My Memories Give away

I hinted at it last week, well here it is!   This week, I am going to be hosting a give away of a Scrapbooking Software Called My Memories Suite v2 (a $40 software!)  One Lucky Commenter on the blog will get a free copy of the software!  How?  You'll have to keep reading to find out!  First, let me tell you about My Memories.

I am a Photoshop Elements girl, so when I was first approached to do this give away, I kinda stopped and went "hmmm do I really wanna do that?"  So, I thought I would check out their site, My Memories.com and see what was what first before I committed to anything.  And I was surprised.  The place is pretty cool.   They have a pretty good amount of product, that is actually really nice!  I found myself wandering through the store thinking "oh I could use that!"  But, what about the software? 

So I downloaded it, installed it and went to work checking it out.. and let me tell you its pretty darn cool!  For those that are intimidated by the level of difficulty photoshop offers or even just the cost of it, this is a really good alternative.  It is a self contained program.  Everything you need for basic digi scrapping is right there in its interface.  It very nicely organizes your digi supplies, tags them into categories.  This was really nice, specially for someone who has never ever been organized or has ever tagged her stuff!  When you download stuff from the store (lots of free stuff available!), they come with an installer that puts them right where they need to be in the program.  All nice and tidy.  For a beginner scrapper, this program would be a dream.  Everything is laid out really nicely in a way that makes it easy to understand and flow smoothly.  The controls are easy to figure out and easy to find.  And it all ran smoothly on my dinosaur of a computer, which is saying a huge thing believe me!  If it will run on my computer, it will run on yours!  Trust me!  ;)

So here is a screen shot of the program, so that you can see its interface.  Its fairly simple and easy to navigate.

 All the controls are pretty much everywhere.  You can access them in three different locations, for the most part, but each has its "home" location. Every feature has a nice clear icon, and you quickly recognize exactly what it is for.  There are a few features in the program that are pretty cool.  Like the word art creator.  I liked that a lot!  It takes text and just kicks it up a notch!  You can add gradient (which it does by default), bevels and a slew of other things we've all already been doing in photoshop to do our titles.  They've wrapped it all up nicely into a little package to make it simple for beginners to understand, and titled it the "Word art Designer".  Very Clever!

I also liked the ability to add more than one element at a time.  When selecting an element, there's a little box down at the bottom of that screen that says quantity..  very nice addition

 Another really nice feature is the way they load photos in their file menu.  Most programs load just like your computer.  Drop down menue, chose thumbnail and you wait for them all to load.  My memories loads up your files on one side and your thumbnails on another, giving no need to go through the steps like before.  I screen shotted this for you too!  LOL  I believe in giving as much visual as possible!

Now, the big question on everyone's mind I bet is...... is it easy to scrap with?  We all know that some of these programs are bears and cumbersome.  I was afraid that I was gonna run into that with this one too, but to my surprise, as I said before, it ran really smooth.  I first started with one of their pre-made albums, which are pretty much plug and play.  Very easy to do.  You literally just add your photos and drop them into the photo openings.  They turn blue when you are in the right spot and walla a page is born! Here is one of those pages

The only thing I added was a bit of journaling.  They leave a lot open, in case you want to add to the page.  The album I chose is called "all about funk" and has 7 pages.  The program comes loaded with a ton of templates and a few other albums as well.  I'm not a template user, so I didn't use any others except for this album.  The rest of my pages are black canvases and a few quick pages that I downloaded from the store.  I probably should have done a template page, to give a full range of what the product could do, but take my word for it when I say it is loaded with so many templates my head was spinning!

I mentioned free product from the store earlier, and let me tell you, there is a good amount of it!  I was surprised!  There is actually a good amount of overall product in the store, even a dollar bin with what looked like 220 items!  I went to see what was available so that I could have some to showcase here for this post and was surprised to find such quality and quantity waiting for me!  I grabbed almost all of it, and will probably go back for the rest!   I will be posting a quick page every day from the free section of the store, so check back to see them!  Today, this is the Quickpage for the day.  Totally free download available in the store!

  

Ain't that just precious!   I think it totally fits for a Monday morning, how about you?  Quick pages are just as easy in this program as any other.  You just send your pic to the back and Walla, a page is born!

So, we've gotten through the ease of the program, the features I think are cool, the free stuff in the store, working their album templates.... how about a blank canvas page?  I thought that was going to be my challenge.  But, in the end, it really wasn't.  The hardest part was remembering there wasn't a layers pallet in the program.  (I'm spoiled, lol) But, for a beginner I can totally see how this would be simpler to learn.  I was able to scrap, from scrap (HAHA), a page in just a few minutes.  I could use some of the same techniques I've already been using, just with minor adjustments to fit in the program.  It was totally doable.  So, when it comes down to the very nitty gritty, and my mother in law was asking me what program would I recommend for her to start digi scrapping, this would be it.  Absolutely.  Cause I've already tried to teach  her PSE, and that didn't go well.  I believe she could totally get this, with out a doubt.  

And there are a few features I didn't have a chance to check out yet.  You can add music to your albums, and video.   I'm hoping to get a chance to check those out this week and throw them into a post for you.  We will see!  But I am sure they are just as cool as the other features I've discovered.  

So how do you win the software, that is what you are all thinking right?  Ok ok, I'll get to the good stuff now!  here is what you have to do!  I need you to go to My Memories and take a look around at all the kits they have.  Then come back here and leave me a comment ON THIS POST telling me which kit was your favorite.  On Friday, I will  do a random generator to pick the winner of the software.  Please make sure you are signed in to google or leave me an email address so that I can contact you.  But, I also have news for those that do not win the software, or who decide they do not want to wait till friday and want to check out this cool stuff now now now!!!  My Memories has been very generous.  Not only have they given me a copy of the software to give away, but they've also given me a coupon for all my blog visitors.  If you purchase the software, and use the coupon code, you get $10 off the purchase price!  My Memories Suite v2. Just type in Coupon Code: STMMMS29185   at check out.  (My Memories suggests copy and pasting the coupon).

blank canvas creation, using all about funk, funky fall and spring it on extras

So bottom line, Who would I recommend this software to?   Any beginner to digital scrapping, really.  Anyone who is wanting to learn to digi scrap but is a bit shy of learning photoshop or has tried photoshop (or similiar program) and can't grasp it. Or those that have been digi scrapping for a while, but just want to go back to basics, create easy albums for printing lightning fast.   Kids.  Its perfect for kids, I think.  I'm totally going to be letting my kiddos play around with this.  They are always wanting to "make pictures", but are too young to work photoshop on their own still.  I'm confident they can work this pr;ogram with out any, or minimal, supervision.  I think its well worth having, even though I'm still a PSE girl.  :)

So you've seen the plug and play album page and the quick page you can get from the store, but not the "what can I scrap with this program from scrap"... well here ya go.  This is my blank canvas page, no template or quick page used.  

Blank canvas creation using Love you 2, Funky fall and Stock papers  Font Written in his hands

I will try to have more to show you through the week.   Until then, remember to go to My Memories and take a look around, come back here and post your favorite kit!  Someone has to win the software, might as well be you!  ;)   

For more information on My Memories, check out their Blog, Facebook page, and on Twitter   Or if you really want some fun, check out their youtube channel!!  I may post some of those through the week to keep interest going, we will see! 

Till Next time!