Dragonflaire Studios open for business!

On June 1, 2007 Dragonflaire Studios will be open for business. That's tomorrow for all those who have no earthly idea what day today is. Today, the designers are all feverishly uploading their products to the new store. Well, at least I was. I am very excited about all this! I couldn't wait to get things up today.

There are exciting things happening for Grand Opening! We will be having scavenger hunts, drawings for FREE ACDSee software package, free template give-aways, and challenges galore. You might even see some of my freebies in all this. You all know that I don't give those away very often. You only have to spend $15 to be put in the drawing for one of the software packages! That's 1 entry per purchase over $15, so come shopping lots of times!

You might think that it is odd that nothing is on sale. Well, it is. Go ahead and load your shopping carts! When you get to the checkout counter, enter the code "GO115" and you will receive 25% OFF your TOTAL PURCHASE! This coupon code is good from June 1, 2007 until June 15, 2007. You may use this coupon code up to 10 times!!! So keep checking for new items that will probably continue to be uploaded over the next couple of weeks.

Even the digital scrapbooking world is small

I would have to say that in working with Sally at Dragonflaire Studios, I have found out how small the world can be. Sally only lives about 45 minutes from me! Considering this is a huge metropolitan area, that makes us neighbors! We'll have to meet up for lunch or something somewhere in the middle one day - soon!

I have a new paper pack

I have almost completed another paper pack. I am excited as this pack has been several months in the making. I got side tracked and came back to it. I am done with the pack itself, just need to package it up.

Sorry. . . NO PREVIEW. . . at least NOT YET! You can see it June 1, 2007 when you go check out the new Dragonflaire Studios.

Lots of exciting stuff going on during the Grand Opening of Dragonflaire Studios. Lots of great prizes for the Grand Opening events. I'll even be giving away some freebies. You know I don't do that often. Of course you'll have to search for them. Yep, you have to work for your freebies!

So be sure to come by and check us out on June 1, 2007!!!

I'm having a sale!

In honor of Memorial Day, I am having a 35% off sale. The sale runs Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. This offer is for 35% off everything in my store. It is valid at both Seaside Scraps and Digi By Design. Most designers in both stores have their items on sale this holiday weekend so please feel free to browse and shop a lot.

Need to get busy

I really need to get busy designing. I have managed to get some scrapping done, but haven't done anymore designing. I have some things started. I just need to work on them and get them finished. Getting motivated isn't always easy. It doesn't help that I am a busy person to begin with. I have been enjoying my couple of weeks off from school and just getting caught up on a thing here and a thing there.

It is official. . . Digi by Design had its Grand Opening celebrations on May 20, 2007. It is a nice little site and has great potential. I am excited to be a part of it.

I have managed to get most of my stuff uploaded to both Digi by Design and Seaside Scraps. I still have a couple of things to get uploaded to both stores, but I am working on it a little at a time. Hopefully soon you'll also be able to see some new stuff.

Dragonflaire Studios is having its Grand Opening events on June 1, 2007. This looks to be something for everyone. I am very excited to be involved in this. All my friends who are paper scrappers and reading this because they like me, there is something at Dragonflaire Studios for you. For those of you who are thinking about converting to digital but are not certain you want to take the 100% plunge, there is something at Dragonflaire Studios for you. So everyone should keep their eyes open for something more to come.

I am waiting patiently for my 2nd issue of Digital Scrapbooking Magazine. The subscription services on this thing have been a serious disappointment. The price was good, but the timeliness is something to be desired. I've heard that many who have already gotten the 2nd issue are not all that impressed with the content.

I've been a busy little bee and other ramblings

I have been extremely busy the past couple of weeks. The whole fiasco at The Daily Scrap just came at the wrong time. It was the end of the semester/term crunch time and let us just say that it was a wee bit stressful. Fortunately, The Daily Scrap is gone. It is GONE GONE GONE! It doesn't make it any easier for us designers, but it is a chance to just pick up the pieces and move on. I am still very angry at Kristi Reever for being such a dishonest business person. My energy is best spent focusing on designing and scrapping.

Part of my "moving on" was disassociating myself with Kristi in anyway. It meant that I could no longer emotionally afford to put any more effort or patience into the Digi Diner. I just couldn't. Kristi was also a designer at Digi Diner and I couldn't stick around and be associated with her in anyway. To me, it just wasn't a good business decision to stay. It wasn't a good emotional choice to stay. So I have moved on. I do wish the owners of Digi Diner well and hope that maybe one day it will be the site that it has the potential to become. If you haven't checked it out, you should. It has a cute concept and I do hope that it will continue to grow that concept.

Part of the "moving on" is setting up shop in my new stores. I am grateful to all the stores that offered all of the displaced designers from The Daily Scrap. Those kind gestures truly show the true heart of the digital scrapbooking community. You guys are all wonderful. The opportunites were all wonderful. Unfortunately, it was a hard decision to make. It wasn't easy to pick one store over another. Somehow, I did, however. I had to. It wasn't easy. I pretty much just decided to jump in feet first and hope that it wasn't another shallow promised store. I signed with 3 stores and while I am not in all 3 yet, the third store is coming soon.

Coming soon and keep looking!

You already know that I've got products up at Seaside Scraps. It is slow going. I have to repackage everything. You'd think that would be quick and easy, but it isn't so when you've got 10,000,000 other things to be doing. That said, I have started uploading kits to Digi by Design. I've also added another kit to my selection at Seaside Scraps. You will now find "Faded Romance" and "Lime-ade" at Digi by Design. I hear that the official Grand Opening is coming soon. . . like really soon. . . keep your eyes open for information on that.

I've been busy scrapping!

I guess the most important thing right now is that I've found time to scrap pictures of my kids. It is slow going. Gosh, I am out of practice. I need to keep doing this and see if I can increase the speed any. I think part of the slowness is because I am finding it hard to scrap with my own stuff. That was my goal for this year and I am going to do it. I have had a blast since Sunday (Mother's Day) just scrapping stuff instead of stressing over other stuff. Check these layouts out!

Lance - March 2007

Credits:
» Blue polka dot paper - Stacey Sansom's "Lime-ade" (paper pack)
» Blue crumpled paper - Stacey Sansom's "Lime-ade" (paper pack)
» Ribbons - Stacey Sansom's "Lime-ade: Elements" (element pack - coming soon!)
» Metal buckle/slide - Stacey Sansom's "Spinning Wheels"

Fonts used:
» Ameinne

Kyle - March 2007

Credits:
» Brown paper - Stacey Sansom's "Spinning Wheels"
» Beige crumpled paper - Stacey Sansom's "Lime-ade" (paper pack)
» Green polka dot paper - Stacey Sansom's "Lime-ade" (paper pack)
» Paper clips - Stacey Sansom's "A Touch of Blue"
» Ribbons - Stacey Sansom's "Lime-ade: Elements" (element pack - coming soon!)
» Metal buckle/slide - Stacey Sansom's "Spinning Wheels"

Fonts used:
» Ameinne

Andrew - March 2007

Credits:
» Polka Dot Paper - Stacey Sansom's "Lime-ade" (paper pack)
» Blue Crumpled Paper - Stacey Sansom's "Lime-ade" (paper pack)
» Yellow Crumpled Paper - Stacey Sansom's "Lime-ade" (paper pack)
» Ribbons - Stacey Sansom's "Lime-ade: Elements" (element pack - coming soon!)
» Metal Buckle/Slide - Stacey Sansom's "Spinning Wheels"
» Eyelets - Stacey Sansom's "Lime-ade: Eleemnts" (element pack - coming soon!)
» Paper clip - Stacey Sansom's "A Touch of Blue"

Fonts used:
» Ameinne
» Artistamp Medium

Now available at Seaside Scraps

Because I just changed stores, I thought I'd post the items that are currently available at my new store. I am officially selling at Seaside Scraps. I am still working on getting my kits up in the store, but so far these are the ones that are available (see below).

Unfortunately, I don't have anything new to announce. I haven't had a whole lot of designing time lately. Once I turn in my 2 major final projects for my classes on May 9th, I'll probably spend a couple of weeks designing and scrapping. We'll call it detoxing.

Wandering around aimlessly

I was homeless as a digital scrapbooking kit designer- at least for a while.

Unfortunately, The Daily Scrap is a dying site in the digital scrapbooking community. It was a while in the coming, but it is still sad all the same. They were the ones that gave me my start and break into the selling world of digital scrapbooking kit design. It was a fun ride. The designers were all great to work with. The community will be missed greatly.

There are things that could be said here, but some things are best left unsaid. Ultimately, the site started down the slippery slope to self-destruction when the designers weren't paid for all the hard work they have put in. As a business owner myself (though not in the digital scrapbooking industry), the hardest part for me to understand is "why?" A digital scrapbooking store is nothing without its designers. A store won't sell itself.

Being a digital kit designer is a lot of work. A lot of work goes into the design process to begin with. You can't force creativity. You can nudge it along, but you can't force it. But once you've gotten the product created, you still have to package it, price it, then market the crap out of it. Most store owners understand this. They know it is hard work. A lot of them are designers themselves. Most designers take the initiative to get their own stuff out there. Most advertise their own stuff. Most make themselves visible on the boards. Most post on their blogs like I am posting on mine. That being said, it is also in the site's/store's best interest to make sure that they get me out there too. The store owner is making a commission fee off my sales for crying out loud! In no way is it not a part of the store owner's responsibilities for their own survival to get out there and pimp every one of their designers. They don't get paid if I don't sell. It is pretty easy to understand. I don't understand why at The Daily Scrap, this was an ignored factor in day to day functions (at least in the end).

That doesn't dismiss the fact that there are many designers who were loyal designers and many exclusive to The Daily Scrap who are still unpaid for the designs that sold over the past couple of months. Most of us don't even know if we sold anything at all. That really takes the winds out of the sails. It is disheartening and discouraging. It isn't fair to say the least. But what is one to do about it? At this point I can't say that I sold more than $10 worth of product. It saddens me. It makes me angry. Even worse is that they pissed off the customers - loyal, money paying customers.

Before the absolute bottom fell out at The Daily Scrap and the bulk of the designers resigned, I had been looking for a 2nd store. I thought I had found it. I even got products up at the Digi Diner. This saddens me as well. I am absolutely irritated by the complete "lack of care" on the store owner's part. Again, the store won't make money without the designers and designs in the store. I figured it was a startup, and over time it would be built up and flourish. Now at the 1 month mark since joining the Digi Diner, the rose colored glasses have come off! It is a lot of little things. It is unacceptable that a store owner not log into their own site/store/forums every day. I can understand vacations/business trips/whatnot when those have been announced, but even after returning it still isn't a regular occurrence. Worse still is that our concerns as designers in the store go ignored and unanswered. Events that were planned/scheduled for grand opening didn't happen. Advertising the site as a whole doesn't happen. You don't even want to get me started on the usability of the site itself. It is infuriating. I will be resigning and pulling my products from the Digi Diner.

So I have been off contemplating. . . looking. . . searching for another store. Any store, really. Hesitation abounds. What does it take to get past the rejection and the situations of the past? I can't tell you that. I just don't know myself. I did, however, take the plunge. I might have bitten off more than I can chew, but I have new homes to go to.

Come this summer I will be in 3 stores - 2 have yet to go live on their stores, the other I already have 2 products in. It was a hard decision. I am really excited about all of them. The first was more of an opportunity than anything. I will be joining Maggie in her newest/latest venture of Dragonflaire Studios. It it is expected to go live June 1st. It is a hybrid scrapbooking site - digital, paper, and everything in between. I am kind of excited about that. I didn't think that I would, but I am. I currently have products in the store at Seaside Scraps. You should go check it out. At least go and buy something of mine to make me feel better. The final store will be the one at Digi by Design. The store isn't up yet, but the forums are. They are slowly developing the site as they go. I am not sure when the store will go live, but I am excited about that.

Anyway, I am not homeless anymore. That makes me happier. I plan on designing more actively this summer when I have more time to sit and focus on just designing. I plan on getting a lot more scrapping done this summer too.