I’m always looking for opinions and advice on the best place to print digital scrapbooking pages.  For anything 8 1/2″ x 11″ or less, I print at home on my Epson Artisan 810.  I actually try to avoid printing digital layouts at 12×12 because it’s just so hard to find a good source for printing.  I hate spending the money to have pages printed and then getting back results that are less than satisfactory.  My most common compliant is colors that are too dark.  I thought for a while that maybe my monitor was to blame, but even compared to my in-camera monitor (on a Canon Xsi), my 4×6 prints come back too dark at many color printing companies.

At the Daily Digi, there is an excellent review of digital layout printing.  Steph sent the same layout to several difference printers and compared the intimidation factor (site navigation), ease of upload, photo colors, and paper and embellishment colors. I was really surprised to hear her results from Scrapbook Pictures, because I’ve heard so many digital scrapbookers rave about that service.  It seems she liked Persnickety the best overall.  That’s a company I haven’t heard of until now.  This is definitely a post you should check out if you plan on printing digital scrapbooking pages.  This review actually confirmed the decision I made to invest in a good printer.  I’d rather pay the cost of ink at home and have good results than waste time and money trying to find a good outside printing source.

The Daily Digi: Layout Printing Reviews

This is a great opportunity to win a Cricut die cut machine.  Pagemaps is hosting a contest that starts today through midnight (MST) March 28th.   The Cricut machine is sponsored by A Cherry On Top who is only authorized to sell Cricut in the US, making the contest only open to US citizens.  To enter, you need to create a layout based on the contest rules at Pagemaps. The theme of the page needs to be Appreciation.  For more details, check out Pagemaps’ blog.

If you’d like to know more about Cricut die cut machines, you can also check out these articles:

Cricut Design Studio

Using a Die Cut Machine

Scrapbooking Die Cut Machine Reviews

I admit it.  I’m a blog addict.  I have a ridiculous number of blogs in my Google Reader.  There is no possible way I could keep up with the number of posts that come through on a daily basis.  I read blogs on a variety of topics including scrapbooking, of course.  There are some scrapbooking blogs that are on my daily “must read” list.  Here are my top 5:

Ali Edwards - I can’t even count the number of times I have read one of Ali’s posts and thought “Why didn’t I think of that?”  She is amazingly creative.  It isn’t just her layouts that are creative, it’s her entire approach to scrapbooking.  I love her simple style and her unique ideas like the “December Daily” album and her “One Word” concept.

Cathy Zielske - Cathy is the author of Clean and Simple Scrapbooking (Volumes 1 & 2) and is well known from her Simple Scrapbooks magazine days.  I’m currently taking her “Design Your Life” class at Big Picture Scrapbooking (yes, one of my Christmas wish list items came true).  She is not only extremely knowledgeable about design, but she teaches it with fun and personality.

Simple Scrapper -  This blog is full of great tips and ideas for scrapbooking.  She writes about everything from journaling to getting the most from your scrapbooking supplies.  She just recently did a fantastic articles series called “Capturing the Season.”

Creative Inspiration Blog - This is one you have to see to know why it’s on my “Must Read” list.  I just love the layouts she posts!

Katie the Scrapbook Lady - Katie is a digital scrapbooker, and her articles include a lot of tips for digital scrapbooking along with photography.  I like how consistent she is with her blogging, and her articles are a great resource to come back to again and again.

So what’s on your “Must Read” daily blog list?

Who knew there was so much to think about when redesigning a site?  After lots of decisions and tweaks, the site has a brand new look!  OK, there are still a lot of tweaks left to do, but the majority of the site is up and running again.  If you should have any problems, errors or suggestions for the new look, please let me know!

One of the most important choices to make for the new look was the color scheme.  I also find this is one of the hardest to settle on when designing a scrapbooking page.  At least with a layout I have the photos as a reference point.  For this site, I had a only blank white page.  I did find some fantastic resources for finding color schemes during the redesign process.  My favorite is Adobe Kuler.  Definitely check this site out.  I think you will find it very helpful for your scrapbooking layouts.  If you are a digital scrapbooker, did you know you can take a screen shot of the Kuler color theme you like and open it in Photoshop?  Then you can use it to sample color for your digital scrapbooking layout.

I hope you like Into Scrapbooking’s new look.  I’ve got lots of plans for the site for 2010!

In the final days of 2009, many scrapbookers are considering a “year in review” album.  The traditional way to design this type of scrapbook is to include pictures of your 2009 events like holidays, vacations and birthdays.  You might arrange them with a page for each month of the year.  Have you considered a year-end scrapbook that captures a snapshot of your everyday life in 2009?

How Will You Remember 2009?

1. What’s on your ipod playlist? Scrap a page with a top 10 list of your favorite songs from this year.

2. Did you get caught up in the Twilight craze?  Design a page with the most memorable movies of 2009.

3.  What books did you love this year?  Include them on a layout.

4.  Do you Twitter or Facebook?  This year both of these sites saw record growth.  Capture a screenshot of your account page and scrap it.

5.  How did you cope with the recession?  The recession affected us all this year.  You could create a page with your favorite frugal recipe or budget family activity.

6.  Create a page that records a day in the life for this year.  You could include your daily schedule.

7.  Don’t forget 2009 fashion trends.  Scrap a photo of you in your favorite outfit to document your clothing and hair style.

There are so many ways to reflect on our everyday life.  When you look back at 2009, what do you want to remember?  Can you think of other ways to scrapbook 2009?

Wishing you all a Happy New Year!

I’ve had a few things on my scrapbooking Christmas wish list for a while.  It’s time to narrow it down now (or so my husband says).  Here’s what I’m hoping to add to my scrapbooking room this Christmas:

A new scanner like this one from Canon:

Canon Canoscan 8800

D-Ring Scrapbooking Albums:

American Crafts

And finally, I would really love to take this online scrapbooking class, Design Your Life with Cathy Zielske at:

Big Picture Scrapbooking

So what about you? What’s on your scrapbooking Christmas wish list?

One of the most common questions you see in scrapbooking forums is “Which camera should I buy?”  Photos are the focus of our scrapbooking pages, and the best way to improve our layouts is to take better photos.  So, if you’re in the market for a new digital camera, I’ve got a great free resource for you.

Ingrid Owens of Camera Shy is offering her new ebook, “Choosing the Best Digital Camera for You,” free to anyone who signs up for her email list.  I downloaded the book today, and read the 12-page guide.  She explains what features you need based on your photography style, the best places to buy digital cameras and her personal recommendations for specific digital cameras.

“Choosing the Best Digital Camera for You” is a great guide for anyone who is shopping for a new digital camera.  I also recommend you check out her blog, Beginners Photography Blog.  It’s just getting started, but so far I really like her Learn a Mode Monday series.

What’s your scrapbooking personality?  Is it the same as your scrapbooking friends?  I love this resource by Scrapbook.com that allows you to shop for gifts by scrapbooking personality.

Shop by Scrapbooking Personality

Just pick your scrapbooking personality type (or your friend’s), and it will give you gift suggestions for that type of scrapbooker.  Another great feature is the ability to email that page to your family and friends so they can shop for you!

So what is your scrapbooking personality?  Here are the personality types listed:

• Pink Princess
• Die Cutter
• Altered Artist
• The Fashionista
• The Frugal Shopper
• Diamond Diva
• Beginner
• Book Worm
• Cardmaker Extraordinaire
• Digi Geek
• Eco Scrapper
• Storyteller
• Tool Junkie
• Gift Giver
• Home Decorator
• Mobile Scrapper
• Professional Organizer
• Overlap Scrapper
• Shutterbug
• Stamp Addict

See yourself there anywhere?  Scrapbook.com gives you a description of each personality to help you choose.  I’d have to say that right now I’m a Shutterbug, leaning towards Digi Geek with some Fashionista thrown in as well.

So check out Shop by Scrapbooking Personality at Scrapbook.com and get some holiday shopping done today.  And don’t forget to email your Christmas wish list based on your scrapbooking personality to your family and friends.

Are you looking for a quick and easy way to finish your Christmas card making? Just like with scrapbooking templates, card marking sketches take the difficulty out of designing your holiday cards. You just provide the coordinating products and start assembling.

Jen Gormly gave me a review copy of her ebook 50 Card Making Sketches. You can read my full review of the ebook and the 3 bonus books here:

50 Card Making Sketches

This is a perfect time to try using card sketches while you are busy with your Christmas card making. Making cards is an economical way to use your scrapbooking scraps as well. Don’t forget how much money you will save on buying greeting cards.

Jen is offering 50 Card Making Sketches at a reduced price for a limited time only. She hasn’t given a specific date for when the pricing will increase. Thank you to Jen for the opportunity to review 50 Card Making Sketches.

50 Card Making Sketches website
Review of 50 Card Making Sketches

I love using Prima flowers on my scrapbooking layouts.  They give a little something special to my page as well as texture and dimension.  Today (December 2, 2009) only, you can get a fantastic deal on the Prima Christmas Keepsake Ornament Box.  This makes a fantastic gift for the scrapbookers in your life too!

Regular price for these Prima flowers in a Christmas Keepsake Ornament box is $27.30.  Today only at scrapbook.com you can buy it for $7.99.  It’s a great deal for yourself and others on your holiday gift list.

Each Prima Christmas Ornament Keepsake box comes with 5 crystal plastic ornament bottles that come filled with Prima flowers and embellishments.  The Prima flowers come in red, mauve,  and cream poinsettias as well as triple paper leaves and holly sprigs.  You also receive red, green and gold metallic rick rack.  And finally, don’t forget the beautiful black and white striped keepsake storage tray.

You can attach an ornament hanger to the ornament bottles and fill them with whatever you like to hang them on your Christmas tree.  Or you can even give each of these as gifts.  That could make 5 gifts for $7.99!

The is a Deal of the Day at Scrapbook.com.  You need to act quickly, and use code primaornament434 at checkout to get today’s special price on this Prima flowers for scrapbooking gift idea.

Prima Christmas Keepsake Ornament Box