Monday, August 9, 2010

New Space

In answer to the questions:
Why so snarky?
Why so Bitchy?
Why so judgmental?
Please feel free to save this and copy/paste every time the question comes up, it will save us all a lot of time and typing.

1. This is a smack blog, we are snarky, snotty, bitchy, judgmental, critical, grumpy, dopey and doc.a. If you want nice, sweet and up your behind....go to DST.
2. If you are a designer, store owner, CT, etc. expect to be criticized, told you sell "crap" or worse, and don't expect sugar-coated either.a. If you want nice, see 1a.
3. If you are here looking for the truth, honest opinions and real feelings, welcome and join in.a. If you want nice, see 1a.

Credit goes to: Anonymous: August 8, 2010 8:21 AM: Thanks!

2,219 comments:

1 – 200 of 2219   Newer›   Newest»
Anonymous said...

If you are looking for honest this may not always be the place to be, it seems like a lot of people have personal issues with some of the people they talk about.

The rest is pretty spot on though.

Anonymous said...

^^^^
I agree. Honest to a point. Biased honest opinion maybe? I take everything I read here with a grain of salt...and a box of popcorn.

Anonymous said...

anyother reason no one knows what is fact and what is fiction. I think more fiction then fact but sometimes fun and other times foolhardy.

Anonymous said...

I like the fact that we can read about things here that would never be mentioned at DST - such as MISS TINA or the truth about Royanna's newest problem.

Anonymous said...

Honest as in - here you can say you don't like someone..elsewhere - you are more likely to keep it to yourself. No censoring how you feel. Personal issues welcome. None of the fake...oh it is so wonderful, you are so great, lovely LO.blah, blah, kiss,kiss.

Anonymous said...

From Divine Digital's home page:
"This account has been suspended."

Wonder what sob story we'll get this time around?

Anonymous said...

^^^^
i don't know what happened. i paid. i am in disney. living out of my car. my dog ate my server. i worked so hard and now it's all gone. AGAIN. i will fix it. AGAIN. patience. please. i am living in my car and mickey wants to play!

word verification is pagge and Royanna needs to get her pagges to stay up

Anonymous said...

Wow. How embarrassing. I can't believe they wouldn't just post down for maintenance or something. They might as well say "This person doesn't pay their bills"

Anonymous said...

How does Divine Digital stay in business??

What kind of designers are stupid enough to put up with Royanna's jankiness?

Anonymous said...

She is spending the web host bill money at Disneyland for her son and husband's birthday.

Anonymous said...

The Disneyland jokes and living out of my car jokes were funny the first time and maybe even the third time around but now it's boring, like Jay Leno.

Anonymous said...

The sad thing is, it's not really jokes. Her FB isn't private. Her house is in foreclosure and she just posted pictures of them at Disney for their birthdays. If you can't pay the bill, and your designers aren't making the money, then by all means, shut it down. Just quit lying and saying it will be up next week, when it won't.

Anonymous said...

Well, the account suspension may not be payment related. If for any reason she went over her agreed bandwidth, host providers will suspend - its automatic. I had this happen to me once and after a fight with the hosting service "we" agreed it would never happen again or I would sue them or loss of revenue. They should have just charged the account for additional bandwidth.

Anonymous said...

My advice is simple. Royanna, perhaps if you stopped selling your store for $15 you would actually make money, your designers would make money and everyone would be in a happy place.

Anonymous said...

Can someone explain to me the marketing logic of "Guest Designers?" I do get that an established designer might want to guest at a different store in order to expand their clientele but why would the store want it?

Wouldn't the designer's existing clients buy at the store the designer normally sells at? Are people going to follow a designer to a shop where she is only guesting or will they just buy from the shop where the designer normally sells. Would the designer really bring added traffic and customers to a shop to make it worth their while? It seems that once the designer is no longer a guest the shop might end up directing current customer's to the designer's "normal" store. All the store gets out of it is the 20-30% over-ride for the month the designer is there but I don't see that it expands their market share and it might end up sending business to the competition. I don't get it?

I'd also like to know how Irene Alexeeva ends up being a guest designer at so many stores without violating her contract at Scrap Orchard; aren't they an exclusive shop?

Anonymous said...

From a designer point of view, I guess 'guesting' at a store will put you in view of a customer base you may not normally have.

From a store point of view, having one of your designers guest elsewhere, also puts them in view.

What the store guesting gets, I suppose, is a few customers who may not normally visit.

Anonymous said...

Dunno, But I want Cinzia Loosemore's new kit and it's only at her Guest Shop, MSCraps.

Anonymous said...

^^^

It will be at her regular store after her guest spot finishes. They usually are.

Anonymous said...

My guess is the contract probably states about kit and time limits. Flergs is another one who is doing some guest spots as well. I like it when my fave designers guest elsewhere, I have discovered new designers that way.

Anonymous said...

Oh how horrific and devastating it is that Divine is down again! Royanna will have to work round the clock for months now to get it all back up, all while her server company actively works against her, of course. How will they survive this tragic loss?

wv: guessect - guess again Royanna

Anonymous said...

Yawn...Royanna...how to keep beating a dead horse. Is anyone still really interested??? It's BORING....obviously she has made some people happy. Go look at the number of friends she has on her FB page but designers are also leaving and finding new homes. There comes a point where she won't have a business but why do you care. She's only hurting herself in the long run. Too many stores for designers and customers alike to go so let go already we've heard it all ad nauseum.

Anonymous said...

^^^^^^^^^^^^
Obviously some people are or it wouldn't be discussed.

Anonymous said...

She belongs to the SaddleBack Church in CA and I think at lot of her FB friends are from there too. Isn't that the church that the chic on the Housewives of Orange County belongs to?

Anonymous said...

This isn't about Royanna, but it's as much of a train wreck.

http://digiscrapaddicts.com/forum/showthread.php?t=15944

Shocking. They're having trouble getting designers to sign-up (obviously).

Anonymous said...

Yes that church is just a thinly disguised social club for bleached, silicone addicted OC bimbos and their gold wearing sugar daddy's. Oh and let's not forget their egotistical, self absorbed offspring who all thing that being in a reality show makes you talented.

Anonymous said...

This isn't about Royanna, but it's as much of a train wreck.

http://digiscrapaddicts.com/forum/showthread.php?t=15944

Shocking. They're having trouble getting designers to sign-up (obviously).

-------------------

Well, if the people who own and run that place weren't such a snarky bunch of bitches who only promote their friends, they might have more luck. And if they ran the site like a business, and treated the whole community professionally rather than acting as if its a high school popularity club, maybe more of the designing community might want to get involved. Or, maybe if the prizes weren't such a joke. You couldn't pay me to "audition." Just not worth the time and headache.

Anonymous said...

^^^^^
Amen, sista!

Anonymous said...

Who owns DSA now?

Anonymous said...

I still can't figure out why I'm supposed to audition for a contest?! What is the logic behind that? I don't think there's even a chance of a fair contest there, so I'm not wasting my time. Looks like I'm not the only one.

Anonymous said...

You're supposed to audition so that in case you're not their friend, or someone they like, they can say thanks, but no thanks, you're not "in." WASTE.

Anonymous said...

Well, if the people who own and run that place weren't such a snarky bunch of bitches who only promote their friends, they might have more luck.

---------

As it looks like you know who owns DSA, please give us names. I have no clue any more.

Anonymous said...

I understand why a new designer would participate in a contest of that type if she is trying to get noticed/established.

Honestly, I'm not sure why a contest like that would appeal to an established designer at all. If you participate in every round, you are giving away your hard work for next to nothing. You would profit far more by selling it in your own store than you could ever earn in free advertising. It doesn't make an ounce of sense.

Anonymous said...

DSA is owned by kscwgirl and I think jemenifer or something. They bought out the Scrap Orchard people some time back.

Anonymous said...

Scrap Orchard convention in Las Vegas... really?... thoughts?

Anonymous said...

I don't have any thoughts except why are they having a convention?

Las Vegas? One of the last cities on this earth that I would visit.

Anonymous said...

WTF I just got the 9th & Bloom New Releases email, and clicked on one of the layouts to see it in the gallery. You can't even view their fucking gallery without being registered. IDIOTS. You won't get a dime from me.

Anonymous said...

Well, that seems pretty stupid to me. How are you going to the product and CT layouts?

Anonymous said...

Honestly, I'm not sure why a contest like that would appeal to an established designer at all. If you participate in every round, you are giving away your hard work for next to nothing. You would profit far more by selling it in your own store than you could ever earn in free advertising. It doesn't make an ounce of sense.

It would only appeal if you kit sales were in the toilet or you are out for pure pats on the back, great job, love it, can't live without it sort of thing.

Anonymous said...

Well I think it's not so much the banners (what a shitty prize), but more the fact that they might reach new customers through the contest itself. It's not really all that different than offering a blog freebie, except in this case you'll reach a lot more people. And I guess too just because someone has been designing over a year doesn't mean they are selling much, they may be making 50$ a month for all we know.

Anonymous said...

I think most of the people who will visit during that contest will be just like freebie hunters - very few of them will convert to regular (paying) customers. Another reason not to waste my time.

Anonymous said...

WTF I just got the 9th & Bloom New Releases email, and clicked on one of the layouts to see it in the gallery. You can't even view their fucking gallery without being registered. IDIOTS. You won't get a dime from me.
------------------
I guess that's a good way to force people to 'register' as members to inflate their membership numbers.

Anonymous said...

Or a good way to turn members away.

Anonymous said...

I couldn't possibly be less interested in the prizes for that contest at DSA. Banner rotations? Seriously? That's the least valuable advertising on that site.

Anonymous said...

Royanna, the Diva of Disaaster, lived in Fla, last I heard, so it's DisneyWorld, not DLand.

And just cause you've heard the story doesn't mean everyone else has.
That's probably one of the few positive things to come out of this blog. Newbies and folks with their heads up their a**es, get clued in. Not all of us can wander the back forum of the Designer BatCave at DST.
_________________________________
The Disneyland jokes and living out of my car jokes were funny the first time and maybe even the third time around but now it's boring, like Jay Leno.

August 9, 2010 6:04 PM

Anonymous said...

The only thing less appealing than the banner rotation prizes, is the idea of going to a Scrap Orchard "convention".

Anonymous said...

I think the DST Gallery Standouts have been completely overtaken by bad fantasy scrappers! Almost all of the layouts are fantasy scenes and most are horrid (Bad extractions and fake-looking scenes with bad shadowing).

It's getting really boring to see the same thing over and over and over. I'm starting to prefer the more traditional looking pages (the ones you can't tell if they're paper or digital).

Anonymous said...

LMAO at "Designer BatCave at DST" Hahaha!

Anonymous said...

Actually Royanna lives in Orange County and always has. so it is Disneyland.

Anonymous said...

And just cause you've heard the story doesn't mean everyone else has.
That's probably one of the few positive things to come out of this blog. Newbies and folks with their heads up their a**es, get clued in. Not all of us can wander the back forum of the Designer BatCave at DST.

-------------

I said the JOKES were old. People can continue to tell the story ad nauseum, but the jokes are really old and lame.

I don't have access to the DCR. Newbies and people with their heads up their asses don't come here, so the will continue to remain clueless.

And who really gives a crap if it's Disneyland or Disneyworld? Both are overpriced amusement parks.

Anonymous said...

It's getting really boring to see the same thing over and over and over. I'm starting to prefer the more traditional looking pages (the ones you can't tell if they're paper or digital).
-----

So go and nominate some traditional pages and quit your whining.

Anonymous said...

Just curious..Is Home Depot's logo copyrighted? If someone makes a log similar (the orange square with the same lettering) is that infringement?
For example-
http://www.facebook.com/pages/DigiScrapDepot/122042637822681

Anonymous said...

^^^^logo not log

Anonymous said...

^^^^

Yep, it sure is. If you look in the bottom corner of the Home Depot logo you'll see that there is an R in a circle, so it's a registered trademark.

Anonymous said...

^^^

I meant to add, which makes it worse as it's not just copyrighted. Infringing on trademarks is a much bigger deal.

Anonymous said...

It's getting really boring to see the same thing over and over and over. I'm starting to prefer the more traditional looking pages (the ones you can't tell if they're paper or digital).
-----

So go and nominate some traditional pages and quit your whining.
---------------
^^^^
Occasionally I do nominate pages that are really special...It's just that I see so many layouts that really aren't all that. And who wants to wade through hundreds of 'so-so' pages just to make sure it hasn't already been nominated.

Anonymous said...

^^^^

Okay, fair call.

Anonymous said...

It was back in 2007 but Roy DID say she had moved from CA to FLA. Now whether she actually did is anyone's guess, but she did put that story out.

Anonymous said...

How long is someone considered a newbie?
And I see people here with their heads up their asses all the time, ie, JoSkankee defenders, Amanda D fans, Tandika's defenders. All of those needed to uncork to see the light o'day.
_____________________________
I don't have access to the DCR. Newbies and people with their heads up their asses don't come here, so the will continue to remain clueless.

August 12, 2010 5:37 PM

Anonymous said...

How long is someone considered a newbie?
And I see people here with their heads up their asses all the time, ie, JoSkankee defenders, Amanda D fans, Tandika's defenders. All of those needed to uncork to see the light o'day.
-----

You don't visit that often, do you? I haven't seen any of those for a long time, except maybe the Amanda D ones.

Anonymous said...

I meant to add, which makes it worse as it's not just copyrighted. Infringing on trademarks is a much bigger deal.

^^^^

There are actually 45 different categories in which a mark (or logo) can be trademarked. Using a similar logo in a different industry may not violate their trademark at all. -- Not saying it does or doesn't -- just that having a trademark is not as black & white as you might think.

Also... not sure I would want to take on Home Depots attorneys either.

Sara (kscwgirl) said...

Well, if the people who own and run that place weren't such a snarky bunch of bitches who only promote their friends, they might have more luck. And if they ran the site like a business, and treated the whole community professionally rather than acting as if its a high school popularity club, maybe more of the designing community might want to get involved. Or, maybe if the prizes weren't such a joke. You couldn't pay me to "audition." Just not worth the time and headache.

_____________________________

you obviously haven't had much experience with us. I don't only have my friends do stuff, I have emailed people cold for The Fix, I've asked people in the Designer forum to sign up and I will, and have, schedule anyone that signs up. I don't play favorites, the audition period is the same as last year.

Now, since some of you seem to have such strong ideas on what better prizes would be, I would seriously love to hear them. This is our first year running this contest on our own, Kami and Mel no longer own the site. What kind of a prize would entice you to enter? I'd be glad for some feedback so that we can change things for next years contest to make it more of what the community wants. Thanks :)

Anonymous said...

So Britt-ish Designs is leaving ScrapMatters! I have seen several designers that have their own stores, but few that sell ONLY in their own stores. So this is new (to me).

Any dish here? Or just a simple designer move?

Anonymous said...

I've heard Scap Matters is not doing very well. They brought on some new designers, some of whom left right away, then they brought on more new designers. I think if I were one of the designers who had worked so hard to get there, I'd be a bit ticked too it they brought in a bunch of new designers in a panic.

Anonymous said...

Now, since some of you seem to have such strong ideas on what better prizes would be, I would seriously love to hear them. This is our first year running this contest on our own, Kami and Mel no longer own the site. What kind of a prize would entice you to enter? I'd be glad for some feedback so that we can change things for next years contest to make it more of what the community wants. Thanks :)

You have much ore valuable advertising at DSA than banner impressions. You need to look at the paid advertising that is actually selling well and offer some of that as a prize, because that is what designers want.

Sara (kscwgirl) said...

^^^
would free sponsorship be a prize that more designers would want?

I really appreciate input, we want this to be a contest that people look forward to.

Anonymous said...

Sponsorship is definitely more valuable than banner impressions.

You may also want to look around for contests sponsors, like persnickity prints and Wacom ... to bring in some more prizes.

Anonymous said...

There are actually 45 different categories in which a mark (or logo) can be trademarked. Using a similar logo in a different industry may not violate their trademark at all. -- Not saying it does or doesn't -- just that having a trademark is not as black & white as you might think.

--------

I know, I used to work in the field.

Anonymous said...

Designer call at Sweet Shoppe

Anonymous said...

would free sponsorship be a prize that more designers would want?

I really appreciate input, we want this to be a contest that people look forward to.

August 13, 2010 2:56 PM
^^^
a great prize would be a Canon 8800 scanner or Eye Candy.

Anonymous said...

I've heard Scap Matters is not doing very well. They brought on some new designers, some of whom left right away, then they brought on more new designers. I think if I were one of the designers who had worked so hard to get there, I'd be a bit ticked too it they brought in a bunch of new designers in a panic.

August 13, 2010 1:49 PM


Interesting. I had not heard that but did notice the influx of new designers.

Anonymous said...

"I have seen several designers that have their own stores, but few that sell ONLY in their own stores. So this is new (to me)."

Economics baby. In this market, its hard to be in just one place. That said, I find it overkill to see the same designers in more than 2 stores.

Anonymous said...

If you want to know what designers want, why don't you post your query in a forum? Why here on a smack blog that appears to be 90% customers? LOL.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...
Designer call at Sweet Shoppe

August 13, 2010 9:08 PM
----------------------------

So a million apps for one spot. Who will apply? Who will get it?

Anonymous said...

Gunhild has retired.

Anonymous said...

^^^^

Oh no! What will the next new innovative designer to hit SBG do?

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...
^^^^

Oh no! What will the next new innovative designer to hit SBG do?

August 14, 2010 7:11 PM

----------------------------------


hahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

Anonymous said...

Where do you see that Gunhild has retired, I see no mention of that on her site.

Anonymous said...

If you click on the Friday Freebie link, it's right near the bottom of the page.

Anonymous said...

Hasn't there already been a charity collab for the oil spill? I wonder why they didn't all coordinate efforts and all do one together?

Anonymous said...

Don't know. Who's doing one now?

Anonymous said...

If you want to know what designers want, why don't you post your query in a forum? Why here on a smack blog that appears to be 90% customers? LOL.
-----------------
Actually this smack blog is mostly designers...that's why they're so nasty to other designers and successful stores.

Customers have no motivation to be so nasty but wannabee designers get satisfaction from smacking other designers/stores.

Anonymous said...

^^^^
I agree. Also store owners and CTMs. Regular joe customer wouldn't have access (or care about) the kind of info that gets dropped here.

Anonymous said...

I also think the majority of posters here are designers, store owners, and CTMs.

Anonymous said...

A couple of weeks ago, I played the praise game at DST and as I commented on several pages, I noticed a particular scrapper posting multiple times.

I clicked on 'posts by this user' and counted that she posted 11 times in ONE Praise game thread. ELEVEN times! She was posting 5 different layouts, which meant she was posting several LOs 2-3 times in the same thread.

Although I don't think the praise game should have rules (who cares if someone posts once or twice in the same thread), I think 11 times is excessive!

Anonymous said...

The praise games are nothing more than people pimping their own/their friends layouts all to get some sort of validation. I stopped looking at those threads long ago.

Anonymous said...

^^^^^^^^^^^
The praise game helped with the downfall of digi how we once knew it. I HATE that we gotta play a damn game to get comments..WTF is that?

Anonymous said...

I also think the majority of posters here are designers, store owners, and CTMs.

August 15, 2010 10:47 AM
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Yep. Totally agree.

Anonymous said...

The praise game helped with the downfall of digi how we once knew it. I HATE that we gotta play a damn game to get comments..WTF is that?

August 15, 2010 6:06 PM

----------

The praise game did not help the downfall of digi as we know it. People helped the downfall of digi. It's attitudes like this that helped. The constant complaining, whining and bitching and doing nothing.

I don't like the praise game, but I don't bitch about it either.

Anonymous said...

The praise game helped with the downfall of digi how we once knew it. I HATE that we gotta play a damn game to get comments..WTF is that?
-------------------------
I do miss the way it was PRIOR to any praise games. Back then, it was really special to get 15 or 20 comments because you knew they were sincere.

Anonymous said...

If you are just looking for comments, what does it matter how you got them.

If you only want sincere comments, then it shouldn't matter if it's one, 10 or more. As long it's sincere. Looking for a lot of sincere comments is just narcissistic.

Anonymous said...

Who the hell cares if people comment on your layouts or not? If you really need that sort of attention/validation, you may want to invest in more comprehensive therapy.

Anonymous said...

To Anon - August 15, 2010 5:42 PM --

Maybe you should start a thread at DST about this? You don't have to name names. I'd like to see how people will respond to this.

But my guess would be that those who do what you said they did are the ones who only leave "Nice page!" as comment and never bother to read (let alone join in) discussion threads anyway.

I don't play praise games but I think you have every right to be frustrated about this. The games might be nonsense and pointless to others (the same way golf is to me), it doesn't mean you can go ahead and cheat all you want once you decide to participate.

Anonymous said...

It's not cheating. The only rule is not to post the same LO multiple times. There is no rule saying you can't post as many LOs as you like. As long as you are praising other LOs, it's not cheating. I can bet that the poster who did post multiple times probably praised a lot too.

Besides, there is nothing stopping the poster who made the original point from posting several LOs.

Anonymous said...

^
^
^
Ummm, read again? She said,
"I clicked on 'posts by this user' and counted that she posted 11 times in ONE Praise game thread. ELEVEN times! She was posting 5 different layouts, which meant she was posting several LOs 2-3 times in the same thread."
That's what I meant by cheating. I bet that's what the OP meant as well.

Anonymous said...

^^^

Okay, I read it wrong. My apologies. However, the OP could have reported the duplicates. I would have.

Anonymous said...

The praise game is a nifty way to get non-English speaking people involved at DST. I think it was a stroke of genius from a business perspective.

Here's something more useful than bitching about the praise game: Funky Playground has a 200 mb freebie in their store -- why don't one of you download it and tell us if it's worth getting?

Anonymous said...

Here's something more useful than bitching about the praise game: Funky Playground has a 200 mb freebie in their store -- why don't one of you download it and tell us if it's worth getting?

What's it called? I'll check it out for us.

Anonymous said...

OMG copycat alert! Have you noticed how many school related kits there are? I wonder who copied who first? How dare they!
buuuaahahahaha

Anonymous said...

I don't see a 200mb free kit at Funky? What am I missing?

Anonymous said...

OMG copycat alert! Have you noticed how many school related kits there are? I wonder who copied who first? How dare they!
buuuaahahahaha


LMFAO

Anonymous said...

Sorry - I got the resort confused with the playground for the freebie. http://www.digidesignresort.com/shop/

Anonymous said...

I still don't see any freebies, only a "free with 10$ purchase"

Anonymous said...

"Hasn't there already been a charity collab for the oil spill? I wonder why they didn't all coordinate efforts and all do one together?"

Because some designers are 'too good' to work with other designers. Don't be ridiculous! Don't you know the hierarchy yet?

Anonymous said...

There are some coupons in there, if you are interested. I deleted most of the files...

Anonymous said...

"Hasn't there already been a charity collab for the oil spill? I wonder why they didn't all coordinate efforts and all do one together?"

Because some designers are 'too good' to work with other designers. Don't be ridiculous! Don't you know the hierarchy yet?

August 16, 2010 1:52 PM
^^^
Oh yes, just like middle school with the cliques. Exactly how many asses does one have to kiss to become "popular"?

LMFAO wv: asessing

Anonymous said...

"Hasn't there already been a charity collab for the oil spill? I wonder why they didn't all coordinate efforts and all do one together?"
------

Why did no one ask this question about the Haiti kits? Hmmm?

Anonymous said...

People whined about more than one charity collab with Haiti also. I think the more the merrier.

Anonymous said...

The resort is also going to limit how many freebies someone can download before making a purchase. watch for that.

Anonymous said...

Here is the link for the free kit:

http://www.digidesignresort.com/shop/digidesignresort-specials-c-57/digidesignresort-birthday-surprise-goodie-bag-p-7635


I'll admit I haven't shopped there in over a year, but they probably wouldn't have to limit freebies if they didn't have so much crap in their store. I downloaded a few freebies and they were junk, so I haven't been back. If their freebie hunters aren't turning into shoppers, maybe they should take a closer look at what they are offering as freebies.

Anonymous said...

I agree! And the coupons were pretty usefuless, nothing to shop there...

Anonymous said...

Aw, you gals are great, I don't care what anyone says! Thanks for saving me the trouble - 200 mb sounded so good, but deep down I knew there wouldn't be anything there. I feel sorry for any good designer caught in the mire, but not sorry enough to check it out myself.

Anonymous said...

Does the store even have any good designers? At least two of the designers there have found themselves in trouble for misrepresenting their work in the past (said it was theirs and it was someone else's).

WV: junkyf

Anonymous said...

How many are we here? I'd say three! LOL!

vw:helscest !!!

Anonymous said...

Does the store even have any good designers? At least two of the designers there have found themselves in trouble for misrepresenting their work in the past (said it was theirs and it was someone else's).

I do vaguely remember the event referenced above, but don't recall specific details.

I haven't looked at their designer list, but I did download one of their (large) freebies recently. It looked decent enough in the preview, but when I looked at it all up close, I ended up deleting almost every single piece, due to combination of personal taste and lower quality level than I will use.

Anonymous said...

Has anyone been able to find the daily freebies at Catscrap? I swear I have looked at every product in Micheline and Allison's store three times over and can't see a link anywhere. I must be blind!!

Anonymous said...

Day 2 freebie is found in Creashens store under her kit "Flutterby".

Anonymous said...

Since someone mentioned that most of the posters here are probably designers, store owners etc, can I make a suggestion? I'm just a normal customer that shops at quite a few different stores depending on what my current tastes are. But, I'm really tired of seeing little fat birds (or chicks) and owls in so many kits. There are probably other elements that I'm tired of seeing but those stick out in my mind. Anybody else tired of the same old, same old?

Anonymous said...

Thanks, not blind just dense. I was only looking through their stores not the whole shop, duh!

Anonymous said...

. Anybody else tired of the same old, same old?

August 17, 2010 5:40 PM
-------

Ye, but not the birds. I don't like the cartoon/drawn kids and babies that seem to be popping up in lots of kits. I don't like them on the pages either.

Anonymous said...

Since someone mentioned that most of the posters here are probably designers, store owners etc, can I make a suggestion? I'm just a normal customer that shops at quite a few different stores depending on what my current tastes are. But, I'm really tired of seeing little fat birds (or chicks) and owls in so many kits. There are probably other elements that I'm tired of seeing but those stick out in my mind. Anybody else tired of the same old, same old?

August 17, 2010 5:40 PM
^^^^
If you don't like it you don't have to buy it. I am sick of people complaining.

Anonymous said...

That is such a tired argument. If you are a designer, deal with it! The OP was polite in her point, unlike you.

If you put the birdies in your kits, she won't buy from you. Sale lost. Great marketing.

Anonymous said...

With the size of most kits these days not to purchase a kit just because it has a bird or owl in it is unreasonable. Delete it if you don't want it and just scrap with the rest of the kit.

Anonymous said...

I really hate that designers try and sell their kit by size. It's not the quantity, but the quality. I'd rather have a smaller kit with quality, than a big kit with junk. Sadly, there are far too many big kits with junk.

Anonymous said...

Lmao...you know...after 3 years now of buying scraps...I still don't use owls or birds...lol...but yet I keep those darn things...I'm afraid I'll turn around and randomly start liking them and beat myself up...I mean...what if I become a bird watcher...? I do love the influx of kits with the little cameras and tech stuff...idk why...and lately...I think since getting more into real scrap...I've started digging more "actual scrap" looking stuff...especially since I seem to find myself these days seeing so many irl layouts that make me say "Whoa...I dream and wish that I could scrap that well in real life..." Oddly...I saw a layout at 2Peas that had Owls all over it...and I did like that one...but would never personally...do one...

wv: unatri (Lmao I guess as in...birds belong un-a-tri not your page...)

Anonymous said...

Brittish Designs is leaving Scrap Matters to open her own shop. I thought she would eventually end up at SSD.

Wonder what the deal was. Is the owner hard to work with? Is she sick of the server failing everytime they have a sale?

She blogged that is was to make her life "easier" but surely running your own site is not easier.

She was the only reason I ever went to SM. I wonder if they have a chance without her?

Anonymous said...

What happened to that rumor about SA closing?

Anonymous said...

I haven't heard anything new on the SA front but I believe 8/31 was the supposed close date.

Anonymous said...

^^^
yes, inquiring minds want to know, what's up at SA?

On the kit size issue, I prefer smaller kits with items that work for any kind of layout.

Anonymous said...

I really hate that designers try and sell their kit by size. It's not the quantity, but the quality. I'd rather have a smaller kit with quality, than a big kit with junk. Sadly, there are far too many big kits with junk.

___________________________________

On the other hand, there's nothing I hate more than paying $6 or $7 for a kit and opening it up to find I can't scrap more than one page with it. Quality is wonderful, but I expect a quality kit whether I pay $1 in a dollar sale or $7 at full price. If I can't get a couple of pages out of a kit, it's useless to me.

Anonymous said...

Just sort of thinking out loud here..LOL!

The LAST thing the digi community needs is yet another store (just how many stores are there now anyway), but IF you could have 1 new store open and IF it were to be honestly different, unique in some way what would it be?

After reading all the crediting and scraplifting threads over at DST it got me thinking. I could give less than a crap about credits unless it's for a pub or something. Would a store selling digi supplies but **wait for it now** NOT requiring credit, even for CU go over?

eh..it probably would if the stuff was decent and unique but now I'm thinking it might be a shot in the foot marketing wise. Maybe not if the price was higher than average and the customer gets rights of product. hmmm....

hehe..word verifi= regarat (as in regret) LOL:p

Anonymous said...

Not another store please!

Anonymous said...

I think most of the word verification things are getting pretty stupid. Does anyone care what people's WVs are? I bet 90% of the ones people post are probably "creatively modified" (AKA: made up) anyway, to go along with some stupid made-up "definition" that really isn't funny.


LOL! wv = supercalifradgelistickexpialadocios as in very, very stupid ;)

Anonymous said...

Has anyone else noticed that the scrap magazines don't even bother to put stores in the credits anymore? Still by designer, but no mention of stores. You'd have to go hunting for the designer by name. Which I guess is what you have to do since they move around so damn much.

The ONLY reason I care about credits is if I'm interested in something on the layout I'd like to try, too.

Anonymous said...

On the other hand, there's nothing I hate more than paying $6 or $7 for a kit and opening it up to find I can't scrap more than one page with it. Quality is wonderful, but I expect a quality kit whether I pay $1 in a dollar sale or $7 at full price. If I can't get a couple of pages out of a kit, it's useless to me.
-----------------------------------

^ I have never understood this argument. What is it, exactly, that holds one back from being able to make more than one page with a kit? It's an argument I only hear in digi (which, admittedly, is full of some cheap-ass sonsabitches wanting something for nothing - not EVERYONE, mind you, but a large population of people).

In paper scrapbooking you never hear people saying "Ugh, these pink prima flowers I can only use them on ONE PAGE. What a pain in the ass!"

If you get 10-15 pieces of paper and a bunch of elements, what's holding you back? Especially when you can recolor in digi. If you go through paper galleries you'll see a lot of materials that are used over and over again by a lot of scrappers. The digital community is really spoiled in this regard.

Anonymous said...

I haven't heard the rumour that SA (except here) is closing at the end of the month, but I know DSV is.

On a different topic: Am I the only one who thinks "Designer Survivor" is lame? Seems like a lot of work for very little reward. (For the record, I didn't participate, so it's not sour grapes because I got voted off.)

Anonymous said...

On the other hand, there's nothing I hate more than paying $6 or $7 for a kit and opening it up to find I can't scrap more than one page with it. Quality is wonderful, but I expect a quality kit whether I pay $1 in a dollar sale or $7 at full price. If I can't get a couple of pages out of a kit, it's useless to me.

August 18, 2010 2:51 PM
-------------

I agree completely, except for the page part. I can always get more than a page out of a kit, but I don't like scrapping with just one kit generally, too boring.

Anonymous said...

On a different topic: Am I the only one who thinks "Designer Survivor" is lame? Seems like a lot of work for very little reward. (For the record, I didn't participate, so it's not sour grapes because I got voted off.)

August 18, 2010 4:06 PM
-------

All the Survivors are lame. I honestly thought that particular piece of 'reality' tv would have died out long ago.

Anonymous said...

have never understood this argument. What is it, exactly, that holds one back from being able to make more than one page with a kit?


If you get 10-15 pieces of paper and a bunch of elements, what's holding you back? Especially when you can recolor in digi.

August 18, 2010 3:38 PM

-------------

I agree completely.

I've also never understood the argument about digi being too expensive. I'll admit, it seems to mostly come from people who only use a kit once. Well, yeah, it is expensive then. I bet they don't buy t-shirts and only wear them once etc.

Anonymous said...

On a different topic: Am I the only one who thinks "Designer Survivor" is lame? Seems like a lot of work for very little reward. (For the record, I didn't participate, so it's not sour grapes because I got voted off.)

August 18, 2010 4:06 PM
-------

All the Survivors are lame. I honestly thought that particular piece of 'reality' tv would have died out long ago.

August 18, 2010 5:57 PM
----------

I realize that Designer Survivor is not on tv. Just pointing out that all versions of survivor are lame, not matter where or what they are.

Anonymous said...

Not only is Designer Survivor lame but the hosts are being really rude. In case I ever wanted to shop at Brownie Scraps before, I certainly don't now.

Anonymous said...

I'm just watching from the sidelines and can tell you, I would never shop there. If they are that rude in a public forum, imagine how they'd be if you emailed them about an issue with an order in private?

Anonymous said...

Never heard of Designer Survivor and never heard of Brownie Scraps. I checked their store, never heard of any of the designers. Which isn't saying much, as I stopped visiting most of digi land a while ago.

Where is some of the rudeness? I can't be bothered trolling the forums to find it.

Anonymous said...

Reading through a couple threads, these "designers" seem like idiots. You should know what a .tif file is and how to save something as one. Some of those other questions are just... wow.

Anonymous said...

Here's just one thread where things went bad (you can look at last week's reward challenge and week 1 tribal council for more stellar customers service if you are interested).

http://www.browniescraps.com/forum/showthread.php?t=7803

My favorite quote:

'I am busy, I made a mistake I don't need to be asked why I made a mistake, it was a mistake'

That lady should be teaching other store admin owners customer service skills. LOL.

Anonymous said...

^^^^^
Just read it, but if you ask me, she was kind of pushed to that point. Seems to me she is just trying to fix it.

Anonymous said...

OMG well of course jewel the queen is at the center of the drama in the designer *survivor*(i, too, am sick of the reality tv-like titles). LMAO digi-drama-soap-opera crap.

And to the person that said they looked at the site and 'don't know any of the designers' and 'couldn't be bothered to troll the forums'...are you fucking lazy or what? And so what if you don't know the designers, it's your loss, you should get your fucking head out of the sand..and if you haven't been around much of digi-land lately you really should broaden your horizons and stop reading a fucking smak blog!

Anonymous said...

I've hang out in the digi community a lot and I've never heard of any of the Brownie Scrap designers before. Looking at their store I don't think it's my loss at all.

Jewel said...

I'm at the center of it? I called it but I didn't cause it. It would have been so much better for me to have kept it quiet and cheated my team into winning, right?

Jewel said...

Or even better, I should have said nothing publicly but come here and anonymously linked everyone up to it.

You guys are always telling people to be more open about things happening, but when people are vocal about it, you vilify them. You create the very situation you hate so much.

Anonymous said...

Here is something I don't get: why homeschool your childern, when you make so many spelling mistakes?

(I know the answer: because you don't want any non-Mormon tell them that Jesus Christ wasn't a American!)

Anonymous said...

I think it's great you did what you did, Jewel. The host's first responses were just weird and unprofessional. I was highly amused at other hosts' attempt at damage control. LOL

Anonymous said...

Here is something I don't get: why homeschool your childern, when you make so many spelling mistakes?

(I know the answer: because you don't want any non-Mormon tell them that Jesus Christ wasn't a American!)

^^^

I'm dying to know what you are talking about!

Anonymous said...

And to the person that said they looked at the site and 'don't know any of the designers' and 'couldn't be bothered to troll the forums'...are you fucking lazy or what? And so what if you don't know the designers, it's your loss, you should get your fucking head out of the sand..and if you haven't been around much of digi-land lately you really should broaden your horizons and stop reading a fucking smak blog!

August 19, 2010 12:41 PM
----------

What the hell is our problem? Feel like a grown up now that you used a bunch of swear words? Geez, go back to school already.

Anonymous said...

And so what if you don't know the designers, it's your loss, you should get your fucking head out of the sand..
------

I was really polite about it. You need to go and get a drink or something. Relax babe, your heart will blow.

Anonymous said...

And to the person that said they looked at the site and 'don't know any of the designers' and 'couldn't be bothered to troll the forums'...are you fucking lazy or what? A
--------

No, I just have better things to do, broadening my horizons and all.

Anonymous said...

Here's just one thread where things went bad (you can look at last week's reward challenge and week 1 tribal council for more stellar customers service if you are interested).

http://www.browniescraps.com/forum/showthread.php?t=7803

My favorite quote:

'I am busy, I made a mistake I don't need to be asked why I made a mistake, it was a mistake'

That lady should be teaching other store admin owners customer service skills. LOL.

August 19, 2010 10:42 AM

-------------

Thank you! I don't really see a problem *shrug*. Her reply was terse, but I wouldn't have said it was rude.

Anonymous said...

^^^^^

terse: "a response so curt as to be almost rude"

wanna try that again, huh?

Anonymous said...

It's so convenient to choose the definition that suits, isn't it?

It also means:

neatly brief and concise

or some alternate words:

short, brief, close, compact, compendious, concise, crisp, curt, exact, neat, pithy, succinct, summary, to the point

I tried again, do I get a gold star now?

Anonymous said...

One person's terse is another person's rude?

Anonymous said...

Some people are overly sensitive.

Anonymous said...

Why is SSD bothering with a Designer call? Meg Mullens will probably get the one spot and she is already a sugar babe so why not just give it to her?

Anonymous said...

Why is SSD bothering with a Designer call? Meg Mullens will probably get the one spot and she is already a sugar babe so why not just give it to her?
^^^
Just like most 'jobs' it is usually advertised to the public as well.

Anonymous said...

Where is everybody?

Anonymous said...

Just because Meg Mullens is on their CT, doesn't mean she's the best designer to fill the spot.

Anonymous said...

Here is something I don't get: why homeschool your childern, when you make so many spelling mistakes?

(I know the answer: because you don't want any non-Mormon tell them that Jesus Christ wasn't a American!)

Ummm....I think you are confused. I'm a Mormon, have been for many, many years and we DO NOT believe Jesus Christ was an American. Nope. Not at all. Here is what we do believe about Him:
http://www.mormon.org/jesus-christ/

We believe he was born in Bethlehem about 2,000 years ago to Mary, just like it says in the Bible. We believe he is the Son of God. We believe that after He was resurrected and made His appearance to those who followed him in Jerusalem, that He went to visit his "other sheep" as mentioned in the Bible. That included a visit to the peoples living at that time in North and South America.

As for homeschooling, I have three children who go to public schools and always will and not one of the 300 or so families in my local congregation home school their kids. My religion leaves educational decisions up to individual families.

WV: factio

Get the facts on someone's religion first :)

Anonymous said...

This blog, is really one of the worst places I can imagine to proselytize. Sometimes people say things just to goad you into an upset response. You let them.

Anonymous said...

*face palm*

Anonymous said...

Here is something I don't get: why homeschool your childern, when you make so many spelling mistakes?

**********************************

The more interesting part of that quote is why comment on someone's spelling when you can't spell yourself?

(And yes, I am aware that I soon as I hit send, I will see a glaring spelling error in this post.)

Anonymous said...

I think religion should stay away from this blog as much as possible. Religion that is something deeply personal to each individual and if you are going to give anyone's religion a second thought, it will not be because of the feelings that come from a blog like this. This is obviously a blog where people can vent and say things they would not feel comfortable saying to anyone respectable.

Having said that, why do we focus so much on people flaws? We are all human, we all make mistakes. Even those on here that act so much more knowledgeable and superior to the rest of us. Until each of us are perfect, why point fingers at someone else when each of us have things we could work on too.

Anonymous said...

Get the facts on someone's religion first :)

August 20, 2010 5:25 PM
---------

She was being sarcastic. I'm sure the OP is fully aware that Mormons do not believe that JC was an American.

You gave a polite response, for that I applaud you.

Anonymous said...

If you want to see a really whackjob documentary, check out Jesus Camp. I can't believe nutjobs like that actually exist, they're building a "christian army" or something that will die like suicide bombers, it was crazy. Also they homeschooled, of course because they needed to teach that evolution was evil and creationism was where it's at.

Anonymous said...

This blog, is really one of the worst places I can imagine to proselytize. Sometimes people say things just to goad you into an upset response. You let them.

No, that was not an upset response. Nor was it proselytizing. If I wanted t0 proselytize, I would have held the poster down, dragged her contact info out of her and sent the missionaries over. LOL.

All I wanted to do was make sure that those who read this blog and do not know anything about my religion come away with a more realistic idea of my values and beliefs. Take them or leave them, no problem :)

Anonymous said...

^^^^^

I doubt anyone believes that the Mormons believe that JC was an American.

Anonymous said...

Having said that, why do we focus so much on people flaws? We are all human, we all make mistakes. Even those on here that act so much more knowledgeable and superior to the rest of us. Until each of us are perfect, why point fingers at someone else when each of us have things we could work on too.

^^^
Yeah...the problem with that statement is that people are just going to say that by saying this, you are pointing fingers and acting superior.

I do agree with you in theory. But since this is an anon smack blog, your point is lost.

I like some of the info I get here. I also like the occasional laugh. If it weren't so easy to just ignore the rest, and take every single statement with a grain of salt, I would just stay away.

Anonymous said...

If everyone's somehow 'in the biz' around here...

Are there any new designers or stores that are exciting out there?

Anonymous said...

Anonymous Anonymous said...

If everyone's somehow 'in the biz' around here...

Are there any new designers or stores that are exciting out there?

August 21, 2010 5:25 PM


No

Anonymous said...

If everyone's somehow 'in the biz' around here...

---------

I'm not in the biz. I think most are but not everyone.

Exciting new stores and designers? That depends on what you want.

Anonymous said...

Well, you can always head over to 9th and Bloom. Where you will wait for the rest of your life for customer service.

I never heard a single thing about my customer service issue during their opening. It's been what, 2-3 weeks now?

Their forums are dead except for the CT members and the wannabe CT members. That site is nothing more than Scrapable with a nicer wrapper.

New and exciting?
Laughable.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...
Well, you can always head over to 9th and Bloom. Where you will wait for the rest of your life for customer service.

I never heard a single thing about my customer service issue during their opening. It's been what, 2-3 weeks now?

Their forums are dead except for the CT members and the wannabe CT members. That site is nothing more than Scrapable with a nicer wrapper.

New and exciting?
Laughable.

August 21, 2010 10:28 PM

-----------------------------------


LOL

Anonymous said...

Julie Markinowski - (LOL and I already know I mangled her name, but you'll know it when you see it) has some beautiful painted fall kits at Catscrap. I thought they were both unusual and new and exciting.

Anonymous said...

I love the look of hand painted items - thanks for the heads up. Any other designers that do that kind of work?

Anonymous said...

Check out Beth Rimmer's painted bg's at scrapbook elements

Anonymous said...

Big deal, I was doing hand painted BGs three or four years ago and nobody wanted them. I find it laughable they are a big deal now.

Anonymous said...

Julie Markinowski - (LOL and I already know I mangled her name, but you'll know it when you see it) has some beautiful painted fall kits at Catscrap. I thought they were both unusual and new and exciting.

August 21, 2010 10:48 PM
----------

Checked it. Saw nothing new, different or even exciting. Sigh.

Anonymous said...

Check out Beth Rimmer's painted bg's at scrapbook elements

August 22, 2010 1:39 AM

---------

She has access to Filter Forge and Snap Art 2. Not exactly hand painted. Nice use of filters though.

At least Sherri JD does hand paint her own.

Anonymous said...

Here's a little parable for anybody who cares to read the whole thing. In the 1960s edition of Encyclopedia Brittanica, there was a photo of the car of the year 2000. It was very weird and it looked just like a space ship. I asked my dad why they didn't bring it out now (probably 1964) if they knew what it was going to look like. He answered very prophetically: the buying public wasn't ready for it. Fast forward to the 1990s, and the Saturn came out. It was an exact match to the car that looked like a weird space ship in 1964. Mushroom shaped with that aerodynamic line.

So to comment on the painted background post just before this, and to people who say they want something new and very different, I'm not convinced you do. I'm not convinced you'll think it's good looking enough to buy, These things have to go in baby steps.

To the person who asked who else makes painted kits like Julia M.: Lots of people paint (yours truly included) but I don't know of anybody who doesn't put scratchy or childish doodles in there, too.

Anonymous said...

Maybe your painted backgrounds were ugly and that's why no one wanted them.

To the casual observer, 9th & Blooms forums look pretty active, far more active than say, Polka Dot Plum. That is a dead site.

Any thoughts on their contest?

Anonymous said...

LOL you're comparing a car design from the 1960s to digital scrapbooking? Baby steps? It's pixels on a screen, not a POS car that costs too much money to make, which is why no one would have bought any back then. The public isn't ready? You're kidding, right? That's about the most idiotic post I've read in a while.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Big deal, I was doing hand painted BGs three or four years ago and nobody wanted them. I find it laughable they are a big deal now.

August 22, 2010 3:06 AM

____________

^^^
boo hoo.

Anonymous said...

Emily Card does some nicely hand-painted items.

Anonymous said...

LOL you're comparing a car design from the 1960s to digital scrapbooking? Baby steps? It's pixels on a screen, not a POS car that costs too much money to make, which is why no one would have bought any back then. The public isn't ready? You're kidding, right? That's about the most idiotic post I've read in a while.

August 22, 2010 10:14 AM

^^^^
BS, her post actually made a heck of a lot of sense. Just like the fashion industry, music, etc. Some of the things you see on the runways are horrendous at the time...then people start wearing them and suddenly it's the thing. I used to hate, I mean HATE hiphop and rap when it first came out. Now I love it. Things take time to grown on people sometimes.

Anonymous said...

^^
oops i tacked an 'n' on grow. :)

Anonymous said...

I bought a few kits from Starlight Designs at Shabby Pickle and her items looked hand painted, or is it a filter instead?

http://www.shabbypickledesigns.com/boutique/product.php?productid=18943&cat=0&page=1

Anonymous said...

I'm liking a bit of what I'm seeing - funny but the Filter Forge is what has most caught my eye.

Anonymous said...

^^^^^

So she used filter forge to give the elements the hand painted look?

I just love the look of it.

Anonymous said...

Digiscrap designers just started doing what illustrators have been doing for years: they take a photo, they apply a filter or style and voila... they sell it as a unique illustration!

Anonymous said...

Well I bought the kit and I can tell you that close up those elements look like they have brush strokes on them, as though they were painted not put through a filter. But if it is a filter, I'd love to know what kind, as I'd love to run a few kits through it. Love the look of it.

Anonymous said...

Maybe your painted backgrounds were ugly and that's why no one wanted them.
--------

Nope, I just wasn't selling at a trendy store. We all know about it's the trendy store. It's not always about ugly.

I did have a lot of 'name' designers buy them and they were featured in several places too.

Anonymous said...

Well I bought the kit and I can tell you that close up those elements look like they have brush strokes on them, as though they were painted not put through a filter. But if it is a filter, I'd love to know what kind, as I'd love to run a few kits through it. Love the look of it.

August 22, 2010 5:58 PM
------

Without buying the kit, I can't tell you. However, Snap Art by Alien Skin does a great job of giving a hand painted look, some of the Filter Forge filters do too. It's a matter of knowing how to apply the filters. You could have all those filters and still not get the look, know what I'm saying?

Anonymous said...

boo hoo.

August 22, 2010 11:18 AM

---------

Wasn't whinging, just making a point. Feel better know that you've put someone down? Fuck wit. Oh yeah, you must, I do!

«Oldest ‹Older   1 – 200 of 2219   Newer› Newest»