Designs by Lili/Kate Hadfield and Live out loud, Corina Nielsen , Journaling tags Craft 1, Ana Reis, Homework fun alpha, Mushy, Freebie, Template 7, Janet Phillips, Bitty Stitchies 2, Lauren Reid, Flowers CK Collab Kit, Designs by Lili, Fonts: Traveling Typewriter and CK Ali’s Handwriting

“I’ve made so many friends through the internet since the first days when I started chatting and participating in discussion forums. Those are just a few of the digifriends I actually met in person. The journaling reads about each one of them and how I got to know them in the first place.”

Layouts by Katie: Templates by Ali Edwards at Designer Digitals, Click kit by Kelley Mickus at The Digi Chick, Font is CK classical.

You can read more about these layouts and read the journaling HERE.

So have YOU met any of your digi friends in real life?  Have you scrapped about it?

Welcome to part 2 of Pre-Planning Digital Pages. I (Katie) posted part 1 last Friday so if you missed it, you might want to go back and read it over so you are ready for the next steps I’m going to share here today.

Putting some advance thought into this project has been very helpful. I have been browsing through the Ali’s pages for her December Daily album this year and I also went back through her archives to look at her 2008 album. I fully intended to do a December Daily album in 2008 but I only finished about 4 pages before I gave up. This year, I know it will be so much easier because I’m taking her advice and “building the bones” of my album ahead of time. The difference is that I’m doing it all DIGI style!

Let me emphasize that the steps I’m going through here can apply to ANY album (or pages) that might be put together ahead of time. (Vacation, baby, and other events are also great projects that can benefit from pre-planning!)

Here’s the album I’m going to use. Remember, that I am going to add on to this each year until it is full. I could just as easily do this as a stand-alone album like Ali does. My album looks pretty plain so I might try to embellish it up a bit. (that is a subject for another post!)

Now for the inside:

I want to have a least one layout per day to work on for the length of time the album will cover. I know that some topics might warrant a 2 page spread to tell the story I want to capture. I also want to go a day beyond Christmas (many scrappers choose to do December days 1-25 for this project) because I want to recap the season and do a sort of roundup at the end. I’m estimating that this album will be about 35 pages at the most.

Being the digi shopper that I am, I already have a lot of Christmas themed kits and plenty of reds and greens to build a seasonally themed album. I know I will want to use some of my basic supplies as well (kraft paper, fonts, etc.) The best way I can see to make this project manageable and cohesive is to limit what I plan to use. My first reaction to limiting my choices is probably the same as yours – what if I want to use something else? What if I miss out on putting the perfect Santa embellishment on a page? It really isn’t a big deal. I will give myself permission to add more if I need it, but I don’t want to waste time exploring my files, I want to pre-make 30 or so scrapbook layouts and that is my focus. It isn’t about the product, it is about being ready to capture and document memories.

Here are a few of the digital ingredients I’m going to use:

For a full list of supplies with links, check out this blog page.

Once I decided on the products to use, I copied all of my ingredients to a working file called December Daily. Each kit/template will still remain filed in its original location on my external hard drive, but I have a working copy of each one stored in a folder on my laptop for ease of use. This is like setting out all the ingredients on your counter that you will need to make cookies.

Here is a preliminary version of my December calendar. I also reviewed my blog archives for the past few Decembers to help me get an idea of what we usually do during the month and what I want to plan for. The planning that went into this calendar helped me shape my album and now I actually feel pretty organized for the upcoming month. This gave me an excuse to check in with family members and friends about party dates, and my children were thrilled to get some input for planning some outings.  I’ve changed the dates around and left out personal details since I’m posting this online.

The calendar will most likely have changes made to it, and I know there will be additions. I also realize that there are December memories that don’t revolve around the calendar such as; special recipes, family fun time, holiday books, religious beliefs, special holiday programs, regular routines, and some happenings that I’m not anticipating. However, this schedule and these ideas have given me the framework I needed to put together pages that will easily fit the memories I hope to create in the month of December.

Now it’s time for the construction of the actual pages. Instead of digging out eyelets, punches, and adhesive, I am working with a mouse and a laptop!

These are the previews of all the pages I pre-made for this project. They are all still in layered psd format in my file so I can alter anything I need to. You could make them into flattened .png format quick pages if you wanted to. I saved a preview of each layout so I could share the images here. You might find it useful to save a working preview image (jpeg or TIFF format) so you can easily view the half-completed pages when browsing through your file.

The beauty of doing this project in digital format is that I can easily switch things around. If we don’t go to the Festival on the 10th, I can simply switch things around and put the page in its proper place. I can rearrange the embellishments or word art if I decide to go with a totally different event to document.

What about memorabilia or papers such as newsletters and cards? I will do some scanning of non-digital items and include them. I don’t plan to include cards and newsletters in this project though as this album will be more about my family’s December memories. I might include a list of gifts and cards we receive from friends to include on a digital layout for this book.

I won’t be printing these pages out in advance because I will wait until the photos and journaling are added. I am going to try and send layouts in to be printed (I use scrapbookpictures.com or my local Costco photo center) at least twice during the month of December so we can enjoy the album during the season. If you want to do a photo-book type of album (such as Shutterfly), then you will need to wait until the album is complete before printing it. That is really the only disadvantage I can think of in doing this as a digital project. However, you would have a beautiful and completed album to set out next year.

Ali addressed a lot of questions about her Daily December project on her blog and many of them apply to digital scrapbookers as well so you might want to read through them. If you have any questions for me, please leave them in the comment section and I will do my best to answer them or I will have the team here at The Daily Digi help me out.

I will also plan to share some of my completed pages sometime during the month of December so you can see how it all comes together.