Episode 16 Put a ‘K’ In Front of It

Steph, Peppermint, and Katie are joined by Renne Looney to talk about Digital Scrapbook Day. What is it? How did it start? How the celebrations have evolved over the years and what they will be doing on that day.

Please grab Katie’s pick of the week to benefit Melissa Lewis. Our thoughts and prayers are with her and her family!

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You can download the show by right clicking and saving this link.

Joining the Discussion:
Steph
Katie Nelson
Peppermint Granberg
Renne Looney

Support Our Sponsors:

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use this coupon code to get 10% off any class: TDSINNOV 

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Picks of The Week:
Renne: ColourLovers Crayola
Peppermint: CopyPasteCharacter.com

Katie: Collaboration at The Lily Pad: Hope for Melissa Lewis
Steph: How and why to calibrate 

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59 Responses to Episode 16 Put a ‘K’ In Front of It

  1. Linda says:

    Katie can you suggest some strategies on the best way to shop on DSD?
    As the digi world is now, I get about 15 different newletter emails weekly.
    I struggle with budget that day…how do you manage that aspect of the day.
    I know nothing sells out but…it just makes me all nervous when I have to go from site to site to figure out what I “must” have that day.

    • Katie says:

      Sounds like you’ve figured out the shopping thing after all, but just in case you need any help ;) be sure to check out the Funtastic Friday post on TDD today /super-sized-dsd-funtastic-friday/ and read the shopping post from a few days ago /smart-shopping-for-digi-supplies/
      The Daily Digi will also retweet a lot of the designer’s tweets

      Also, if you want to follow me on twitter or facebook, I’ll be posting as I shop this weekend. or

  2. Linda says:

    Why do I comment before the end of the show.

    Did anyone else pick up on Peppermint desperate for legal advice and she was so into contacting Renee and was excited she was a ‘crimal lawyer’.

    Oh, I so caught on….I think she is going to create a fb profile for Steph and use her LEGAL last name she got from show 3 or 4 where she confessed she had that information in her shop information. Just saying.

    :> love you guys!

  3. StudioWendy says:

    Steph, I right with you on the Facebook thing. I don’t Facebook either and sometimes I’m sad that everything moved away from being completely accessible to being behind Facebook doors. I really dislike Facebook’s privacy policies and constant disregard for their member’s privacy and wishes, so I won’t support them even thought it would probably be a good thing for my business if I did.

    And, you were totally right about scripts versus actions. Actions are a series of specific steps that are recorded and played back in the same order. Scripts using programming language to allow greater user input and higher logic. Scripts and actions cannot run in Elements (PSE) natively. They require special files that allow the user to get around the limitations that PSE has been programmed with. Actions require special thumbnails (psd or png depending on the version) and xmls (for defining categories) and are installed by copying them into the photo effects area of PSE. This tricks PSE into running the action. Scripts take the complexity a step further. You must install both the script and the coordinating action that have been created to work together. Scripts can only run in PSE6+ or PSE7+, depending on how it was programmed.

    Here’s one quick example of actions versions scripts. An action can tell Photoshop to rename the next 20 layers, and name them 1-20. It can give the option of letting the user alter that name. A script, on the other hand, can tell Photoshop, count the number of layers in the document, then rename them numerically or alphabetically based on user input. Hope this helps!

    • Katie says:

      I’m so glad you know all of that so I don’t have to! ;)

    • Christine says:

      In the GIMP, I can open digital supplies as layers, and the layers keep the names of the files – I wonder if I can go from their somehow to make the record keeping automatic…not that I’ve ever posted on a gallery, but someday, maybe…

    • steph says:

      Now, I feel like a hypocrite because my business is on there even though I am not, for the exact reasons you mentioned.

      I could rant about FB for a long time (maybe we should do a Skype call and rant together). I will say though, if people think that as long as their privacy settings are set to control things that they are protected with FB, they are wrong. FB doesn’t care what your privacy settings are and it will not stop them from sharing/selling your info. That’s all.

  4. StudioWendy says:

    Oh, and it’s Anna Forrest! :)

  5. Teresa says:

    I am with you on Facebook. I do not get involved with it at all due to lack of privacy. So I do not participate in any giveaways on it. Also from a time stand point I do not need another thing in my life to keep up with.

    I really do enjoy listening to your show while folding laundry or preparing dinner. A lot of good information and some fun thrown into the mix.

  6. Stefanie says:

    Thanks so much for reading my comment. Living in South Africa in many ways I feel like I am on the back end of the planet, but sitting here, listening to y’all is so wonderful and I feel like I know you. We struggle with the amount of bandwidth here, I share ours with 3 teens so I have to ration us to make the month. I am splurging on the digi files this month though, I just have to.

  7. iciclelady says:

    Hi guys! This podcast isn’t showing up in iTunes. Am I doing something wrong? Thx!

    • steph says:

      I was able to download it from iTunes. Not sure why it wouldn’t be showing up for you…?

      • StudioWendy says:

        I was able to download via iTunes too. Try collapsing the “folder” and then CTRL or OPT + Clicking on it to get iTunes to reload the episodes.

        • iciclelady says:

          I’ve got it now! Not sure what was up with my iTunes…

          Ohhhh, and Katie said my name! And said it correctly! (I get “Heidi” a lot.) I feel like sorta famous or something. ;)

  8. linda says:

    Other linda here :P Just wanted to say that I think it’s nice to credit designers when possible… but I don’t think it’s necessary at all. If you think about other creations, we don’t list who made the paper, tape, ribbon, fabric, glue, paint, drill, markers, etc. Of course, you might want to share for those who are curious or if it’s your favorite designer… but again, not an obligation. Ultimately, we just want people to scrap, so the less worry there is …the better!

    • steph says:

      It actually is legally required by some designers to credit as per their licensing agreements and TOUs. Most designers do put in their TOUs that if you post an item online using their product, credit is required.

      Remember, when we buy digital supplies, were are actually buying a LICENSE to use those products as much as we are the product themselves (more so actually). It’s the same with any digital media and programs. By downloading and using the product, you are agreeing to the license and the TOU and you are legally bound, like it or not. Agree with it or not.

      Now, the discussion on if that requirement should be included in a TOU or licensing agreement, is a completely different debate and one I’m not really ready to weigh in on ;)

      For myself, I know I am highly annoyed when people don’t include that information. Just yesterday, I followed 3 different links on Twitter to layouts and credits were not included. I want the kits bad enough that I have thought about trying to contact people…but I just don’t have time to hunt them down. To ME, it is a common courtesy to my fellow digi scrappers to include that information.

      • Steph, you covered it well and I totally agree about it being a common courtesy (this is how I refer to it as well ;) to document credits when posting layouts or even creating kits using the CU genius of others.

        As both a digiscrapper and designer, I am very detailed in giving credit where credit is due! It does my heart good to do so :)

        I am so glad I stopped by tonight. My first time ever to miss DSD as a designer and after reading a few posts above regarding Facebook activity, I think I shall take that time I don’t have to try and keep up with others to stop in and listen to what y’all have to share via The Digi Show!

        Thanks to y’all, my DSD was not a total loss. I just picked up HOPE and a few other goodies from TLP :D

        Bon Scrapatit!

  9. Kathy28 says:

    I bought Hope the other day because I saw a LO made with it that I loved. (Would not have known if the credits weren’t listed!) The fact that it’s helping someone fighting ovarian cancer just makes it doubly meaningful. I have a close friend that has been fighting the same thing for 6 years. Sadly, she has little hope left so I’m glad to be able to help out. Keep up the great work.

  10. OMJ (ohmyjellybeans)! OK, you brought me over to the “dark side” of digi. Yes, I’ve actually been digi scrapping recently and since I doubt I could ever give up on paper, I’ve an entirely new addiction. Now, since I never was into digi before, DSD flew very low on my radar. So, newly informed, today I went out and sampled a few freebies and bought a few kits. I’m not sure yet what I like in digi, and only a couple of designers were names I really recognized, largely due to the digi show. I got overwhelmed though and did not actually purchase much. Mainly, I bought a few charity kits like the one featured on the show site. I know that this is extra or the main income for a lot of designers but I really feel better when my hobbies can give me a chance to do good, too. I suppose I will get to the point by next DSD that I’ll know where I want to head and get my bargains. I must say that it is not easy to get around most sites. Even the Daily Digi/Digi Files, (see i’m not even sure what to call it) is not easy. I long for a Digi-Scrapbook.com kind of place where most everything is available in an easy to purchase format. I know the money is not there to create something like that; but, I’ll dream for a bright digi future. This need to bop around searching for stuff may be something that holds me back from digi scrapping more. Though I get the small voice in my head saying – you know if you ever master that PSE thing you could probably create your own stuff. Well, I’m rambling. I just wanted to say “Thanks for all the good info you have on your podcast”. I’m starting to listen regularly now that I’m into digi and I’m even going back to catch up on shows I’ve missed. Keep up the good work and encouragement and dangerous info (like DSD).

    • Peppermint says:

      Welcome to the dark side!

      • I think my frustrations with the Daily Digi are just those of a beginner and not of it being a “bad” site. It was just overwhelming to have so much material to go through and to not be sure what was what. There is this pressure to get those files downloaded because they will be gone and you are not even sure what they are and why you want them when you start, LOL! I’m still wondering how I should organize them but see that is a challenge even for the digi-vets. A big superstore where you could see little digi thumbnails and compare what you are getting for your money is a pie in the sky dream. Just imagine not having to struggle over different ordering paths. Think of ordering by color or theme. What a dream! This is a very technical hobby and rather intimidating for the beginner. Look at me. I called the program I use “the PSE thing”. I mean, it’s been a program I tried several times in the past and might have mastered by now except my computer guru son got me to use Picasa for photo editing when he saw me struggling with PSE. He introduces me to a lot of good stuff like Dropbox. I must confess, that makes so much better sense to me than zip files; but, I’m learning. I’m currently challenged in PSE by loading brushes but I hope I’ll master that soon. It’s rather like learning anything new. Like mastering manual mode on one’s DSLR or learning a new surgical procedure or learning the mechanism of action and potential side effects of a new medication, though the latter examples come more easily to me than the former, LOL! Digi scrapping looks so good, even for a beginner, so a lot of positive feedback to learning. Quick pages and templates do make cool stuff. In comparison, my early paper pages are not so cool, yet the mechanics like cutting paper and gluing were not too challenging. Just wanted to explain my comments more, hope not TMI. BTW, “OMJ” is a phrase I learned from Angela Daniels at Fiskateers. I thought it the more appropriate exclamation (swear word?) for this site. All of Izzy’s teasing in the early episodes made me very conscious of not making Katie and Steph blush (not that I have any objections to a squeaky clean site!).

    • steph says:

      Lots of really good input here. I emailed you, if you didn’t get it, let me know!

  11. Kat says:

    Lmbo… can I just say I laughed through this whole episode. It was fantastic. It took me ages to get through it but I am so glad I did. I had ALMOST forgotten about going to get the facebook freebie at Oscraps! So that gave me an excuse to go grab a couple more things. I know the sales are great but I have seriously overspent, especially for my current budget. I am really not looking forward to my husband seeing the bank balance. Oh, and I can shop and scrap all day long from my recliner if I’d like, my interruptions are almost nill, except when my dogs are ready for dinner (an hour early tonight, lol)… then I just tell my husband to feed them! I know ya’ll are jealous!

    I also wanted to comment about the freebie discussion. I don’t download many freebies anymore. I am picky about it because I’d rather fill up my hard drive with stuff I love, not just because it was free. I was a huge freebie junkie for the first couple of years though. (I’ve been scrapping since Feb. 2007.) Now, I am a new designer (very new) and I find myself wanting to give away a lot more, mostly because I want people to find my stuff and give them a chance to like it. I believe my quality is pretty good even if my style isn’t developed completely like I’d like. I was really grateful for the DSA blog train. I started out the DSD weekend with 3 subscribers to my mailing list (two of them were ME) and now I am up in the high 30’s. I know it’s not much but such a great start. My store opened a week ago. I do love the free with purchase stuff and particularly love how Krista does a freebie on her blog with some new releases as an add-on. I can see where too much free stuff would make people think you don’t value your work.

    I also LOVED the crayola comments. I have my own set of crayons and when my niece comes over, she uses some different crayons. I always thought I was just stingy but I hate dull, broken crayons. I like them new and pristine.

    I had another comment while I was listening, a question actually, but I already forgot so I’ll have to listen again (aww shucks, lol) to remember and I’ll post again if I figure it out.

    Thanks for another fantastic show!

    • steph says:

      Totally jealous! :)

    • I have to confess that I bought one of those giant sets of all the original Crayola colors in a nice classic tin box and have not even dared to break the seal on the packaging. I’m not sure what I’m saving it for. It just feels good to have it and dream of opening it up and smelling and looking at all the wonderful goodness. We were “financially challenged” when I was growing up and I’d get the basic 8 set and envy all those kids that brought the 16 color boxes to that first day of school. Yes, I’m THAT old, LOL!

  12. Deirdre says:

    Great show! I didn’t listen until Sunday but it was time enough to motivate me to get online and snag some great deals. I don’t go on FB often, but I do value it—if you know how to check your privacy settings, there is no problem, and now you can even select specifically who you want to see your posts, etc. So I do like the FB giveaways:) And I love Katie’s FB links to digi kits and sales!

    I dislike shopping in general, and really dislike digi shopping, because of the visual overload, the way elements are shown in a cluster for most kits.

    However I love seeing other people’s layouts and really appreciate the credits. That’s the only way I shop—seeing the kit used in a great layout rather than seeking out the kit first. Thanks to the flickr Digi Scrap Inspiration group and a few blogs, I’ve learned which designers I really enjoy & subscribe to their newsletters.

    • Peppermint says:

      You know, I wish there were a better way to create previews. I’ve messed around with several different ways of getting all of the “stuff” displayed and there’s no great way to do it once you have more than .. say .. 10 items in a kit. I have layouts from my creative team in my store listings, but I tend to get a little frustrated when I’m shopping and a product does not. I’m just not ambitious enough to go searching for layouts – but I agree that it’s a great way to get some individual views of what is in a kit.

      If there were a perfect way to preview a digital kit, I would definitely do it. But it’s just another one of those things where you can’t please everyone! Online shopping in general, across all industries, has the same drawback. How do you create a small, 2 dimensional image suitable for varying screen sizes and internet speeds and still give the consumer a good “feel” for the product?

  13. Linda says:

    ENOUGH ALREADY…what do you all buy this weekend?
    Seriously, I was thinking, next year, somehow, you should do a live show, via WEBCAST…
    I was not very good this year, I am sad to say, I am addicted to paper still so my digi budget was not well thought out. Oh did I mention those copic markers are addicting too?
    Seriously…dish. Katie and Peppermint even if you just post on your own blogs, it would be great. Steph. I assume you don’t have a personal blog because of that privacy thing of yours. :>

    • Angie Gladwell says:

      Let’s just say I have Anna Aspnes hangover. You know when you buy something and say enough. Well, I went into one of the art play palettes that I bought and discovered Fotoblenz, oops there went another ten dollars. I also bought some Kirstin Agaard at After 5 and got the bonus kit when I spent ten dollars. The Anna forester alpha script, Wendyzine and Katie’s new script and the Suzy Q birthday kit which was super cute. It is a good thing my husband doesn’t look at my US credit card or I would be in a heap of trouble!

    • Peppermint says:

      I’m pretty unexciting, actually. Since I don’t scrap as often as I’d like and since I have the entire Oscraps store at my disposal I don’t venture out all that often to purchase products elsewhere.

      I spent most of DSD weekend hanging out with my husband and going on Halloween candy shame spirals.

    • Katie says:

      I love to dish on what I buy, and not just on DSD. :) If you want to see what I purchase you can follow my tweets or my facebook feed. You can find them both on the left side of my blog at scrapbookladypages.com

  14. Katie (sakura-panda) says:

    I loved hearing the origin story behind DSD. I had no idea that Digital Scrapbooking Day is for shopping. I was introduced to it as a day similar to National Scrapbooking Day, but limited to Digital Scrapbooking. (I will mention that I also do not think of NSD as a shopping day. It’s for scrapbooking and, like Christmas, you should have made all your purchases ahead of time! LOL) I had no idea that it *was* considered a shopping day until this week while reading posts on The Daily Digi and while listening to this episode of The Digi Show.

    When I first heard about DSD, it was because a discussion board that I frequently visited was having an all day crop, with challenges, contests and prizes. I love online crops and was excited that, for once, I was going to be part of one aimed specifically at digital scrapping. I think that lasted about two years.

    I’ve been sad these past few years because it seems like DSD isn’t a Big Deal anymore — it seems to be only an excuse for an avalanche of sales, with no outlet to use the product. I’m not a “stash” shopper and only buy as I need, so that I would rather pay full price knowing I’m going to use product Right Now rather than “save” money on something that I might use someday.

    Anyway, now I know (yet another thing The Digi Show has taught me that I was oblivious to before) and I know what to anticipate for next year. Maybe I’ll spend next DSD shopping and downloading with the rest of you!

  15. Sherrie M. says:

    Hi ladies – I am an avid listener, love your show though I am not yet a digiscrapper but just wanted to jump in with two thoughts….
    Katie – you are not the only one with the Crayola obsession. LOVE them. I have the crayola telescoping tower where the crayons are beautifully displayed in the round clear tower. No one is allowed to use them and my three little girls are DYING to. Have you been to the Crayola factory in PA? If you are ever in the area, a definite must see for any Crayola fan.
    Secondly, I laughed at the whole lawyer conversation. That’s my husband’s pet peeve. He’s a lawyer and HATES when people ask him for free work, contracts, etc (my family calls him a lot!). He sees it as his time & brain that is being used, no matter who its for so he should get paid for it or he can better use his time to relax or play with his kids.
    Keep the shows coming. Love them even though I don’t understand about a 1/3 of what you are talking about!

    • StudioWendy says:

      Have you seen that Crayon Maker? It lets you melt down broken pieces into new colorful crayons? I want one. :)

    • Katie says:

      Now I totally want that tower! lol!

    • Katie says:

      Somehow I missed this comment earlier but I just had to jump in and say I’m glad to know there are other crayola junkies out there. I would LOVE to go on a field trip to the factory someday!

  16. Tina says:

    Hello Ladies!

    I just had to log on and post to let you know how much I appreciate the work you all do. You not only keep us motivated to scrap, you keep us motivated to try and learn new things. Today alone I learned how to install Wendy Zine’s actions for Katie’s Power Scrapping method and her Round-ups. I’m not going to say it was easy for me. I freaked out a little when I saw I was going to have to install files to my OS. Yes, I had to email Wendy for a little help and moral support :) she was so quick to answer my questions. I did my first happy dance when the actions started running! I created my first page using the actions with one of Katie’s templates and it is AWESOME!

    On to the next obstacle…converting folders to icons. I’ve been trying to figure this out for a few weeks. I even emailed Katie ~ I’m sure she loved yet another listener needing help with this. However, I was determined. I couldn’t figure out the iConverticon program, so I switched to IcoFX and read a tutorial. I’m proud to say I have successfully converted two files from folders to icons. I just got finished doing my second happy dance for the day!

    So, once again, thank you for all you do! Looking forward to many more episodes full of new things I need to learn.

    Tina

  17. Angie Gladwell says:

    Hi Steph and Katie, is there a direct email somewhere to send show ideas and notes to the digi show? I just wanted to let you know that the coupon book is out for costco and the PSE coupon is in it.

    Thanks

    Angie

  18. Tiffany says:

    I really enjoyed this show. I’ve only been digital scrapbooking for a few years, so I love hearing stories about the early days and learning how this hobby has evolved.

    I’ve been aware of the DSD and iNSD sales that open earlier in the week, but it never occurred to me to get my shopping done early so that I could use the products on DSD. I don’t think the stores have even marketed their early-open sales this way, but it is a GREAT idea. I shop at a lot of different stores, and I have a limited budget, so I always find myself finalizing my shopping carts on Saturday, and it takes a lot of time to make those hard decisions of what to buy, LOL. Next time around I’m going to shop early and then actually do some scrapping.

    Sometimes I feel like the commercial aspect of digi scrapping overshadows the creative and memory keeping parts. Sometimes it feels like it’s all about product, product, product. I think here and at The Daily Digi you have a nice balance of creative inspiration and technique development as well as the commercial aspect of showing off kits.

  19. LaraR says:

    Great discussion! I think I heard about DSD in one of the old Digi Show’s when you were with Izzy. Thanks for the DSD Funtastic Friday blog post it was really helpful in pointing us to great designers. Not being a digi scrapper yet, I was so overwhelmed by what was out there, I’d click on one of the links in the blog post and look at that product and then see other designers (names recognized from being mentioned in The Digi Show) in the store so I would look at other digi products and I couldn’t decide what to get so I didn’t get any digi supplies. I only bought a calendar template and that took me forever to decide which one because there,again, where so many options. I need to stop going to Archivers and Pebbles and start digi scrapping then I’ll know better what to look for and what I what. I had no clue how big the digi industry really is. Thanks again for another great show and all your hard work!

  20. LaraR says:

    Oh, I forgot to ask, I see these awesome kits that I really like but the color really isn’t right for my pictures. So in the digi world is it hard to change the color of a paper or embellishment? Is it even possible? or Is it better just to find kits in the colors that would work better with the pictures you want to SB? I haven’t tried but thought you guys would know. Thanks!

  21. StudioWendy says:

    You can definitely recolor items in Photoshop or Elements. As with almost anything in CS/PSE, there are many ways to accomplish the same task, and sometimes with slightly different outcomes. You can adjust the Hue/Saturation which will change all the colors at the same time, but keep them in relation to each other. You can add a color layer overlay (or use the layer effects to add a color overlay). This replaces all the colors with the color you choose. This works best on a paper or element that’s already shades of one color. Some colors change better than others. If you have a blue element and want to make it yellow, that’s more difficult than if you want to make it red for example. Yellow is just difficult.

    So, can you change colors? Absolutely? But, changing the color on one or two items is different than changing every item in a kit. I adjust the color of a few items on a page often. Usually if a kit is missing something I want, I grab it from another and tweak it to match better. However, if I need everything in a certain color, I would either go neutral, or go get a kit to match what I’m looking for. But, like Peppermint, I have free access to my store (Scrapbookgraphics) so I have any color option I could ever want at my disposal.

    Another thing I do often is change the color of the photos. It’s easier to match the photo to the kit than vice versa. Often just turning a photo black and white or sepia will make it fit better in a particular kit.

    Hope this helps!

  22. Tricky Nag says:

    I’m way behind on the shows but have slowly been catching up over the last couple of weeks. I started freaking out a little bit though because iTunes showed the PDS as having ended. I went looking and it was gone from Paperclipping’s website. And then I couldn’t find any links on TDD!!! I could stand it no more and today focused and googled.

    All is right in the universe now. iTunes has started downloading the new show and I found this site.

    So happy to have found you again!