We’re having an After Christmas Sale at DesignerDigitals. Every Christmas item is now marked down 30% all week long. This sale last until 6am EST on January 1st, 2012.

Sale is valid through January 1, 2012 6am EST. Applies to all digital scrapbooking products. Offer does not apply to gift certificates, CDs or extended licenses. Does not include shipping charges for CD orders. Not redeemable on prior purchases.

Seeing how November is already picking up speed here, I am about to sit down and conjure up the next batch of pages for my Days of December album. I have some new digital goodies, some fresh ideas and an hour or so… How about you? Are you creating your ‘pre’ pages? Buying a template pack? Getting those templates half ready? Piling up your favourite Christmas elements? Its a fun time to scrap!

I’ve just finished my Christmas Cards. This year was a lot easier - the family {not me} voted for no family photo…{Did you know, family photo cards are not the norm here in the Uk? I've been causing a stir for years with mine } So I had to think of something new. In the end I made two designs to send out. One using a photograph I took of a Robin, and one using my favourite ‘paper cut’ look. Everything on these two cards is, of course, from the DD store

Hope they give you some inspiration, especially if you too are family photo free this year!

Don’t forget we have Janet’s brilliant cards in the store this year. Plus of course LOTS of others to choose from. See all card templates here.

I am so happy to introduce to you today the lovely Joanne aka jcaruth910.

Thanks for talking with us today, Joanne! Perhaps you’d like to tell us a little about yourself.

Well, I am the oldest and the only girl of three children, born and raised in Northern California, the Bay Area to be exact. I lived there until I married my then husband who had just graduated from the Air Force Academy. We were married for twelve years and have two boys, Matt 28, who is a golf professional in California and Justin 23, who is now in medical school. Having been an Air Force wife for twelve years, we lived in quite a few places…Colorado, Oklahoma, Mississippi (twice), Turkey, (Matt was born there) Virginia (twice), and Arizona. I ended up staying in Arizona with the boys and after being a single mom for a few years, I met my husband, Bruce at a Rotary meeting in 1994. He has two children who are grown and have their own children now too, so essentially, I am a grandma also! Blended families are always a bit of a challenge, but with patience, understanding, a little give and take on everyone’s part it all works out…we are truly blessed in that regard.

When I am not scrapping, I keep up with our business that we run from home, and I love to cook and shop! I have been a member of Angel Charity for Children, a local charity here in Tucson that raises money for various children’s needs for over twelve years now. This is always a busy time of the year, as we are gearing up for our big gala, the Angel Ball. I am a TV junkie, enjoy music and I like to travel and see new places, but there is no place like home!
What an interesting life, Joanne! I know that it takes a special sort of person to stick with a fund raising role for that long - it must be gratifying to see the good that comes from that!

Joanne, how did you come across digital scrapping - were you a paper scrapper in a previous life?? And of course - how did you find DD?

I have always loved memory keeping. My father worked for Eastman Kodak, so there were ALWAYS photos being taken and my mother meticulously kept them all in albums. I began as a traditional paper scrapper about ten years ago when I decided to make my boys each a book when they graduated high school. From there it just mushroomed. I moved over to digital a few years ago when I got tired of the clutter of all of the paper supplies, glue, elements, stamps, etc. and have not looked back. I am addicted! A day does not go by that I don’t work on a layout or have a book in progress.
I began posting layouts and purchasing product from a view different digital sites in the beginning. I came to really enjoy Designer Digitals because of all of the positive feedback in the gallery and of course the products are fabulous! I have learned so much just by studying other member’s styles.

I think many of our community members would say they stayed for the very same reasons! What was the first product that you purchased from the store - do you still use it?

My first purchase was the December Daily overlays by Ali Edwards. I had every intention of completing that project last year, but I am still working on it! The overlays are very versatile, so they can be used anywhere.

It’s always exciting to see people getting their pages ready for December Daily. I know you’ve also been having fun doing Jana’s class, so I’m guessing you have been a fan of her scrapping style for a while (who wouldn’t be??). Are there any other DD galleries that you particularly like to browse through for inspiration??

There is SO much inspiration in the gallery; I see something new every day that I like. I would say that some of my favorites would be Amy (mymalloryboys) and Georgina (georgeinci) for their wonderful layering and element placement. Jana (Jana Morton) for blending and her wonderful use of papers. These are just a few.
I have never taken a digital scrapbooking class before. Everything I have learned has been from looking at layouts and reading posts in the forums or online. Jana’s class has taught me that there is much, much, much more to learn about this wonderful hobby. I can see myself taking many more classes in the future.

If you were giving advice to a new scrapper, Joanne, what five products would you say were “must haves”.

I would say -
Lynn Grieveson’s - Worn Page Edges
Katie Pertiet’s - Pencil Line Twists , Messy Stitched borders and Taped Photo Masks
Ali Edwards - any of her wordart - all of it is wonderful!
Studio DD’s templates - Love them!
Oops, I think that’s more than five!

Some great product choices!! What makes the perfect scrapping experience for you? Time of day - company or not - special drink or treat - new product - new pics etc etc???

New photos are definitely high up on the list, but lately I have been scrapping older photos. A lot of times a particular challenge in the forum dictates what I scrap. The challenges and the gallery also help me get my creativity flowing.

Do you have a favourite layout that you’d like to share with us today?

Yes, this one!

That is really gorgeous, Joanne - than you so much for chatting with us today, we value your input and support in both the forums and the galleries and are so glad that you are part of our DD community!

Thanks for joining us, everyone - don’t forget to hop on over to Joanne’s lovely gallery here to be inspired by the rest of her wonderful work!

I’d like to talk about layers. I have lately been intrigued by how many layers we have as human beings.  Each facet of our lives involves its own emotions, experiences, moods and memories that make up all the layers within that specific facet.  We can decide how much weight and importance we want to put on each of these aspects, how much we want each part to influence us. This intricate web of layers is what I want to capture in this month’s art journal challenge.

We can use layering in so many ways on our pages. We can layer pieces of different colored and patterned papers on top of each other to create a whole that symbolizes the emotions we want to express. How about using various brushes on many layers and changing the blending mode of them?  You can use type and words with various strengths of opacity to create layers of meaning. How about covering some of the text up with papers to hide or partially hide some parts? Don’t forget how useful layering of colors can be to really give an artsy boost to your page.  Finally we can use layers of various elements to create a meaningful whole - where each element chosen represents a certain memory or emotion. You don’t need to be explicit about what each item means. As long as YOU understand its meaning, that’s what is important.

In my page this time, I used Katie’s Ripped Vintage Frames to rip Anna’s Tissue paper into pieces. I filled the inside of the frame with solid color, then I used the magic wand to mark the ripped frame with “marching ants”, I inverted the selection and made sure I was on the layer with the tissue paper. I then clicked delete and what remains is the “ripped” tissue paper. The layer with the frame I now deleted and did the same process with various frames. The result was various pieces of ripped tissue paper.
I used the tissue paper, in order to be able to see through them. To hint at what is behind. I could have placed for example various stickers, ephemera, or brushwork behind. I decided to jot down some thoughts instead.

I hope I have inspired you to think of ways to create your art journal page using layers and layering in a meaningful and creative way. I would be happy to see your artwork in our exquisite Art Journal Gallery. And remember,you should have fun doing this.  ~ Aino.

It’s Thrifty Thursday at DesignerDigitals where we have a brand new item priced at just $ 99 cents and 388 items marked down 30%. These specials only last until 6am EST on Friday morning so don’t miss out.