I love reminding Ken that he let me wait around all day on Valentine’s Day in 1998 *thinking* I was going to get a ring that day, only to go home empty handed and thoroughly confused. The next day he proposed. Who proposes on the day AFTER? My husband. Good thing he’s cute!

Obviously we aren’t big on frilly fluff for Valentine’s day – or any other holiday, for that matter. But I did happen to have a big chunk of dark chocolate in the cupboard and strawberries in the fridge. Kelsey and I made a bunch of chocolate covered goodness to show our love (maybe just of chocolate). We covered Ken’s with whipped cream (who doesn’t like chocolate? My husband.) and we all had a yummy after church snack. I grabbed my phone and snapped a few bad shots for a layout. Some high contrast adjustments and creative cropping made for a half way decent page!

And…in case you have some sweet shots that need a great digital collection to match, I’m adding my kits back into the shop slowly! The Viva Valentino Collection is up and it’s only $2 for the rest of the month of LOVE!

Let me start this post by saying that this is my OPINION based on my own experience and is NOT the opinion or view of any site or magazine or company I may work for or be associated with.

I was just pondering the two companies after my husband purchased a new Epson scanner after owning only HP scanners for years. I’ll admit our HP scanner is a few years old and I’m sure HP has better models out, but he was impressed with the Epson V100 price and quality compared to our HP. I found the same thing with Epson printers after being an exclusive HP printer owner for years as well. My husband worked for HP for years and went with Agilent when they split the company.

So, I started reflecting on the two companies and what I have seen as far as their interest in digital scrapbooking consumers and I have decided that Epson is far ahead of HP in this realm. HP tried to get a team together but without support it fizzled. Epson on the other hand advertised with a little tiny new magazine (the old DSM) from the start, they teach classes to consumers at CK shows all over the country, they market their products TO the scrapbooker. They have 12×12 inkjet paper, lower cost wide format printers, scrapbook graphics online and they regularly donate printers as sweepstakes prizes for magazines. Not only that, but my ink drawer is full and the Stylus Photo 1400 sitting on my desk is used for MANY projects that eventually make thier way into the magazine or online. Smart company!!

Unfortunately, making sure the editors are supplied with whatever they need to promote the printing of digital supplies is not the practice or philosophy of HP so I can’t really attest to the quality and ease of use of HP products. That makes for a skewed editorial view which leads to a reluctance for HP to contribute to editorial reviews and sweepstakes etc. It’s a vicious cycle.

So, for now, I’m an Epson girl and it looks like I may stay that way with my drawer full of Epson Ink(Thanks Patrick-and Lynda!). If Epson keeps putting out quality product marketed to scrapbookers they may corner the market. I don’t think Martha Stewart alone can save them. Come on HP…give us something to work with.

After attending CHA a couple times, I figured I had the tradeshow routine down pretty well…BUT I had never gone with a baby before. Pregnant, YES, baby in tow…NO!! Whew was it a LOT of work! No strollers allowed on the show floor, so little 7 week old Joshua was strapped to me the whole time. He didn’t seem to mind the nice cushy place to rest though.

Here’s a photo of him ‘hanging out’ with me and Jen Donnelly, Anna Aspnes, Molly Newman AND Wes Thomsen from SCRAPPED the movie!! That guy is a kick in the pants!

Besides hanging out all day, my little guy enjoyed the typical favorite activity of a 7 week old…eating. He is great at that, which is a huge blessing! I keep telling him to eat up and get nice and fat for his surgery in a few weeks!!

Speaking of food…had some good stuff at Postrio with the Simple Scrapbooks team. Had a great time with Tia Bennett, Anna Apnes, (and guest – the lovely Dena Simoneaux!!) Lynda Angelastro, Jen Donnelly, Renee Pearson and her hottie husband at our table. The “other” table seemed to have had a little TOO much fun!!

Then came the trip to my favorite place…Sephora!!! Woo Hoo!!

And if you need a little evidence of how much fun the ‘other’ table had at dinner…here’s a peek at the fun going on afterward at Sephora!

Molly’s husband getting a makeover!

BESIDES all the fun, I was there to work!! Believe it or not, I got a bunch of talking in in between diaper changes, feedings and resting my tired body. The mock cover they had at the booth was a fun way to get people in and talking about digital.

The new website also went live with subscription and advertising information so be sure to go sign up for a charter subscription at a super great price!! Digital Scrapbooking Magazine (brought to you by Simple Scrapbooks).

One last shout out to all the other great people I met along the trip!! Thanks to Elisha, Angie, Wendy, Rachel, Lin, Lynda and the others who helped me and my baby gear get through the maze of the strip and let me tag along for the fun!

Hi again to Cindy, Linda, Thena and Sharon, Julie Ann, Michelle and Lori, Kristi McF and crazy woman Rhonna who popped in for a few hours Thursday! I know I am missing people I met but it was a crazy fun time and even if I didn’t have new mom lack of sleep brain I probably would miss someone anyway! (If any of you have photos that we took together, send them my way!! I only had my camera out one day!!!)

So…baby and all, my first memory trends was…well…memorable!

So, I am now able to tell you…digitalscrapbooking.com and Digital Scrapbooking Magazine have been purchased/acquired by…Simple Scrapbooks!!! At this point they are planning a quarterly magazine beginning early 2007. Some of you may hear about it as they start putting things (and people) into place. YAY for digital!! This is just the boost that we needed! More information on when, who, how etc. will be coming in the next few months.

I will have NO administration or managerial responsibilities or authority, so I won’t have many answers beyond what I am able to tell you right now. I will be a contributing editor and consultant… starting tomorrow, officially!

Thanks to all who supported the magazine and site from the beginning and who helped it to grow! Now it will grow beyond ’skinny’ and will be a great resource for all scrappers – digital or not!!

Well… I finally signed papers turning over ownership of digitalscrapbooking.com, digitalscrapbookingmagazine.com and effectively the magazine to another company. This is great news for digital and perfect timing for me! I will remain on as a contributing editor/consultant and hope to help keep digital moving along!

Until the details of the company involved are public knowledge I can’t say who it is, but I can say they already have their foot in the digital door and plan to continue the progress they’ve made! You know them and trust them and I think they are the perfect company to take things further!! As SOON as I get the green light, I will share!

I am really excited to see this take place and I hope that the digital community will be excited too!

A couple of details for subscribers of the magazine… CLICK HERE

Digital Scrapbooking Computer Scrapbooking Kits Scrapbook Scrap Freebies April Anderton

A thread on 2ps this morning prompted me to take a photo of my desk. Since we have been shuffling rooms to mke way for the baby, I moved my desk and re-organized it. It’s cluttered to my husband, but to me…it’s organized!

It works for me! I am finishing up the rest of the area of the basement I re-claimed as mine. Once that is finished, I’ll post more. But I still think this is perfectly organized!