iNSD weekend Giveaway

 A little note...this post is mostly geared to those that are interested in getting started in personal digital scrapbooking. Looking for the contest giveaway? Skip to the end of the post!

I am a little sad that I will be missing out on iNSD (inter National Scrapbooking Day) this weekend. We are heading up north for the weekend...and will likely not have an internet connection.

There will be some great freebies and sales to be had this weekend for iNSD. Persnickety Prints has a roundup of a bunch of the digital deals going on. The Daily Digi usually has a list of great deals too.

iNSD weekend is a great time to get started in digital scrapbooking. There are lots of high quality freebies and super discounts. It can be hard getting started though...as the learning curve is high if you've never used a program that uses layers before. I get lots of questions from customers about how to get started. I started a pinterest list of tutorials. My Digi Scrap Tutorials board has lots of links to some great tutorials found on the web.

Here are a few more tips on getting started:

1. Find your scrapping style.
This way you don't waste money, time, and harddrive space on stuff you won't use. Here are some links to free, open, digital scrapbooking online galleries.
My Scrapbook Art Gallery
The Daily Digi's Flicker Pool Digital Scrapbooking Inspiration

Open means that you can post layouts that contain digital supplies from any and all sources. There are also "closed" galleries belonging to digi scrap stores where you can only use digital items from their store designers...or a minimum amount (say 50%) from their designers on the layouts you share in the gallery.
Find some layouts that you really love and you will get an idea of the type of kits you will want to get started. I love pinterest for this part...you can get an idea of my personal style here. One warning...it's a large mish mash of a pin board!!

2. Read through the Daily Digi's Digital Scrapbooking Manual

3. Pick a program that has the ability to utilize transparent layers. It is very easy to find tutorials for using Photoshop Elements, and I suggest using this as your starting program...but up to you if you would like to give something else a try. Most programs have a free trial.

4. Download a few free kits and start learning how to use that program! Find a tutorial for creating your first page (link is for an Elements tutorial). This is the hardest part...learning how to use layers...ect. I am still learning new things years later btw.

5. Start a shopping list! This is where the open galleries come in handy. A list of the digital products used in each layout are added to the layouts description in these online galleries. (You will need to learn how to do this later if you wish to share your finished layouts in an online public gallery like one of the ones listed above.)

6. I am totally in love with The Daily Digi monthly membership. The Digi File members get over $50 of digital scrapbooking supplies, layout ideas, techniques, tutorials, and exclusive collections for only $7.50 per month.  Usually you get at least 7 full kits per month, plus extra goodies each month. There is a variety of different kit/designer styles each month too. The following is my personal affiliate link:

 (for those that don't like affiliate links....go here to signup or find out more)

7. Sometimes...try as you might...it may be too time consuming to get layouts done. Or the learning curve is just too great. There are also kits out there that contain what are called Quick Pages...or QP for short. A quick page is a finished scrapbooking layout...with a cutout area for you to plop your photo(s) into. Some designers will have a whole set of matching quick pages so that you can create an entire album in a very short amount of time. 

Here is a tutorial on how to use a Quick Page in PSE from the Designer Digitals site.

8. Starting something new can be overwhelming at first...take your time...go at your own pace...drink your tea (or other calming beverage of choice), and most of all have fun. Oh..and you might want to join a forum. The Digital Scrapbook Place has a Beginners Learning Digital Scrapbooking forum. There are hundreds of forums out there for you to find...simply do a google search for "digital scrapbook forum".

9. Need more help? There are also online classes that you can take. The JessicaSprague site has some great classes. Again...hundreds of online classes can be found by doing a google search for these. I suggest asking in the forums about a particular class first to be sure is it at the level you are looking for.

And last but not least is my iNSD giveway. 

It's been a while since my last contest/giveaway...but here it goes. Contest is open to all...One grand prize of digital kits worth $30 from my etsy shop are up for grabs. To enter once...add a little reply to this post ( a simple "hello" will do). To enter a second time you can do one of the following:

1. Follow me on pinterest or one of my pinterest boards

2. Pin your favorite product from my etsy shop and reply below with the link

3. Reply with a list of 3 of your favorites from my etsy shop

4. Reply with a link to something you've made using one of my kits (does not need to be 100% made with my digi products...Even a little snippet that you printed, cut and pasted to a card).

Contest closes at midnight EST May 7th 2012. Winner will be chosen at random...and announced May 8th. Good luck to everyone!