Scrappin' without Scraps

Free Font Friday

Creating Keepsakes announced that they are having a Free Font Friday on tomorrow Friday, May 15th.  Stop by and download their Jacques font for free!

Also you might want to check out my font site list - A to Z Font Sites  Many offer free fonts!

Ten Everyday Earth Friendly Things You Can Do For Earth Day

Earth Day is a nice idea but if we really want to help the earth, we should find a way to do earth friendly things everyday.  While it wold nice to install solar panels or replace old windows, most of us can't do that right now given the economy.  But you can still be earth friendly without spending much.  Here's my list of ten earth friendly things you can do and most are free!

1. Become a digital scrapbooker.  Okay, not totally free maybe, but you will save lots of trees and money because you can use the digital papers and elements over and over!

2. Buy a reusable shopping bag.  For less than the cost of a cup of coffee or bottle of soda, you can buy a re-usable shopping bag.  Of course, the trick is to actually remember to bring it into the store!  Here's one way - post a reminder card in your car.   Just click on the title below and download the full sized card and print it out.  You could even print it on magnetic paper! 

Bag Reminder

 

Credits: Rainbow Bright by Joanne Brisebios from the DigiShopTalk April kit; font is Beyond Wonderful;

3. Pause before you toss. Stop and think - Is there a way to recycle this? Can I recycle part of it - like dissemble it and recycle the metal and plastic parts?  Here's a great guide to bookmark How to Recycle Anything from Real Simple magazine.

4. Pull through a parking space so you don't have to back up to get out.  Not always possible but if you can avoid backing up, you save some gas!

5. Take a walk and bring a bag along to pick up trash. Wearing gloves is a good idea too!

6. See what you can do on-line - can you sign up for on-line check writing? Is the newsletter you get by mail available on-line? 

7.  Figure out your carbon footprint.  This is fun for kids who, of course, love to correct us adults. Carbon Footprint Calculator from Nature Conservancy

8. Drive the speed limit.  I do a lot of highway driving and so I am trying not to speed this week.  Easier said than done but it does save gas!

9. Start composting.  Not only will you be recycling vegetable matter, but you will also be making great fertilizer for your plants. Back to Basics Composting if you have never composted (or if you did once but found it complicated) this is a laid back description of how to compost from Gardeners Supply

10. Admire a sunset {sunrise}, recite a poem or just sit outside for a bit.  Enjoy this beautiful earth!

Polling Place Photo Project

Don't forget to VOTE!

And don't forget to take a PHOTO!

The New York Times is running the Polling Place Photo Project.  Here's what they have to say about it:

The Polling Place Photo Project is a nationwide experiment in citizen journalism that encourages voters to capture, post and share photographs of this year’s primaries, caucuses and general election. By documenting local voting experiences, participants can contribute to an archive of photographs that captures the richness and complexity of voting in America.

So take your camera with you and take a photo!

And if you voted early you can post your photos now!

Just One More Day until Digital Scrapbooking Day!

We just have to get through Friday and all the Trick or Treating and then...it's Digital Scrapbooking Day!

This is the second DSD and it's going to be a blast.  Lots of fun things going on...here's a liitle sample...

 

Digitally designed sneakers just for DSD 2008!  Aren't they cute?  Digital Sneakers!

It's never too late to show you care with Flair.  Get your own official DSD flair button.

Activities?  There's a whole bunch of fun things to do all over the web.  DSD 2008 Events

What would DSD be without a few sales?  DSD 2008 Sales

Come join us on Facebook too athe DSD event.

Happy Scrapping!

Digital Scrapbooking Day 2008

The Second {Ever} Digital Scrapbooking Day is November 1, 2008 and we are thrilled you have come here to learn all about it. 

We started Digital Scrapbooking Day (DSD) last year to celebrate not only digital scrapbooking but also preserving digital memories.  You don't have to be a scrapbooker to enjoy DSD.  This is a day to learn about digital photography.  If you are anything like us you have a ton of digital photos on your hard drive. 

Take some time to learn about your digital photos. There are tutorials here and we would be happy to post links to yours.  Learn about some of the amazing things you can do with your photos - by the way some of these would make wonderful holiday gifts! There is a ton of information about digital scrapbooking of course ( we can't help that - we are scrapbookers after all!). 

We were amazed at how much cyber fun we had last.  Tons of sites, scrappers and designers from all over the world participated!  If you would like to be part of DSD 2008 please email me and let me know what you site is doing for DSD and I will be happy to post it.

Thanks and we look forward to seeing you on November 1st for DSD 2008!

New FxFoto Version

Now you can see what we've been up to recently...   This is big upgrade for our slide shows with easier to use features and the ability to create shows for iPods, You Tube and in Flash.  My favorite new thing is the Undo brush which I've been using it to add multiple areas of color to a B&W photo.  I'll be posting more about it later!  For now, here's our latest press release. 

Windham

, NH -

August 12, 2008

-- Triscape has released the latest version of their popular photo editing, layout and slide show software, FxFoto 6.  This major upgrade provides a spectrum of new features and improvements, including powerful new slide show authoring.

 

FxFoto 6 makes it easier to create and arrange large slide shows with a variety of animated transition effects.  Fifteen new "wipe-style" transitions provide more creative options.  Borderless slides emphasize photos by eliminating white space.  FxFoto 6 also simplifies recording narration or selecting music for long slide shows.  It can now rearrange slides with drag and drop and can combine or break up slide shows.  FxFoto Media Edition can save slide shows and photo layouts in a number of new formats including Flash (SWF), MPEG, MP4, AVI, WMF and PDF.  Users can create multimedia shows for YouTube® and portable devices such as the Apple iPod®, plus Flash shows for the web.

 

Also new is an innovative Undo Brush that can selectively remove edits and effects.  The Undo Brush can blend original and modified areas with partial transparency.  FxFoto 6 now prints photos or layouts directly from left pane folders, making easier to organize and print scrapbooks or other multi-page creations.  New batch operations allow resizing a number of photos in one step and can flatten complex layouts into a single image for additional editing.  For digital scrapbooking enthusiasts, FxFoto Creative and Media Editions now offer a variety of free designer kits for download.

 

FxFoto's unique interface makes it easy to edit images and create multi-image layouts without sacrificing power.  With over 1.6 million downloads since 2003, FxFoto has become one of the most popular photo software solutions.  The download offers powerful free photo editing without the time limitations found in most trial software.  It can organize, edit and save photo files in JPEG and other popular formats and includes professional tools such as a Clone Brush.  The free edition now allows users to try most advanced tools and effects and create multi-photo collage layouts and slide shows, features that are fully enabled with a purchased registration.  Plus the free Standard Edition can now save photo text and frame annotations for future editing.

 

Availability

FxFoto 6 is available from the Triscape Inc. web site at http://www.FxFoto.com.

 

System Requirements

FxFoto runs under Windows 98/ME/2000/XP/

Vista

.

 

About Triscape
Triscape, Inc. was founded in 1997 and is located in

Windham

,

New Hampshire

, 35 miles north of

Boston

. The company is privately held and specializes in graphics software. 

 

I'm in Digital Scrapbooking Magazine!

To be more precise, some of my recipe cards were published in August/September issue of Digital Scrapbooking Magazine!  They are part of a really wonderful article by Angie Pedersen about Family Reunions.  She talks about scrapping not only to share the memory of the reunion but also to pass on your family heritage.  And she is so right- recipes are part of our family history that really deserve to be documented and passed on. 

As many of your know, my mom recently died. As we went through her house, it was natural to save photos and other mementos.  But finding her recipe boxes was so much more personal to me.  Here in her distinctive handwriting were the recipes she made when we were young.  Some were special once a year recipes and some were everyday meals. 

One of the great things about recipe cards is that they are so easy to print out.  You can print them at home on cards stock or have them printed like a photo.  Slip them in a 4x6 photo album and you have an instant recipe collection.  Plus you can make extras for friends and gifts and replace damaged ones easily.  Any one want to guess what I'm giving as a holiday gift to my brother and sister this year? 

In the News

There is a nice article today  - Digital Scrapbooking: Look,Ma, No Scraps!   

I'm very excited since Gregg Ellman mentions FxFoto and he even quoted me - I feel famous! I don't know if it is in the print version of the Star-Telegram which is located in Fort Worth Texas but if any of you are in that area and see it, please let me know.  He has lots of great resources and examples so it definitely worth checking out.

Happy {Digital} Scrapping! 

Toots X 2!

Exciting news times two!  I have two layouts that are getting published in the next issue of Digital Scrapbooking Magazine!  So cool because this is such a wonderful digital resource.

AND the article was written by Angie Pedersen which is doubly wonderful.  She even picked out the LOs she wanted for her article. I haven't read it yet but I can't wait to and I am sure it will be fabulous!

If you haven't heard of Digital Scrapbooking Magazine, take a look at the web site.  It has loads of inspirational ideas and information about digital scrapbooking.  Plus when you subscribe you can get the full version digitally in your email box way before it arrives by snail mail.  And you can access archived editions on line.  What a wonderful idea!

Typepad Storefront Widget

Recently Typepad announced a new widget for bloggers who use Typepad - one that allows you to set up your own storefront, complete with a shopping cart and secure payment via PayPal. And all from your sidebar in a matter of minutes.

So since digital scrapbookers are a group of avid bloggers, will this change digital scrapbooking?  Hmmm I wonder....

Since I started digrscrapping, it has gone through a lot of changes. In the beginning (like maybe 3 years ago - LOL!), there were few digital designers and few digital sites.  Prices for kits were a bit higher than they are now but still quite reasonable considering how much use you can get out of one kit.  As more people started scrapping digitally, the number of sites grew and so did the number of designers.  Becoming a digital designer was possible with a computer, talent, time and a high speed connection plus it was easy to do it from home or as a extra business.

Just as market economics would predict, the digital world now has lots of designers - probably more than are needed.  Prices have dropped, freebies now appear on such a regular basis that many consumers feel they don't need to buy kits with all the free ones available. In an effort to cope, designers have begun offering more and more sales. But when it takes hours and hours to create a kit that sells for < $5 is it worth it? Digital store sites and designers seem to come and go - this year has seen many designers leave the business. Those designers still left seem to move frequently from one site to another, probably in search of more sales. Without a rise in paying customers or in kit prices, it would seem that we will continue to lose designers in 2008.

So now that Typepad will help you set up a store, will designers just decide to sell from their own blogs? For one, it cuts out the fee designers pay for being part of a store. It certainly seems easier than setting up and maintaining a store site - less hassle, less marketing and if you've had a blog for awhile you have a built in customer base. Plus you don't have to pay for a domain name and hosting. But so far I haven't seem anyone jumping to set up a store.  Maybe we're all still wrestling with the holidays and too busy to think about it.  Or maybe it is harder than it looks - I haven't tried it yet.  Or maybe 2008 will the year of the store-blog?  I guess we'll just have to wait and see.....