April's Review	Catherine's Review	Penny's Review	Renee's Review	Pomaika`i's Review

Review by April

Stampington & Company is well known for their phenomenal and inspiring paper and mixed media publications. They consistently provide the public with new ideas on how to bring out their inner artist. Each publication they create is unique and includes spectacular projects, instructional how to's, and an abundance of inspiration! Belle Armoire Jewelry, Haute Handbags, Altered Couture, Artful Blogging, and Somerset Memories, which features scrapbooking and heritage art, are just a few of the special publications offered by Stampington & Company. One of their most recent additions to their already extensive library, is the Somerset Digital Studio publication. This first volume contains a variety of gorgeous creations and material for new and experienced digital artists. I usually practice some form of hybrid scrapbooking, even if it's only to edit and print out my own photos or add computer journaling. However I have never really tried all out digital scrapbooking or playing around with all the wonderful features for layers, brushes, etc, that are offered in my computer software programs. It's not that I haven't wanted to sit down and try things out, I've just never really made the time for it. I was overjoyed when I found out I would be included on this review because that meant I would have the opportunity to finally sit down and play digitally!

For this review, I received a beautiful copy of the new Somerset Digital Studio Volume 1 publication from Stampington & Company. The artwork on the cover alone was inspiring and got me excited! I also have to add that I love the feel of the covers on all the Somerset publications. It's very smooth, soft, and overall delightful for the senses! With 144 pages, I was impressed by the volume of the book and the thickness of each page. It was definitely designed to withstand countless hours of page flipping and exploring! All of the projects and artwork displayed in this publication are printed in full color and are magnificently presented. The type throughout the issue is very eye catching and easy to read. Although I would probably purchase this book even if it only contained pictures of the stunning digital projects, it is the well-formed instructional articles that really define this publication. The 12 feature articles in this issue are outstanding and include topics like how to create custom brushes, how to digitally revamp art, creating digital collages, digital scrapbooking 101, and even an image editing software guide. There are nine mini articles, aka spotlights, also included in this issue and each of them showcase a different artist's designs along with digital instructions on the creation of each piece. This issue, along with all future Digital Studio issues, includes a letter from the editor, a digital dictionary, a gallery index of images, a resource guide with credits, submission guidelines, and information about the publisher.

As soon as I received my copy, I immediately started to peruse it and quickly realized I would need to set aside a little time each day to study it and examine every fabulous detail. Each morning I sat down with my coffee to read it and I thought it was interesting how I ended up feeling inspired and ready to create each day...even when I didn't even go near the computer! All of the articles and projects made my head swim with ideas and I found myself constantly brainstorming about future projects.

There are so many techniques mentioned in the book that I wanted to try, and one of the first on my list was scanning in some of my own embellishments and backgrounds. This technique was discussed in the "Digital Collage" article by Susan Tuttle, and I thought it really helped the creations seem more realistic. I painted a sheet of cardboard and added some glitter glue and pen work. Then I scanned the cardboard background along with a few other embellishments like a chipboard crown and a star ornament. I loved how I was able to alter and enhance all of my scanned objects and give them a totally different look. Another technique I had always wanted to practice was that of separating the subject in your photo from the background. This was used in several of the art pieces in the book and one of my absolute favorites was the "Sleeping Fairy" created by Debora Lockard. After adding my daughter Charlie to the picture, I simply played around with different eraser, lighting, text, and filter effects until I achieved the desired result.

Title: Enchanted...
Products used:
Inspiration For Project (Somerset Digital Studio Volume 1 2008)
Software Program (Adobe Photoshop Elements 4.0)
Cardboard Sheet
Star (Pier One)
Chipboard Crown (Maya Road)
Glitter Glue (Ranger)
Paint (Jaquard Lumiere)
Pen (Sakura)

My second digital project is probably my favorite because I started taking more chances and ended up with something completely different than what I started with. I created a background piece to scan in using some transparencies and metallic paint. After studying Pilar Isabel Pollack's article on "The Wild World of Inverted Layers", I was anxious to try inverting layers and use blending modes. My entire layout took a dramatic yet fantastic transformation and I ended up creating something I would have never imagined. This to me is the beauty of digital artwork!

Title: My Time is Spent...
Products used:
Inspiration For Project (Somerset Digital Studio Volume 1 2008)
Software Program (Adobe Photoshop Elements 4.0)
Transparencies (Hambly Screen Prints & Heidi Swapp)
Paint (Jaquard Lumiere)
Flowers (Hallmark Card)

I created the background digitally for my last layout, but still included a few scanned in embellishments. I think I must have moved things around a million times, but it was great being able to discover all the different possibilities that lie before me. I used a blending mode to enhance the wings on the background, and added a few lighting effects to the entire page as well. I experimented with changing colors and using some of the brushes that were already included with my editing software.

Title: That Look...
Products used:
Inspiration For Project (Somerset Digital Studio Volume 1 2008)
Software Program (Adobe Photoshop Elements 4.0)
Patterned Paper (Jenni Bowlin & Creative Imaginations)
Wings (Hobby Lobby Ornament)
Frame (My Minds Eye)

After creating my first three digital projects for this review, I feel like I have only touched the tip of the iceberg. I am anxious to try more of the digital techniques revealed in this wonderful new publication. I can definitely see how easy it is to get hooked on creating digital art, and although I don't think I will ever completely convert to creating all digital, mainly because I just really love getting my hands messy, I do think I will be incorporating more digital techniques into my art from here on out. For the most part, I consider myself to be a beginner when it comes to digital scrapbooking, and as a beginner, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone who would like to learn more about creating digitally. I thought it offered great instruction and tips for beginners, as well as more advanced digital artists. I also believe this would be a great reference tool for more traditional scrapbookers who aren't necessarily looking to explore digital. All of the projects in the book were extremely inspiring and thought provoking, so this would make a great idea book no matter what type of artist you are. This is definitely one of those idea books I would recommend to all my friends and most of them are not really interested in digital scrapbooking. I think this issue would be the perfect gift to help entice them over to the "digital" side!

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Review by Catherine

Somerset Studio Magazines printed by Stampington & Company are always beautiful, high-quality magazines, filled with inspiration. Now, the Stampington crew has come up with yet another addition to the Somerset line of magazines; the Somerset Digital Studio. After reviewing other publications from Somerset, I was excited to delve right into reviewing this premier issue of the Digital Studio Magazine.

When I first got my copy of the Somerset Digital Studio, I opened it up immediately and was blown away. The enormous talent of the designers in this magazine is apparent from the first time one picks up this magazine. As an infrequent and slightly above novice dabbler in digital arts I have to admit that I was a little intimidated by the wonderful digital designs that were included in the magazine at first. There is so much to take in, and see; let alone read. The size of this magazine is very hefty as far as magazines go, a whopping 144 pages. What is even more refreshing, is the lack of advertisements in this magazine. Most other publishers fill up the pages of their magazines with so many ads that it is hard to tell exactly where the articles and actual images are. Not so with Somerset magazines. There are very few ads. There are over 140 digital layouts included in the magazine, and each project includes information about the techniques used and the inspiration behind it. Truly, I find reading about an artist's inspiration wonderful. In addition to the layouts, there are also wonderful how-to articles which easily explain a number of dilemmas one might run across in digital scrapbooking.

After I spent a number of evening reading through the Somerset Digital Studio Premier Issue, I began trying to narrow down they type of project I would like to try. Even though I really like the projects in the magazine which include vintage images and projects which are created simply for art's sake, I decided that I needed to scrapbook a current photo. I love the work that is spotlighted on pages 56-57 in the magazine by Ranie O'dell. I used the layouts by this designer as an inspiration for my first project.

Title: Little Music Man
Products used: All products from DesignerDigitals.com and Twopeasinabucket.com
Inspiration from Somerset Digital Studio Magazine

For my second project, I decided to create the front side of an ATC for a swap. I laid down a background paper on my atc card, and began layering other items, like I had read about in the Somerset Digital Studio magazine. I also digitally enhanced the photo of myself that I included on my atc card, inspired totally by the digital enhancement and manipulation articles featured in the magazine.

Title: Catherine ATC
Products Used: All products from DesignerDigitals.com and Twopeasinabucket.com
Inspiration from Somerset Digital Studio Magazine

Although I by no means would classify myself as a proficient digital scrapper, with the help of the Somerset Digital Studio magazine, I may actually one day get there. I love reading the articles in the magazine and trying out the different techniques that they outline. There are a number of other techniques that I have yet to delve into that are outlined in this publication, but I can't wait to try. This is one magazine that I do believe that I will subscribe to. For a Premier Issue, Somerset's Digital Studio publication has really gotten it right the first time. If you are a digital scrapbooker or artist, or if you've always wanted to learn more about digital arts, then the Somerset Digital Studio is for you. Oh, and my initial intimidation was dispelled quickly once I began reading the articles and information included in the magazine. This is another great publication by Stampington & Company.

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Review by Penny

Somerset's Digital Studio premier issue was released March 1, 2008 with a retail price of $14.99. This 144 page softcover book is filled with ideas, articles and tutorials from beginner to advanced by some well respected designers.

Being a traditional paper scrapper, I am very new to the digital world and what you can do with it. I've found that learning how to use your photo editing software is a very important first step. This issue features a very helpful chart comparing some photo editing software including its features, skill level, learning curve and cost. Many have free trial versions available so that you can give them a try before you buy.

The artistic style of this book focuses heavily on vintage, collage and shabby style images and is not limited to scrapbook pages. Art pieces, ATC's and other projects make their way through the book with a good mixture of scrapbook page examples throughout.

Artist Michelle Shefveland gets you started in her tutorial titled "Digital Scrapbooking 101." In it you will learn how to create a basic layout with a customized background, matting, text and drop shadow techniques - all shown with step-by-step screen shots.

A custom brush tutorial by Michelle Ward is also a highlight of this issue. In it she shows how to create custom brushes using fonts, wingdings, scanned images and clip art. Examples of using clip art and how to make it look more customized and sophisticated are detailed for you as well.

I began this page using the inverted layer technique described on page 70 by Pilar Isabel Pollock. I used many digital enhancements to my page elements - blending modes, filters, opacity, embossing and beveled edges, drop shadows, and glowing edges which are described beginning on page 59 by Gale Blair.

Title: Start the Day Off Right
Products Used: Somerset Digital Studio idea book (Stampington)
Adobe Photoshop 6.0
Festival Kit freebie from www.ShabbyPrincess.com (photo border, journaling label)
Sunporch Kit freebie from Amy Teets (patterned paper)
Font (Gigi)

I used a ton of layering, drop shadows, transparency and layer styles on my second project to achieve this look.

Title: bff
Products used: Somerset Digital Studio idea book (Stampington)
Adobe Photoshop 6.0 and Elements 2.0
Digital supplies:
Janosch Designs Cascadeur - flowers and die cut paper
Jess Gordon Grunge Curled Edges - curled edges
Jesse Edwards and designerdigitals.com - paper
Font - Curlz

My final project is a hybrid layout. I layered the background paper, transparency behind photo and the photo and then printed it out. I added the flowers, stickers, rub-ons, brads and a die cut to finish the layout.

Title: My Boy
Somerset Digital Studio idea book (Stampington)
Adobe Photoshop Elements 2.0
Digital supplies:
Janosch Designs About a Boy - paper, transparency
Traditional supplies:
Brads (SEI, Creative Impressions)
Patterned Paper (Jenni Bowlin)
Flower Punch (EK Success)
Die Cut (Tinkering Ink Beloved Collection)
Marker (Sanford)

My first impression of Somerset's Digital Studio was how absolutely PACKED with information it is!! Tutorials, examples and just plain, raw inspiration are spread from cover to cover. This is a book that will absorb you with digital art for a very long time and makes it well worth the cover price!

If you are interested in learning digital art this is an excellent place to start. With the instruction available here and a lot of experimenting you will soon be creating your own digital art in no time!

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Review by Renee

Do you do it digi? Or do you wanna try? If so, Somerset Digital Studio is a great place for you to find inspiration. Somerset Digital Studio is a new publication by Stampington & Company, a company that publishes numerous publications designed to infuse you with creativity. Included in the list of publications are books such as Artful Blogging, Stampers Sampler and my new quest to find, Life Images.

All books published by Stampington & Company are high quality, heavy weight books with non glare pages. In keeping with the quality of it's sister publications, Somerset Digital Studio features over 140 fantastic digital page ideas. The pages range from traditionally styled scrapbook pages to the artsy collage styled pages often showcased in Stampington publications. This issue is particularly good in that it as several technique based articles. Techniques feature a well written step by step article for the absolute beginner to techniques on how to make custom brushes and other fun techniques. In addition, there is an awesome comprehensive guide to Digital Imaging Software which will be very helpful for the person seeking to purchase digital imaging software.

When I received my copy of Somerset Digital Studio, I immediately read it cover to cover, primarily to ohh and ahh over the fantastic inspiration. Regardless of whether you do paper pages or digital pages, the artwork represented in this issue is phenomenal and a great inspiration. I found many ideas that I plan to try in my paper pages as well as other digital pages. I also loved the article on custom brushes. Several years ago, a friend made me a brush for my photography business. I use it on my desktop computer, but rarely do post processing there anymore. I have wanted a new brush for my laptop, but had no idea how to make my own. This article will be helpful in doing that. I also ran across a cool tip for easily turning a photograph to sepia, something else I have been trying to master. There are many more tips like these that are easy to understand and work with.

For my first project, I decided to follow the steps in the beginner tutorial to create the layout shown in the article. I found this tutorial to be very well written and easy to follow. The screen shots were great, with about 11 screen shots total included in the article. The article was written for Photoshop Elements 5 which is the version I use. This made it extremely easy for me to follow. However, the steps are pretty generic and could be easily adapted to any other version of Elements or even Photoshop. The layout took about 20 minutes to complete which is phenomenally fast for me as I am a slow scrapper, both paper and digitally. It would be very easy for an absolute beginner to pick this article up and complete a page.

Title: Rollin' with the Tide!!
Products used: Software (Adobe Photoshop Elements 5)
Inspiration from Somerset Digital Studio Magazine

For my second project, I used the book more like an idea book and incorporated several ideas from a number of layouts into my layout. I really like the double photo usage of "Our Journey" on page 56 and "Urban Beauti" on page 57. I selected a favorite black and white photo of mine and used a similar page design to create this layout of my daughter.

Title: Flowers are Beautiful
Products used: Digital Kit (April Free Kit, Two Peas in a Bucket, designer Rhonna Farrer)
Software (Adobe Photoshop Elements 5)
Inspiration from Somerset Digital Studio Magazine

I am not the world's best digital scrapper. However, I was able to use the book to create beautiful digital layouts. As I mentioned above, even if you only create paper layouts, this book has a wealth of inspiration that will translate easily to the paper world. The only bad thing about this idea book is that I am now lusting for a Wacom Tablet after seeing the great things the artists created with one. Oh well, there could be worse things I suppose.

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Review by Pomaika`i

I have been wanting to re-visit digital scrapbooking for a long time. I dabbled in it about four years ago, but never went beyond the basics. When I was asked to do a review on Somerset Digital Studio's premier issue, I was excited and agreed right away, but then I wondered what I was thinking?! I recently switched from a PC to a Mac, and did not have a digital software program yet. Instead of panicking, I decided to play it by ear got myself ready for an interesting journey.

My copy of Somerset Digital Studio arrived on a cold and rainy evening. On the cover, a sneak peek of four gorgeous works promised more of the same inside. One particular shot, "An Apple" by Denise Doupnik caught my eye. It showed a partially bitten apple that was so perfectly shadowed that it looked real, as if I could grab it off the page and take a bite! Radiating from the apple, a rainbow of cheerful colors and whimsical doodling brightened my day immediately, just like the sun peeking through the clouds.

Somerset Digital Studio continues the Stampington & Company tradition of high quality, eye popping gorgeous art in a stunning gallery like presentation. It is a hefty publication of 144 pages with commercial free viewing (ads being confined to the back pages). Editor Jana Holstien wrote that Somerset Digital Studio was conceived when the Virtual Gallery department of Somerset Memories was continually overflowing with digital submissions. She shares that the goal of the staff was to "...put out a magazine that would showcase the wonders of digital scrapbooking, show a variety of amazing layouts, present articles that explain techniques, and appeal to both novices as well as advanced digital designers."

Here are my thoughts about this publication from a "novice digital designer" point of view. Though I think "designer" is a too strong a word. Maybe "aspiring" designer would be more accurate.

The table of contents shows three major categories Feature Articles, Spotlights: Mini Articles and, In Every Issue which includes a gallery of images where you can look up an artist by name, and a resource and credit list where you can find the supplies used in case you find something you really love and want to track it down to purchase.

The first article I read was Michelle Shefveland's "Editing Software Guide". As a beginner with no photo editing software and a brand new operating system (Mac), I was able to narrow down my choices by looking at her comprehensive, easy to use table. She also took different software programs and created a sample page from each as a visual demonstration of some of the program's capabilities. Thank goodness for Adobe Photoshop's 30 day free trial. My photo editing software was up and running in an hour.

Now that I had my software in place, I started my search for project inspiration. I enjoyed reading about "Custom Brushes" by Michelle Ward. I love to stamp on my conventional layouts, and I have heard the term "brushes" likened to stamping on your digital layouts. Creating my own brushes is something that I have always wanted to do. I thoroughly enjoyed Michelle's article and her enthusiasm was infectious, but my knowledge of my software was not up to experimenting just yet. I will leave that for the near future when I am more of a digital "designer".

Success at last! I created my first project after reading Robyn England's article, "Hybrid Scrapooking, Creating 4" x 6" Heritage Pages". I had an "aha" moment when I read that she likes the 4" x 6" format because it is the standard print size, it is very cost effective (read cheap) to print, and is very practical as there are tons of albums in this size. I love the idea of an album full of these little canvases.

I used a kit that I downloaded years ago, but never had a chance to try. I thought it was perfect for this queenly image with it's classic style and colors. I used the lasso tool to select out the queen image, butterfly wings and, tea roses from vintage photo reproductions. I placed a solid background underneath the patterned background and used a brush to erase the top layer at the edges as well as stamp some color. I played around with the brushes and since I didn't know the exact sequence of commands, I just clicked and selected and hoped that things worked out. The beauty of digital is that I could undo anything that I wanted (most of the time) and with a little practice, I know I will be able to reproduce the look I want consistently in the future!

Title: She Who Must Be Obeyed
Products used: Inspiration from Somerset Digital Studio Magazine
Adobe Photo Shop CS-extended
Backgrounds (DMMT Kit)
Vintage Images (Tuscan Rose)

I used Michelle Shefveland's article "Digital Scrapbooking 101" as the inspiration for my second project. I set out to follow her sample layout directions, but soon gave up. I was using Photoshop-CS, which is different from PSE which she uses, and I was not able to translate the instructions since I was so new to the software. I decided to go back to basics and use the simple things I knew to create a layout. In this project I played with my paint bucket tool to add the blue color to the background transparency, and to change the colors of the flourishes. I also played with adding drop shadows around my photos, my new favorite thing to do! Now that I have had some practice and a lot of help in working with the tools, I will give Michelle's tutorial another try. I am confident I can work through it successfully this time around.

Title: Nature's Beauties
Products used: Inspiration from Somerset Digital Studio Magazine
Adobe Photo Shop CS-extended
Backgrounds (Renee Pearson)
Brush flourish (DMMT Kit)

My final project was inspired by many different articles and pieces of art from the pages of Somerset Digital Studio including Susan Tuttle's "Digital Collage" article. I used my trusty lasso tool to select out the flowers, fairy and Mother-Daughter pair from vintage photo reproductions. I added elements from a variety of kits that I had on hand. This time I played with the image opacity and inner glow editing features. What fun!

Title: Mom
Products used: Inspiration from Somerset Digital Studio Magazine
Adobe Photo Shop CS-extended
Background (Rhonna Farrer)
Vintage Images (Tuscan Rose)
Elements (Laurin Bavin, Lisa Carter, Renee Pearson)

I highly recommend picking up a copy of Somerset Digital Studio. The inspiration I found and the techniques I learned easily exceeded the $14.99 price tag. I could list something of value that I learned from every article in this issue. I also enjoyed the little descriptions next to each gallery piece. I found them informative and interesting as to how the artist set about creating her piece.

As a novice digital "designer," I found that the articles in this Premier Issue of Somerset Digital Studio gave me a wealth of basic techniques and information that I could use immediately and more advanced techniques that I look forward to playing with in the future. I think that Christine Traversa says it best in her article "Digitally Challenged No More!": "Any way you look at digital scrapbooking, you can't lose!" So what are you waiting for? Run out and get your copy today and get digitally creative!!

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