Em Goes Digi...And A Giveaway!

As you may know, scrapbooking is one of my passions. I set aside time regularly to capture the life of my family in a work of art that will preserve memories for generations to come. At the scrapbook retreat I went to 2 weeks ago, my Creative Memories consultant/dear friend Bev told me about Creative Memories' digital scrapbooking software called "StoryBook Creator Plus." I was fascinated, and thoroughly impressed by the work she had done using the program. I came home from the retreat, did a bit of research, and decided I wanted to purchase the software.

I have been using the traditional paper and photos method of scrapbooking for 10 years. I am current with my family album through the end of 2008. I have also been doing an album for each of my kids. Those are highlights albums, focusing on special events in the life of each child. I typically do twelve 2-page layouts for each child each year. It has been totally manageable for me, and I'm current for both of them through their last birthdays. The problem I face is not catching up or staying current. My problem is that I do not have enough space to store those albums. I am also dreadfully afraid of losing my albums should my house burn down or get struck by a tornado.

So...I am making the switch to digital scrapbooking for Snapper and Pepper's albums. Once a year I will print a hardcover, 12x12 book for each child, a compilation of the scrapbook pages I've created digitally for them throughout that year. In the long run, this will save money for me, too. I'll continue my traditional scrapbooking for the family albums. For me all the cutting, organizing, and writing is therapeutic and totally satisfying. I can't imagine going completely digital! I'm in the process of scanning all my pages and burning to them onto cd's to preserve them from disaster. I scanned several pages over the weekend. Here are a few favorites from my 2008 Family Album.







This afternoon I began hunting around online for free digital papers and embellishments to use with my new software. I struck gold! If you dabble in digital scrapbooking, you have to visit this site: ShabbyPrincess. They have complete kits available for free download. Each kit includes a bunch of paper and embellishments. They are absolutely beautiful! You don't even have to sign up for any sort of membership--just download the kits. I am super excited to get started!

You know, I think I'll do a giveaway to celebrate scrapbooking. On Wednesday I will randomly select one person to receive a free, one-year subscription to Creating Keepsakes magazine. Whether you are a hard-core scrapbooker or just interested in possibly starting to scrapbook, this magazine is for you. The articles are packed full of ideas for scrapbookers--digital or traditional--stampers, and photographers. I couldn't recommend it more highly.

To enter, leave a comment telling me why you love scrapbooking, or why you're considering becoming a scrapbooker. Link your blog to this post, Tweet it on Twitter, or link on Facebook for additional entries! Good luck!