Happy Anniversary, Harry Potter!

It all began nearly 15 years ago...on November 16, 2001 (in the US)...

And it ended just a little over 5 years ago...on July 15, 2011...

For 10 magical years, we watched a boy wizard and his friends grow up before our eyes.

The Harry Potter books and movies have had a magic all their own, capturing the imaginations and devotion of children and adults (and children-grown-to-adults) alike. What began as a series of books and movies has grown to video games, websites, and theme parks. It is still quite easy to find Harry Potter merchandise, and you will still find cosplayers walking the halls of Comic-Cons everywhere in their dress robes and house-appropriate scarves. Harry Potter is lightning caught in a bottle - that wonderfully rare thing that will live forever.

And now the magic is set to start again...on November 18th...

But before that happens, Potterheads everywhere are basically declaring a month-long celebration of all things Potter. In the States, it kicks off October 13th with a week-long marathon of all EIGHT Harry Potter movies being shown in IMAX theaters across the country. This is a huge deal because, while Prisoner of Azkaban and everything following it was available for viewing in IMAX theaters, the first two films, Sorcerer's(Philosopher's, for my British friends) Stone and Chamber of Secrets never were. So even after all this time, there is something new to experience in the world of Harry Potter.

So pull out your spectacles and scarves, and paint a lightning bolt on your forehead, because it's time to celebrate the wonderful, mysterious worlds of JK Rowling.

Now, for anyone who is going to take part in the fun, you're going to want pictures, and if you're reading this blog, you're probably going to want to scrap those pictures. I mean, that's what we do, right?

To help you find just the right kit for your layouts (because we can't just make one appear with a flick of a wand), I've done some looking around and have a few suggestions. This list is by NO means complete. Harry Potter is alive and popular in the digiscrap world, too, and many (if not most) designers seem to have a kit based on this theme. But this is a starting point, and it's a way for you to see what makes kits different from each other, even when they're all about the same topic.

(BTW, watch closely - many of the designers have been gracious enough to provide coupon codes exclusively for readers of the Digi Geek blog, so you can pick up their kits at a discount.)

Let's start with MagsGraphics' bundle called "Wizard World." 

Mags works to simulate a "paper-piecing" look in her elements, and this particular bundle is really good if you are a pocket page scrapper. (I especially like the serpent-through-the-skull element.)  As with most good creative teams, hers came up with a few sample layouts:

If this looks like your style, now is a great time to grab this bundle. Mags' stores are all 30% off through the end of October, and if you use the COUPON CODE magsBONUS15, you can get an EXTRA 15% off of your entire order at either GINGERSCRAPS or SCRAPS 'N' PIECES.

Or you could use "Academy of Wizards" by Marie H Designs.

Marie is fairly new to scrap designing, so you may not have seen her kits yet. One thing that I LoveLoveLove about this kit is the variety of characters with different hair colors and skin tones, so you can individualize your layouts according to the appearance of people in the pictures. So even if your "Harry Potter" is more of a blonde-haired "Harriette," you can put someone who looks "just like her" in the picture. I'm also a big fan of the "School" element in this kit - it may not be movie-specific Hogwarts, but it has some really neat touches to it. Again, here are a few CT samples from Marie's kit:

If this kit is whispering in your ear, you can find it at With Love Studio and Go Digital Scrapbooking. And again, the designer was so generous - she's offering COUPON CODE mhd_hpotterhal8745 through November 20th for $2.50 off of this kit, which makes the final price just $1.50.

Maybe you like to do layouts where a picture IS the background, or you do pocket pages and just need accent bits between photos. Then Kate Hadfield's "Wizardry" is a great choice for you.

I am a fan of Kate's (and begged to be on her CT) because I love the fact that her doodles are hand-drawn, so they are unique and not to be found in any other kit. They also work really well with MY typical scrap style, which I call "illustrated journaling" - a lot of pictures, a lot of writing, and a few accent bits.

(Remember when I mentioned how popular Potter is? Friends of mine used that as a theme for their Halloween party for TWO years - one year at Hogwarts and one year at a Quidditch match.)

A couple other layouts from Kate's CT folks:

If you want something unique or want just a pop of color to accent your photos, this may be the kit for you. You can find "Wizardry" over at The Lilypad. And Kate is helping us celebrate her fellow Brit (even if he IS fictional) by offering a 30% discount through November 15th if you use COUPON CODE DigiGeekMagic.

Want to try another look? Touched by a Butterfly came up with "Yer a Wizard."

It's easy enough to see that TBAB has worked off of some of the same templates as Marie used in her kit, and if you hang around the scrap world long enough, you'll start to notice that this happens often between designers, because they start with the same basic design templates. What makes a difference is what they DO with those templates. Whereas Marie created characters to match various hair and skin colors, Celeste used hers to create characters more directly out of the movies. It also comes down to a choice of palettes - where Marie used more greens, purples and blues, Celeste has a lot of reds and yellows in her kit. Celeste also adds a texture feature to her papers and elements that people seem to either really like or really not like - it's all a matter of personal preference. See what you think:

If this kit appeals to you, you can find it at My Memories. In lieu of a discount, Celeste agreed to let me offer a couple of freebies created from this kit....but you have to wait until the end of the post to get them. :)

If you're looking for something really basic - and really free - I found these cute little mini kits:

They are still available through a blog called Sparky's Scratches, and even though it looks like these were first created and shared in 2007, the links are (as of Oct. 12, 2016) still active.

I also have two other kits that I've stumbled across in stores. I was unable to contact the designers, so there are no special deals to go along with these, but they may be of interest just because they are different:

First up is the "Ministry of Magic" collection by Dawn Inskip, which I found over at The Lilypad. The hand-drawn paper doll look of this one really caught my eye, as did the menagerie of critters (which will go well with "Fantastic Beasts") and the pastel colors palette.

Second is "School of Wizardry" by Magical Scraps Galore. She has a nice mix of realistic and paper-pieced elements in this kit, if you want to mix it up a bit more in your layouts. I found this one at Scraps 'n' Pieces.

***UPDATE: We should have had Hermione's time-turner on hand, but being mere Muggles, Marina (the creative brains at Magical Scraps Galore) and I took awhile to make connections and bring you this discount - use COUPON CODE MSG_HarryPotter30off to get 30% off of "School of Wizardry" through November 15th!***

I thought about showcasing some of the offerings over at Etsy, but all it took was a search for "Harry Potter digital" over there, and I was shown enough items - particularly designed paper packs - to create another full blog post. (Hmmm.....maybe I'll do that around the time the new movie releases.....) Just take my word for it - Etsy - Harry Potter - Digital. See what pops up.

So, thank you for sticking with me. I know this is a long post. Part of that is to make up for being silent for over a month...part of that is because THIS IS A HUGE CELEBRATION!!!!!! To all you Potterheads - enjoy your month. I probably won't go IMAXing (because the closest one is over an hour away), but I'll definitely have my butt in a theater seat when Fantastic Beasts finally hits town.

Remember those freebies I told you about? I didn't forget them. :D

DOWNLOAD

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Please:

1. Tell your friends about this blog. The more traffic it has, the more designers will share their kits and have special deals on them!

2. If you're of a geeky nature, come join our Facebook group, Digi Geek! Here is where you can ask for sources for hard-to-find scrap kits to match your fandom. (And if you're a designer, you're welcome to use the group's photo albums to archive your previews and store links for people to find.)

3. If you have certain requests, let me know! I know what MY interests are, but I also know there are many more out there, and I want to give good representation to all of them!

Frost Bitten by BoomersGirl Designs

It's turning to fall here in the Northern Hemisphere, which means winter will be close behind...which means it's about time to pull out the "Frozen" kits to scrap all your snow pictures again. LOL!

I love "Frozen." I love listening to Idina Menzel sing a song that will now probably follow her to the grave. I love the fact that this movie (followed soon after by "Brave") finally started sending the message that you don't have to fall in love with the first person who looks your way.

We have a few "Frozen" kits archived at the Digi Geek Facebook group, but this one is on sale this weekend, so it's a great time to feature "Frost Bitten" by BoomersGirl Designs.

I've worked with Lori as a member of her CT for a couple years now, and this blog post gave me a good excuse to climb inside the head of a designer for a few minutes as I interviewed her:

When (or why) did you start scrapbooking? When (or why) did you start designing?

I started scrapbooking when my oldest was a baby as a way to preserve all of those precious memories of my kids. He's 21 now, so it's been a long time!

I started designing about 4 years ago as a way to help supplement our income, give me something productive to do at home and to create the kinds of kits I was looking for. This was after numerous attempts of making various crafts to sell - all of which ended as epic fails.

How do you decide on themes for your kits?

How do you decide on themes for your kits? What made you decide to do one based on "Frozen"?

I try to create very fun, colorful, family friendly kits. Being a mom of 6 kids, I often base themes on experiences I have had raising children - and memories that have been fun to capture and preserve.

I did the "Frozen" kit because it was a favorite family movie! It's still one of my favorites!

There are sooo many Disney-themed kits out there. Do you pay attention to what has already been done when deciding what you will do?

I do pay attention to what is already out there, but if it's something I'm passionate about, I may still do a kit with a common theme.

Since there ARE so many Disney-esque kits available...and even a few specifically about "Frozen," what sets yours apart and makes it different from the others?

I think what sets my "Frozen" kit (and hopefully, most of my kits) apart is that I try to make them large enough that they can be used for a number of layouts while still being able to create different looks. I also try to include a large variety of theme elements and worded inspiration in each kit to get the creative juices flowing.

What is your most favorite part of designing? Least favorite?

My favorite part of designing is choosing the color schemes and finishing up the previews to see how it's all come together! My least favorite are the "generic" elements because it gets challenging to make them different.

What was one (or two) kit that you looked at when you were finished with it and were super-proud of how it turned out? What about it made you feel that way?

A couple of my favorite kits are "Garden of Eden" and "I Believe in Angels". I feel they are unique religious themes that aren't done nearly enough in scrapbooking.

Any upcoming kit themes that you want to tease?

Some upcoming themes include a detective / mystery themed kit, a super fun Halloween bundle, a western themed kit that is more kid-friendly than the one I have in my shop now and a different sort of kit (for me anyway) inspired by my tough "tomboy" daughter when I saw her in her gorgeous homecoming gown.

Thanks for taking the time to answer some questions!

Like I said, I've been on Lori's CT for a couple years, so I've had a chance to work with this kit personally. Not only was it GREAT for scrapping my daughter's Princess Moment during our Disney Cruise last year:

I was also able to use those generic elements Lori talked about to do some non-Disney layouts, too:

So now it's YOUR turn. You can pick up "Frost Bitten" over at GingerScraps with the coupon code below and get a 60% discount through the end of October (2016).

COUPON CODE: BGD_DGFB355

I hope you have as much fun with it as I did. 

Gotta Get 'Em - Dae Designs

Okay, I concede.

Pokemon Go! is one of the coolest games to come along since Angry Birds. All I can say is that it's a good thing I don't have an iPhone of my own, or I'd probably not get anything else done.

(To be fair...I tried to go get an iPhone. I'm really ready to not have a "dumb phone" anymore. But I'm on contract and can't change anything until November of NEXT year.) *insert melodramatic death scene here*

In any case, my grandson uses his mom's phone to play it. Just last night he was sooooo proud of himself for finding a Toros at a Red Lobster restaurant. Apparently that's supposed to be some special kind of ironic or cool or something. I just know it made him really happy.

And since the craze doesn't seem to be dying down any time soon, it looks like there will be plenty of room for multiple Pokemon kits, so let me introduce you to this one. It's brand new from Dae Designs and has only been in the stores for a week or so.

With 20 papers, 55 elements and 15 word art strips, all the teams are represented, there are a handful of Pokeballs to highlight your layouts, and there are plenty of word art pieces to caption your pictures. (If anyone can explain the significance of "raspberry," I'd be grateful.) 

Again, the designer at Dae Designs has been gracious enough to offer a coupon code exclusively to readers of the Digi Geek blog. But this isn't just a code for "Gotta Get 'Em." Jennifer has offered to accept this discount for ANY kit in her entire store at With Love Studio!!! So start with the Pokemon kit, but feel free to browse and see if you find anything else you'd rather have. 
COUPON CODE: DaeDesigns2.50 (Good for only one use.) (Valid through November 30, 2016.)


Now...Go Get 'Em!!!!

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My apologies for letting the blog go quiet for awhile. As sometimes (often?) happens in daily life, things got crazy. My job got super-busy...we were trying to get the new room decorated (seriously, I stumbled on a way to make it bigger on the inside!)...and then DSD hit a month early. But I'm back and blogging! The production schedule may be a little more sensible (i.e. once a week instead of twice) (unless there's a special reason to do two posts in a week) (like this week will be), and may even take a break entirely at times. But I'll always come back to it because we geeks need to stick together and share our finds with each other!

In the meantime, feel free to join us on Facebook (see info below) to keep current on what designers are releasing that may appeal to your nerdy nature.

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Please:

1. Tell your friends about this blog. The more traffic it has, the more designers will share their kits and have special deals on them!

2. If you're of a geeky nature, come join our Facebook group, Digi Geek! Here is where you can ask for sources for hard-to-find scrap kits to match your fandom. (And if you're a designer, you're welcome to use the group's photo albums to archive your previews and store links for people to find.)

3. If you have certain requests, let me know! I know what MY interests are, but I also know there are many more out there, and I want to give good representation to all of them!

Whovian Papers - DigiJen

As I write this belated blog, my sweet husband stands behind me, sanding the spackle to fill holes in the wall before we paint this bedroom-becoming-office.

This will become my wibbley-wobbley corner of time and space, where I can give full rein to my Doctor Who obsession - a place where I can hang my autographed photos alongside the framed stamps from England that commemorated the 50th anniversary...where I can set my Lego figurines around my stuffed Weeping Angel which will stand next to the TARDIS cookie jar...a place where a very, very long scarf will most likely be draped over the corner of a bookcase.

Yes, I am in full-blown Whovian mode. I just wish I could jump in the TARDIS myself and fast forward a couple weeks to a point in time when this project will be finished, because it is TAKING TOO LONG!!!!!!!!!!!

*pant, pant*

I'm calm now. Mostly.

ANYHOW...while I'm waiting for the spackle to be sanded and the paint to be painted and dried and the wallpaper to be hung...I have goodies for you that can't be found anyplace else.

Once upon a time, I toyed with the idea of trying my hand at digital design work. I quickly realized that there's a level of technical know-how needed that I don't have, and I don't have time to learn it right now. But before I came to that realization, I played around with creating some background papers.

The result was 11 Doctor Who-themed background papers, which you are welcome to download and use, if you would like. There's no pretty preview to show you what you're getting - just consider it a sort of grab bag gift from one Whovian to however many others want it.

PAPER DOWNLOAD

I hope you enjoy them and can get some use out of them.

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Please:

1. Tell your friends about this blog. The more traffic it has, the more designers will share their kits and have special deals on them!

2. If you're of a geeky nature, come join our Facebook group, Digi Geek! Here is where you can ask for sources for hard-to-find scrap kits to match your fandom. (And if you're a designer, you're welcome to use the group's photo albums to archive your previews and store links for people to find.)

3. If you have certain requests, let me know! I know what MY interests are, but I also know there are many more out there, and I want to give good representation to all of them!

Intergalactic by BoomersGirl Designs & Space Friends by Touched by a Butterfly (Star Wars)

Can you believe that it has been nearly 40 YEARS since the prologue to one of the greatest film franchises first crawled up our movie screens, only to be followed by this huuuuuggggeeeeee ominous spaceship flying into view? Or we first heard the line, "These aren't the droids you're looking for"? Or the line "May the force be with you" gave birth (eventually) to an annual geek holiday?

Say what you want to about the dialogue writing talent of George Lucas. The fact is, he has given us some of the most quotable lines since Monty Python, and he gave us a movie that led to an entire universe of creativity - 7 films and counting, animated TV shows, books, the newest section of Disney World, and - thanks to John Williams - one of the most memorable movie scores ever.

It also makes for a great birthday party, and you'll see some kind of "Star Wars"-themed costumes walking around the neighborhood every year at Halloween:

The fact that we are nearly 40 years later and people still talk about "Star Wars" is one thing. The fact that there is enough interest that designers are still creating digi kits about it is quite another.

I'm featuring two kits this week because, as you can tell from the previews, they both used the same templates for the main characters. Both designers create in a style that I like, so it doesn't surprise me that they have kits that are similar. And yet, this is a great chance to study what it is that gives a designer their unique style and the choices they make when starting with the same basic material. Sometimes it's a choice of color palette, sometimes of texture. Sometimes it's a choice of whether to include related elements (like other aliens) or whether to include alphabet(s). And yet, for the customer, the net result is a variety that allows us to choose the best match for our needs.

There are (many) other "Star Wars" kits out there, and as I  find them, I'll archive them. (If you have a favorite, feel free to leave a comment and let me know about it.) But for these two, you can find them here:

Space Friends by Touched by a Butterfly is available at My Memories - currently 40% off through August 27th (2016)

Intergalactic by BoomersGirl Designs is available at Gingerscraps - Lori has graciously offered a coupon code good for 35% off through September 6th (2016). COUPON CODE: BGD_DGSW457

And as one last treat for indulging this Digi Geek and reading this far, here's a freebie cluster:

DOWNLOAD

(Let me know if you have problems with the download.)

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Please:

1. Tell your friends about this blog. The more traffic it has, the more designers will share their kits and have special deals on them!

2. If you're of a geeky nature, come join our Facebook group, Digi Geek! Here is where you can ask for sources for hard-to-find scrap kits to match your fandom. (And if you're a designer, you're welcome to use the group's photo albums to archive your previews and store links for people to find.)

3. If you have certain requests, let me know! I know what MY interests are, but I also know there are many more out there, and I want to give good representation to all of them!

Steampunk World - Key Lime Digi Design

Steampunk.

It's one of those realms of geekery that intrigues me and mystifies me at the same time.

When I think of "steampunk," I think of goggles and fob watches and top hats and corsets and lots of metal gears and hinges. And wings. I don't understand them, but there seem to be a lot of wings. I know there's a reason for all of that stuff, but that's what I see.

From my understanding, the main theory behind steampunk is, "What if we'd never advanced beyond steam-powered machinery? What would today's world look like?"

So I went looking for answers. First stop: Wikipedia.

There I find probably the most succinct explanation:

"Steampunk is a subgenre of speculative fiction or science fiction that emphasizes anachronistic technology, usually from the Victorian era."

Okay. That helps. So instead of focusing on today having never developed past steam power, it's actually more a focus on introducing steam power earlier than it really was - a jump forward in time, in a sense. Or backward. I'm never really sure.

What I am sure of is that I find the interpretations of such things fascinating. (I also love the way it can be blended with other fandoms.....)

Caption: My pal Roy mashing it up as a 

Steampunk Jedi.

Marcon - May 2011

I am also sure that this great kit from Key Lime Digi Designs will give you a good start on scrapping your steampunk cosplay. It contains 18 papers and 50 elements, including:

binoculars

bookplate

2 bottle caps

2 bows

brad

butterfly

button

graffiti cluster

3 cogs/gears

2 cog corner clusters

2 coils/springs

dragonfly (jeweled)

5 flowers

leaf stem

3 frames

2 top hats

hinge

key

keyhole

2 labels

lace 

luggage/suitcase

left & right wings (separate)

2 ribbon frames

rosette

string

tag

wallet

watch

2 watch hands

wheel

wire wings

Designer Sandy at KLDD has been generous enough to offer a coupon code for "Steampunk World" at Gingerscraps. This code is good for 30% off through September 30th (2016). While you're there, take a look around at her other designs - it's only through the cooperation of the designers that I can run this blog and compile this resource.  COUPON CODE: Steam30Punk

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Please:

1. Tell your friends about this blog. The more traffic it has, the more designers will share their kits and have special deals on them!

2. If you're of a geeky nature, come join our Facebook group, Digi Geek! Here is where you can ask for sources for hard-to-find scrap kits to match your fandom. (And if you're a designer, you're welcome to use the group's photo albums to archive your previews and store links for people to find.)

3. If you have certain requests, let me know! I know what MY interests are, but I also know there are many more out there, and I want to give good representation to all of them!

Of Knights & Dragons - MagsGraphics Designs

I have a friend who, along with her husband, work in the show business stunt industry. Her husband

is a whip master, as well as proficient with knives and swords. The two of them together do stunt riding on horses. 

At one point in time, before we became friends, I got her husband's autograph. He would sign his photos with the phrase "Noblesse Oblige."

"Nobility obliges."

I love that idea. I love the idea that nobility comes not only with entitlements, but also with responsibilities, particularly social ones.

It's that old-fashioned sense of being accountable that I find to be one of the most attractive parts of the whole idea of knights and ladies, kings and queens, royalty and titled nobility.

It's something that's sadly missing in much of today's society. 

So I'll just go back to dreaming about the romance of the old days. And for people who enjoy dreaming about the days of chivalry...or maybe you want to showcase your little prince or princess...or maybe you are involved in Renn Faires (an item on my bucket list), the kit "Of Knights & Dragons" by MagsGraphics is a great one to use. I haven't had a chance yet to scrap with it, because it's brand new. But I have gotten to play with it and create some clusters and frames to go along with it, which you can pick up in the My Memories store within the next few days. (They're in the pipeline to get posted.)

While I was playing with this fantastic kit, I put together a quick page. Buuuuut, since I only made one, there's not enough to put a pack in the store, so Mags gave permission to offer it as a downloadable freebie. 

DOWNLOAD

In the meantime, you can grab the main kit at My Memories or at GingerScraps. In both stores, the kit is on 30% sale through August 27th (2016). It includes:

• 20 12"x12" Papers
• 3 Banners
• 1 Bow
• 2 Buttons
• 1 Castle
• 1 Crown
• 1 Dragon
• 1 Flag
• 6 Flowers
• 3 Greenery Pieces
• 2 Horses
• 1 Horse & Carriage
• 1 King's Cross
• 2 Knights
• 1 Nail
• 1 Prince
• 1 Princess
• 3 Ribbons
• 4 RicRac
• 3 Ropes
• 2 Shields
• 1 Staple
• 3 Swords
• 8 Word Tags
• 1 Tie
• 1 Arrow Trim
• 1 Wand
• 1 Stone Window Frame

Enjoy!

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Please:

1. Tell your friends about this blog. The more traffic it has, the more designers will share their kits and have special deals on them!

2. If you're of a geeky nature, come join our Facebook group, Digi Geek! Here is where you can ask for sources for hard-to-find scrap kits to match your fandom. (And if you're a designer, you're welcome to use the group's photo albums to archive your previews and store links for people to find.)

3. If you have certain requests, let me know! I know what MY interests are, but I also know there are many more out there, and I want to give good representation to all of them!