The Digital Scrapbook Place
N e w s l e t t e r
 

A Letter from Team Digital
Happy Birthday to YOU! Happy Birthday to the over 89,000 of you that helped make DSP the biggest and best digital scrapbooking site on the internet! And THANK YOU for making it such a fun place every day, not just on our birthday. It’s truly a joy to check in on the site and see what you’re up to. You’re helping each other, posting amazing pages, asking great questions, encouraging others, studying for classes, participating in contests, running challenges, making friends, welcoming newbies, and so much more. There is such a caring, community spirit at DSP and I love to sit back in amazement at everything you do.

The staff, absolutely amazing. I’m so thankful for them and how they strive to keep DSP warm and welcoming, while still fresh and challenging. Amanda, my business partner and friend, I couldn’t find a better one. I’m so grateful that even though we wear so many hats and go in so many directions, we manage to stay focused and still have fun. The company, well it’s a blessing. I can’t imagine a better place to work. People are so passionate, helpful, caring, and excited. How many people can say that about where they work?

We had a plan years ago for what we wanted DSP to be, but I don’t think we could have predicted what you have helped make it. We wanted education and quality products, but you’ve brought a new level of expertise and creativity. We wanted support and community, but you’ve brought a new level of dedication and teamwork. We wanted digital scrapbooking to improve and be accepted, but you’ve taken it to a new level of art that’s inspiring and amazing.

So as we light up the candles on our birthday cake, let’s blow them out together and wish for many more years together! Thanks so much to all of you for making DSP truly the place to be!

Margie Lundy, CEO

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DSP Welcomes Two New Designers
Help us welcome our newest designers -Linda Rechtin and Irene Alexeeva. Check the store for their kits new this month and the Contests & Challenges section of the newsletter for their new chats. Team Digital just keeps getting better - with more great choices for scrappers.

Face to Face Cropping with DSP
Do you live in Texas? Virginia? Michigan? Nevada?

How about Auckland, New Zealand?

Can you get there anyway?

DSP is going local this summer! Check out this forum for times and places to meet other DSPers, scrap, and have a blast! (Ask anyone who attended the Anaheim crop how much fun this is!)

New Digital Elite Team Named
The designers are delighted to announce the 5th Digital Elite Team - now expanded to eight members to keep pace with the growing number of designers. After weeks of tough competition, the winners are: lbfpebbles, Bocca, gail0423, paulaoneil, bentrdr,
Sharon1313, MomOf1Chef and twinkerbell. Congratulations!

If you want to see the newest kits, and some of the best page design anywhere, keep your eye on the DET gallery. Plenty of inspiration for scraplifting (and shopping lists...)

New to DSP?
Posting your first layout in April?? Then be sure to check out the First Layout in April Challenge!! Post a link to your first layout and you could win!!  And if you have any questions about DSP, then come check out the monthly chat run by DSP Designers Elizabeth Weaver and Bethy Nixon. In April, it'll take place on April 17th at 10pm EST. Come, ask questions, chat, and give a fun freebie made just for our new members!

Club Digital
Are you a member of the club?
Ever wished for a monthly fix of the best digital scrapbook products money can buy delivered direct to your inbox? Well now you can have it. Club Digital is the hottest club in town.

Member Spotlight
Join us in welcoming webfrau (Julia) as our spotlight member of April!! Julia joined DSP in October 2005 and at well over 7,000 posts she is well known in the forums and the gallery! Plus her monthly color challenges are inspiring and educational! She's a talented scrapper and a generous commenter who inspires us all! Be sure to check out her gallery and the Scraplift the Spotlight challenge for April!!

Congrats webfrau and thanks for your inspiration!

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Featured Designer: Lisa Carter

One of the things I cherish in my life is the friends I have made here at DSP. When I have something special to share, something going on in my life, news that just can't wait, I know I can count on my friends here for fun and feedback. You are a bunch of wonderful people. Who would have thought that cyberspace was jam packed with so many great and unique individuals. So, to say thanks, here is my friendship element set.  Use it to scrap those spectacular people in your world who really make life worth while... your friends.

Lisa Carter
Senior Designer
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DSU has a perfect way perfect your scrapbooking skills. We offer a wide variety of classes for many programs to help you master all the aspects of digital scrapbooking! Prices range from $15 to $30. To register for any of these classes please visit the store at DSP! Late registration is open for April classes until April 5th.

Here is our line up of May classes so you can start making your plans now!

DSU110 – Adobe Photoshop: Introduction to Digital Scrapbooking

DSU160 – Adobe Photoshop Elements: Introduction to Digital Scrapbooking

DSU195– Introduction to Creating WordArt (2-week class)

DSU211/311– Adobe Photoshop: Creating Digital Elements for Beginners and Advanced Users (self-paced)

DSU250– Adobe Photoshop: Photo Correction (Pre-requisite- DSU 110 or similar experience)

DSU261 – Adobe Photoshop Elements: Creating Digital Elements for Beginners (Pre-requisite- DSU 160 or similar experience)

DSU290– Exploring Digital Design Styles

Be sure to visit our classes page for more information regarding these classes and our other great classes at DSU!

We would love to hear your suggestions on future classes! Send your suggestions and comments to me at dsu@digitalscrapbookplace.com.

We’re also looking for qualified DSU instructors! If you would be interested in teaching, please contact me for more information.

Amber, Dean of DSU
dsu@digitalscrapbookplace.com
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Challenges/Contests/Events
Check our Calendar of Events and the Events & Activities Links thread for a complete list of all events and challenges. Here are a just a few of our exciting Challenges!

Two New Chats with our two Newest Designers!
Need-for-Scrap with Irene Fridays at 11am ET and All for One with Linda Wednesdays at 9pmET.

DET Bootcamp
Join in to stretch your scrapping skills in a friendly, supportive atmosphere. (Come join even if you don't plan to enter the DET contest - the Bootcamp is open to all!)

Freebs with Tina
Not just word art anymore! Freebs (and Tina, of course) is playing with kits these days!

Freestyle Fandango with Suzanne
An ongoing series of challenges designed to inspire you, and challenge you to stretch your creative skills! Weekly challenges usually boast FANDANGOLICIOUS posting bonuses (freebies)!

Prompts & Props with Bethy and Z
The April Props and Prompts with Z and Bethy challenge has got a fantastic chat bonus and a gorgeous posting bonus and lots of great featured kits to choose from!!  Our theme this challenge is scrap
those special moments or those special everyday moments!! Days you never want to forget . . . they could be once-in-a-lifetime moments or an everyday memory you never want to forget!!

April Sketch Challenge with Abby - This popular challenge is starting up again.

Beginnings with Bethy: The Beginnings with Bethy challenge enters April with a bang!! Featured for the first half of the month will be Dream Free. It's a kit inspired by the beauty of a butterfly with lots of fun, creative elements! The second challenge of April will feature A Blessed Life. It's gorgeous soft color scheme will definitely inspire you!

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Items Of The Week (IOTW)
Each week a new item goes on sale for only 99 cents. Check out the IOTW challenge starting each Sunday. Buy the kit, use it to make a layout, post it to the IOTW gallery and the designer will have different prizes for you! It could be a posting bonus, a random drawing, chances at a free fonting, you never know! Check it out this week!

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What's New in the DSP Store?

Spring Word Art Spring Word Art - Downloadable	Scraps of the Season- Spring Scraps of the Season- Spring - Downloadable
	Make It Mine Photo Purses Create your very own personalized handbag. Take out the insert and replace it with your favorite picture or scrapbook layout. Sure to be a conversation piece wherever you go. Imagine what the grandmothers will say! New this month! 7"x5" small purses, to go along with the original 10"x8" ones. And the first of the purse ploppers - quick, easy, and oh-so-fun!

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The Newsletter Desktop Calendar Plopper
A newsletter exclusive! Specially designed ploppers for your computer desktop. This month's offerings are by Kristen Skold from our featured designer Lisa Carter's kits - one for the coming Spring and one for the coming Autumn (depending on your hemisphere.) She used Lisa's Simply Spring Page Kit and Autumn's Coming Page Kit and Calendar Wide Simple by Kim Liddiard and Lauren Bavin.

Download your choice here:
Spring large and Spring small

Autumn large and Autumn small

And just like any of our ploppers, put your photo on a layer underneath the desktop plopper. Angle and size it as you please, add journaling, and save it as a jpg. Then update your desktop wallpaper background by browsing to your new image! Voilà! Favorite photos matched with this month's calendar to help keep you up-to-date all month! Look for a new one each month in our newsletter!!
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