Congratulations to Susan on your free 8x10 canvas print!
(Susan, you should have received an email with instructions on how to order your print.)
I may be done posting designs and tutorials, but I can still offer giveaways! I'm excited to share this one with you. Enter below to win a free 8x10 canvas print from Easy Canvas Prints:
If you have never used Easy Canvas Prints before or never ordered a canvas print, you can read my review (from about 2 years ago) HERE. They were really easy to work with and I still love the print I received. The quality of the print is amazing. I have had several people ask me if my canvas print is a painting. Here is mine:
So go ahead, enter the giveaway above and win a free 8x10 canvas print of your very own!
Giveaway runs from June 24 - July 5, 2013 at midnight.
You are the winner of a free copy of the My Memories Software Giveaway!
Please email me at blogdesignsbydani[at]gmail[dot]com to claim your prize!
Here is the random.org number generator that chose Karen:
Didn't win the giveaway? Don't worry, you can still purchase the software at a discounted price. If you use my discount code below, you can receive $10 off the retail price of $39.97. So you only pay $29.97. Also, you get $10 to use in their store to buy scrapbook kits, templates or anything you find there!
Here's the code:
STMMMS20877
This code never expires and is posted in my sidebar.
So head over to My Memories and get started with your first digital scrapbook!
(To see my review of the software, read my post HERE.)
I am excited to announce an amazing Giveaway today!! (and an awesome discount at the bottom of this post!)
Update: I am extending this giveaway to end on Tuesday, October 16, 2012 at midnight PST. Enter today!
Are any of you digital scrapbookers? Are any of you regular scrapbookers trying to make the switch to digital but don't know how? Or do you just have tons of pictures filling up your computer and you have no idea what to do with them? Well this giveaway is for you!
Have you heard of the My Memories Suite before? It is the top rated digital scrapbooking software and it makes scrapbooking so easy! I've been given one copy of the software to try out for myself and one copy to give away to a lucky reader! Before I give you the giveaway details, let me tell you about the software and show you what it can do.
When I first downloaded the software, I was worried that I was going to have to purchase kits from their store in order to make my scrapbooks. I already have tons of digital scrapbooking kits for my blog designs and would hate to have to buy them all over again. Luckily, I was wrong. It is very easy to use kits you already own to make your layouts.
I am currently working on a scrapbook of my son's first year. Here is page of his first haircut that I made in My Memories:
Excuse the blurry faces. I like to keep my baby's face private. :)
I used a kit from Katie Castillo at Just So Scrappy called "Boys Will Be Boys" to make this page.
I didn't use a template but it was still fairly easy to place the pictures and images wherever I chose. The design I did above was simple as far as figuring out how to use the program, but it did take me some time to put all of the elements together. If you are interested in putting together "Quick Pages", My Memories makes it really easy. Here is an example of a quick page I made:
(Image removed)
To make a quick page in My Memories, I simply added the photos and placed them behind the quick page image. It was SO easy. The only downside to the Quick Pages is that they are not very customizable. The photos have to fit in the frames provided. You can't resize anything.
Fortunately, My Memories has another feature that does is easy and customizable. By purchasing Templates from the My Memories store, you can create pages quickly and then customize them by moving around photo frames, changing the size and shape of those frames, and much more. The video below gives a basic overview of My Memories and shows how these template pages can be customized.
Now, My Memories is a great digital scrapbooking software program, but do not expect it to be a powerful photo/graphics editing program. It is built for scrapbooking first and editing second. But for $39.97 USD (retail price), this software really can't be beat. It does have some good photo effects like Crop, Red Eye, Sepia, Black and White, Sharpen, Blur and several more. One feature I really like is how easy it is to cut photos into the shape of your choice with just the click of a button.
Once you create your scrapbook albums, it is fairly easy to get them printed. You can either print them through My Memories or you can save the images as jpg's and upload them to the site where you would like to get them printed.If you don't want to print your albums you can keep them digital and view them as slideshows on your blog, your ipod, your computer or wherever. You can even add multimedia such as music and videos to your albums and burn the album with the embedded media onto a DVD.
For any software, the biggest test for me is how versatile it is. Can you do more than just scrapbooks with this software? The answer is yes! This week I needed to make an invitation for a church activity. I was able to put together a simple invitation quickly by making a custom project. Here is the invitation I made:
This invitation was made using Just So Scrappy's kit "I Toadally Love You".
Another project that I made with My Memories was a Calendar. There is a great calendar feature that places the dates for the month or year that you choose and allows you to customize it with your own photos or design elements. Here is my calendar for October:
This calendar was made using Just So Scrappy's kit "Toil and Trouble".
My final test for My Memories was whether or not I could create blog design elements in the program. I found that I could create backgrounds like the one below:
Update: Since I posted this, I have tried to upload the background image above to a blog and have not had success. The header image below worked great, but I cannot guarantee that the other design elements will work when created in My Memories.
I was unable to make the simplified backgrounds because the documents in My Memories have to be at least 200pixels wide x 500pixels high. I also had a hard time cropping the image precisely so that it would repeat the pattern smoothly on my blog.
My Memories will not save images as transparent png files so the final images will have to be rectangular. Using this software I was able to make a nice rectangular header shown below:
So what do you think? Is the My Memories Suite Software something that you could use to preserve your memories or to create your own miscellaneous designs? I think it's totally worth it! And one lucky reader will get a free copy of the software!
Here's how you can enter to win your own free copy:
You may comment once on this post for each of the items below.
Each comment on this post is an entry for the giveaway.
1. Visit My Memories and find your favorite digital paper pack, layout or anything else you like. Then leave a comment on this post saying which kit, layout, etc. you found and what project you would make with it. 2. Follow my blog and leave a comment on this post saying that you are a follower. 3. Follow the My Memories blog and leave a comment on this post saying that you are a follower.
This giveaway starts Tuesday, October 9, 2012 and ends Tuesday, October 16, 2012 at midnight PST. The winner will be chosen randomly using random.org and will be announced the following Wednesday, October 17, 2012.
Please be sure to check back to see if you won. If the winner does not respond within 24 hours, a new winner will be chosen.
This software is available worldwide. However, it is intended for English-language computers. Technical support is English-only.
And for anyone that is interested in purchasing the software, I have a discount for you!
If you purchase the My Memories Suite using the following discount code, you can receive a $10 discount on your software purchase (retail price is $39.97 USD before the discount). That means that for just under $30 USD, you can create beautiful digital scrapbooks and other digital designs!
In addition to this discount, you will receive a $10 coupon for the My Memories.com store, giving you a total savings of $20!
To use this discount, simply go to My Memories.com and enter the following discount code:
I recently was given the opportunity to review a product for Easy Canvas Prints. At Easy Canvas Prints, they put your pictures on canvas. I was offered an 11x14 canvas print in exchange for the review and was very excited. I decided to upgrade to a 16x20 for a small fee and LOVE the picture that was printed. Now, let me tell about the process:
The ordering process was really quite simple. First, you choose your size and upload your image. This site is really great because it checks your image to determine if it is a good enough quality to be blown up to the size you chose. I was worried about this because I didn't know if the image I chose had a high enough resolution to be enlarged to a 16x20. I really hate having to wait until it's printed to see that the picture is too blurry.
Next, I chose my border style. You can either have a solid color around the sides, a mirror image or a continuation of the pattern (image wrap). I chose the image wrap. The last step is an option to have your image retouched. If you are willing to pay some extra money, they will do that for you. I, myself, wouldn't pay for that, but that's because I love Photoshop and like to do it myself.
That's it...it really was easy....unless you are indecisive like me...and you change your mind about the size after you submit your order. Yeah, I don't recommend this, but it did give me an opportunity to test out their customer service. Normally they don't allow you to change your order after it is submitted because they start your canvas print immediately. But I called within just a few minutes of my order and was able to make the change. I originally ordered the 11x14, the size they offered me, but then realized the bigger size, 16x20 would look much better on my wall. Their customer service proved to be fantastic. The woman that helped me even called me back so that I didn't have to wait on the phone while she figured out how to make the change.
The hardest part of the whole process was choosing the photo to use. I didn't want to use a family picture because, unless they are classic ones like a wedding picture or a really sweet photo of a child, it can become outdated really fast. In the end, I chose something that was meaningful and also timeless, the place where my husband and I were married:
This picture is an LDS (Mormon) temple. To learn more, go to http://mormon.org/.
Now, here's the great news for you....if you want to put your own picture on canvas, just click on the link provided. When you go, you'll notice that you will receive 25% off your order plus free shipping. Want a better discount? If you "Like" them on Facebook, you can get 50% off your order plus free shipping!
Overall, this was an amazing offer for me! I love my canvas print! The
great thing about a canvas is that you don't have to frame it if you
don't want to. It looks good alone but also looks great in a frame. (If
you choose to buy a frame, buy one with an open back. I've found some at
Michael's that work great. You will have to buy a little kit to fasten
your canvas to the frame, but it's pretty simple. If you ask an
employee, I'm sure they could help you.)
The opinions in this review are entirely my own. I was compensated with a discounted canvas print in return for the review.
I have great news. Overstock.com has agreed to give a 10% discount on their merchandise (excluding movies, books, and electronics). Do you guys use Overstock.com often? I buy a lot from Amazon, but I have noticed that Overstock.com has very comparable prices, sometimes better. If you have never been to Overstock.com, they are an online retailer offering anything from diamond rings to vacuums. They also offer $2.95 shipping for any item, regardless of the size of the order. I recently bought a home and am going to be looking for a good deal from Overstock.com on some furniture and lamps. Hope you find something good too!
Use the discount code 121745 at checkout to receive 10% off your purchase (excluding movies, books, and electronics). This code never expires, but can only be used once per email address.
Also, use code 202234 for free shipping on electronics.
All the ideas and opinions expressed are my own. No monetary compensation was received for doing this post, however, I was provided with a discount code.
2. Go to your Layout page under Page Elements and click on Add a Gadget in your sidebar.
3. Choose HTML/ JavaScript .
4. Paste the html into the pop-up window.
5. Click Save!
Copyright
This site is copyright protected. Do not copy any designs or tutorials and claim them as your own. You may not post my designs, tutorials and/or the given code on your blog or website, even if you give me credit. For my complete terms of use, please read my terms of use.
