Happy Digital Scrapbooking Day (Tomorrow)

It's Digital Scrapbooking Day (Tomorrow) and many stores around digi-land are celebrating all weekend long. I don't know how much time I'll get to spend doing challenges and what not, but I might do a few particular at my favorite home, the Studio.  I'm also going to use whatever time I have to get reaquainted with digital scrapbooking sites and maybe some new designers.  I definitely want to spend some time scrapping, I've decided to dive in and work on an album of my trip to Jamaica last March, so I'm trying to be very organized and plan some things out and get scrapping!

There will be a LOT of great sales, and I hope to pick up a few things.  I don't really have any specific plans, but I know I won't be able to resist a good deal.  theStudio is having a 50% off sale which will be amazing, and my email box is filling up with other great deals.

Thought I'd share my DSD this weekend through a board on Pinterest I've created especially for the event.  Head over to http://pinterest.com/janicew6971/dsd-2011/ and see what I've marked, etc.  Remember if you are interested in trying Pinterest and need an invitation, just leave me a comment with your email address and I'll send you one.

Strategy for DSD?  (Yes, you have to have a strategy.)  Here's how I plan to attack the event.  :)  (At least the shopping part!)

1. Set a budget.  I'm not exactly sure what mine will be yet, but I encourage everyone to set a budget.  Otherwise it would be quite possible to go entirely insane.  For even $20 you could pick up a lot of great bargains this weekend!
2. Go through my emails.  I've been saving the email newsletters from my favorite designers and stores that have been coming in this week.  I plan to cruise through them, shop the good and interesting sales, probably by marking possibles on the Pin board above and then going back and making final decisions.
3. Cruise Facebook.  Going to cruise my Facebook page for the same thing. I really wish there was a good way to mark Facebook posts since they've been coming out all week and I haven't had time to really read them all or follow links.  (Are you listening Mark Zuckerberg?)  Alternatively if I could group all my fan pages like I can friends, it would be VERY useful too!  (Again, hello MARK - pay attention!)  :)  Basically same thing as email, but I might find a few new things along the way.
4. Watch Facebook and possibly Twitter for short term coupons and deals from designers and stores.  If you use these tools, keep them open while you are at the computer for DSD and check often.  I did this hard core one year and got 3 or 4 limited time offers which gave me some items for free.  Don't jump on the deal though unless it's something you really want and will use.  It's always nice to make sure you do a layout or project for the designer when you get a giveaway like this.
5. Cruise DigiShopTalk's DSD forum area.  Sometimes, I find a few things that are new to me this way.  I don't typically spend a ton of time at DST, but they have a forum area dedicated to DSD which is useful for scanning.  http://www.digishoptalk.com/boards/forumdisplay.php?f=119
6. BLOG TRAINS, FREEBIES and the like.  This is a great weekend for high quality freebies, because a lot of designers don't do as many freebies as they used to and as a former designer I totally understand.  But this is one of the occasions where stores and designers tend to offer a little something.  I'll be scouting and pinning the good ones and definitely getting a few things.  The DSD forum area has a section for freebies and giveaways, so it's a good place to start.  Always download these freebies first before your purchases, since they are often for a limited time.
7. THANK EVERYONE!  Get a freebie, thank the designer.  Download a freebie, leave a thank you somewhere.  That few seconds really means a lot to designers (I know) and it let's them know you appreciate their work.  So, don't forget to say THANK YOU.

I think that about covers it.  The best way to see what I've found is to take a look at that Pin Board . (You don't have to have an account to look at the pins.)  It's blank as of this moment, but won't be for long.  :)

Happy DSD everyone!