Thanks to many on UKScrappers for providing information on this one. It’s an interesting thing, the term “international”. I’ve seen similar international contest winners coming out in the U.S.A for instance - where the competition was only ever held in the U.S. and no one from outside the country had a chance of a. knowing about it or b. being able to enter it.

Same over here though. Down the road from me, outside our little village, sits a farm which annually runs the International Teddy Bear Freefall competition. Local people get to sponsor a teddy bear, which are thrown out of a small aeroplane wearing a little parachute. The one which hits the bullseye target on the ground by the closest distance, is crowned the international champion. Some teddy bears do manage to pick up international sponsorship, however. A lot of local businesses and indeed people have contacts, or Headquarters, or sub-companies based all over the world.

Then there’s the international water melon eating contests and the like, held in somewhere like Maine, U.S.A. You occasionally get some antipodean or British person travelling over there to compete.

Announced recently, this year’s International Scrapbooker of the Year goes to Rosemary Merry. Rosemary will possibly be little known amongst international scrapbooking circles, as she does scrapbooking programmes on the U.K.’s QVC television channel, predominantly (taking over this rudder from Dawn Bibby).

The competition is annually organised by Origin Publishing  - who own a wide range of UK crafting magazines. Origin’s magazine stable of thousands of readers vote for an international scrapbooker each year. In that sense the votes are coming from a predominantly U.K. audience, but they can vote for anyone - including international scrapbookers.  The awards are at a champagne reception at Birmingham each year - and feature Europe and the U.K.’s top craft wholesalers.

Previously the International Scrapbooker of the Year award has been won by Anna Griffen, from an international perspective. It has also been won by Dawn Bibby - the person who many scrapbookers in the U.K. remember as the very first crafter / scrapper to feature selling products on U.K. QVC.  

I wonder if there are other such international awards out there that the rest of us are oblivious towards also? Isn’t the world an interesting place?

I am live! And for sale - and I really mean for sale, because the below are going at the moment for 25% off - meaning that they are only $5.95 for each set. That’s $5.95 for a set of 12 quickpages (for the Altered Year QP Set) which is a right bargain given the blood sweat and pure parental pride I put into creating the things.

Aren’t my baby’s beautiful then?

Anyway, I can now make my offical announcement, that I am a new quickpage artist for the lovely girls at www.alteredartchicks.com. In fact, I notice they’ve officially made me part of the team, as in the AAC Team - that’s me! I’m really looking forward to some of the new stuff coming out as promised by both Krista Mettler and Melissa Goerke, and the altered artist they work with - Mootsie (Audrey). I’ve been promised some of those way kewl paper mache journal books and purses (hopefully!) to play around with too.

The below shows you the preview shots of the two Quickpage sets I have currently out, using Krista (and a little Melissa) digital designs available instore also. I’ll give you the links for the store purchases too - you really need to run to get these at this price.

For a while I bemused Melissa and co calling me an artist or something - for me designing up quickpages using some wonderful digital products is not really a true designing job. Well, it wasn’t - until I started having to do it. Then I had the education of someone having to do something, often not having exactly that element they really wanted, and having to create something out of something else probably not intended for it. I also had to remember that quickpages are meant to be containing some standard photographic sizes or formats. Triangular holes? Perhaps not.

So my hats go off to any other quickpage designers out there, as I now understand exactly what this entails, and the excitement in trying to design when one gets access to any new products from some wonderful digital designers out there.  

Little Darlin’  Quickpage Set.

This ten-page set was created from Krista’s side of the Little Darlin’ kit available onsite. Jessica Bolten provided the other side of this combo kit, and you can also find her stuff for sale from www.alteredartchicks.com where she’s done any combo kits with Krista. I particularly like this kit, because it’s not traditionally baby-fied. The colour-scheme is more intense, especially with the yellows and pinks and greens. And it was fun playing with the frames and elements.

Click on the preview to take you to the store itself.

 

Altered Year Quickpage Set

This 12 page set is as altered as I could get it, in a digital kind of way. I designed these pages using just about all the paper packs available in-store, and most of the element sets, plus some of the art clipz. Because I come from the southern hemisphere I also was mindful that Christmas for instance, is celebrated in the summer time, and Autumn / Fall is over the months of April, rather than having all those spring flowers popping up on a northern layout.

The month titles are therefore available as separate .png files, so that these can be placed on whatever quickpage you like - or not at all, if you simply like the pages for another reason. I am going to use this set myself, to build a 12 page album documenting what happens to our family month by month through this year. I chose designs which are not too sterotypical for those who don’t want March’s layout to feature too many shamrocks for instance.

Each page has some continuity in that the same flowers can be found - somewhere on the layout. I also have a liking for insects.  

Click on the preview to take you to the set available at www.alteredartchicks.com

 

 

It has taken me all day to post this up on the blog - I’ve had problems with my blog postings. But finally, after twelve hours, they are here, and I am very proud of my babies too. I hope you enjoy the stuff at altered art chicks also. There are some lovely altered (hybrid) stuff, and some nice kits too.  

 

The Digital Scrapbook Designer Business Association is now live for registrations. Level One membership is free - so I registered on up. The free L1 registration entitles me to a free digikit also. After that, the more advanced level - which runs with monthly subscriptions - will offer you more information and benefits including a monthly digital kit, and several other benefits (see below for some).

If you are a Professional digital designer - this means anything from an actual designer of digital products, to a designer of layouts (or one of the many variations now popping up, like people offering advertising and promotional services to designers, or those quickpage artists we like) then certainly consider signing up. If you’re doing so, thanks to this blog, then please put my user name in the registration form - PacificBlue. Apparently if I earn lots of points I may win a lifetime membership for free.

DSD-Pro BA is also offering start-up store websites as a purchasable offering for anyone considering entering the designer marketplace, and  wants a store (called a Turn-Key Digistore). There is also a BA directory, for associates - which pops up in a frame on the website itself.

There is a sample turn-key store up, called Uniquely Simple - with a live store of a small amount of products. These are Pro-Crafter - so those into the S40 business side of things (like me) may be interested in this little store, as it’s currently offering a nice Christmas greeting card template for this usage also.  

The DSD-Pro BA also runs a new section, which has an RSS Feed associated (or register for emails). It may pay to register for this, as subscription promotions are promised on this newsfeed.

True associates (paid memberships) will get the chance to post job postings (for CT members etc) and be listed in the directory and also have discounted offerings to the upcoming digital malls the site has envisioned.  There seems to be all sorts of ideas being formed through the site for any kind of person working within the digital industry.

Importantly, there is currently a 10 on 10 on 10 promotion, starting 10th November, for ten days - where BA membership per month is set at $10. This is something unfortunately that I can not afford at the moment, but in the future, I believe that this website will provide some major offerings to the industry - so if you’re interested, take the opportunity yourself, to be in at the startup.  

Links: 

• DSD-Pro business site
  
• Registration here
  
• Membership Information 
  
• Sample Turn-Key digistore - Uniquely Simple
• RSS Feed for the news
  

Hello! How long have I been going on about that other missing person in your scrapbook layouts - no, not us - but the male partner of the household. It's so often about the kids and events, but applying the whole Book of Me to another person - how easy it would be to find out a little more about the hidden depths of the man of the house.

Here's a blog which represents this concept -

Scrap Your Husband

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Goodness me - really? Big Picture Scrapbooking is two years old. Despite the controversy in the industry towards some particular classes and communications going on at BPS, they have reached the grand old toddler age, and share the celebrations with a $5 discount off a class. Check the blog for the voucher code.

Scrap Big: Come celebrate with us!

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