by Linda | May 22, 2013 | my creative journal
This week I would like to share a friendly reminder regarding keeping on top of your publicity and mentions on the web. It’s my marketing take action task for this week, inspired by Leslie Saeta’s 30 day marketing challenge post here. Google alerts sends you updates based on a search term, so you can keep on top of certain topics. I had a few setup, but it was time to clean things up.
The idea is to monitor what is being said about you and your work online. Usually you would setup an alert for your name, business and any topic that is of interest to you. I also setup alerts for those linking to my website.
To take it a step further, you might consider setting up an alert to shadow someone you admire. It might sound a bit freaky, but the idea is to learn where that person or business might be mentioned or spending their time online to promote themselves – so you can learn from them. It can be very enlightening to do this for one of the gurus in your business or niche. Try it out!
by Linda | May 6, 2013 | my creative journal
Got a chance to do some digital coloring, using my sporty birdie sketch. I like how the digital coloring turned out… seems sort of natural and soft to me. I like it… but then again I’m not sure if it’s “done.” I’ve been held up in my birdie series project because I can’t seem to settle on what medium to use. Silly, huh?
I don’t know why, but I wanted to use acrylic paint first… but never got around to it since these days I don’t have much time for a messier medium. Then I wondered if watercolor would create a cuter softer look. I tried it out, but ended up using the brightest colors possible… so that’s not exactly soft, is it?
Hmm… I suppose it’s all been done before, so should I just go for it regardless or keep trying to search for something new? Why can’t I just move forward and do it, right?
Oh, little birdie, will you ever be finished?! Do you often get held back by your own doubts and worries? How do you break through?
by Linda | Apr 12, 2013 | my creative journal
Happy Friday! Just wanted to share some super happy and exciting news with you… I’ve been published in Simply Cards & Papercraft Magazine – yippee!
You can see that my owl digi stamps are featured and the designer did a great job using them in her card designs. I’m so honored!
Although it’s just a tiny step, it’s amazing to get this feature and bit of publicity. Thank you to the magazine for the opportunity! We all want to share our work to a bigger audience after all. I hope the readers will try out digital stamping and have lots of fun! Enjoy!
by Linda | Apr 10, 2013 | my creative journal
The Pixel and Paper Series highlights digital techniques and products for scrapbookers like you and me. I believe that everyone should consider digital elements to be a part of their scrapbooking toolbox, so let’s learn together what the possibilities are. Each week, I’ll be sharing the opinion of a real-life scrapbooker to reveal how they use digital in their scrapbooking. Each post will also offer a freebie download to help you get started on your pixel and paper journey. Enjoy!
Introducing… Monica Bradford
Monica Bradford is a scrapbooker and teacher with a blog about finding and using inspiration. I had the pleasure of designing her blog theme and love all that she shares regarding scrapbooking inspiration. I decided to ask her about digital versus paper scrapbooking…
Monica says:
I’m definitely what I would call a hybrid scrapbooker. My end result is paper 90% of the time, although I do occasionally do digi pages. But I use my computer 100% of the time when I’m scrapping. I always edit my photos a bit in PSE and often also use digital collage templates to get more photos on one 4×6. I prefer to scrap on one 12×12 page so using digital collage templates allows me to put many more photos on a 12×12 page without interrupting the design.
I also consider Pinterest a digital tool for me. Once upon a time I used to get magazines and put post-its on my favorite pages. Now I search blogs and pin them to boards on Pinterest. It keeps my inspiration organized in a way that is easy for me to find, and use, later. I almost never start a layout without first scanning my Pinterest boards.
I also sometimes use digital template designs as sketches. I don’t print them out, but I look at them and then replicate the design onto my page.
And then of course, I use apps on my phone that assist my scrapping. Mainly photo apps like Camera + which I often use to take pictures, but I also occasionally use Evernote to keep track of scrapping ideas. And I use Momento to document funny things my kids say, which I can then turn into scrapbook pages later.
I would say that my computer, the internet, and my phone are essential tools in my scrapbooking life. Even though I am primarily a paper scrapper. 🙂
Technology and Inspiration
Monica is a great example of someone who uses technology to collect, organize and use scrapbooking inspiration. Pinterest is super popular and it’s simply a digital way to collect inspiration. As Monica stated, we used to do it manually, but now there’s a faster and easier way. Again, we see how technology can help us be more efficient and organized for our crafting and scrapbooking.
via ScrapInspired.com
via ScrapInspired.com
via ScrapInspired.com
Try It For Yourself
When it comes to inspiration, anything and everything can be a starting point for our scrapbooking and memory keeping. Sometimes we have to be on the lookout! This week, let’s share our pinterest accounts and inspire each other in our scrapbooking. Feel free to leave your pinterest links below. I’m also on pinterest and if you like printables, be sure to sign up for my weekly newsletter for new designs, links to freebies and the latest from yours truly.
by Linda | Apr 3, 2013 | my creative journal
The Pixel and Paper Series highlights digital techniques and products for scrapbookers like you and me. I believe that everyone should consider digital elements to be a part of their scrapbooking toolbox, so let’s learn together what the possibilities are. Each week, I’ll be sharing the opinion of a real-life scrapbooker to reveal how they use digital in their scrapbooking. Each post will also offer a freebie download to help you get started on your pixel and paper journey. Enjoy!
Introducing… Christine Newman aka Listgirl
Christine is a scrapbooker and designer, usually going by her alias Listgirl on forums. She scraps both digitally and traditionally, sharing her creations on her blog and various creative teams. She is currently very much into Project Life and I love seeing her spreads and how she combines all the various tools she has at her disposal to create. I had to ask her about hybrid scrapbooking.
Christine says:
Just like in life, I don’t like to limit myself or pigeonhole myself into categories that can be counter-productive to creativity. I love to use whatever tools are available to me to be creative, whether that means digital or physical items. I began scrapbooking in 2003, but really hit my stride when I discovered digital scrapbooking in 2006. For a while, I was solely digital. Until mid-2011, when I discovered my love of paper again. I am a scrapbooker and life-documenter. It doesn’t matter to me whether I’m documenting my life on my blog, on a digital layout, a paper layout, a hybrid Project Life album, or any combination of the above and more. I use digital tools like Photoshop, Lightroom, Illustrator, Silhouette digital cutter, and even my iPad to help me create both digital and physical products to put on my pages. It’s exciting to me that we live in a time where we have all these tools at our disposal to create anything our heart desires. The line between digital and paper scrapbooking is very blurry for me. Almost all photos are digital now. So if you process your photos digitally, and add some journaling on it and print it out, are you paper or digital? Both!
Don’t limit yourself!
Christine really hits the nail on the head, driving home the point that we should not limit ourselves to only certain tools or materials. With so many items at our disposal today, there’s room for so much creativity and innovation in scrapbooking. Yes, I said innovation! Who knows what you might come up with next – perhaps a new use for an old technique? I love how Christine mentions her blog as part of her life documentation. It’s so true that many of us scrapbook in new and technological ways, but we often don’t consider it memory keeping. From facebook to instagram – they all help us tell the story of our lives.
Incorporating social media into our scrapbooking – via Listgirl blog
Digital and Paper layout versions – via Listgirl blog
Check out this video of using the Silhouette – via Listgirl blog
Using digital supplies for other crafts – via Listgirl blog
If you follow Christine’s blog you’ll know that she shares a lot of her tips and tricks in using many programs and tools out there in her scrapbooking. I love how she seems to invent her own way, forging ahead and blurring the lines between digital and paper scrapbooking. It’s all just scrapbooking after all.
Try it for yourself
How can you use these digital materials in your scrapbooking and memory keeping? How about just some creative fun and crafting? Feel free to share your creations in the comments below and let me know what you think.
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