Meredith Fenwick is one of those designers that has been around for as long as I can remember!  I have always especially loved her feminine florals, but she can do a great boy kit too!Here’s a closer look at Meredith’s contribution to THE DIGI FILES 15:

You get this PLUS all of the FABULOUS products you see on our amazing sponsor’s page for ONLY $5!!!  Such a great deal and even though it seems too good to be true, it’s not at The Daily Digi! Here’s some inspiration created by our team:

Layout by Steph, fonts Weathered and Printing Primer by Fontologie

Layout by Karen, additional supplies: Queen of Quirk/Songbird Ave. blog template

Layout by Katie, additional supplies, Hillary Heidelberg template, Century Gothic font btw, that’s me

Layout by Janet, additional supplies: Stitching by Traci Reed, fonts are Typewriter Scribbled and JB Angel Baby

Layout by Katie, additonal supplies: template by Ali Edwards

Hybrid pillow box, by Leigh, additional supplies: Pillow box template from Heather Roselli

Meredith Fenwick, from New England. I am a momma to my two tenacious little boys, Alex and Max and am married to my wonderful husband, Gordon. We have a few fur babies too – two cats, Lullabelle & Mr. Peterson and a dog, Wrigley.

STORE

WEBSITE

BLOG

Supplies: P22 American Typewriter, Apron Strings Mini Kit by Meredith Fenwick, 29-Day Template by Meredith Fenwick

A tip about Photoshop…Learning keyboard shortcuts will cut your time down greatly when working in Photoshop. The best part about it is that they are mappable. I keep all of my letter-key shortcuts the same but have modified my function keys to run actions, trim pages, add layers and that sort of thing to make my workflow that much faster.

After my son Alex was born in 2004, I started playing around with computer graphics. After many hours of headaches and frustration, I started to get the hang of Photoshop. Somehow I stumbled across digital scrapbooking and found scrapoutsidethebox.com, theshabbyprincess.com and a couple of other digi sites. I decided to try my hand at designing some pieces and sent in a submission to Scrap Outside the Box. I was lucky enough to be offered a spot in the store to sell my goods and I was off. I’ve always been a good study and learned so much about scrapbooking from the designers and members that I would chat with. Around the same time I also befriended the owner of a local scrapbooking store and started working part time there and learned a bit about paper scrapbooking too.

It is constantly changing. I am not always inspired though – I go through periods of struggling to find something that inspires me and then I go through a period where everything inspires me. Lately I am feeling a springtime vibe so you will probably be seeing more springy-feeling pieces coming out in my store.

I use a MacPro with a dual-core Intel processor that is pretty much dedicated to my design work. I have another desktop that I use for surfing the web and that so my Mac doesn’t get mucked up with all that stuff. I have 4GB of RAM in the machine right now.

I have an Intuos 6×8 tablet that I use with my Mac and a small Bamboo that I use if I decide to work with my laptop (which doesn’t happen too often).

I use a Nikon D50 camera. I use Photoshop CS3, Illustrator CS3, and Art Rage.

My favorite product that is available in my DHD shop right now is the Strawberry Frappe Mini Kit because I love the colors and I am very pleased with the patterns.

My best-selling products are my 29, 30 and 31 Day Templates. I think they are nice and versatile and easy for scrappers to use to get loads of photos into a layout.

Here are some of my favorite products by Meredith:

Here are some inspirational layouts using Meredith’s products (images without credits are linked to originals):

Layout by Amy, supplies: Meredith Fenwicks Daydreams collection papers and elements
(everything else is retired ie. Natalie Braxton ribbons, Janet Phillips template)

Go have a look in Meredith’s store and come back and tell her what you like, we will randomly select a winner from those comments to win $10 in product from her store! (Comments must be posted before midnight EST and must include a product name to qualify)!

THANKS, Meredith for being here with us and sharing your fun creations with us!!

Many of our readers have asked for help with page titles so I (Katie) posted several ideas for coming up with Terrific Titles back in this post in February. I thought it would be fun to follow up with another one of my favorite title tips – using fonts for titles.

While I own an abundance of digital alphabets, I find that I often turn to my font files when it comes time to create a title for my page. It’s not that I don’t like alphas (my pay pal account will testify that I do!), it’s just that fonts are so easy and versatile to use. I’m excited to share my title font secrets with you and show you oodles of scrapbook layouts from me and our team to inspire you. Images without credits are linked to gallery credit pages. The title font is listed and linked (several of them are free!) for each layout.

KATIE’S FIVE FAVORITE FONT TITLE TRICKS:

• Creating a unified look with the journaling on a page

Using the same font for the journaling and the title on a page gives your layout a very clean and uncluttered look. Simply make the size of font bigger (or bolder) to make it stand out from your journaling. This trick makes creating titles very easy!

Title Font: Century Gothic

I don’t always use a ton of embellishments on a scrapbook page. I like to keep the focus on the photo and story so picking the right font for a title is an important way for me to contribute to the decoration or theme of the page. I want my title to stand out visually enough that the reader will feel compelled to learn more and proceed on to the journaling. I love the hand-drawn look of the cassette tape element on this page so I chose a hand-drawn doodly (is that a word?) type of font for the title. Messy Bessy is one of my all time favorites for this look!

Title Font: Messy Bessy

Creating your own title out of fonts is great for design purposes as well. I felt like this layouts needed something bold on the side to visually balance it out. I love creating my own word art titles by simply using different sizes and colors of the same font. You can even increase the boldness on some words to make them stand out. I picked the same font (Giggles) for this page that is used on The Daily Digi site to act as an embellishment on this page about the site.

Title Font: Giggles

• Using a font to match embellishments in a kit

One of my favorite reasons to use a font for a title is to match word art or embellishments in a digital kit. Many designers are starting to list the fonts they use in the TOU file within a kit. Shabby Princess and Designer Digitals designers all do this and I so appreciate them for it! I know many others are also adding this information. You can look up the fonts they used to create word art and often find the font to download for your own personal use. Designers are required to use Commercial Use fonts so sometimes the font may be a little pricey. Other times, there are personal use versions available at a lower cost. There are even some free fonts out there that allow commercial use so don’t rule this option out if your budget is tight. I discovered this nifty little trick when I put together this page. I loved the font on the world strips and I really wanted to duplicate it for my title. The result is a page that is very cohesive and it looks like my title was just part of the kit!

Title Font: LD Elementary

• Replacing an alpha that doesn’t match (or exist)

The colors in this kit went perfectly with the photo on this layout, but the alpha was not a good match in style or color. Often times I like to use paper packs or kits that don’t even come with an alpha, so using fonts is a great way to replace that missing or “wrong” alphabet! You can also make alphas out of fonts very easily by following the steps on this past post from Janet.

Title Font: Textura Traced Empty

SOME THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND WITH TITLE FONTS:

• Almost any font can make a nice title if you make it a little bigger and bolder to draw the attention that a title deserves
• If you are mixing fonts in your title (you’ll see some great examples below) be conservative with how many fonts you decide to mix together. A good rule of thumb is to let one font be the dominant one in the design and use another font to compliment in a subtitle role.
• Fonts are fun to mix with alphas and word art to create unique and customized titles. Use the same tips as for mixing fonts.
• Think about readability and the theme of your page. Fancy fonts can be very pretty but sometimes hard to read. Also, does a swirling cursive font have a place on a fun and casual page of playground pictures?
• Vary size and weight of the font if your title is lengthy to give it visual interest

I think the best way to get ideas for how to successfully use fonts for titles is to simply look at layouts and get a feel for what you like. Again, all images without credits are linked and the title fonts are included and linked as well.

LAYOUTS FROM ME (Katie):

Title Font: Hootie

Title Font: Inked God

Title Font: Pea Olsen

Title Font: Cast Iron

Title Font: Parry Hotter – mixed with word art and Black Chancery font to create a unique title

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LAYOUTS FROM STEPH:

Title Font: Elise

Title Fonts : Doodle Dance and Printing Primer

Title Font: Nicotine Stains

Title Fonts: Empty Wrapper and Taylor Mackenzie

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LAYOUTS FROM ANA:

Title Font: Downcome

Title Font: Giggles

One of Ana’s favorite tips is to combine alphas with fonts to create titles as seen on the page below:

Title Font: Boring Showers

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LAYOUT FROM KELLIE:

Title Font: International Palms

Kellie also loves to combine fonts with alphas to create her titles.

Title Font: Jailbird Jenna

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LAYOUTS FROM KAREN:

CREDITS: Fizzy Pop Designs Sidekicks Pack No. 7; Pamela Donnis and Jacque Larsen Frosty Fun; Fonts Fontologie Haphazard and Printing Primer

Title Font: Clementine Sketch

CREDITS: Zoe Pearn Winter Wonderland kit and That’s My Boy elements; Traci Reed Pretty Edgy; Anne DeJon Scribble It; Nancie Rowe Janitz splatter brushes; Paint the Moon Annie’s Tape; Amy Sumrall Full of Holes flower; Kristin Cronin-Barrow Frame Basics; Fonts are Simple Life and Traveling Typewriter

Title Font: Sketch Block

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23 different fonts have been listed in this post so far but I wanted to include a few more of my favorites for you to check out as well:

• Porcelain font
• Stamp Act font
• Hand Stamped Alpha font
• Distressed Alpha font
• Howie’s Stamps
• Elephants in Cherry Trees

Hope you have some fabulous font fun creating titles for your next layout!

Here are the supplies for this months “From The Files”, we chose one item from each designer’s contributions.  The rules are the same; use each of these products at least once and nothing else (except fonts).  We will randomly draw a winner from the layouts linked up in the comments (post on your blog or in a gallery) before midnight EST,  The winner will receive a $10 GC from one of our sponsors and will be announced on

File names of this month’s challenge ingredients:
Danielle Young – dy-herestoyou-pp8
Heather Roselli – hroselli-treasured-blue
MScraps – 4SBD-fortunate-negativeframe
One Little Bird – onelittlebird_forthebirds_watogether
Meredith Fenwick – mfen-sweetthing-brad-ivory
Krystal Hartley – khartley_birdsandbees_pp3
*optional – use a Wendyzine action from the files

Here’s what we as a team did with the challenge:

Layout by Katie. font is Century Gothic

I used a template by Jen Caputo because it had the perfect place to use those fun negative frames.

Layout by Karen

I used the MScraps negative frame as a border/edge and recolored Heather’s paper to create a paper strip. I also beveled the shadow on the One Little Bird word art to give it a bit of dimension since it is on top of several layers of paper.

Layout by Janet Font is DJB Angel Baby

Janet added white around the word art title to make it stand out. You can read about how to do this here.

Hybrid project by Mel Wilson

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Isn’t it fun to see how many different ways a few digital supplies can be used? We’d love to see what you can do with this challenge! Be sure to leave a link to your layout or project in the comments section of THIS post to be eligible for the gift card drawing. Don’t forget that you can also link to our flickr group if you want to upload your page there! Deadline for entries is 10 P.M. EST on Saturday March 2oth. Winners will be announced on Sunday morning (March 21st).

P.S. Congratulations to Julia who was randomly chosen from the comments yesterday to win $10 in product to Krystal’s store!!  Here is what she said: “Really like My piano room. I own Oh No you Didn’t and play with that a lot. ; )”

I am so excited to have Krystal Hartley joining us this month and share with you her contribution to THE DIGI FILES this month!  Krystal really has a talent for putting together kits from shabby classy to themed little boy kits.  She always includes some unique elements as well!

Let’s take a closer look at Krystal’s contribution to TDF15 this month:

You get this whole kit along with everything else that has been revealed so far and so much MORE for ONLY $5!!  The sales from THE DIGI FILES are what allow us to be here doing what we do!

Here’s some inspiration created by our team:

Layout by Steph, additional supplies: template by Janet Phillips

Layout by Karen

Layout by Katie, additional supplies: template by Janet Phillips, font is CK footnote

Layout by NeeNee, additional supplies: All Worn Up In You by Penny Springmann and Lauren Grier, Font is Sugar Free Straight Up

Layout by Jackie

Hybrid project by Kim: a mini comp book for jotting down notes for the big “talk”

I’m a native Texan living with my husband and two children just outside of Dallas.

STORE
BLOG

Tips for clustering:
- I pick a background to start with and then I open every element in the kit and throw it onto the paper.
- I apply a temporary drop shadow just so I can see better what I’m working with. Then I get busy.
- There are some items that I immediately know I won’t really use for that page, and I’ll go ahead and delete them.
- Others are too large for the dainty clusters that I’m trying to do, so I’ll shrink them.
- I sort of organize the different types of elements into piles on my page…ribbons, borders, flowers, stamps, frames, etc.
- Then I start to arrange things. Some in front of photos…some behind. I tweak the shadows as I go. Shadows are critical to great clusters IMO…it’s what gives you the illusion of depth…some things closer to the layers below and some things farther away.
- Duplicate your elements! They add more interest and depth to your cluster. Pay attention to scale, shape, and color to create a balanced image.
- Walk away. Grab a meal or something and then come back to it. What’s your first impression? Did it seem off-balance? What can you slide a wee bit here or there to get it just right?

I started scrapping May 1996 when my daughter was a baby. I was looking for a way to organize all the little baby photos, keepsakes, etc. and fell head over heels for scrapbooking after seeing a Creative Memories presentation.  In fact, I loved it so much that I eventually found a thriving business as an independent consultant (for the now defunct Top Line Creations). Through the process, I went searching for
scrapbook inspired graphics to use on my website and promotional items and discovered digital scrapbooking. When TLC introduced their own digiscrap product, I was over the moon happy to embrace it fully to further expand my home business, and it was at that time that I created my blog and my philosophy of “the pursuit of scrap happiness”–recognizing that I would never be satisfied with just paper or just digi or
just one brand, etc.

Sadly, TLC and I had a difference of opinion on the direction of their digital program, and I chose to leave the business and just enjoy scrapping again. It was literally days (August 2007) later when I discovered a digi design contest and took a chance.
I won the contest and the rest is history.

I use primarily Photoshop CS3! I love my laptop but I couldn’t give you all the techy info. That’s my husband’s job.  I have an Ituos 4 pen tablet that I love!  I have been using a Nikon D70 for several years, but I added my adorable little Canon Powershot with HD video this past summer. I love how portable it is.

Here’s a couple of layouts about those things:

Here are some of my favorite products by Krystal:

Here are some inspirational layouts using Krystal’s products:

Layout by Katie, supplies: Platinum Dreams by Krystal Hartley, Photo Finish template by Krystal Hartley

Layout by Jacki supplies: Study Hall kit

Layout by Karen, supplies: Krystal Hartley Platinum Dreams; Lauren Reid Cuts Ups (altered); Font is Underwood 1913

Go have a look in Krystal’s store and come back and tell her what you like, we will randomly select a winner from those comments to win $10 in product from her store!  (Comments must be posted before midnight EST and must include a product name to qualify)!

THANKS so much to Krystal for joining us in THE DIGI FILES this month!  We have enjoyed getting to know you better! As a thank you to our readers, Krystal has this coupon for us:

If you are like me (Katie) you are always looking for an easy to prepare meal that is easily customized to fit many different people’s tastes. In my own small family, I have one child who won’t eat anything creamy or milky and another child who loves creamy sauces and dairy products. When I invite the extended family over, there are also a lot of different “diets” and nutritional needs involved, not to mention just plain old picky people! lol! I found a great solution a few years back that I still love today – the “Haystack” meal.

A “haystack’” might also be known as a “pile-up” and the general idea is that each person builds their own meal to their liking. I have found that there are many ways to take a few basic ingredients and turn them into a meal that will satisfy just about anyone, or even create a buffet spread inviting enough for a dinner party.

I have 2 Haystack meal themes that have worked especially well for a variety of occasions. I will include the recipes and notes for each one. Please note that you will need to estimate how much food to prepare for the number of people you are serving, and you can totally customize these meals to fit your own needs and likes.

THE HAWAIIAN HAYSTACK

I’m not sure why this is considered “Hawaiian” but I’ve seen many recipes for similar dishes with Hawaiian in the title. I suppose it’s the pineapple?

Ingredients:

• Rice (your favorite type – white, brown, Asian,sticky, etc.)
• Chicken -*see notes below
• Chopped Celery
• Chopped Green Onions
• Chopped Bell Peppers
• Chopped Tomatoes
• Crispy Chow Mein Noodles (we like La Choy Crispy Rice Noodles)
• Toasted sliced almonds or cashew pieces
• Pineapple Tidbits (canned, drained)
• Mandarin Oranges (canned, drained)
• Grated Cheddar Cheese
• Soy Sauce

* There are many options for the chicken with this dish. You can leave it out entirely for vegetarians. For a simple meal just dice up cooked chicken breast. For something a little fancier I like to make this sauce. I’ve tried several different sauce variations, but this one is the tastiest one I’ve found. It is based on a recipe I found in a local fundraiser cookbook that I have modified to my own tastes.

Delicious Creamy Chicken Sauce:

• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 3 cups milk
• 1 standard can of cream of chicken soup (We use Campbells Healthy Request)
• Cooked and diced chicken (4-6 chicken breasts)

Once you have everything prepared you just set it out and let your guests build their own plates. When I’m hosting a group, I make sure to put everything out in pretty bowls to make it even more special. Serve the rice and chicken hot and everything else can be pulled out of the refrigerator right before the meal. It’s a great meal for entertaining since so much of the prep work can be done before the guests arrive. It’s also easy and informal enough for a weeknight family dinner and the leftovers are still great the next day!

How do you build a haystack? There really are no “rules” but I would suggest starting with the rice, then adding the sauce or meat. Then simply finish it off with your favorite toppings.

Other variations:

• Hawaiian Haystacks from Cooks.com
• Hawaiian Haystacks from RecipeZar.com
• Hawaiian Haystacks from CD Kitchen

THE MEXICAN HAYSTACK

These haystacks are based on some south-of-the-border tastes but you can make them as mild or as spicy as you like.

Ingredients:

• Rice (your favorite type – white, brown, spanish, mexican, etc.)
• Corn Chips
• Meat -*see notes below
• Pinto Beans (canned, drained)
• Black Beans (canned, drained)
• Chopped Tomatoes
• Shredded Lettuce
• Grated Cheddar Cheese
• Chopped Green Onions
• Guacamole
• Sliced Olives
• Salsa
• Sour Cream
• Fresh Lime Wedges
• Fresh Cilantro is nice for an extra touch of garnish

* There are many options for the meat with this dish. You can leave it out entirely for vegetarians. For a simple meal just dice up cooked chicken breast or brown some ground beef. You could even substitute canned or homemade Chili to use as a sauce. For something a little fancier I like to make some delicious seasoned chicken based on a recipe I found in a local fundraiser cookbook that I have modified to my own tastes.

Again, I like to start with the rice as a base and I have found that it works well to put the corn chips (crushed) on next before adding the meat and other toppings. This is just a matter of personal preference though.

Mexican Chicken:

• 2 pounds cooked, cut up chicken
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 cans (28 oz.) crushed tomatoes
• 1 can (7 oz.) diced green chilies
• 1/2 Tablespoon oregano flakes
• 1/2 Tablespoon cumin

Mix together and cook at 325 degrees in roaster pan for 2 hours. Squeeze fresh lime juice on top before serving.

I served this meal to 18 people last month and everyone just loved it! It was very convenient for a large group to have a few steam table trays set up with the rice and a few different meat options.

Other variations:

• Mexican Haystacks from grouprecipes.com
• Mexican Haystacks from Mommiesrecipebook blog
• Mexican Haystacks from Secret Recipes Forum

Once you have tried out the haystack meal idea on your friends and family, feel free to get creative and make up your own variations. I like to use this approach when serving pasta as well. It’s fun to have a variety of sauces (even if they are just store bought) and you can add in Mediterranean olives, pepperoni or salami, Italian peppers and fancy cheeses to make it more special.

Yummy! Now I just need to decide which type of Haystacks we are having for dinner tonight!

I promised you a few of weeks ago that we would be having a full review of printers for both layouts and albums.  I know we all have our favorite printers (I did before trying them all out).  But, there have been a few new printers join the market in the last while and maybe you have been wondering how they would measure up.  Today, I will be telling you all about the results I had when I printed the same layout at several different sites.

Please note:  THE DAILY DIGI does not have paid sponsors, we do not accept paid (or traded) forms of advertising on our site from other sites, services, or designers, nor do we have affiliates.  No coupons or discounts were asked for or used in the printing of these layouts.  I have only ever printed at Costco and Winkflash before printing layouts for this review.

I set up accounts at each printer under a different name and had the layouts shipped to a different address other than my own.  All, in the hopes, that I could provide you with the most accurate and unbiased information to help you pick the best printer for you.

On every layout, I ordered a matte or lustre finish, this is just my personal preference.  I also chose the “no correction” or “auto correct off” option at each site.

This is the layout I had printed, all supplies are by SirScrapalot:

Results

These printers’ results are in alphabetical order.  I rated each site in the following ways:

Intimidation Factor: How intimidated I felt about the site in general, before even setting up an account or uploading.
None = not intimidating
Mild = mild intimidation
High = I was very intimidated and if it would not have been for doing a review for TDD, I would have quit.

Ease of upload: How easy was it to find the upload area and select the photos for uploading.
5= Awesome very easy, no problems
3= okay
1= Pretty bad,, lots of problems

Photo colors: How true the colors printed compared to my calibrated monitor.
5= perfect
3= somewhat different
1= very different

Paper/element details and colors: How true the paper and element colors were compared to my calibrated monitor.
5= perfect
3= somewhat different
1= very different

There will be some other information included in each review, such as amount of time for uploading and the amount of time it took me to complete an order from start (getting to the site) to finish (hitting submit).  I am also including bits of information that I think you might want to know.  Let’s get started…

Artscow

Intimidation Factor: mild, there are so many products on the homepage that it was a bit overwhelming.

Ease of Upload: 2, it took me forever to find where to upload the photos and how to purchase individual layouts.  I finally found them in the canvas printing section.

It took me 2 minutes and 13 seconds to upload a 3600×3600 layout.  It was 20 minutes to place the order from the very start to the finish.  Choices on finishes were glossy or matte.  I printed an 8×8 matte and 12×12 matte. 8×8’s are $1.99 and 12×12’s are $2.99. The shipping charges were $6.98.

Photo colors: 4, photos were a little darker.

Paper colors: 4, colors were a little less saturated.  Detail on all paper colors was kept (even white).

Other information: The prints came packaged in a tube and I didn’t think I would ever be able to flatten them.  They did flatten out when I set them inside my scanner for awhile but are still wavy.

The most odd thing to me was how they trimmed my layout. The borders on both sides of my layout were the same, but on this print it was wider on the left side than the right. The border on the top and bottom on my layout were the same as well, but the border on the print was slightly larger on the bottom than the top.

Costco

Note:  I have been printing at Costco since they started offering 12×18 prints in my area…at least 4 years. So, I can’t really rate the intimidation factor.  However, almost two years ago, they went through a site redesign and I have had problems uploading ever since.  I usually select the one-by-one upload option and do okay.  You also need to select the high-resolution option because the “faster” option (low res) is selected by default.  Because of these things, I would have to give Costco a 2 on ease of upload because it’s not easy and I have been using them for a long time.

It took me 1minute 23 seconds to upload a 3600×3600 layout.  I always pick my orders up.  They contract out orders that are shipped, so this review does not include orders shipped.  12×12’s are $2.99 each, 8×8’s are $1.49 each.  When I place an order for layouts, I usually put 3) 12×12’s on a 12×36 canvas for $4.99 ($1.66 per 12×12) and take the CD in to be printed, then I come home and trim. I have also been known to print out several 6×6’s at one time (on a 12×18 canvas or a 12×36) for my kids to have copies.

Photo colors: 4 photos were darker and seemed off on the hue a bit as well.  They also seemed blurry.

Paper colors: 4 colors were a little less saturated, detail on papers were kept, however they seemed blurry.

Other information: Being able to upload and then go pick up layouts the same day is really wonderful!!  The flexibility of sizes is a bonus too, not to mention the prices!  I was a little surprised at the blurriness especially when compared to the other prints.

MyPicTales

Intimidation Factor: none

Ease of Upload: 3, I didn’t like having to enter ALL of my information (including shipping) before even uploading anything.

It took me 1 minute and 56 seconds to upload a 3600×3600 layout.  My only option was a 12×12, no finish or paper options, these prints are 99cents.  It took me 11 minutes from start to finish to place an order.

Photo colors: 1, photos were very, very washed out and looked like they had been lightened quite a bit

Paper colors: 1, just as the photos, the papers seemed to be washed out, but not as bad as the photos were.  There was no texture detail on the white paper behind the journaling.

Other information: The paper is a cardstock quality (matte).  I don’t think the paper would have bothered me if the images would have been closer to what was on my computer, because once it is in a sheet protector, it’s not that noticeable.  Overall, there was a really big difference in appearance though.

MPix

Intimidation Factor: mild, because it is a site directed at professional photographers and it was a little intimidating at first. Once I got going though, it was not too much different than any other site.

Ease of Upload: 5, no problems at all

It took me 2 minutes 10 seconds to upload a 3600×3600 layout.  It took me 15 minutes to place an order from start to finish.  It was $5.95 for a 12×12 on “e-paper”, $2.75 for an 8×8 on “e-paper” (which I think stands for endura) with lustre coating, and $1.99 for an 8×8 on “e-paper”.

Photo colors: 2, quite a bit darker than what was on my monitor

Paper colors: 2, were darker as well, but the worst was that there was absolutely no texture on the white papers behind the journaling on the 12×12’s.  There was a slight amount of texturing on the 8×8’s, but only if you looked really closely.

Other information: Based on price and the fact that Mpix caters to photographers, I thought the printing results would be much better than they were.  I thought I would be struggling with the choice of paying so much to print awesome layouts.  I was sadly disappointed.

Persnickety Prints

Intimidation Factor: none

Ease of Upload: 5, I really liked that I only had to enter my name, email address, and password to get started.  Their uploader is java based and my vista and java don’t play nicely, so I had to do the one-by-one uploader, but not a big deal and not their fault.

It took me 2 minutes and 16 seconds to upload a 3600×3600 layout.  The 12×12 premium matte paper was $1.99 ($1.79 after 200 prints).  The 8×8 premium matte was 99cents.  It took me a total of 14 minutes to place the order from start to finish.

Photo colors: 5 the colors in the photo were almost perfect!

Paper colors: 4, there was some loss of detail on the white paper.

Other information: The black journaling seemed to have a yellowish/greenish cast to it.  I checked my black in Photoshop and it was a true black.  I’m not sure if this is because of their printing process or just something done differently on my layout.  This order was received the quickest out of all of them.

Scrapbook Pictures

Intimidation Factor: none

Ease of Upload: 2, It took me quite a bit of time and clicking to figure out where to go to upload layouts.  Once I uploaded the layouts, it took me a very long time to figure out how to order the different sizes and finishes of the same layout.

It took me 1 minute and 55 seconds to upload on 3600×3600 layout.  The 12×12 matte layout was $1.49, a 12×12 pro matte was $1.69, 8×8 matte was 89cents, 8×8 pro matte was $1.49.  It took me 30 minutes to place an order from start to finish.

Photo colors: Photos were very dark compared to my monitor.

Paper colors: 4, slightly darker in color, no loss in detail on white paper.

Other information: The pro paper is a heavier weight paper, but the images were more true in color on the regular paper.  All things considered, I would skip the extra cost for pro paper and stick with the regular.

Ordering on Scrapbook Picture was the most frustrating of any of the sites.  It did not seem to be very intuitive to me.  Not only that, but after I received my orders from all of the other sites, but one, I decided to check on my order and somehow, I didn’t send it.  I really thought I had sent the order because I had to enter so much information.  I finished placing the order, but then when the order came it wasn’t right.  I got two 12×12’s on regular matte paper and no 8×8’s.  I called them and they had the whole order reprinted and I got it 5 days later.

Scrapping Simply

Intimidation Factor: none

Ease of Upload: 5

It took me 2 minutes and 2 seconds to upload a 3600×3600 layout.  It took me 12 minutes to place my order from start to finish.  I ordered a 8×8 matte 99cents and a 12×12 matte for $1.99

Photo colors: 5, colors on photos were perfect

Paper colors: 3, colors were almost exact, but there was a total loss of detail on the white paper.

Other information: As I was writing this, I went back to the site to check on something and it looks like you have to install some software in order to upload and order layouts.  I clicked on the button for those that would prefer not to install the software and I got an error.  I decided to install the software (only because I am writing this, otherwise it would have been a no-go for me), but then it also wanted me to update my browser.  At that point, I quit.

Winkflash

note: this site had a total redesign since I ordered Christmas cards there 3 years ago, so it was like starting over.

Intimidation Factor: none

Ease of Upload: 3, I thought at first that I could upload without registering, because the site let me upload when I clicked on upload.  Where that layout went, I will never know because they never asked me for my information after that.  Then, I had to register and go through the whole upload process again.  Instead of taking you to an upload area, it should redirect you to a register/login page.

It took me 57 seconds to upload one 3600×3600 layout.  I could only see an 8×8 option (matte or glossy) for $1.49 with 89cents shipping on that one layout.  It took me 13 minutes to place the order

Photo colors: 3, darker and more red in tone as well.

Paper colors: 3, darker and some loss of detail on the white journaling paper.

Other information: The trimming on this one was really odd as well.  It’s almost as if it were printed full-bleed on the top and left edge and then the right and bottom were trimmed to make the 8×8 because there was more trimmed from those edges.

White House Custom Color/WHCC

Intimidation factor: extremely high

I set up an account and they said they would follow up with information on what I needed to do to upload prints.  A week later, I received a letter in the mail, telling me that I must submit test prints before ordering anything.  After you upload test prints, they mail them to you, you make sure your computer likes their printer (by installing profiles and all of that fun stuff) THEN you can order some layouts.  This site caters to professional photographers and I have heard wonderful things about their prints.  I was not able to get the layouts done for this post, but will follow-up when I do.

Where will I be printing?  I think for stuff that I need right away, I will still be printing at Costco.  I will also be saving up my layouts to print with Persnickety.  The colors in the photos and the papers were almost perfect!!  I really was surprised at the differences from printer to printer and how many of them got it wrong.  Persnickety was really the only one that got it all right.

I think I would also like to try Scrapping Simply again, IF they get that redirect fixed so I don’t have to install a bunch of stuff.  They have some great prices on canvases, from what I could see (couldn’t find anything with a link to them to see for sure).

All in all, I was surprised at how well some of the newer printers did (especially Persnickety).  Because so many of my digi friends use Scrapbook Pictures and love them, I expected to love them as well, but the love just wasn’t there… Sorry girls!

Hopefully, this gives you some concrete information that you can use in making your own decisions about which printers you want to try!  I will be back, as promised, with reviews on photobooks/albums.

P.S. Your purchases of THE DIGI FILES go toward paying for posts like this.  If you found this post valuable and have not ever purchased THE DIGI FILES, you might want to start grabbing them! PLUS you get so much good scrapping stuff, how can you lose?

If you have been a reader for a year or so, this bag topper might look a little familiar to you. I gave it a bit of a make-over and teamed up with Cindy from Skip To My Lou who had the GREAT idea of printing some shamrock’s on a white paper bag, isn’t it CUTE!?!?  There is a tutorial on putting the bags together in last year’s post, in case you want more directions, but it is basically print, exacto around the shamrock, fold, attach to bag.  EASY!  The toppers are designed to print on a 5×7.  The printables include completed toppers in jpeg and pdf formats or if you would prefer, you can create your own with the digital supplies and template.

If you want to print on the bag, you will want to fold the gusset of the bag opposite of the seem, so it will print on the side without the seem.  You will want to make sure that the gusset is leading into the printer (not the opening of the bag).  It can be a little tricky and you might need to flip the graphic and print more than once to get it right, but it is worth it because it’s so CUTE!!

P.S. Congratulations to Terri who is the random winner chosen from the comment in Heather Roselli’s feature yesterday, here’s what she said:  I (((LOVE))) Heather’s DIY hybrid projects! I just had to buy some (thanks for the coupon, btw). My favorite kit, tho, is “What’s Your Story?”. It’s WONDERFUL. Thanks for the chance to win.

THANKS to everyone who participated!

I am so excited to have Heather join us in THE DIGI FILES this month!!  The first time I used Heather’s products was on an album I created for my dad for Father’s Day a few years ago.  I have since learned that Heather can really rock the boy kits (as well as hybrid projects)!

Here’s a closer look at Heather’s contribution to The Files this month:

Our team really had fun working with this kit:

Layout by Karen, additional supplies: Fizzy Pop Designs template; Lauren Reid Scritchy Scratches; Natalie Braxton string; Eva Marina alpha

Layout by Katie, additional supplies: template by Janet Phillips, Fill-a-bet alpha by me, Pea Jiawei font

Layout by Kellie, additional supplies: Template by ChrissyW; Date Element by Bella Gypsy; Photo Action by My4Hens

Layout by Jacki

Layout by NeeNee, additional supplies: Alpha:  All In A Day’s Work by Heather Roselli and Libby Wiefenbach and Font:  Pea Squeaker

And a hybrid project by Leigh:

Paint tin from Archivers.

Heather Roselli

Nashville, TN

Married for 11 years with 3 boys – 8 years old and identical twins 5 years old

Store

Blog

Supplies: Kit – Party On by Heather Roselli
Alpha (6) – Party On: Build a Cupcake by Heather Roselli
Template – Sketchers Set 2 by Julie Billingsley

Supplies:  Kit – Pet Shop: Crazy Cats by Heather Roselli
Template – Scrap with Laura by Darcy Baldwin
Font – DJB Messie Amanda by Darcy Baldwin

We sometimes try to create for others…and it often times just doesn’t work (in layouts and in kits). I always tell my team to scrap what they want to in the style that they love…because the layouts they love will almost always be their greatest work. I truly believe this. Do what you love, love what you do…and your family will love you and your efforts to preserve your family’s memories.

I began scrapbooking in January 2002 after my first child was born in order to share his new life with my Mom and Dad since they lived so far away. I soon became frustrated with having pictures the wrong size for what I wanted to do. I started laying out my page spreads on the computer so I could crop the photos the way I wanted to before ordering my digital prints. Somehow while doing that I stumbled across digital scrapbooking and realized that was what I had been doing, except I was then translating my digital layouts to paper ones. I put up all my paper supplies and immediately started creating digital pages!

Within just a few weeks I started designing my own kits based on the colors and patterns in my children’s clothes, not with the intent to sell them, but just to use for myself. Soon I had 10 kits on my hard drive! Turned out that I loved designing! I was incredibly lucky to be involved with The Digi Chick forums at that time and was accepted as a designer there in the Fall of 2005. In July of 2007 I moved to my dream gig at Sweet Shoppe Designs and absolutely love it there! What a wonderful group of designers, staff members and community members we have there!

When I’m not designing (is there a time when I’m not??), I spend time with my three sons (8 years old and 5 year-old twins) and husband of over 11 years in Nashville, TN. My oldest is in 2^nd grade and the twins attend preschool two days a week. When not in school we attend Cub Scout meetings, swimming lessons, go to the zoo, play at the park, visit my in-laws just up the street, take geo-caching hikes, etc.

My kids, their clothing and activities, my team’s ideas, the seasons, different websites…everything! hehe

I work on a 17” HP Pavilion Entertainment PC laptop running the new Windows 7 that is just 5 or so months old. It has 8GB of RAM and handles all my programs really well. What I hate is the screen…it is the worst I’ve ever had. It is darker/more saturated at the top and gets lighter toward the bottom. I swear I don’t what my colors really look like anymore!!! hehe

I use Adobe Photoshop CS3 (I need to upgrade!) and Adobe Illustrator CS3. I also use several filter/texture plug-ins on occasion.

I have just a Nikon Coolpix S10 point and shoot, but my dh has a professional Cannon 1DS that is on “permanent borrow” from a friend of his that loves photography and buys every new camera that comes out! My husband’s photos are the ones I really love scrapping these days.

I have a wireless Wacom tablet that I don’t use near as much as I should! Turns out I draw better with a trackpad than a pen I guess! hehe

Hmmm…impossible to answer…each new kit is my new favorite most of the time…right now I’d have to say that my Pet Shop series is my favorite. It has such bright colors and cute graphics…I’ve scrapped several pages with it (which is very unusual for me these days).

For 2009 by best selling kit was What’s Your Story? with Water Play Days a very close second.

Here are some of my favorite products from Heather’s shoppe:

Here’s a little inspiration using Heather’s products:

Layout by Katie, supplies: Good Night by Heather Roselli
Template by Janet Phillips (modified)
Traveling Typewriter font

Layout by Kellie, supplies:  Whatever Floats Your Boat by Heather, White Almond Alpha by Amy Hutchinson; White Stitching No. 2 by Anna Aspnes

Go have a look in Heather’s store and come back and tell her what you like, we will randomly select a winner from those comments to win $10 in product from their store!  (Comments must be posted before midnight EST March 11, 2010 and must include a product name to qualify)!

As a THANK YOU to our readers, Heather has this coupon for us to use in her store:

I would like to say a BIG THANK YOU to Heather for joining us this month in THE DIGI FILES and sharing her many talents with us!!

Flickr

First, we are soooo excited about our new Flickr group!!  I had not ever done anything with Flickr when Katie approached me about creating a group.  She did a post about how to register, join, and add some layouts to our group over the weekend.  The group is open to any products, any store, and any designer.  Just keep the layouts family friendly!

I have had so much fun looking at layouts from our readers!  We have a seriously talented group of scrappers checking in with us everyday!!  I am working on some ways to share some of the layouts posted in that group!

We have threaded comments and Gravatars

From the very beginning of this blog, we have been answering your questions left in comments via email.  Sometimes though, it is helpful for everyone to have that information!  So, now we can just post a reply to your comment like Katie did in one of the comments from her Flickr post:

We also can view Gravatars now in the comments.  Signing up for a Gravatar is very easy (enter your email, verify, set up a password, upload, select, go) and then your avatar will be available across any blog or site where Gravatars are enabled.

New Team Inspiration Category

One of the things our readers said they wanted in the survey we did last fall was a way to view our team layouts from THE DIGI FILES in one place that was easy to find!  Well, I think we have made this one pretty easy!  Just click on that Team Inspiration category and it will take you to that part of the site.  You will see in the upper right corner of that page a button to subscribe to the RSS feed this category!  Now, whenever we update this category with new layouts,  it will come right to your reader or inbox too!

Note: I have added all of the past contributors for 2010 to our Team Inspiration category.  I had a minor glitch when posting them though, so they are not  necessarily in chronological order, but will be going forward.

New Newsletter

Did you see our last newsletter?  The email was really not anything special…just some text and a link to the actual newsletter on the site.  I received so much positive feedback about it though that we will be following that format  from now on.  Not only that, but now you can subscribe to our newsletters via RSS feed as well!!  So, now, you can get them in your inbox via the ‘old fashioned’ email registration form OR you can subscribe to the RSS feed and get them in your reader!  Whatever works for you, works for us!  You can check out a sample from a couple of weeks ago, as well as subscribe to the feed, by going to the Newsletter section of the site.

Go Ahead!  Search!

We upgraded our search feature on the site, so hopefully, you will be able to find what you are looking for more quickly!  If you type something in and don’t find it, check your spelling.  You may also need to broaden the topic a little more to get better results.

New Diggs

Did you see THE DIGI FILES’ new digs?  We launched TDF15 with new packaging…sometimes a fresh outfit is nice!

I think that’s all of the new features for now, but we always have something fun and exciting in the works behind the scenes!  We are also always open to suggestions and feedback from our readers, customers, and designers…this is YOUR HOME too!!

Yesterday, in Wendy’s contributor feature, I told you that she would be here today with a tutorial on installing and using her actions that are included in THE DIGI FILES this month.  This was something I requested from her, because I know actions can be intimidating at first, but once you give them a try, you will quickly become addicted.

If you purchased this month’s Digi Files, you may have noticed some of my actions in your download. For some of you, this may be the first time you’ve ever downloaded an action. Don’t let it intimidate you! We’re going to walk through one of the actions all the way from installing them to using them.

When you unzip your download, you will find several folders organized according to the version of Photoshop or Elements you use. Each folder contains all the files you need to install and run the actions. Let’s take a look at each version and go over how to install. (NOTE: Included with your download is a PDF file that goes over all the installation instructions for each version.)

PHOTOSHOP CS+

There are several ways to install actions in Photoshop. The easiest, however, is to double-click on the ATN file. (I recommend Photoshop be running before you do this.) The actions will be automatically loaded into your Action Palette. To view them, click WINDOW>ACTIONS and scroll to the bottom of the list where your new actions will appear. If the Action Set is collapsed, simply click the arrow to the left of the palette to expand the Set and view all the actions included.

To launch the action:

1. Cick on the action name (ie. WZ_ScrapIt10).

2. Press the play button on the bottom of the palette (the triangle).

PHOTOSHOP ELEMENTS (PSE)

Installing actions in Elements is much more difficult, but once you get the hang of it for your version of PSE, you’ll be a pro! The tricky part is matching up your version of PSE with your operating system. In every version of PSE, you will install the action (ATN) and thumbnail (PSD or PNG). In newer versions of PSE (6-8), you can also install a file for placing the actions in categories (XML). Make a note of the files you’ll need from the list below and have them ready to copy into the correct locations.

PSE 4: ATN & PSD thumbnail (one for each action in the set)

PSE 5: ATN & thumbs.PSD thumbnail (one ATN for each action, only one thumbnail total)

PSE 6: ATN, PNG thumbnail, XML (one for each action in the set)

PSE 7 & 8: Classic Mode-ATN, PNG thumbnail, XML (one for each action in the set); Action Player-ATN (only)

1. Before you can install your actions, you must be sure to SHOW HIDDEN FILES AND FOLDERS. Actions should be installed using the Admin Account.

2. Quit Photoshop Elements.

3. Copy your ATN and thumbnails into the Photo Effects folder. (See the PDF tutorial for the exact location of this folder for your version of PSE and your operating system.

4. If you have PSE 6 or 7, you need to copy your XML file into the Metadata>Layer Styles folder.

5. Now that the files are in place, you need to delete your cache files to force Elements to rebuild the thumbnails. Delete the thumbdatabase.db3 file and the mediadatabase.db3 file. These will be recreated when PSE is started the next time. (To locate your cache files, see the PDF tutorial.)

6. Launch Elements. Click on your Effects Palette and you’ll see the following:

To launch the action:

1. Create a new document in any size.

2. Click on the Photo Effects button.

3. Select the Action Category name from the drop down menu (ie. WZ_ScrapIt).

4. Cick on the action thumbnail (ie. WZ_ScrapIt10). TIP: Hovering your mouse over the thumbnail will show the full action name.

5. Press the APPLY button on the bottom of the palette.

Now that we have loaded our actions and now how to play them, let’s walk through using one of them. We’ll we working with Scrap It {10} and using One Little Bird’s kit from The Digi Files #15. Are you ready? Let’s go!

Using Scrap It {10}

First, let’s talk a smidge about what Scrap It is going to do. Scrap It is a new way of using templates. Basically, the action will lead you through opening and placing each paper, element and photo. You can control the size, placement and shadows as you go. When we are done, we will have a layout based on the layout below.

supplies for layout in preview by ZigZagScrap (collab)

1. Prepare your files. Each Scrap It action comes with a tutorial that has a list of digi supplies you will need. Feel free to make minor substitutions. Scrap It 10 needs:

1 Background paper

1 Paper for upper matte

1 Paper for journaling

1 Paper or bottom matte

1 Frame

1 Element (bottom right of frame)

1 Hanging tag

1 Fastener

1 Element (next to tag)

1 Small Element (next to frame)

Title & Journaling

2. Launch the action. (PSE users be sure to have a blank file open first.) You will see several messages introduction the action. Press CONTINUE.

3. Eventually, you will be asked to select a background paper. Browse to the paper, select it and click OPEN. I choose a green paper. The action opened it, copied and pasted into my new file. (I realized at this point I meant to choose the plum paper. Instead of starting over, I will continue on, and just swap the paper out at the end.)

4. On the next screen, I’m asked for a second paper for the matte. Select one and watch as it’s added to your layout.

5. Next the action asks you to select a light colored paper to go behind the journaling.

6. On the next screen, you will be prompted to add your drop shadow. Adjust the settings to your liking and press OK.

7. Finally, you will be asked for a pattern paper for the bottom matte. Then, adjust the shadow settings again.

8. You will be asked for to select a frame and to add a drop shadow. Then, the action will move your frame. At this point, you can resize it by clicking the corner anchors, or reposition by clicking and dragging. When you are done, press ENTER (or in PSE, click the Green Check mark).

9. Next comes the photo. Select your photo, add the shadow when prompted, then position it under your frame. It’s okay if it sticks out. We’ll crop it later.

10. You will now be asked to crop your image under the frame by contracting the selection. Enter a number large enough to inset from your chosen frame but small enough that it doesn’t contract beyond the frame border. Usually 10-30 pixels works well.

11. Next we’ll start adding elements. Follow the instruction along, selecting the elements, adding shadows and positioning when prompted.

12. After you’ve placed the rest of the elements, the action will add text for the title. Position it. You can edit it when you are done.

13. The action now adds text for the journaling. Finally, you will see a message letting you know the action is complete. Press CONTINUE (PSE users should not press CANCEL or it will cancel the entire action and delete the file.)

14. Your layout is now complete. Edit your journaling and title. Adjust elements, or add additional ones. Or, swap some out if you change your mind. I decided to remove the Title word and use the word art included in the kit. And, I swapped my green background paper out for the plum one. I even moved my elements around a bit. I still might go back to this one and add some more finishing touches.

15. Save your file and you are done!

Actions can help save time and these Scrap It actions are great for creating quick layouts in just 10-15 minutes. If you have any questions, just post a comment and I’ll be back to help! I hope you enjoy these Scrap It actions! I’d love to see the layouts you create with them, so feel free to leave a comment with a link.

P.S. It’s Steph and I just wanted to let you know that our random winner for $10 in product from Studio Wendy is Sandy who said, “Wendy’s actions are amazing! There is only one set for PSE that I don’t have yet, and that is the Scrap It Collection 2. I will be adding that to my collection soon. If you haven’t tried any of her products, please take advantage of the coupon and give them a try. You won’t be disappointed! Her Cluster It and Scrap It sets are real timesavers. Her photo action sets are awesome. The photo book actions and templates are so helpful when you want to print your pages. {Can you tell that I am a huge fan?!!! ;~)} Thanks for the coupon, Wendy!”