New TERMS OF USE

I have decided to alter my Terms of Use a little bit. Those of you who are interested in Scrap 4 Hire use will find these new terms to your liking.

This product was created by Stacey Sansom. You can find information about Stacey, specials, new products, and where to purchase products at Stacey's Digital Scrapbook Creations and/or Stacey Sansom Digital Scrapbook Designs (http://digiscrapcreations.blogspot.com). I keep the list of where to buy my products updated on my blog, so if in doubt look there.

This product is SCRAP FOR HIRE friendly.

You MAY USE this product for personal use and/or scrap for hire use. This includes, but is not limited to: scrapbook layouts, flyers, brochures, cards, etc. You may use this product to create items for others so long as they are given as gifts in either a flattened, single layer digital file (finished product) or printed format. This may also include using this product to create handouts, flyers, invitations, brochures, etc for churches, non-profit organizations, etc. This includes if you want to use this product to scrap other individual's pictures and memories as a paid service. If you are paid for an end product, it is a "scrap for hire" use and you may use this product so long as you provide the end product in a flattened, non-editable format.

If you are interested in "COMMERCIAL" use of this product, please contact me at sasansom@yahoo.com and we will discuss the terms. This includes using items to create other items that you will then turn around and sell as your own. I generally do not allow this use, but with the right incentives I am willing to consider it. Contact me.

You MAY NOT use this product to create quick pages or templates that are sold (or given away) as this would constitute commercial use. You may create quick pages and/or templates for your own use or in a "scrap for hire" setting, but please abide by the "scrap for hire" guidelines.

You MAY USE this product for "CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTION" use if the end product is a flatted, non-editable format. This includes if you want to advertise a charity or if you would like to offer an item or service using this product in an auction or fund raising type setting.

You MAY USE this product for as many scrapbook pages as you like. Do not feel you may only use this product one time in one layout or project. Create a whole album from this product. That is the beauty of digital - repeat use.

You MAY PRINT scrapbook pages or other projects using this product as many times as you like. If you need 10 copies of a particular item for a hybrid project, go for it! If you need 10 copies of the same layout to give as gifts to 10 different people, then print, print, print.

You MAY POST scrapbook pages using this product in as many online galleries as you see fit to post them in. Please give credit where credit is due. I like seeing my products in use. I do occasionally run across layouts using my products and it brings me great joy. I even leave comments in galleries where things are posted.

You MAY SUBMIT for publication in various magazines (digital, print, or otherwise). Just be sure to give credit where credit is due. State my name (Stacey Sansom) as the designer, the item used, and the product name where the item was found. If your submission is selected for publication, please let me know I would love to hear about it/see it. Email me at sasansom@yahoo.com and let me know about it.

PLEASE GIVE CREDIT WHERE CREDIT IS DUE! This credit includes stating my name (Stacey Sansom) as the designer, the items used, and the product name where used items were found. If you use a brad from "Kit A" state: "brad found in Kit A by Stacey Sansom." I'd appreciate if you also give some indication of where you purchased said product - either a store name and/or link or a link to my blog (http://digiscrapcreations.blogspot.com) is appropriate.

You MAY NOT REDISTRIBUTE this product. This includes digitally or otherwise. You MAY NOT resell this product in full or in part. If someone wants a copy of it, tell them where they can get their own copy. You MAY NOT distribute this product in full or in part via email, email lists, online groups, file sharing services, etc.

You MAY STORE this product on more than one saving device or computer so long as you own said device. I recommend that you make regular backups of all your digital scrapbooking goodies (layouts, kits, etc). You MAY NOT, however, store this item on a friend's computer or external hard drive (or any storage device that does not belong to you). If your friend or family member does not reside in your household and wants their own copy of this product, tell them where to find this product so that they may purchase their own copy.

You MAY USE this product for blog banners, web backgrounds or elements, etc. You MAY NOT use this product to create website and/or blog templates for sale (or give away) as this would constitute commercial use. You MAY USE this product in a custom design for multiple individual clients so long as no end results are the same. If you are interested in using this product for creating website or blog templates for sale (or give away), please contact me first at sasansom@yahoo.com and we will discuss the terms.

Wanting to get started?

If you're wanting to get started with digital scrapbooking, you're probably wondering just what you need. First and foremost, you need software to work with. Now, some of you might already have something that is sufficient for your needs (especially at this stage) and should attempt to work with this.

What kind of software do you need?

• supports layers
• supports transparency
• supports JPG and PNG images formats
• allows drop shadow creation

Layer support is important because it makes life so much easier. Just like a physical paper scrapbook page, you layer things onto a base piece of paper or card stock. You'll do the same in digital scrapbooking. The easier you make this on yourself, the better. So find something that allows you to see your layers in some sort of layers palette. This may not seem like much, but you can easily select the layer and get to work and it makes life easier in the long run.

Transparency support is important because many of the embellishment files have clear parts around the actual item itself. If your program does not support transparency, you'll have to cut this white area out of your layout before you use it. Might as well have it already gone. Most newer programs will support this without questions. I know that Photoshop 5, Photoshop Elements 2, and Fireworks 1 had no or spotty transparency support. These are much older versions of the programs so not to worry so much about if you're in the market for software.

JPG and PNG image format support is important because this is the standard format you will find your digital scrapbook supplies in. Often you'll find templates in PSD or TIFF format, but that's only relevant if you are going to use templates. You can recreate layouts from templates without having to import them into the layout in your program. They become more of a "sketch" then, but still the concept is the same. Often you'll find some templates as multiple PNG files that you simply layer back together. To get started, however, you simply need to have a program that will support the image format for the embellishments and papers. Typically papers are in JPG format. Embellishments and alphas are typically in PNG format due to their need of transparency around the items. PNG provide better quality transparent images than the GIF format.

Drop shadow creation is important because this will help add depth and realism to your digital layouts. These can be done either via the program settings or manually. Either is acceptable. To create a shadow manually, you'll need to have a feature that allows you to "blur" a shape or provides you with a soft brush to brush in the shadows yourself. Remember that often your embellishments do not come with shadows already on them so this is something you can't ignore if you want a layout with a bit of realism to it.

What programs do I recommend for beginners? I don't have a preference so long as you are comfortable with your program. I firmly believe that anyone can learn to use a certain program if they put their heart and soul into it. They really have to want to learn it, however. There are a couple of popular programs that are good for the "beginner" and those I have posted here:

Adobe Photoshop Elements
[ image from the Costco website ]

If you click this link (or on the image above), it will take you to Costco who is offering a great deal ($49.99) on Adobe Photoshop Elements 7 until April 5, 2009. This is the most recent version. It is probably one of the most popular programs used in digital scrapbooking.

Jasc Paint Shop Pro
[ image from the Amazon website ]

Amazon is currently offering Corel Paint Shop Pro Photo X2 for $39.99. This is a great price! I am not real certain about the finer workings of Paint Shop Pro as I have only used it on passing. I have a friend who uses it and really liked it. I've seen some neat things come out of PSP.

Anyway, I just wanted to share these deals for those that are wanting to get started, but not sure they want to invest a lot of money for trying it.

Keep in mind, that you are not limited to these 2 options. I personally use full-blown Photoshop. You can use desktop publishing software as well. So there are lots of possibilities out there.