PDS 006 – Creatively Unstable

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Fantasy layouts, the future of digital scrapbooking, inchies, and more…

That’s the subject of this week’s Paperclipping Digi Show!

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The Panel

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Picks of the Week

(Affiliate links wherever possible.)

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Your thoughts?

What did you think of the show? What questions or feedback do you have? Please let us know in the comments!

  • Thanks for a lovely discussion…I think that digital tools offer new techniques for all of us to scrapbook with. Sort of what Izzy mentioned about how we can do certain things digitally that can't be done by hand. It's great to learn about the possibilities, so that when it does apply for whatever we are working on – we can pull out that tool or technique.

    I have to admit that I have multiple external harddrives, but it's still a drag to backup. I've lost everything before as well, but it still doesn't make me want to do all that work … LOL!

  • Linda, I use something called Super Duper (maybe it's MAC only? Not sure)
    and it hardly takes a thought to back up. It does smart updates, so it only
    makes the changes I made, rather than re-copy the entire thing. It takes
    about two clicks to get the backup moving and then it only takes a short
    time to complete the process.

  • Miss Behaving

    Great topic! I'm a fantasy gal myself and a HUGE fan of Hollie's work so it was fun to hear her sweet dulcet truck driver tones. Hehe J/K Hollie!

  • Jana Oliveira

    It was fun to have some fantasy designer on, I love fantasy kits, it makes possible recreate this whole world of expression that in paper would not be possible, sometime doesn't matter really if ha a story but we want make art and express our feeling with our pictures,that the wonderful thing about digi design.

  • DailyDigiSteph

    I checked and it looks like Super Duper is only Mac. I remember Izzy sharing something on one of the episodes of PRT about a program like this and I thought he said it was PC/Mac???

  • DailyDigiSteph

    Hollie is amazing!! Your work is quite amazing as well :)

  • Miss Behaving

    Aww thank you! Flattery will get you everywhere with me. ;) There's a GC here with your name on it, just e-mail me if you're interested. =)

  • Tamara

    Thanks for the show! I was one of those who totally never understood this style, but now I may have to try it! One of the things I love about digi is that I don't have to buy new things to try different styles or techniques- I already have the program and trying different things means just exploring what that program can do. What are your favorite things to do in Photoshop?

  • crazymathchic

    Great show today, guys! I had really never heard of “Fantasy Scrapbooking”, but I am so excited to check into it now! I think that the idea of doing something with digital that you really can't do with paper really appeals to me. . . can't wait to look into those links. . .
    So let's talk about Izzy's pick and backing up for a second. Regarding a CD/DVD backup, what do you guys know about those gold CD and DVD's? I know that the DVD's you buy at the office supply store only last like 5 years, and although I admit, that is longer than most hard drives, I agree with Noelle. When I put something on a DVD, I expect it to last “forever” — or at least for the forseeable future (especially if it's stored it well and doesn't get used — no scratches) And if those gold discs really do last like 100 years, what about the data itself? Can it become corrupt on the disc like it can on an external drive? (and why do commercial DVD's not become corrupt like the ones we make ourselves??)
    I guess I am feeling really confused about the feasibility of long-term storage — like for the “stuff” that is older and you don't use on a normal basis, but you really don't want to loose. I have several old iphoto libraries in this category. If I were to put everything on my computer (1 copy), an external drive (2nd copy) and then on a gold DVD at someone else's house (3rd copy) am I ok then? And for how long? When do I need to “reburn” those DVD's?

  • DailyDigiSteph

    I don't know the answers to a lot of your questions, but maybe Izzy can help on the DVD stuff.

    First, if you put as much data as it sounds like you have on one computer it will really slow it down…a lot.

    Here's what I usually do… I keep all of my data that I click save on (everything but programs) on an EHD, I back that up to another EHD and then have both backed up on Mozy. This gives me 4 places (in 2 different physical locations, possibly three depending on how Mozy does their servers), 2 different types of media. I just know if it's not automatic, I won't do it, so I no longer do CD's or DVD's.

    I am a little bit in trasition right now, working on getting an External Harddrive connected to my network and having my portable EHD that is always connected to my laptop automatically back up to that via wi-fi. Then, I will have Mozy back up that larger EHD as well as keep all of my existing EHDs and backed up files on Mozy (which means I pay for them to stay there even though they are not actively backing up, but that's okay with me, because that would still give me several places and 2 locations).

    I worry I'm talking (typing) in circles…lol! Let me know if I need to clarify anything.

  • DailyDigiSteph

    I always wondered about the memory part of it. It was so nice to get an answer to that question! In the end though, it doesn't really matter if it's more about the art or a memory, whatever works for the person creating the layout! :)

    It has been really fun for me to watch this part of scrapbooking evolve!

  • DailyDigiSteph

    Hehe THANKS!! ;)

  • Great questions!

    There are a couple challenges with backing up to CD/DVD's (I'll call them optical discs moving forward).

    1. Nobody really knows how long they'll last. People say things like five years, but they don't really know.

    2. They're fragile, easily-scratched.

    BUT — once you write to them, the file can't be changed or corrupted by the user accidentally. That's why they're called “Write-Once” media. You write to them once, and the data can't be changed on that disc. This protects your data in a big way.

    Personally I think that optical discs can be stored safely for more than five years (I have discs that are older than 5 years which work fine), but I'm pretty confident that there will be new/better media developed by then.

    By the way, I've been considering burning to Bluray DVD's because their capacity is so much larger per disc, but I haven't made the transition yet.

    As far as storing data offsite — I store hard drives offsite at my father's house. I keep the original hard drive and the optical discs at my house. But you could do it any way you want…

  • Thanks for the tip! Is it better to use something like that rather just just Time Machine?

  • Time Machine keeps different versions of your hard drive where Super Duper
    just makes an exact duplicate copy of your hard-drive. Both is probaby best
    to do, according to Izzy. For some reason we were just having problems
    getting Time Machine to work with my computer — it kept getting
    interrupted, but I think it was because of the wireless setup we were using.

    I plan to take a look at Mozy and Carbonite to see if I want to use one of
    them as a 2nd off-site backup plan. I'm really happy with Super Duper,
    though. So easy. I haven't actually had to USE my backup to restore lost
    info, so I can't report on how that process works. Seems easier than Time
    Machine, though, since it's a complete exact copy. ???

  • Yeah…I think all the versions gets confusing…although I have so many digital files I feel lost in my own stuff already. I have 3 external harddrives, although only 150gb each – I confuse myself wondering what is where – and usually I just move on. I guess that's why I'm not so motivated regarding backups, I feel like I won't ever look back. For work related stuff, everything is backed up on work servers, so I don't have to worry for that.

    I wonder if there is a way to have a friend or relative hook up a drive that we can upload onto… that would be a DIY remote backup, right? :) LOL

  • ktscrapbooklady

    I finally listened to this episode yesterday and I really enjoyed it. I learned so much and it expanded my thinking about digital scrapbooking. Great discussion!

  • Kristina

    Hey guys! Love the show, and I love hearing all the different viewpoints of the show's guests. Great job!

    Just a quick question for you. :) I've noticed that the last few episodes were all recorded around the same time and then released at later dates. Just wondering why that is? I love reading the comments from one week and then hearing the response of the panel in the following show. So, I sort of miss that timely response. Will you guys be on a more weekly recording schedule at some point? Maybe the schedule is like this because of the summer? Hopefully you're all on fun vacations. :)

  • DailyDigiSteph

    Yes, Noell and Izzy are on vacation! We will be recording a new episode on Thursday for release the same day :) After that, we should be back to our regular schedule somewhat. We all thought recording ahead would be much better than no show at all ;)

  • Hi, Kristina! Believe me, we prefer not to record them all at once either!
    It was a vacation thing. Izzy, Steph, and I all went on vacation. We'll be
    recording this week's shows on Thursday and then we'll be back on a regular
    schedule again. There will be times here and there when we'll have to record
    ahead, though.

  • I just got around to listening to this show but I really wanted to comment on the topic of backing up. But, first-GREAT show. I love this podcast. I love the Daily Digi site and now I am addicted to the podcast. My two cents worth on fantasy layouts for me personally is that they are really hard for me to pull off but I love them and they offer something that no other medium really does (in scrapbooking, that is). I have used fantasy layouts to evoke an emotion that isn't evident in just a traditional page and I've used it to change a background that sometimes will actually contradict with the story or doesn't tell the story as completely. Ok-on backing up. I became obsessed and still haven't found a definitive strategy when a hard drive failed and I nearly lost all the pictures of my newborn son from birth to three months. At that point, I would have paid thousands to get them back. Instead I just begged a guru friend of a family member to help me and paid him a few hundred dollars-phew. But that's when I realized how vulnerable we were. I now own 6 external harddrives and I rotate them. But, they do fail and they are only as good as I am at backing up. I also bought gold cd's and backed up everything to that point. But, the weakness was always me and my consistency at backing up. So, I looked into Mozy but it is just a mirror of my computer. If I delete something, then it is gone in 30 days which I may not realize until it is too late. So, I am looking at network attached storage that is something like DROBO with a RAID set up AND switching out the RAID drives semi annually. I would LOVE an indepth strategy from someone that is geared toward the home user. A strategy for archiving, storage, and back up with a workflow or step by step program. It really is completely overwhelming. I want to protect our photos and supplies as our everyday computer stuff. It is a mongo big issue for anyone with digital assets even if they don't know it…yet! Thanks Steph and everyone who is working to make this show a success! Great work!

  • Mande

    I had never heard of fantasy scrapbooking before, and this is like a whole other world of scrapbooking. Are there classes one can take to learn how to use Photoshop in this way? I have done many of the Jessica Sprague classes, but I still don't feel I could create one of those awesome fantasy pages unless I had some practice first. Any recommendations?

  • digiSara

    Thanks for the show! I had a comment about the conversation of Izzy's picks being too technical for the average listener – please don't stop them! I can relate a lot to Izzy because I come from a photography/computer background but am relatively new to scrapbooking (digi or traditional) but I love hearing his picks for things that I might be interested in. In fact, I'm definitely going to check out this Dam Book (haha) because it sounds like it will be right up my street.

  • DailyDigiSteph

    THANKS for the kind words about the show and TDD! :)

    I would LOVE to find someone that could talk about RAIDs, etc. with us!! I know that Izzy has not had good experience with the DROBO. I agree that the best method is one that you dn't have to think about and is automatic (at least for me…I'm just not good at anything else).

  • Sewfine

    Thanks so much for the show! Hollie described her way of doing shadows, which I would love to try. Does she have it as a tutorial or online somewhere that I could access rather than trying to write it down while listening to the show? Thanks ever so much for your help.

  • Lee Ellen

    Great show! I have a question for Izzy – I heard somewhere along the line that we should be careful how often our digital photo files are edited, that every time a file is “touched”, it's compressed or something happens that degrades the quality. Is that true? If you open a photo in your editing software, but don't do anything to it (just cancel out), has something changed about it? What if you are just viewing the pictures from Explorer or changing the orientation of a photo when viewing it (not editing it) – does this change something about the original quality of the file?
    Thanks!

  • DailyDigiSteph

    I have been looking around for some things for you. Deviant Scrap does have some basic tutorials in their shop as well as some tutorials in their forums: http://www.deviantscrap.com/forum/forumdisplay….

  • DailyDigiSteph

    I love Izzy's picks too! I think there are probably a lot of digi scrappers that LOVE the techie stuff! :)

  • DailyDigiSteph

    I was able to find this tutorial on her site :) by MissBehaving: http://www.deviantscrap.com/forum/showthread.ph…

  • DailyDigiSteph

    I know that each time you open a jpeg, make changes, and save again, it does degrade the quality a bit. That's one reason lots of people save as tiff's and shoot their photos in RAW (on a dSLR).

  • Sewfine

    Thank you so much for pointing me in the right direction! :-)

  • Yes, that's the case with me.

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  • Lucrecia Gray

    I’m not sure if anyone else will be behind by a year, but just in case – Jen Barrett is no longer selling at scrap matters – here is a new link to her awesome shadows http://www.sweetshoppedesigns.com/sweetshoppe/product.php?productid=21075&cat=0&page=1