Digital Scrapbooking 101 BLOG

FREE Printable and/or downloadable Stationery is nothing more than easy to use predesigned and formatted digital stationery that is readily available at no cost online. With just a little bit of how-to information and training, also provided on the best free-stationery sites, you are able to open or create your stationery right in your favorite word processor software.

If you don’t happen to use eMail or word processing software, you can also simply use the downloadable designs (usually in PDF form) for printing through your home printer. That way, you can simply hand write your letters as if the stationery was the kind purchased at a retail or stationery store… it’s just a lot less expensive when you print it yourself.

FREE Digital Stationery is a quick simple solution to your custom stationery needs. All you need is a computer, eMail or wordprocessing software and a printer, preferably colored. The printer is optional if you will be sending your custom stationery letter by eMail or publishing it online.

A diverse range of free Printable Stationery is available with a quick search online. That includes photo calendars, letterheads, envelopes, greeting cards, wedding cards, stickers, bookmarks, labels, shopping list, recipe cards, computer scrapbook templates and even small gift-wrapping paper. There is even a special Printable Free-Stationery for children, which is based on themes like animals, birds, flower, nature, toys and cartoons.

Best of all, there is no limit to the number of sheets you can download and print and you are never out of the custom stationery page you need since you are creating it yourself.

Custom Printable Stationery is really easy to create and print. Typically most any word processing, eMail and digital scrapbook software will work. Some of these programs are even available as a free downloads, so if you do not have the right software already on your computer, you can easily procure it without much hassle.

I do need to point out that some of the websites out there are for Printable Stationery only. This type of custom digital stationery is designed to be printed as a blank page on a specific paper size only. Sometimes you even must use their propriatary online software. This is fine if you are planning on hand writing your letter or card and always have online acccess to their website, but is of no use to those that wish to publish a newsletter or use the special fonts on your computer to write your letters and cards.

If you must, you can print it, then stick it back in your printer and use your word processor to print over top the page again, but that takes extra time and effort!

My recommendation is to use the web sites that offer your custom stationery in multiple formats for download to your computer. That way you can use the free-stationery designs any way you choose. Again, the better sites will have clear instructions on how to use and print their products. The best ones will allow for these custom stationery files to be downloaded and will provide premade templates for the most common word processors as well.

By and large, there is a copyright and terms of use agreement posted on the website for you to comply with. Most will be for personal use only, but some will allow for commercial use with special permission. If you are not sure, just ask the owner.

To sum it all up…

There are a large number of sites on the Internet that are offering professional looking, beautifully designed, free custom downloadable and Printable digital stationery. On the other hand, some of the websites will charge you for using their stationery or for the add-on custom envelopes or address labels. In case you do not find the free stationery you like (doubtful that that will happen..) on the Internet, you can always go for paid designs. But, if you do need a totally custom design made for a special event or occasion, there are quite a number of designers and sites on the Internet who are more than happy to create the Printable Stationery of your dreams!

One last thought…

It’s not as hard as it sometimes looks to learn to use your own custom digital stationeries. The little bit of time that it takes to learn how to create your own one-of-a-kind letters, cards, scrapbook pages and even personal invitations will pay off in not only saved money, but in respect and lots of positive attention from family, friends and guests when they dote over your creativity and personal touches.

About the author:
Wes Waddell and FREE-Stationery.com provides 100s of FREE downloads along with detailed information on FREE Digital stationery, how-to training on creating your own personalized stationery, email stationery, free printable stationeries and more with free software. More FREE Stationery articles and information can also be found on our FREE-Stationery BLOG at: www.FREE-Stationery.info

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Budget Wedding Invitations… and Stationery

By: Wes Waddell

Ideally, wedding invitations should be mailed out 6-8 weeks before the big day to give guests time to make arrangements to attend and RSVP back to you. 

The first step is to get organized.  This is where a large tabbed file folder comes in especially handy!  Begin by making a list of the people you just can’t stand to get married without them there.  This will probably be mostly relatives and close friends.  Ask your parents and the groom’s parents to provide you with a list of who they would like to invite.  Make sure you have accurate addresses for all your invited guests.

One caution here:  don’t think you HAVE to invite everyone you know.  If you haven’t talked to your high school tennis partner since graduation, he or she probably doesn’t need to be invited.  And don’t get all caught up in possibly offending someone by not inviting them to your wedding. 

Often, people get sick of attending weddings for people they barely know or don’t keep in touch with.  Unless you talk to them every week at least, chances are pretty good that they won’t give it a second thought when your invitation doesn’t arrive.  Remember, you’re trying to save some money on your big day.  Extra people means extra expense - cut corners here.

Once you have your guest list, you’ll have an idea of how many invitations you’ll need.  Next, you’ll need to pick a design.

Wedding invitations shouldn’t be a big expense for you.  Yes, when it’s delivered all pretty in its customized envelope and small tissue square inside, it can make an impression - for about a minute!  Most people read it once, note the date, take out the RSVP card and throw the invite away.  So why spend a lot on them?  Remember, we’re trying to save money here!

The obvious thing to do with your invites is to create them yourself on your personal computer using FREE or inexpensive digital stationery.  You can use Microsoft Word, OpenOffice or just about any desk top publisher (DTP) to create beautiful custom invitations that are ALL about you! 

There are also inexpensive programs and websites out there specifically made for creating stationery, invitations and greeting cards.  The best part about buying programs like this is being able to use it again after the wedding is over!  I’ve used http://www.free-stationery.com/ and http://www.freescrapbooktraining.com/ (great selection of free photo greeting cards) time and again to save me when I need to print out a special occasion letter or card (Birthday, Anniversary, Graduation) at the last minute when I’ve lost track of the month or date!

You can easily buy heavy card stock at most any office supply or discount store.  Consider some pre-designed FREE stationery which is also available at all over the Internet.

I don’t recommend pre-printed stationery if you are really trying to save money.  There just aren’t as many to choose from and most of the really nice ones are almost as expensive as those you would have custom printed for your wedding.  The digital stationery has taken over and have 1000s more designs to choose from for a real you kind of feeling.

Most inkjet printers today, especially the best ones with individual color ink tanks, can print on heavy card stock or card template paper at less than 5 cents a page.

Don’t have a good printer or just not really hyped up on using up all your printer’s ink on your wedding invitations?  Not a problem… Take them to a specialized copy shop or office supply store.  They can usually copy onto whatever paper you want (heavy card stock, pre-printed, etc.) and in color if you choose and your budget allows.

It’s still a lot less expensive than having custom wedding invitations made.

If you are really on a budget and one of the crafty and artistic types, you could also print out simple text of your invitation then use rubber stamps or embossing powder to decorate them.  Keep in mind, though, the number of invitations you’ll need to embellish.  If you’re looking at a few hundred, you could be up late nights just decorating all of them!

The traditional practice for wedding invitations is to put the invitation inside an envelope and then place that envelope inside another envelope.  The budget conscious say: Why bother?  One envelope is plenty and you’ll only need one stamp to mail if you use just the one.

If you’re doing your own invitations, check with some small local print or card shops for leftover envelopes they might have.  You can buy these at hugely discounted prices.  You may even get them free just to get them out of their store room.  Don’t get freaked out if you have several different sizes or styles.  How many people are going to compare wedding invitation envelope sizes before, during or even after the wedding?  It will be our little secret

If you need to have RSVP’s, consider putting it on a small postal size card.  That way you eliminate an envelope and it adds to the convenience for your guests.  All they have to do is fill it out and drop it in the mailbox.  Of course, you’ll have to provide the stamp for this card.

Consider also printing reception information directly on the invitation itself.  For an RSVP, provide a phone number and/or e-mail address for guests to respond to.  Not only will this save you on postage, you’ll have all the information right there for your guests to refer to before the big day instead of them having to save a separate reception card.

You can use labels to print out addresses on your computer.  We would suggest getting the clear labels as it just looks better.  The most prominent label maker is Avery.  Their website offers free templates to print out your labels, so you may want to check that out before struggling with a software program.

OpenOffice Suite (free from OpenOffice.org) and MS Word both come with most standard Avery templates built in.  Just use the envelope page menus and you are all set.

If you don’t like the impersonal nature of address labels, by all means, address the envelopes personally by hand.  You can get information about calligraphy online or just use your best handwriting!

Just remember, computers don’t have to be impersonal either.  There are hundreds of calligraphy and hand writing fonts out there.  A little searching on the web and you can even have your own handwriting made into a custom font.

Some brides don’t want the hassle of do-it-yourself invitations.  We happened to have a friend who sold wedding invitations as a side business at an incredible cheap rate and she offered up a discounted rate as a wedding gift.  We ended up with 300 invitations for just $60.  Not everyone can be that lucky, however.  Search for “home business online greeting cards” for the most savings and best service. 

Finally, when it comes to wedding invitations, one of your largest expenses is going to be the postage.  You really have no control over that unless you’re the Postmaster General and even then, I doubt it helps!  You may want to hand deliver some invitations to save on postage.  Especially to those that you see every day at work and in your neighborhood. I know I would prefer to have the bride or groom personally hand me their invitation.

 It tells me I’m special to them and I know it’s saving them the cost of a stamp!

That’s it for now, hope we have given you some ideas that will save you some cash on your wedding invitations and stationery.  There are lot’s more ideas coming, so check back often and be sure and subscribe to our RSS feed.

Happy Scrappin’

Kathy and Wes

PrincessCrafts
www.MyPrincessCrafts.com
www.FREE-Stationery.com
www.FREE-Stationery.info

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computerscrapbooking101.zip

Hi Scrapbook Friend,

Would you like to know when ever this site has a new article or FREE Scrapbook download waiting for you?

Now you can!

Just download our new Computer Scrapbooking 101 Site Widget, unzip it and double click to install.  It’s that simple.  Then, every time that new articles or FREE Scrapbook downloads are added to our BLOG, you’ll get a little text message letting you know it’s ready for you.

Never miss a message again and never worry about SPAM as it’s only purpose is to let you know that the info you want is ready for you.  100% SPAM free and 100% virus and spybot free as well.

computerscrapbooking101.zip

“Right Click” on the file above and “Save Target as…” or “Save Link As…” to save it to your computer.  Then just Unzip and double click in the file to install.  Sorry, Windows PCs only.  Not MAC compatible at this time.

If you followed the simple directions… you should now have a little black and white star icon on your tool bar. 

Now, you’ll always know whenever there’s new content waiting for you…

Happy Scrappin’

Kathy and Wes

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Earn yourself a FREE Digital Scrapbook Kit…

8.5×11 inch Denim Daisy Hi-Res Digital Scrapbook Kit.  Perfect for Spring, Summer and cute little girls scrapbook pages.

Yours for FREE just for showing your friends our Scrapbook Kits n Bits site and letting them check it out for themselves.  No lists, no hassles and no pressure.

We just want to show them what is available to them should they need this kind of money saving scrapbook page resources in their scrapbook toolbox.

Here’s all the details you need…

FREE Digital Scrapbook Page Kit

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I need socks for Alabama Foster Care

Spring SOCK It To Us! Project

This project will benefit the 7000 children in Foster Care in Alabama! 

Please mail me a pair of socks to: 

Kathy Wittlock
C/O Wittlock Engineering
P.O. BoX 1765Cullman Al 35055 

What KIND of socks?

Pink socks, bluesocks , boys socks , girls socks, Just NOT USED SOCKS! 

Thanks to everyone for helping me.

Kathy Wittlock

In Memory of our Scrapbook Friend Mary Wittlock.

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Last year so many of you supported Alabama’s foster children by participating in the 2007 Shoe Drive. What an exciting event that was. This year the group is at it again and so I pass along the 2008 Spring Project – Sock It To Us! 

Please help where you can and please pass along this information to others that might be interested.

Sock it to Us! 

It’s the 2nd Annual Spring Alabama Foster and Adoptive Parent project benefitting the 7,000 foster children in Alabama. This year’s project will collect your donations of new socks and school supplies beginning February 15 through May 2, 2008.

We need your help by donating items, as a collection drop off point in your area, and spreading the word in your local community.

Monetary donations will also be appreciated and are tax deductible.

For more information, please contact:

•                          afapa@afapa.org
•                          www.afapa.org
•                          1-888-545-2372 or
•                          205-655-7658

Alabama’s foster children thank you!

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