Hey everyone, I KNOW, It's been nearly forever since I wrote my last blog post but THIS TIME I have a really really good excuse! AND my excuse leads to a really really good deal for one of YOU lucky readers!
The reason I've been MIA is because I've been distracted by this new digital scrapbooking software called My Memories Suite from
www.mymemories.com . Now to be completely honest , I am NOT a scrapbooker by any stretch of the imagination, it;s just not my "thing", HOWEVER, as a photographer, I am always eager to see what;s out there when it comes to the editing/finishing process.. I thought I would try out this
digital scrapbooking software from the My Memories site and see how it checked out in terms of editing/scrapbooking/album programs out there.
MY OFFICIAL REVIEW
Here I go on this honesty kick again, but as a longtime Adobe fan, and I love my Photoshop CS but I have to tell you, professional editing software is expensive, and can be quite technical - it can be overwhelming to a beginner. Whether you are a scrapbooker who just wants to make her photos look more polished, or a blogger extraordinaire who is looking to take the blog world by storm, it's good news to hear that there is a program out there that is easy to use, affordable and still gives you good results for your photo albums.
I had a hoot playing around with this program! Everything was user-friendly - even a hassle free and simple download process which impressed me, It DID take a bit of time to download ( about 90 minutes actually - but maybe my well-used laptop is slowing down in it's old age, haha) and mind you, it was a BIG file. However it is quite a powerful program and I was fascinated to see just how many creative possibilities it held.
As far as simple editing processes went, again it was easy to use, simple and efficient. There were at least a dozen different "effects" you could use, that were all simple actions that took place with just a single click the mouse. Nice! The background patterns, colors and texture had tons of possibilities in their creative combinations. You can also look online for even more of their themed scrapbooking kits for inspiration.
As far as photo albums go, once you open the program, you have the option of selecting one of their many creative templates, or designing your own from scratch.
I used a photo of my newest furry addition to our family (our 8 week old puppy, Turk) to design my own layout and try some of the photo editing/finishing options and add some text. I'm kind of a minimalist at heart, so I kept the design simple and keep the focus on his cute little face. haha.
Before:
After using
My Memories Suite
I have to admit that for a quasi-prejudiced Photoshop geek, I was super impressed with the professionalism the
scrapbooking software had to offer. Mind you, I reviewed this from a photographer's angle, not a scrapbooker's, so I can guarantee an experienced "scrapper" could probably use this program to scrap circles around me in in terms of how much more it could handle, haha, That;s one area where I admit I am totally out of my league.
But ya know what? THAT'S OK, Because from my viewpoint, if you're an amateur photographer just starting out, or an avid blogger this could be just what you're looking for to get you on the right track. And it's actually fun to use too. Especially if you are a wannabe 'foodie" blogger, like me. If you hadn't noticed, my love affair with food has gone on for YEARS, haha.
My next project was influenced by my foodie fetish - A couple years ago I decided to start a family recipe cookbook that would encompass not only all of our secret family recipes passed down from generations, include photos of the prepared dishes, but also photos of our family ( kids included) preparing and enjoying the food as well. I plan to give printed, hardcover copies to each one of my kids as a personalized 'housewarming" gift for the day they each move into their own homes. While that is a long way off yet, I've begun to collect recipes, and make sure my camera is nearby when we make them, so that I can begin my photo collection to go with the recipes.
I used one of the ready-made creative templates to create a 'ccokbook" album to see what said family heirloom recipe album could look like. Here's a page from my album:
Ya I know what you're thinking What's in it for you???
Here it is...... One of you, my dear precious readers, is going to get to WIN this software download for FREE! How? By entering the My Memories Digital Scrapbooking GIVEAWAY right here on my blog! I will post the contest details right here on my blog TOMORROW. So make sure you pop on over here tomorrow to check out how you can enter for a chance to win!
I'm super excited that My Memories asked me to host this giveaway for all my readers, and super pumped to give this away to one of you!
AND! AND! AND!
There's more good news about the giveaway for ALL my readers but you'll have to wait until tomorrow's post to see what that is!
There, is THAT a good enough excuse as to why I haven't been around?
I'm off to go find something to eat since staring at those food pics made my tummy rumble....
See you back here tomorrow!
~J Xo.
