DigitalScrapbook.com Blog Train Regulations (UPDATED 4/2018)

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Question:

Can someone add me to the pinterest board? I rarely use it, so I don't know how to be added D: Can someone help me, please?

@Imperio: Leave a comment on this pin, and make sure you are following the board, and then I can add you.

Thank you! I just left the comment and followe the board smiley

yes, sorting by year then month is probably the best way to do that, too.
I read but it's very difficult for me (i speak only french, i use transator google) i did not understand everything, sorry.
I am doing my best smiley smiley

I think I added you to the Pinterest board Imperio!

Question - can anyone join the blog train?

Absolutely Tammy!

Excellent! Thank you!

@Marisa,
Tried to pin to the above linked board, because I thought I was already linked to it, and found I could not..
https://www.pinterest.com/marisalerin/pixel-scrapper-blog-train-inspiration/
Could not find how to post a comment on said board, could you please add me...
This is me..
https://www.pinterest.com/DigiScrapCafe/

I am already following the board

You should be good to go Angela!

TY

ATTN:Marisa - My ten years (2008 to current,2018) involved in digital scrapbooking on the Internet, one other thing that has pretty much been a constant with blog trains is that they are always free downloads and available from the designers' blogs without conditions; that is, no need to make donations, nor sign-up, nor register for anything. What's your opinion on this? Should this be an additional requirement?

Ok, I have a question smiley I normally name my files SBS for songbird scraps? Should I use the full name instead of SBS? Also, I am following the pinterest board, if I am added to the digitalscrapbook.com site, will that show my portion of the blog train? I'm a little confused about that?

Tammy, just my two cents' worth.... I keep individual kits together so it does not matter if each item has the designer's name or initials on each item. It is nice if they do, but I can still easily check TOU or previews for info. Blog trains are another matter. Since almost all PS blog trains share a common theme and palette (one exception was July 2014 which had a common palette but seemed to have individual themes), I have one folder for each BT entitled "PS A Mug & A Book - April2018 BT - pu-cu" or whatever the train is. All the offerings go into the one folder, along with their previews and TOU. I add the designer's name (not initials) to the TOU if it is not already in the file name. If by chance there is an element/paper/etc/ without the pu or cu in the file name, I can use the initials or name to then check the TOU. By adding pu-cu, it warns me that some parts within that folder are pu.

The BT designers who participate regularly have become familiar to me, and when I see, for example, "SBS" in a file name, "Tammy Shockley, Songbird Scraps" and your PS profile photo pop into my head. For some reason, I can do this with the PS Design Team, most BT participants, a lot of the Commons designers. So can someone explain to me why I can remember this, but forget so many real life things? smiley

Thank you Madge!! smiley

Tammy, if it's any help, this is how I name my blog train files:

DTD_PSBT_2018_05_FP_EK01_Butterfly01_CU

This is what it means:

DTD = Dancing Tiger Designs
PSBT = DigitalScrapbook.com Blog Train
2018 = Year
05 = Month
FP = Initials of Blog Train name; here, FP stands for "Flower Power"
EK01 = Element Kit Number 01
Butterfly 01 = Element description, and it's the first element of that type in the kit
CU = The kit licence, in this case it's Commercial Use

It might be a little long-winded, but if the downloader splits the kit, they have all the information about the file in the file name, rather than just "ele1",which tells you absolutely nothing. (And, trust me, I've seen many items named like that!)

And here is how I name my Terms Of Use file, which is included with every kit:

DTD_DancingTigerDesigns_CU_TOU

So, if the kit gets split, they know that DTD is Dancing Tiger Designs.

Hope this helps you to figure out a file naming format that works for you!

About naming kits & items - I *do* tear apart kits. I'm a hybrid scrapper & I group kit items by type: illustrations, cards, paper, etc with sub-headings within each type - & by theme: various holidays, travel, gardening, etc which is a long-winded way of saying I want not only the kit folder named as above but every single item named, too. You don't want to know how much time I spend renaming items so they match the kit name. I want to be able to credit the designer & her kit & if one or both items are missing, I can't. Hence my spending time renaming things. And it's not just here. I have run across a few professional designers at the big-name shops whose pieces didn't have the kit name on them. grumble grumble

Long story short - my preference for naming things is (if I read correctly!) what Marisa suggested above:

your name/designer name OR shop name OR the initials of either of these - kit name - item name or number

so one of mine for a pink striped paper (if I were a designer, which I'm not!) would be SCP-bestkiteverpp-pinkstripe.jpg

TL/DR - the most important things are to have the kit name on every item & to have your name, whatever it may be & however you may style it, FIRST so that when I sort my items, I can see everything by you in one place - & since so many of you are amazing designers, I want to sort quickly to see what else I may have by you!

I hope this makes sense.

I have been sniffing around and am sort of wanting to join in the fun, but I have a few questio I have as yet failed to find the answers to. Apologies if these are stupid questions.

Are there two blog trains? I've seen CU blog train, and DigitalScrapbook.com blog train used as terms, and they seem to refer to the same thing, but do they?

There is a colour palette shown in the thread for the 2019 themes - is that the palette for all the months? I seem to have gotten the impression they changed every month.

Also - the list of themes appears to be very different - in one thread the January theme is science fiction, in the other it is winter. Is this because the are in fact two trains, and if so, what's the difference?

And do I need to have a blog to be allowed to take part?

(I don't expect to take part in the first few months at least, so these are not urgent questions - just curious.)

To answer your question, yes there are two blog trains here are DigitalScrapbook.com

The CU blog train is the train where you give away items that are allowed for commercial use. And yes January's theme is Winter. The colors set for this train do stay the same due to commercial items usually are templates, overlays ect.

The DigitalScrapbook.com Blog Train is where you can give away items for personal or commercial use...your choice. And yes January's theme is Science Fiction. The colors for this train do vary each month.

Actually there are some who do not have blogs, you just have to have somewhere to host your download files, for example dropbox.

Hope this helps clear it up some! And look forward to seeing you around if you decide to join in! smiley

Glad you asked that question Penny, I've been a little confused and wondering the same thing but was too shy to ask!

Question: Is a daily download spread over a whole month acceptable for the PS blog train? I'm doing one this month [February 2019], and one lady in the comments thread felt it wasn't. Your thoughts and opinions - for and against - would be very welcome!

@Robyn: In general I don't like to make too many rules for the blog train, I want to keep it so that it works for the most people. But, the one rule I do stand by is that your freebie needs to be free "for the entire month." So technically what you are doing does not really abide by that. What I would suggest to you in the future, is to maybe make a small "freebie" that was available the whole month, and then you could also do your daily downloads with the majority of what you've made. Does that seem fair? I recognize that designers are doing all the work, so I want to be considerate of what they actual want the blog train to be doing.

Thanks for replying, Marisa. That sounds very reasonable to me, and now I think about it, it's really what you and the other DigitalScrapbook.com designers do, isn't it - make a mini kit for the blog train, then offer a coordinating bundle, too.

Yes. I usually enjoy making something bigger than just a mini kit, and I like being forced to work with palette and themes I wouldn't normally choose. But I still make the mini kit for the blog train.

Thank you so much for your input, Marisa. Now I can be sure that I'll be sticking to the rules with the blog trains in the future!

One question about the blog trains I can't seem to find the answer for...what is the deadline for posting your preview? I know the train goes live on the 1st of each month, so would the deadline for posting your part/preview be at 12 midnight the night before the 1st? I hope you can understand what I'm saying/asking.

There isn't really a deadline. I will lock the thread at the end of the month, so there's plenty of time for latecomers to add their preview and link anytime during the month.

Thank you Marisa. The Mar - Mardi Gras, is it locked? I wasn't sure I could finish goodies for that one on time so I didn't say anything. If it's already locked no problem, I can still share on the forum tomorrow. smiley

Sorry, never mind, I see it's still open. Thank you! smiley

I was just wondering, might it be possible to put the 'final list' post up a little earlier in the month? I only ask because for example, this July I will be out of town the last week of the month and when I get back, I'll probably forget to log on and add my link, despite having already finished my contribution and scheduled my blog post. smiley There have been other times when, for example, I login on the 26th and the post isn't there yet, then I get busy and forget to check back in. I know there's no deadline for posting in the threads, but it's nice to be able to do it earlier.

If that makes sense! And I'm sure there's probably a reason why you don't do it that way already, I just thought I'd ask. Thanks!

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