Hi MomDot ladies!  Welcome to the third weekend post about digital scrapbooking.  In case you cannot tell, this is one of my favorite hobbies.  I am thrilled to have the opportunity to share all of this information with you.

Last weekend we talked about sites you could visit to download digital freebies.  However, there are also many great sites that have their own digital scrapbook supply shops.  They sell paper packs, embellishment packs, brushes for the Adobe programs, complete kits, alpha sets and much more.  It’s just like shopping for anything else online, only there’s no shipping and waiting for it to arrive, you are given a download link and can immediately download and try out your purchase.

All sites I have shopped at require PayPal for payment, so please keep that in mind before you shop and make sure you have a PayPal account set up.  Here’s a list of some of my favorite online stores for digital scrapbook supplies:

• http://www.sunshinestudioscraps.com/
• http://shabbymissjenndesigns.com/
• http://www.shabbypickledesigns.com/
• http://www.designerdigitals.com/
• http://www.funkyplaygrounddesigns.com/

If you’ve been following along each weekend, you’ve probably started to wonder how you would organize all these fabulous digital kits and treats.  Organization is important and staying on top of it allows you to easily find and use all your downloads.  I have a Dell Desktop with upgraded memory space.  If you do not have enough space on your desktop or laptop, you would want to consider investing in an external hardrive.  Either way you will need to set up a folder to begin organizing your files in.

Some scrappers find it easiest to organize by designer or by theme.  You could create folders based on the theme each kit will fall into and then have subfolders for each kit under that theme, for instance holidays and seasons.  I have found the best way that works for me is to create a folder in My Documents called Scrapbook Stuff.  Then I save each digital kit by name and source (i.e. designer, blog name or store name).  I have also created separate folders for other items as well, such as a brushes folder, a templates folder, and a quick pages folder.

It is important when you save your kits or items to retain the source information to refer back to when crediting your work.  It is also a good idea to retain the provided Terms Of Use or TOU files to refer to when using these kits or items.  Each store or designer sets their own terms of use which need to be followed to prevent piracy.

I also find it helpful to have everything set to Thumbnail View so I can see what I am working with quickly.  Most kits will come with a preview file which has a little picture displaying most of the kit’s contents.  I configure the folder for each kit to show the preview, if provided, by going into Folder Properties, Customize and then choosing the picture I wish to see on my thumbnail view.  Here’s a screen shot of some of the folders containing digital kits on my computer to give you an idea of what I mean.

Once you’ve chosen software, downloaded some digital kits and organized them, you are ready to start scrapping!  There are a few more ideas to cover that will inspire your creativity and save you some time along the way.  So come back next weekend!  Oh, and don’t eat too much Halloween candy this weekend!

Andrea