I am super excited to being you my very first blog post from a guest poster today. Shannon is an amazingly talented chick. Seriously everything she does is beautiful…digi scrapping, photography aaannnddd she just started dabbling in hybrid.  Before making the switch to digi, Shannon was also an amazing paper scrapper. Last year she wrote a great blog post about her decision to switch to digi and I asked her if I could share it here today, because it perfectly echos my own reasons for digi scrappin…but enough of my babbling…I will let Shannon introduce herself and tell you why she went digi <3

Hi! I’m Shannon and today I’m going to share with you why I went digital and why I’m loving it. First I’m going to quickly introduce myself. I’m a military wife (USMC) and a stay at home mom to two little girls. Right now I live in Twentynine Palms, CA. We’ll soon be moving to Tampa, FL…but not soon enough! I’ve been digital scrapping since November 2010, and I paper scrapped for 3 years before that. In addition to scrapping I enjoy photography, reading, working out and HGTV. You can find my blog at www.shannondombkowski.com.

In early 2007 I walked into a local scrapbook store in my hometown. It was love at first sight. So much beautiful eye candy! I’ve always had a crafty side and a desire to make pretty things. I tried my hand at various crafts and hobbies throughout high school and college but none really stuck. But I was about to get married and I wanted to document it – so I turned to scrapbooking. I had no knowledge of it so I bought what looked good (which, most definitely, would not be things I’d buy now – but I think most scrappers could say that about their first purchases!) and eagerly awaited the wedding photos so I could get to work. For the first 6 weeks that we were married I was unemployed and living 3,000 miles away from anyone I knew so I had long days to myself while Rich worked – which is when I created my first scrapbook. It was so much fun! But then I finished…and I didn’t have anything else to scrapbook (it never occurred to me to scrapbook us…). So my newfound hobby was set aside for about a year.

Then, in October 2008, a friend of mine had a Creative Memories party. I looked through the catalogs and fell in love with scrapbooking all over again – just not the CM style. I ordered some storage from the party and then hit up Michael’s and Joann’s for supplies. Madison was 3 months old…which means I had tons of pictures and I was determined to scrap every.single.one. And I did…bless my heart. It was around that same time that another friend suggested twopeasinabucket.com as a place to find great scrapping ideas and supplies. From then on, my scrapping life was never the same. I found so much inspiration, techniques, tips & tricks and new supplies. For the next 2 years I lived at 2peas (well, I still do  ) and happily scrapped my memories. I was a paper scrapper who wrinkled my nose at the mention of digital scrapping saying that I could never give up my supplies. I needed to feel the paper and photos and embellishments. I needed to use a paper cutter and adhesive. I needed to get my hands inky. All the money I spent building my arsenal of paper supplies and tools would have been a waste.

Then, in November 2010, I took a peek of the “dark side”. I downloaded a free kit and watched a video from 2peas about the basics of digital and Photoshop Elements. I followed along and at the end of the video I had a page that wasn’t half bad. The video was month one in a year long, monthly Digi 101 class so I promptly downloaded the PDFs of all the months that were available. I read them and followed along in PSE…learning new things and finding myself hooked. It was then that I decided to dive head first into digi. My only regret? That I didn’t convert sooner. No, really. I know that’s cliché….but I really wish I’d given it a try sooner.

There’s a lot of things I love about digi, but here’s a short list:

* undo. I cannot tell you how many times I wished I had “undo” for paper scrapping. On the occasion that I paper scrap now…I’m often saying “I wish I’d done that digi” because I cut something wrong or I don’t like the placement of something or I adhered something not quite straight.

* there is a plethora of supplies. There are so many digital shops online. I spent the first 2 weeks or so of my digital journey checking out as many as I could find. Now I’ve pretty much found my home at 2peas, Design House Digital and Oscraps. Those are the stores with the most designers that fit my style – though I do shop at other stores for just a few particular designers. It’s easy to become overwhelmed, though, which is why I only stick to a few stores.

* instant gratification. I don’t have a local scrapbook store. I don’t even have a big box store within an hour and a half of my house. Which means that for the last 2 years I have been ordering supplies online and waiting for them to be delivered. But what about when I’m feeling the urge to scrap right.this.instant and I don’t have any supplies that speak to me? Not a problem anymore. If I can’t find something in my digi stash then I peruse my favorite shops, purchase and download. Easy peasy.

* a lot of designers release a new kit at least twice a month. None of that waiting for the 2 CHA shows for a bajillion new releases. There’s always something new and fresh. Along those lines – you don’t have to worry about the papers or elements or kits that you wanted selling out because it’s such a hot ticket item. There is no selling out in digi!

* reuse. reuse. reuse. No more coveting that great piece of patterned paper or great embellishment set.

* price. Quite frankly, I think that digi is cheaper. Sure, you’d have to buy a program to scrap in if you didn’t already own it – but that’s probably the biggest expense. You can get kits for as little as $7! Show me a [good quality] paper kit at that price. Plus most designers have their kits discounted 15-20% on the day of release…or even the entire week after it’s released. Some could argue that printing is expensive but I don’t think it is (I don’t print at home….I use Persnickety who charges $1.99/page for 12×12 and $0.99/page for 8×8)

* I don’t feel as limited in what I can do. With paper I love the look of stitching but that would require a sewing machine and knowledge of how to use it (or spending time hand stitching…which I have done). With digital I have a set of go-to stitches that I use on almost every page. Again, with paper I like the look of misting and paint but I only have 3 colors of mist, and 3 bottles of paint – and they don’t match all of the patterned papers I have. I don’t have to worry about that with digi – I have a few brushes that mimic the look of paint and mist and my color choices are almost endless.

If you’re a paper scrapper who is a bit intrigued by digital I strongly encourage you to check it out. You will likely be pleasantly surprised! Doesn’t mean you have to make the switch completely as I have….but one more tool in the craft toolbox never hurt anyone.Thanks Shannon for putting into words my exact feelings So tell me..are you a paper scrapper afraid of “going to the dark side” or if you are a digi scrapper what drew you in?? I may have a three $5.00 coupons to hand out to three lucky posters