Who Knew? geezee

True Scrap

2011-10-21T15:15:00.000-08:00

Welcome fellow True Scrap Students! I am looking forward to visiting with you and answering questions. No one asks anything anymore so I digress and neglect my poor blog here.

geezee

Stamping

2011-08-21T06:56:00.001-08:00

I have a friend who loves using the stamping feature in Storybook creator. What is your favorite feature? I showed an old post to this friend as I was acquainting her with my (very neglected) blog. I think it is the one process that I developed that I use the most when utilizing elements that I have gotten from the web. I am linking back to it and would be glad to have input on the way you might deal with this same need. I am open for questions and ideas.

Old post about masks.

Camera as appendage

2011-03-09T07:13:00.000-09:00

I get teased all the time about having my camera with me at all times. I also get grief because I talk so much. So I have started telling people that a photo is worth a thousand words and we all know how much I like to talk. So this is my way of getting a thousand words in edgewise. I know I have been MIA for a bit, but this was fun to post twice in a row. Thanks for inspiring me Izzy!

geezee

Paperclipping Digi Show read my mail.

2011-03-09T06:44:00.001-09:00

I know I have been gone and this blog went stale. Today I listened to Paperclipping Digi Show from 3/5/2011 and they read a comment I left. It was exciting to hear my screen name being discussed. That was a blast. Go check it out.

http://www.paperclipping.com/digishow/pds038-your-husbands-are-more-game-than-mine/

Have fun,
geezee

Long Time Lotsa Changes

2010-09-21T09:55:00.000-08:00

I have neglected my blog greatly. Honestly, I wasn't as impressed initially with the upgrade to Storybook Creator 3 as I had hoped. So I curled up in a fetal position and sucked my thumb for a few months and then I offered to help a friend with the header for a blog. (Wouldn't ya know I saved it in the wrong size) Sorry, BIG. Must resize to upload again. See the blog and maybe watch for the header to go up here: http://zbigchicken.blogspot.com/. As I double checked just know it was up yay. Not a complete loss.

So Tutorial for that coming by this weekend.

Watch for another unrelated post later today.

geezee

I may be interested in this again.

2010-04-30T08:53:00.000-08:00

Amy asked:

Hi! I have an unrealated question for you! I am a consultant and have been working on some pages in an album using the Discover Baby predesigned pages. In my album, pages 1-4 appear, but the rest of the pages are all white/blank. When I try to "add a page", it gives me an error message of "bad data"? I have gone in and looked at my content and it appears there, showing all pages, and the content box is open. Any idea why this is happening to me and how I can fix it?

Just in case you get ahead of me and not read to the end before you save your work : ) I suggest you do that first.
The first thought that comes to mind is that you may need to download or reinstall your kit and unlock it again. I think an interruption could have caused an incomplete installation. My suggestion would be to save pages as before you do this so that you have the pages you are working on should they be affected. I haven't ever had to uninstall a kit. I may look into that a bit further. Anyone with better answers, I will be glad to pass on the info.

geezee

Computer Down

2010-04-29T15:52:00.000-08:00

Karen asked a question:
I have a 2yo computer and recently upgraded to SBC 3 and MM3. My computer has since stopped printing to my photoprinter, and when I tried to fix it, it completely crashed. I use Vista and wonder if it is SBC3 and MM3 that are causing my problems. Should I move these to a newer computer? Has anyone else had this problem?

Dear Karen,

I know that MM3 and SBC3 use a lot of memory and could be taxing your computer.Vista is also a memory hog. Loading a lot of content to SBC is rough on the computer as well. I am not sure if they could be the cause of complete crash. There have been some insidious viruses transmitted lately through other means and a few people I know have been unwittingly affected by these.

If you tried reinstalling your printer and remembered to choose that printer when dialog box appears( I have been guilty of this myself). Then I am unable to be of much help personally. Unless of course you just need some faceless blogger to give you permission to buy yourself a new computer (I don't subsidize this kind of purchase myself, of course.)

MM3 has updates that could be necessary for restoring function to your beloved friend. In the technical realm I am less than an expert and Creative Memories does have nice talented people on the other end of the phone lines. I suggest you call them, Update Virus Protection and look into removing spyware and temp files.

Anyone with more help for Karen, I will be glad to pass on any info. I have been experiencing trouble of my own with the upgrades and fear that is what has created this lack of interest in working with it for y'all's benefit. Sorry, maybe my gumption is coming back. I did do a gorgeous macro pic and applied a mask to it the other day. I think I will add it here for my own amusement. :)

geezee

Wow, Something I can speak to.

2010-03-10T08:50:00.000-09:00

Thank you, Katie for bringing me back from the brink of blogger forgotten. I have an answer for this

Katie said:
I got a new camera and set the date. Uploaded a few kazillion pics to MM andthen a few days later (after clearing the memory card) realized that I had the year set wrong on the camera. Any way I can fix the date on all the photos all at once?

Short answer with tutorial (with pics) to follow. The shift key allows you to select multiple items at once. I suggest going to the view that will give you the largest number of misdated ones at one time. This is usually the view MM defaults to when you upload. In version 3 it is the media selection. In this view you can select the first picture that has the date you want to change it to. Then go to the last one that needs to change to the same date. Pressing the shift key before clicking on the item selects all the items between. Viola all chosen at once and date can be corrected on right-hand side.

Thanks again,
geezee

Give me something to fix.

2010-03-10T02:51:00.000-09:00

Hi folks,

I was so pleased to receive a comment asking if I was ever coming back. I got way off track. Seems like it was easy to let the blog go and just make it through each day. I have a project I want to post but I need attention. Looks like I have some kind of need for recognition. Comments, I need comments. My friends say that I am a fix-it kind of person. That is how this blog began. I want to fix someone else's problems.

Then I have something that I will ask about Memory manager.

Thanks for hanging in there with me folks.

geezee

May Be Back

2009-12-02T07:01:00.000-09:00

Dear lovelies,

I got discouraged during the dead computer and new computer and all that went with starting over. I had a couple huge changes in the last few months. Don't worry I still have my family, still love my husband, no problems there. Drama is so small when put up against the important things. I have also been behind on learning SBC3 so I have been feeling guilty about sharing what I don't know with others. Thank you for the encouragement though.

Samantha: I have no advice on the technical issue. I suppose calling the company is the best solution. I hope you didn't wait too long. I should have responded sooner, but too stubborn to admit defeat right away.

Any kind words will be greatly appreciated right now to get my energy redirected again.

love, geezee

New Computer!

2009-10-03T09:03:00.000-08:00

I now have a new computer. I managed to get my new 3.0 version of Storybook Creator. WOW. Let me know what you want me to explore first. Pray that I can recover my Memory Manager software. I do have the shadow copy, but my original disc is no longer to be found.

geezee

2009-09-10T03:33:00.001-08:00

Computer died...tut in limbo. Trip going well. Cell phone blogging has its limits. Wishing all well. Hero hubby working on getting laptop going for me.

Anxious to use new upgraded version of SBC+. So glad I have shadow copy of Mem Man. I did post a tut for shadow copy right?

More later,
geezee

2009-09-06T05:18:00.001-08:00

I am working on it.

2009-08-28T03:17:00.000-08:00

I really am working on the tutorial I have lined up. Posting headaches and packing up for a 3 month trip I leave for on Monday morning have me running in circles. Maybe I will finish when I am sitting in the airport. I am sure DS6 will accomodate since we will be traveling together and have to report to airport @ 4am. ; )

geezee

New Brag Pages

2009-08-26T06:36:00.000-08:00

Wow, Love Kim's new kit Deon

So I played.

I have the tutorial to go with these coming up next.

One last little housekeeping point. If you want me to stop offering brag pages here, let me know. I do try not to water this blog down with off topic stuff too much. Feels more business-like that way.

geezee

Calling all crabcakes

2009-08-21T13:55:00.000-08:00

Crabcakes said...
Where o where could I PUHLEEZE get the brag book pages made with the Toof Fairy kit? (I bought the kit). I was out of town to a funeral and missed the expiration date. May I buy them? PUHLEEEEEZE?
Thanks! Regards, Crabcakes

I can be a generous soul. If you leave me your email in the comments section(I don't publish comments with personal info) I will email the links to you. I am flattered you like them.

geezee

Revisit # 1

2009-08-15T02:35:00.000-08:00

Christy said,
Have you gotten your hands on the new SBC upgrade? Trust me, you need it!!!
I don't have it yet, but can't wait. You can type text on a path! And round
corners!
I didn't have any idea that something is coming out. Oh, please let it be so. I can't find anything about it. But I am so glad to have someone who knows. Woohoo! something to look forward to. Please let me know the minute it comes out. I will be one of the first to get it I promise.

Now, on to today's business. I am revisiting former posts. I am not making many big changes to the original post, but in case newer people here are like me( grin) I don't often go back and explore older posts of other bloggers even if it would be in my best interest. I know not a good cyber-friend. Such is life. If any specific topics should be brought back up or revamped, I am ready. Still working with my new Memory Manager software and I don't feel proficient enough yet to teach anyone.

Revist #1
Convoluted way of predicting outcome of MASKS

Good morning folks. My synapses may be firing in line this morning and my calendar is clear for an hour or two. This means I get to play with you for a bit. You may feel like the mouse that got played with by the cat when I finish with you. Enjoy the ride!

*First the giftie

http://www.4shared.com/file/93669976/f2bfd289/giftie1.htmlThis is a background that can be used to figure out where the mask will cut your picture. Now we have to use the mask to cut the background paper, so we drag the mask onto the page and fill it with the background paper by using the paper icon on your tools tab.

I got this lovely mask from Kupivet here.

Now loading the paper as our background gives us the chance to line up the mask with the lines on our paper that may need to be adjusted a bit here and there.

Lock the mask. (I learned this from one of our group here.)

Now the picture will need to be lined up under the mask. This means turning the paper view off so that it is invisible. Then lining the picture up under the mask and making it fit the space that will be cut later.

cute pic huh?

Once the picture is where you want it you will need to save page as to create the paper you will use to fill the mask. Load the paper you created from the picture, drag the mask onto your workspace fill with the paper. Saving the picture the way we did places it in the position needed to fill the exact space the mask will cut from.

Told you it was convoluted. Hope it works. Please, Please, if someone knows a better way, I am all ears. Have fun! Now on to my vacation...
g
*I created a 4x6 page for this particular project thinking that the smaller workspace will make it easier to use the picture size. A larger workspace could be needed with other masks.

Lost Again

2009-08-15T02:22:00.000-08:00

I seem to have been wandering around in my own fog again. I have so much STUFF going on. It's a wonder I actually get anything done with all I get myself in to. Travelled recently to visit a sister. That was good, but driving is not my favorite thing. It just seems to get me from where I am to where I want to be. Anyone have another solution?

I want to revisit some old posts and possibly get back my groove. Any new questions would be appreciated. I think my brain needs a kickstart.

Oh, in two weeks I will be travelling again and this visit will last 3 months. Lots to do before hand.

Credit Snafu

2009-07-31T11:57:00.000-08:00

I told you I was typing with one eye open. I am not sure what the other one was doing, but not accessing my brain, I am sure. The lovely ladies who so Greatly deserve credit for designing the Fabulous items I used in the brag pages need recognition. First Kim and Gaye are the talented designers of the tooffairy kit. I am beginning to feel like they are my friends so I am embarrassed to say I Forgot ya girls. Now I am backpedaling like crazy.

I have so enjoyed working with this kit and I hope you enjoy it too. Run go get it quick. :)

geezee

Brag Page Final Day

2009-07-30T02:24:00.000-08:00

I am so excited at the response I have received this week with these brag book pages. Thank you for your enthusiasm. I am typing with one eye open. It's 5:30am and I am in a motel in the middle of nowhere. I am on my way to visit my youngest sister. But I love y'all so I wanted to get these up.

I think this first one is officially my favorite. I don't know why. And the next one is the last one that I have to offer for right now. If anyone has had any luck using these, I would like to know. On a side note: I am not a designer and I don't offer downloads on a regular basis. A little flaky in that regard. You know- the creative type. (did I say what I was meaning to say?) Oh, now I remember... these links will expire and I will take them down on August 5. Just some random date in the near future. If someone has a reason that date doesn't work for them please let me know.

g

Brag Pages Day 3

2009-07-29T04:22:00.000-08:00

Today's brag pages are the last ones that are so similar. Made from toof fairy kit by Kim b and GSCreations I will post the last 2 tomorrow.
Have fun.

Brag pages Day 2

2009-07-27T19:52:00.000-08:00

These came from the lovely Tooffairy Collab kit from Kim b and GSCreations.

This is another set of pages that are almost identical. I like both for different reasons, so I thought I would share both. I find myself critical of anything I do so I figure that there will be enough people who can use one or both and some will like one better than the other. So here goes. Something for everyone. Or not.

Loving all the comments. I can't believe Digifree found me again. That is some super-sleuthing software since I don't regularly post freebies. Maybe others who use SBC+ will be more apt to find our little bunch here on the web since appearing on Digifree. Oh well, this is fun anyway.

Updated Links

2009-07-27T19:20:00.000-08:00

In post below I updated the links. If you didn't get both pages they are now both there. Sorry for the inconvenience. Next time, I will do this at O'dark thirty so that I think better. I can't seem to get it all straight when I haven't had my coffee.

Thank you Sharon from Tx for letting me know that I needed to get this fixed.

Two more tomorrow. I know GSCreations gave you a preview so I guess you can just wait and see what I have to offer tomorrow. Coffee first though, I promise.
g

Using Brag Book page in SBC+

2009-07-27T05:19:00.000-08:00

I have covered using a QP in SBC+ in this post. Remember to use any premade page as a layer above the background so that you can place your picture behind it.

Creating a new project using the 4X6 size under local printer (I use landscape a lot) and your ready to make a page with your own beautiful pics and any brag pages you find else where.

{I am finding that Brag Pages seem to be the size I feel more comfortable with creatively. I may be stretching myself to use white space on larger layouts. I guess I just feel like I have to fill up all that emptiness with something? That may speak to all my other emotional issues. Too Much Info, I guess.}

Thanks Christy for reminding me. I knew I needed coffee.
g

Updated links Surprise Give Away

2009-07-27T03:48:00.000-08:00

I am a few hours behind this morning so here is brag page 1 and its little sister. I just couldn't decide whether I liked it better with or without the elves so you get both. Have fun.
Kim and Gaye made this lovely kit called tooffairy. You can find it here.

.

Now I am off to have some coffee. Got any for me, Kim?

Giveaway Surprise.

2009-07-26T15:00:00.000-08:00

Upcoming Non-SBC+ surprise coming up Tomorrow. I played with a kit created by 2 of my friends this weekend. I will give out a couple goodies from my efforts.

g

Learning update

2009-07-26T04:39:00.000-08:00

I thought I might post a pic from Photoshop Elements class. Since I haven't yet taken time to try to duplicate the processes in SBC+ there is not a tutorial to go with it. This gives me something to work on this week. This picture is my favorite of the ones I did. I used the sample pics that came with my computer (Vista version).

Original picture

Burned edges lesson. I love this one.

Off Topic a smidge

2009-07-16T06:19:00.000-08:00

I have been using and loving my SBC+ and MM programs for a few years now. Since they first came out, in fact.

First, a little bit of history on my journey into digital scrapbooking. I purchased a VERY expensive version of Photoshop Years ago. This program intimidated and frightened me. This led to frustration due to the fact that I wanted to be a good steward of my money. Since then, I have encountered a Photoshop instructer that has managed to get past this block I have about learning the software. If you understand this feeling, please comment below. I wanted to share with you my experience in case any of you would like to experiment with other programs.

Here is where you will find Jessica Sprague. I am taking one of her free classes currently, this is the second class of hers that I have taken. If any of my mumblings make sense to you, then maybe you think the way I do. She has a way of getting through to me. I wish you luck if you choose to go this route.

Loving learning new things,
g

Creative Memories Masks

2009-07-08T05:27:00.000-08:00

Well, well, I found a post with masks. There is an explanation with them as to how to use them. Now CM is beginning to make more things we can use like we want. WooHoo. Check it out here.

g

Privacy

2009-07-07T07:59:00.001-08:00

Any personal info left in comments will not be published. I respect the privacy of others.

: )

g

Quiet

2009-07-06T05:19:00.000-08:00

Hello all,

Everything here has been quiet. No responses to any recent posts, so I hope they have been helping. We have been having a hot summer. Hope everyone is having a good summer, or winter depending on which part of the world you are in.

g

2009-07-01T16:07:00.000-08:00

Hello folks, someone asked a question.

I have been working on StoryBook Creator for the past 6 months and was on page 98 when my computer crashed!!! Yikes! It has been so sad as I did not have the pages backed up but still have the jpegs available. Any idea on how to recover the .page files that may/may not be on the hard drive. We were able to recover some stuff with a data recovery software that we used but can't seem to find any software recovery that supports searching for the .page extensions...Any ideas?
Thanks.

I am not sure of other ways to recover lost files as I too have experienced this. I did find a way of getting them if you have the hard drive available to access. As always if someone would like me to contact them personally, leaving contact info in the comments will not be published. I will email or talk to you personally if possible.

If you have any way of exploring the hard drive files, you can move entire files of your storybooks or import them into your now working hard drive. Below is where I found the files for the three storybooks that I have on my actual computer.

This is another way to find them from an external drive. This is where most of mine are. Click on open a project.

This dialog box will open and give you a chance to explore any drives you have access to from this software.

Once you find the files on the fried drive you can copy and paste or drag and drop the entire file into to one on your desktop. The storybooks will be found in Creative Memories folders.

This was my quick answer, and if I get more feedback I will share. I really can talk you through a lot on the phone if needed. Remember I don't share your info. I am unsure of the extent your drive is damaged. I hope this could help.

Search Bar added

2009-06-26T15:16:00.000-08:00

Welcome friends,

I noticed that I have rambled about several topics concerning Storybook Creator Plus and Memory Manager. I added a search this blog function to the right. --->

Tagging the posts may take me a bit, as I am a bit fussy about what I think people will be looking for. The titles of the posts are chosen to be a good guide, so going to the archives and selecting the arrows should make old topics more readily accessible. I know I get a bit fluffy-headed at times, but I try to make things easy to find. I will entertain suggestions as to a way to make this easier. I could revisit old subjects if need be. What do you think?

g

Hints

2009-06-24T13:10:00.000-08:00

More response woohoo! I never really thought about going this route. I think I like this method also. I know it works because that is how I have deleted stuff when reformatting. Who Knew?
Thanks again.

Jewell offered:

One quick hint - you can add kits another way, too - but you have to do it before you launch the program. If you have your scrapbooking stuff saving to your 'My Documents' folder (which is the default on setup - it would only be elsewhere if you put it elsewhere) you can browse My Documents->Creative Memories->My Scrapbooking Stuff and it will list all the folders in your 'My Stuff' section. You can then ad a folder directly here. You do have to make sure you have the subfolders 'papers' and 'scraps' or it won't be able to read the folder. But it is a fast way to add a few kits, launch SBC+, do your scrapping, then go in and remove the kits.

Shadow Copy

2009-06-20T00:41:00.001-08:00

I found a video on Creative Memories website. Can be accessed from your welcome screen in the software. This includes instructions for backing up to discs also. I prefer the shadow copy option. Also, I put my shadow copy on an external hard drive for safety's sake.

This link directly brings up the video posted on CM website. CM Video for setting up Shadow Copy . More helpful links are found here

Screen shot from video showing where to find Shadow Copy setup in 2.0 My reason for using this method for saving my data is that I habitually reformat my computer. It is a thing I do kind of like spring cleaning. Type A personality I think. Nice way of saying that I am a bit obsessive compulsive, I guess. In all my adventures with recovering my pictures, I have found that a shadow copy is my quickest most reliable option. I also have two count them (2) external hard drives. OCD again. Whenever I am hooked up to one of them. I can open my Memory Manager and close it again and changes that have been made will automatically update. How easy is that? Then when I need to backup my stuff before a reformat, it is that quick. Yay, I like quick and easy.

Dialog box presenting options to choose placement of shadow copy. I recommend an external hard drive. It does not always need to be connected, but will only update upon closing the program while connected. Do this frequently when you have been making changes such as importing pictures or updating info and organizing.

Version 3.0 see that shadow copy shows a red x next to it? That means that I either do not have one set up or that the external hard drive that I have it set up on is not hooked up. Nifty, huh? Another reason I like the upgrade. I know when I open Mem Man looking at this screen that I will have an update when I close it or not. Kind of a mental reminder that I need to plug into by external drive.

After clicking on the words Shadow Copy this dialog box appears and lets you choose where to put your shadow.

Fun, Fun, Fun.

MemMan 2.0 Vault Recovery

2009-06-20T00:02:00.000-08:00

Ok Friends, I had to get a bit creative with my response to this question

Christy said...
I can't find the feature to recover the entire vault. I can have it search for the photos to bring them into the program, but they are not sorted!

I went to the videos CM has on their site in order to make screen shots so they will be a general idea rather than an exact replica. Sorry, my hubby's computer lost 2.0 somewhere in the atmosphere. Lucky me, I have what I do on mine. Now my resources are somewhat limited but I will do what I can.

In MemMan 2.o I found that the welcome screen is where they put what is needed. I would click on Memory Vault at the top of the screen to find my options for recovering.

Now this last screen shot is as far as I could get with what I found. Choosing Recover from CD/DVD this may give you a dialog box letting you browse to the location of your backups.

I really hope this helps. I am now using their video to show you how a shadow copy works. I definitely recommend using a shadow copy and having an external hard drive to put the shadow copy on. I know we don't all have money to throw away, but in this case an external hard drive will pay for itself the first time you try to recover all those photos that you spent time putting into folders and organizing.

Dear Christy,
I want this to work for you and if you leave your email address in the comments, I will not publish it and I can work with you by email or phone personally. I pray that I can be of help. Please try not to get too frustrated. I understand how hard it is when all that work looks like it is gone. Let's see if we can fix it together.

g

Recover Vault

2009-06-19T04:55:00.000-08:00

Christy asked about Recovering a Vault. I am doing a quick show of Mem Man 3 because that is the version I have on this computer. I will look at my husbands in a bit to see if there might be a different way to do it on the earlier version. I have great faith that Creative Memories has fairly easy way on the other version. I could be a little overzealous. The welcome screen has a Recover Vault Icon in this example.

After selecting Recover Vault a dialog box appears giving you the choice to recover from a shadow copy or CD/DVD. Since I don't have one to recover right now, this is the end of my screen shots. I may recreate the process in order to have screen shots to post. I suspect that the items Christy's technician recovered look a bit funny when trying to load one by one. This software saves items in an interesting manner. Using its recovery system helps it to communicate with your items so that all your folders and info will reappear as you had them. I will be focusing on this tonight and may stay up late to put it into words.

I love looking into this stuff for you. I do realize this is a bit haphazard this time. Will put more time into it tonight.

Life beckons,
g

2009-06-18T20:04:00.001-08:00

Glitches.

I have gotten a bit caught up in a glitch that I have encountered with emailing pictures from Mem Man.
Of course summer and family stuff has kept me busy also.
I will be back on Tuesday or sooner with the shadow copy tut.
Thanks for you patience. I miss visiting here too.
g

How Goes?

2009-06-09T17:29:00.000-08:00

Dearest followers,

I am asking for responses. How do these posts rate in your opinion? Am I filling a need still? I will maintain this place as long as I can find use for myself. The questions are fun to work on and I enjoy providing a helpful service. I thank you for the responses I have had so far. As far as text on a path, I am finding no way to make it happen with this program. I may just need to be satisfied with Word Art from my favorite designers and learn to make them in Elements. I hope everyone is having a wonderful summer.

g

Adding Digital Elements to SBC+

2009-06-06T05:36:00.000-08:00

I received a question concerning importing our goodies.

Marie asked:
I have hundreds of digi kits from websites and cd's I've bought.
How do I download them into Storybook

I looked to see if there may be a video at Creative Memories concerning this subject and was unable to locate any. So my screen shots will have to do. First the My Stuff icon is located on the welcome page. Clicking on this begins our journey into adding non-Storybook elements that we have collected.

Now I am choosing to Add Collection.

A dialog box will appear giving you a chance to name your collection. (note: the more collections you add, the slower SBC+ will load later. It is so easy to add a collection that you can afford to be discerning and add only your favorite go-to pieces. Also individual projects can be given their own collection name in order to have everything you want in one spot.)

Highlighting the collection I want to add paper to, I select Content. Then choose Add paper, this gives me a chance to go looking for the paper I want.

An Explore screen comes up and I go to to my organized files. I am looking for the file I have for Digitreats. Once I navigate to her folder, I look for the file containing the April papers from her shout kit. Found and clicked on that file. This is how that dialog box should look. Now I have the option to import everything in this file. If I only want one or two specific papers I will click on the picture of that paper. Second paper would require holding the Ctrl key and selecting simultaneously. If there is a group selecting the first one and using Shift and click together on the last one will select everything in between. Repeating these steps for embellishments is the same.

I have selected the papers I want. Now I will get selected papers.

These now appear on my paper tab under Package heading.

This tutorial has shown you from the beginning screen how to include items in My Stuff. Once a project is open, My Stuff can be accesses from the organize icon located at the bottom of the Papers, and Embellishments tabs.
I realize this could be explained more concisely, but there it is. I like visuals and if more is needed let me know. I hope this helped you, because it helps me to get back to posting. I find it invigorating.

Vault

2009-06-06T05:09:00.000-08:00

I am so glad that I haven't neglected y'all so much that you aren't still interested. I got a couple questions and they were easy enough to get to right away. I am addressing this one in this post:

Neilsongs asked:
Does one have to make a vault first or can you import your files at the beginning?

I have found the Memory Manager default begins a vault1 for us. When this was explained to me I thought it would be a little confusing to have more than 1 vault at a time. You have all the folders you need and the timeline constantly keeps up with your dates.

I have found a good use for multiple vaults, though. I have made plans to begin a service of scanning pictures for other people. I would use an individual vault for each client and set up a shadow copy so that I had backup for them.

The answer to the question from Neilsongs is yes you can just begin importing into the default vault and I recommend not setting up multiple vaults for your personal photos.

Memory Manager Links

2009-05-27T05:57:00.000-08:00

I really like the ease of use with my digital products from Creative memories. When my new version of MemMan loaded and I got to play with it I found that the links on the startup screen will take you directly to a page with links to FABULOUS videos.

Following are 2 links that come from Creative Memories to these videos. Now that I have got you excited about the way these work, I will do a post on retrieving from a shadow copy. My favorite feature as I am so inclined to reformat my computer about once every 6 months. Try the videos on for size and let me know what you think. I am definitely liking the new features of the upgraded version of MemMan.

Memory Manager upgrade and Video Tour

Update

2009-05-22T07:47:00.000-08:00

I was unable to find my discs and repurchased MM and SBC+. When I went to get MM I found that they have updated it to a new version. Always one to try out new technology, I purchased the newer version. I hear that if you have the older version there is an upgrade price of about $9. I have a couple points to bring up before I wholeheartedly recommend that you get your upgrade. When I Sart my memory vaults I always set up a shadow copy. This is one of the selling points I most like about Memory Manager. This function is the best thing I have seen, so far. (Tutorial on it with screen shots coming tomorrow or next day.) When recovering my Vault with my older version Shadow Copy a dialog box was very clear in stating that the newer version would make changes to the data to make it compatible with newer version. This is when I began to sweat. What if it loses something and I can't go back and undo it? Well, I took my chances as I have not been disappointed with their stuff so far. Everything, all 9000+ pictures made it over smoothly. I like the new format. Took me a bit to find out where it was keeping track of my imports by date. But the program walked me through that as well. Now on to my function here on this blog.

I want to know if Memory Manager Tuts would be something my readers would be interested in. I still have found no way to get StoryBook Creator + to do a text on a path. Still looking. I like the fact that PSE will do it but I am still trying to prove that SBC+ is able to do almost anything they can do, just more user friendly. (Note: I am not Creative Memories Consultant so I don't ask for sales from this blog, just offer info and send you to your own personal consultant, for any purchases.)

My aim here is to share my love for this program with others interested in stretching their skills with it.

Sorry I was MIA for so long.
g

Overlay answer from phone

2009-05-09T00:52:00.001-08:00

Answering about overlay word art, all the text boxes can be grouped together by selecting each while holding down shift button. Once all items are selected the drop-down arrow on the activated elements boxes makes the grouping option available. Select group. This creates an element of all the pieces you selected. Right click on this element, choose save selection as... Options for saving in png format should be available.
I am away from my SBC+ so I hope I got it right.
g

Word Art

2009-05-07T12:24:00.000-08:00

Of course I used my own moniker for this post. You did ask about name papers. LOL. I am sure there are other ways, maybe even better ones for this task. This didn't take long and you could be as picky and detailed as you like. The program is very forgiving. I chose to do a name as I think this tutorial will get you on the right track for anything you want to do with fonts and wordart. I myself want to figure out how to put text on a path. That will be for another day.

Beginning with a new project, Select the Text ribbon. Clicking on the drop-down arrow above insert and below text gives you a place text on page option. You will create a text box to work with.

Inside this box you will click again to edit. This activates your text options. These include a black box with a drop down arrow next to it. This will be important in a minute. First choose the font and size you think you might like. Adjusting these to your liking before you copy and paste them will make less work later, but can be changed at any time.

When you have the text as you think you want it, right click on the text itself and choose copy. When you right click and paste the copy will always appear in the center of the screen. This presents you with options. We like options, don't we? You may choose to paste a few in succession and move the top one to a spot of your choosing. I personally pasted one, placed it and then repeated until I got something I liked. (side note: I have no concept of random placement. I like linear and perfect. As though I could ever attain it.LOL).

Create another text box with another font. Repeat the copy and paste process. Notice that all the text is black at this point. The program defaults to this color. Now comes the black box with the drop-down menu you found on the text tab earlier.

Clicking on the arrow gives you this color chart. Notice the black and pink bar on the lower right side? The top portion indicates the current color, the bottom changes color when you select one from the chart by clicking on it. This gives you a visual of what you will be seeing when you select ok. Now that you know how to change the color of the text, you can choose random parts of the page of text (holding the shift button each time you select another makes them all active at once) and color them.

Doing all the text boxes before coloring gives you the chance to choose different words, fonts, sizes, and placement on the page to be changed at once. I like that for seeing a little more of the big picture or final product at once.

Continue selecting around the page as you like. Remember if you want one item changed, just select that one item alone and do with it what you want. Very user friendly. Remember the undo button at the top.

I went ahead and played with the background a bit. Never claimed to be a designer, just a curious, bossy sort.

Once again, any input is appreciated. I have helped someone with the mask post over the phone and if anyone else feels that the instructions could be more complete or need something, let me know. I realize I ramble and by the time I publish my post I am absolutely convinced that it makes no sense.

Codes

2009-05-06T20:05:00.000-08:00

Ok y'all, I know to keep my packaging and activation codes. Well, I seem to have buried them some where in all the stuff I have moved around in the last 2 months. I even called Technical Support. They could have been so much more help if I just had my order number, but of course, I have had this for 2 years and can't begin to hope that info is handy. I am on the hunt for the box. Wish me luck, I have a tutorial to write.

g

Reformatted Computer

2009-05-06T05:28:00.000-08:00

I seem to have lost my copy of SBC+ and need to go about getting the company to help me get it back up and running. Now that I have had a request that I am excited about working with, I will get off my lazy bum and get it going again.

Jody said,
Pam will be missed so very much. She is a great person talented person. I don;t know how she did what she did and I am happy for her that she now has given herself permission to enjoy her family.
What I was wondering, is if you could do a tutorial on how Pam did the papers with different words on them (or personalized ones with names) that had different fonts and also different colors for each of the words.I know how to make the words in different fonts, but can't figure out a simple way to colour each of the different words like Pam did.
I have already made some pages and they are all in greyscale right now awaiting a tutorial on how to colour them :)

This is me rubbing my hands together in anticipation. Thank you for giving me something to work on.
g

Bittersweet

2009-04-30T16:11:00.000-08:00

Very fortunate children. I am proud of my good friend Pamela. Choosing what is best for our families is the job we treasure as mothers. I will miss my daily dose of Digitreats ,but I applaud the brave decision to set aside wants and desires for the best for your loved ones. See ya around sweetie. I don't say goodbye.

have fun with the kids,
g

Back in action

2009-04-29T09:19:00.000-08:00

I am back and ready for anymore questions. I had to reformat my computer so when I reload my Memory Manager I will do some screen shots for using a shadow copy to protect your pictures.

Trip Over

2009-04-14T19:27:00.000-08:00

I am now back from my trip. Now that I can think again, I am out of ideas for tutorials. Any suggestions?

g

Feeling Obsolete

2009-04-10T09:47:00.000-08:00

I have been checking out these links and feeling so unnecessary. Glad I have such kind and generous readers or I would have fallen flat on my face in the first post. Can you tell I am having vacation withdrawals already? Pity party for one coming up. Be sure to go to these links and explore. This is exciting. I will add them to the side of my blog when I get to it. Nice to have more resources available.
http://projectcenter.creativememories.com/digital/digital-freebies/

http://projectcenter.creativememories.com/traditional/project-idea-of-the-day/

Enjoy all,
g

CM link

2009-04-10T09:24:00.000-08:00

I got a lovely comment today. In all the excitement I have had with my new blog, I neglected to post links to Creative Memories resources and now one has been included in this comment. Thank you Kris. I knew I was getting help from all corners. Any other helpful links shared with me will be included in future posts. Travelling again tomorrow. I thought a month sounded like a long time until I got here and now it is over. :(

Hello! Have you seen this on CM's site?

http://projectcenter.creativememories.com/digital/digital-scrapbooking-project-ideas/

I just discovered it and they give you page ideas but then walk you through the steps! Plus CM now has embellishment freebies - torn edge to put on any paper, yeah!Thanks for all your great tuts!
Kris

Looking forward to any more questions that I can explore answering. Have a good weekend folks.
g

Align Alpha

2009-04-06T06:26:00.000-08:00

Well ladies I am playing at my friends scrapbook weekend. I wanted to work with aligning and spacing alphas.

First, crediting the designer whose product I chose. Here are the links to Digitreats store with the specific paper and alpha.

http://digitreatsshoppe.blogspot.com/2009/03/shout-alpha-3.html

http://digitreatsshoppe.blogspot.com/2009/02/shout-dots-and-stripes.html

Now begin with loading alphas in the elements. Place the background and then drag onto the page the letters that you want to use. I found that this "l" is special so it will wait until later. First, adjust one letter to the size you want all of them to be. (*note: the anchor letter will be the last one selected in order to make all the others line up according to the one that is finished*)

I made my "o" the size I want the letters to end up being. I also placed it in the vicinity of its permanent spot. Then selecting the "e", and shift plus "v" followed by the shift plus "o". (Holding shift when selecting a layer allows multiple layers to be selected.) After a multiple selection is made the sizing option becomes active. Select make same size.

The align option has also become active with multiple layers selected. Choose align middle (align bottom is another option that would work here.) Now, the letters have lined up the way I want them. They can now be spaced by selecting space horizontally this is such a fantastic tool. A little "fiddling" could be called for here before grouping them .They can now be grouped together when aligned and spaced as you want them. This makes them one layer and can now be moved as one. This also makes them look like word art that all our favorite designers make look so fabulous.

Now working with the special "l". I found that making it the same size as the other letters didn't look so good. Now I had to use my artistic eye to size and place it with the rest of the word in order to get the look I wanted. Good enough for me. Playing with severel letters like this at a time can be done by selecting and spacing and align similar shapes together. Okay, now I am rambling.

I hope you enjoyed our time together again. I only have 5 more days here and my youngest is already starting the wailing about not wanting to leave. I want to cry along with him. :( but I know we will do this trip again.

Have fun,

Brag Book Page 2

2009-04-05T05:35:00.000-08:00

Gaye is letting me give away the brag book page I made with her beautiful Easter Garden kit.
GSCreations. Thank you Gaye you make me feel so creative.

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I finally got this link thing to work. Yay me.

geezee

Busy

2009-04-01T10:08:00.001-08:00

I have been doing the vacation thing and neglecting you. Soon I will have a post about something SBC+ related. Please tell me your masks are working. Have fun and I will be back soon.
g

Alpha question

2009-03-26T11:13:00.000-08:00

from Samantha:

So I have another question with a simple answer I hope. I have read the
CM tutorials, but it does not seem to explain how to add alpha sets except to
say 'see commercial vendor.' Does this mean that I can only use purchased CM
alpha sets for this tool?

I have found no way of installing alphas for use in this way. I install them as embellishments when they are individual. Or as papers if there is a page of them. Do I need to do screen shots for using sheets of alphas? It is easy.

If anyone has a better answer I will be glad to post.

g

Whew

2009-03-26T10:53:00.000-08:00

I told you that last post would be a doozy. Hope you had your brains loaded when you read it. I had a lot of fun putting it together. If it works for you let me know. I am so excited to hear how it goes.

Still on our trip and now I will go back and see if I missed any questions while my brain was in its fog.

g

Convoluted way of predicting outcome of MASKS

2009-03-18T14:54:00.001-08:00

Good morning sweeties. I was delayed by tragedy in a dear family that we love. My synapses may be firing in line this morning and my calendar is clear for an hour or two. This means I get to play with you for a bit. You may feel like the mouse that got played with by the cat when I finish with you. Enjoy the ride! *

First the giftie
http://www.4shared.com/file/93669976/f2bfd289/giftie1.html

This is a background that can be used to figure out where the mask will cut your picture. Now we have to use the mask to cut the background paper, so we drag the mask onto the page and fill it with the background paper by using the paper icon on your tools tab.

Edited post: I forgot to post credit for the lovely mask from Kupivet here. http://kubivet.blogspot.com/2009/01/png-mask-freebie.html

Now loading the paper as our background gives us the chance to line up the mask with the lines on our paper that may need to be adjusted a bit here and there.

Lock the mask. (I learned this from one of our group here.)

cute pic huh?

Once the picture is where you want it you will need to save page as to create the paper you will use to fill the mask. Load the paper you created from the picture, drag the mask onto your workspace fill with the paper. Saving the picture the way we did places it in the position needed to fill the exact space the mask will cut from.

Told you it was convoluted. Hope it works. Please, Please, if someone knows a better way, I am all ears. Have fun! Now on to my vacation...

*I created a 4x6 page for this particular project thinking that the smaller workspace will make it easier to use the picture size. A larger workspace could be needed with other masks.

Posting and Sharing

2009-03-18T13:21:00.000-08:00

I am making some headway with my stuff. I thought I did it the way y'all are suggesting. I continue trying.
g

download expired

Thank you for the compliments. Oh, and I actually started this post from my cell phone. Didn't know I was jumping into so much new stuff at once.

Link

2009-03-17T11:30:00.000-08:00

Ok this is not working the way I need it to. If you have SBC+ and the png file is working for you let me know please. I cannot get it to work in PSE with the open space. I guess it could be my inexperience with 4shared. Learning what I don't know in spades. LOL

download expired

I have been given permission to share the brag book page with you. I am still learning to post links so here goes the real one.

This the first time I have ever shared a file. Let me know if it works.

Make sure to thank Gaye if you like the stuff I used.

http://gslcreations.blogspot.com/

g

Brag Book Page

2009-03-17T09:07:00.000-08:00

I bought some of the most beautiful digi-goodness the other day and had to find something to use it in. So, here goes. Gaye, my new net-friend has just opened her shop and I think she has a great future here in our world. Her blog is http://gslcreations.blogspot.com/

Easter Garden Kit http://digital-scrapbooking.org/shop/easter-garden-p-2193.html

Now that I have made sure you love her as much as I do... it is time to cover my territory. Today is more of a hint than a tutorial. Plus: when I started putting this into words I realized that I had been doing exactly as jewel suggested in the last post. I have covered the area that I want to remove with the piece I am using as a guide placed above it.

First I need to unlock the paper (by clicking the lock icon in our elements pallette and make it active so that it is the one I am cutting. (I made an initial cut using a rectangle shape cutter that did not extend beyond the outside of my frame. You can always take away, putting it back is not as easy.) Using Jewels hint I will lock my frame. If you are real astute you will notice that my screen shot does not show that. Amazing that I did this before I learned that trick. But, I am not such an old dog that I won't learn new tricks. Another reason I am so glad I have met all you new folks. Maybe we can get more people and have more input. I am having fun. I know, I know, I digress.

Selecting my custom cutting tool I am placing points along the frame that I know will be covering the empty space.

Now you see the paper underneath that we are trying to get rid of. It is pretty paper but it would get in the way of my picture when I place it underneath. See QP post http://geezee-whoknew.blogspot.com/2009/02/i-am-working-on-using-qp-from.html

I find that expanding my cutting area into the white space helps me feel like I have some control over the cutting area. When I have made sure I haven't gone too far into the frame or extended into space I don't want taken out, The next step is to erase the shaded area.

See, beautiful detail.

have fun, I will go play in the snow now.

Other Perspectives

2009-03-17T04:27:00.000-08:00

Dearest Ladies,

I will change my greeting if and when I discover gentlemen that read these posts. Right now I think I only have ladies so that is what I will use this morning. I have had a few minutes to publish comments in the last couple days and I enjoy getting all perspectives in the responses. I am learning new things and enjoy trying new ways of doing stuff. I am glad to have this opportunity to share. Kind of feels like a forum where I get to be in charge. Can you tell I am a control freak? That was only supposed to be a little bit funny. I wanted to share a couple of tips shared by Jewel on a couple of my posts. I find them to have a valid offering of different perspective and I am enjoying trying her hints and tips as well. Also, with me getting them before I allow them to publish, I get to play with them before I share them nah nah nah...

Jewel said:
Another tip - sometimes you can see your image better in black and white to get a cleaner extraction. How I make this work is I duplicate the image, make the top one black and white. I use the properties fields to make sure both images are in the exact spot in terms of left and top inches. Then I lock the black and white one, but keep it on top. I select my colour one on the left (so it is the one I am cutting, but can't see) and I use the black and white one as the guide for where to cut. Then when I am done - deleted the black and white one and the coloured one is there all nicely extracted.
And one more tip - hope you don't mind - a very slight edge blur on your extraction can help with some of those slightly darker edges. I'm talking a 2 or a 3 in the edge blur meter - very slight - but it makes a difference.

I really like this idea of using the black and white version to help cut down on (noise?distraction?). I will be trying this soon when I am again playing instead of trying to accomplish something in the short time I give myself on the computer. If I don't get my tuts up before the 1st weekend in April look for 2 to be posted that weekend after I spend time at a scrapping crop a friend has once a month.

also offered by Jewel,

If I want to use a floral and a grungy and say a torn overlay ... I need
to be able to just pull them onto the page and play with opacity and sometimes I'll even put another colour layer in between them with low opacity too, to add to the brightness.

I had not practiced using more than one overlay with color variations. Honestly, I had not even considered the possibility yet. This artistic stuff is still a bit of a new concept to me. I guess I am still getting used to doing something pretty as opposed to something practical.

I am glad that the questions y'all posted on other sites prompted me to start this blog. I am enjoying. And I feel like I have made new friends. Thanks again for all input. Oh, and just so you know some comments do not get published if there is any personal contact info I will automatically not publish unless the author wishes it. I don't publish my contact information but I do respond personally if needed. I want my place to be safe and being the person that I am I want to share what I want when I want. That will be respected here as well. This will be a safe place as long as I am in charge. Can we all say CONTROL FREAK lol

love,

Winner

2009-03-15T02:15:00.000-08:00

Sharon guessed Alaska! Too bad I don't have prizes to give out. I even met the Governor yesterday. I am working on a tut for making brag book pages. Will post whichever I finish first. Masks or brag book "who knows?"

2009-03-14T07:22:00.000-08:00

I am entertaining guesses as to where we are VACATIONING. It's a good thing that the dog living here chooses to stay in the yard. That fence is no help right now. And I think I have got it for the masks. Still mulling it over :)

Traveling Today

2009-03-06T05:19:00.000-09:00

Well, all the things I have tried with the masks seem a bit complicated. I am trying to refine it a bit. Of course when I get around to postine an explanation we could lose something in the translation also. lol. I promise some results soon and maybe a giftie if I have to go the route it looks to be going. Oh, well.

On to the travel. We are beginning our month-long trip and since I don't share many personal details here, suffice it to say we will be very busy. Looking forward to taking Me time to get this mask business ironed out and posted. Still welcoming any input I can get.

I am not dropping entirely off the earth, just peeking over the edge a bit.

Back to the drawing board

2009-03-03T15:05:00.000-09:00

I will now be playing with my masks and pictures for a bit. Looking for a foolproof method in order to make it easiest to predict the end result. All input will be accepted gratefully. I haven't had much problem so I will check into what can make them work with more predictability. I am embarking on a month-long trip this weekend so I may be slow. I do love a challenge though. So I know what I will be doing when I can't sleep at 3am :)

Looking forward to it. I must thrive on puzzles.

Extraction

2009-03-02T17:44:00.000-09:00

Ok grab your favorite beverage. We are in for a long one this time. I think it is hilarious that I am learning how to us PSE in order to post my screen shots for blogging tutorials pertaining to SBC+.

Next, I am not all that thrilled with the exactness of my end product. I am somewhat of a perfectionist. You would not be able to tell that from some of my ramblings. So if you want a more perfect example to see, I will do another one when I am not tired, or busy, or preparing for a month-long trip. Sometimes, I just have to get it done. Besides, the precise nature of this is solely up to the artist(that's you, you know).

First, I want to get rid of as much excess as possible by cropping the picture. Then, on my page I make that picture as large as possible. It gets fuzzy sometimes, but that is ok. The larger the pixels are, the easier it is to get rid of the ones you don't want. Once you shrink it down to the size you will be using, the clarity returns. I used a shot I made of the toy we gave my cousin the other day.

Using cutters on the tools tab there are choices that are fun to play with. I like the ellipse shape. (The more I look at this silly example, the more I can't believe I am really putting this out there as an example of how to do this.) Feel free to call me lame.

Working with large areas, I use a larger cutter in the closest shape resembling the edge that I want cleaned up. Saving after each cut helps to do small portions and not lose your work by just having taken on to much at once. I have experienced that so I know.

When using Custom cutter the curved edge type helps with smoothing round spots.

Funny looking, I know. If you can see the shaded area it is shaped funny. When following the edge of the figure you are extracting try not to be nervous when the shaded area crosses over itself. This will change when you click outside the figure to complete the area you want shaded. Each time you place the croshairs in a spot and click that creates another reference point to select for cutting purposes. When you need more reference points you can add using the + or take extra points away with the -. I like the one that lets you move an already existing point. A little more or less in case you drifted while clicking. This one has an arrow on either side of the point in the adding points dialog box.

My favorite shape cutter. I can really get it to clean up round edges. Very versatile to stretch so many directions. But you can find your own favorite shape cutter in the drop-down menu.

I have tried to make sense here. I can just imagine what it is going to look like when I check it again tomorrow. I certainly hope you get something from this post. :)

Masks

2009-03-02T13:09:00.000-09:00

Guess what? In order to use a mask in Storybook Creator Plus, I use the same method as in my first post. http://geezee-whoknew.blogspot.com/2009/02/hi-i-go-by-geezee-and-follow-digitreats.html

I think that in order to use any picture and take negative space from it using templates, or mask or a shape works well as a paper element. This gives you the options to treat it as a paper. Any edits that you need done to the picture should be performed prior to using it as a paper element. Also, of note, leave plenty of space around the part of the picture desired for your end product. This gives you room to play with your item with more freedom. I use my undo button a LOT. I Love that thing.

Mask http://kubivet.blogspot.com/2009/02/kit-angelbonus-mask-freebie.html

Thank You

2009-03-02T05:21:00.000-09:00

I am so happy to be working on this project. It seems that everyone has something to add. I love this response from Jewel. In my efforts to keep from using Creative Memories proprietary material, I have left out certain processes. I guess I just need to make a little line to add to all my posts that covers this subject. Thank you for pointing out that we can sample color from anywhere visible on the page. I was unaware of this. I learn something new everyday. Any more questions are invited. I seem to have acquired lots of help. Thank you, everyone. I am still getting to the post about extracting pictures. I want it to look nice so that I look like I know what I am talking about.

Jewel said,
A couple of things I'd add....

I never unlock my background. I always create a square and on the page, and make it the size of the page, and use that as a background. My reason for doing this is that background piece can never be re-sized. For example, if you do a layout in 12 x 12 and decide you actually want to print it at 8 x 8 ... you unlock all your elements and papers, click 'select all' then 'group' and you can resize the whole thing at once to 8 x 8. BUT that background page won't resize. So I have learned (the hard way) just to leave it white, and leave it locked, and build my papers by starting with a square from the shapes menu. Did that make any sense?

Also, you can colour sample from a photo that is not on your page, as long as the photo is showing along the right. You can also colour sample from elements or papers or pages you have already done, as long as they are showing on the right. You can colour sample from anything that is visibile when you click 'sample'

And about adding your overlays to your surfaces file of the program ... I do it a different way. I don't add it to the program files at all (that's scary and makes the program bulky to load) I just add a collection to 'My Stuff' of all my overlays. then I pull them on to the page and play wit opacity, size, shadows, etc. I have gigs and gigs of overlays (I am an overlay addict) and it would seriously slow down my program to put them all in the program file. And finally - I would encourage you to play with the gradient settings on your papers sometimes if you haven't already. You can do a 2 colour gradient, with very slightly different colours, and it just gives your page some dimension (in addition to whatever overlays you are using). And a 2 colour gradient with totally different colours (say, purple and pink) can be quite stunning.

Paper

2009-02-24T14:28:00.000-09:00

Today we are designing our own paper. I am using pictures of the gift I got my 5yo cousin for her birthday next week. We need to create a new Project choosing custom option under local printer. Clicking blank then next. Now we begin making our own paper. Our background is locked so we must unlock it and make it active by clicking on it. Using the tools tab the color icon should be active.

I want to use a color from my picture. (The picture needs to be on the page in order to sample it for use on the paper) To do that we go to the drop-down menu under Color icon. This brings up the Select color pallette. In order to get our custom color select Sample color this turns your mouse into a dropper with ink. Mouse over the spot of color you want to use. Watch the little swatch in the lower right corner of the pallette. When the bottom half of that swatch resembles the color you want click your mouse. this will lock it in as your choice. If this is a color you would choose Remember this color this button saves this selection in the drop-down menu on this pallette. You will find it in the upper left corner. Visible is Storybook Creator colors. Once saved you can go back to it again and again. I have trouble with browns, so I have a brown in my colors that I like so that I don't have to use my brain every time I want that shade.

Next, I have a Commercial Use overlay I got from Kim Broedelet at DSO. http://digiscrapobsession.net/team/?page_id=5

http://kimbsdesigns.blogspot.com/

I have loaded it into my Surfaces as previously explained

http://geezee-whoknew.blogspot.com/2009/02/textures-and-overlays-in-vista.html.

Selecting the one I want to use, I choose to leave the scale as it is.

Now my paper is the way I want it. I have added the picture to my paper and changed the opacity to make it see through. Notice that I cut around the pony? Want to learn how to do that in Storybook Creator Plus? I will work on that next.

I know I ramble, change tense and person. I try to use my good english, but this one didn't turn out very well, I'm afraid.

Font: Wide Latin

Calling for Response

2009-02-22T14:57:00.000-09:00

I want to teach making our own paper, but I want to observe all Usage rules set up by Creative Memories. I do not want to inadvertently give misinformation. I know that using papers and embellishments would be copyright infringement. I do not intend to do that. If anyone knows of using Color or Gradient, frame or edges, shapes etc. are under the same terms of use. I will investigate further on my own. If anyone out there has the answer right away, please share. Thank you.

Participation

2009-02-20T08:21:00.001-09:00

I am thrilled with the response this little blog is getting. I thank all of you for your input. Here are a couple that I think would be of interest in case someone isn't checking out our comments. I am learning blogger at the same time. Trying to figure out how to make a link say what I want it to say not the gobbledy gook and also link to the spot I want them to go. Case in point the previous post link did not work the way I wanted but I edited it 3 times so I need to give it and anyone who got it 3 times, a break.
Oh, on that note, I found a way to put your name of choice with out being logged into Blogger. When leaving a comment, choosing Name/url give you the oppurtunity to type in geezee in my case. Before I had a blog to paste into the url spot, I just left it blank. I have used this method in order to let my favorite designers have a way of knowing that I wasn't completely anonymous. Made me comfortable with the level of info I was leaving behind.

Just in case you hadn't figured it out yet, I type the way I talk. If anything needs to be clarified, feel free to let me know. :)

Kris said...
I haven't used snapfish, but I did just get a book from Winkflash and the quality is identical (to my eye) to my CM book. What I had to do was go to the winkflash site and find out the size of their "full page" template. It's a little off from 12x12. Then I created a new project in Storybook with pages that size. Then, I tested a few pages to see how much room to leave around the edges of the pages. I think I made sure that all of my pics and elements were at least 1/4" from the edges. It took quite a while to upload my 50 page album - winkflash only wants a few pages at a time at that large size. But, it was worth it when they had their "flat price" book sale!

Jewel said...
Hiya! I am happy to contribute to this as well as I work with SBC exclusively:)I have printed my jpegs on my home printer - but I always save as 'best' for printing. For posting to forums etc, I save as 'screen'.Also you can save multiple pages by choosing '1 selected page' then clicking 'view selected' and adding the pages you'd like. This is good if you want more than one page but not all of them.I want to try printing some 12x12 at places other than CM, so when I do I'll keep ya posted.

2009-02-20T07:32:00.000-09:00

I am working on using a QP from Digitreats that I will try to walk you through. When using Storybook Creator Plus we cannot make the QP into the background. This would make it a solid paper. We need the png file to remain intact since it will have an opening to slide the picture behind. This leaves us with Dragging the (paper) QP onto our work surface. We may then need to resize it to fit our 12x12 page.* We can then put a picture onto the page by dragging it from the photos tab and positioning using the yellow + in the middle. If you have not already moved the picture to be on a layer below the QP, there are several ways to do that. I usually go to my layers(Found in the elements column on the left of your screen), click the picture layer and drag it below the layer I want to appear on top of it.

Now I have learned something today, I didn't realize the column our layers are located in was named elements. :)

*Nice surprise bonus for SBC+ users. You can open an 8x8 page and use a QP just as though it were 12x12. You will be resizing the paper to fit your page size anyway. This will be handy for home printing as an 8x8 will print beautifully on an 8 1/2X11 paper.I like to work in 12x12 because Creative Memories allows you to choose what size to print your page in once you upload it. 12x12 loses nothing in resizing. On the other hand 8x8 stretched to print 12x12 will lose clarity and definition. Check back later for hints on saving and resizing later. My head is spinning.

Textures and Overlays in Vista

2009-02-19T12:51:00.000-09:00

I am working in Vista today and will use my husbands XP to confirm tomorrow. I am confident that all you creative people will be able to figure out as you go.
From your start menu choose Computer. When it opens choose OS(C:) . This is your hard drive that keeps and protects all the important stuff that makes your computer do all those things we can't understand. We tread lightly when allowed into this hallowed territory. You hear? We are looking for Program Files. In this folder we will go to Creative memories and open it. Remember this is where angels fear to tread, but we are doing well so far. Take a deep breath. Now we open StoryBook Creator 2, this opens the door to the program we are going to alter. Whew! Now in the Surfaces folder we will copy the texture or overlay of your choice into this file . Windows may ask you to approve this operation once or twice. You are
telling it to alter a program that is already in place. We made it now it is time to close this out and take another deep breath. It only hurt a little bit. I know, I am the one telling you to do it. I hope you kept your unlock code or install disk. lol

{Keep in mind that the more you put into this file the slower your program may load. You may consider keeping a seperate folder to pull from in order to keep the items easier to manage}

Now for the fun part. Open StoryBook Creator Plus. Go to your project. Open the page you are working on. Once you have selected the item you want to alter by clicking on it on your page, select the tools tab your Surfaces Icon is active when your element is selected. If your icon is not active, double check that you have activated the piece you want to work with. You should now be able to find your overlay or texture.

Lucky Me

2009-02-19T03:40:00.000-09:00

Did you notice Pamela put a link to this little spot on the right side of her blog Digitreats? http://digitreats.typepad.com/creativeteam/2009/02/shout-february-themed-papers.html

WOW

I am working on a tutorial on using overlays and textures that we get from our FAVE designers in Storybook Creator Plus. Anyone interested?

Comments

2009-02-19T03:22:00.000-09:00

Thank you everyone for your comments. I am finding that everyone has a little bit of knowledge to add to this. So glad you are willing to share. So be sure to read the posted comments for other tidbits. I will try to include some here in the posts also.

from Leslie B.

I always print my pages at Costco. I Save like you said, keep highest quality and then upload them from home to CostCo's site and pick them up whenever I make it to the store. I realize some people don't have that option. I'm curious if anyone uses snapfish for printing their books instead of creative memories to save money. I've never printed a book because I don't want to wait a whole year to print my stuff! I do books by the year.

I have only printed my books at Creative Memories so I won't be able to help with this. Maybe a reader will.

Oh, Leslie, I am glad you found me. I hope the original post answered your question from Digitreats. I tried emailing you and it came back.

Fabulous News

2009-02-17T09:35:00.000-09:00

I have found someone else who is willing to help with this adventure. So when I get questions that Sharon can work on with me, I will be glad to have the input.

Saving as JPEG

2009-02-17T09:16:00.000-09:00

I am still experimenting with this question. I think I would like to actually have pages printed to see how the end product is affected. I feel that I should walk through the process from the beginning to be of most use to other possible readers.

In order to save one page you would use The drop down menu under Save icon found on the Home tab. Select Save pages as... The dialog box that appears gives many options that can be confusing. For printing purposes we choose JPG for file type. PNG, TIFF, and PDF all have their uses, just using JPG for today.

Next, I am finding that Adjusting the Resolution to Good makes the file size much smaller without sacrificing quality.

The dialog box also includes a Page range choice. If you are working on saving one page out of a multi page Storybook, you can choose Current page or 1 selected page and it will work with the page you were on when selecting Save pages as...

My printing experience with other companies is limited. I will be glad to pass on any info that is offered here. If my info turns out to be inaccurate or lacking, let me know. I am willing to learn also.

Storybook Creator Plus

2009-02-16T06:45:00.000-09:00

I have created this blog in order to help answer questions pertaining to software distributed by Creative Memories. I use Memory Manager and Storybook Creator Plus and would like to help anyone using these programs with any difficulties experienced in learning to use them. Have fun.

Hi

2009-02-10T14:16:00.000-09:00

I go by geezee and follow Digitreats blog. This rough explanation uses Pamelas week one templates found herehttp://digitreats.typepad.com/creativeteam/monthly-templates.html

I have a couple hints for Storybook Creator Plus. Under my stuff in the Organize section you can load papers and embellishments. If you load your cropped* picture as a paper you can choose paper under the tools tab. When you have the png active on your page,(I enlarged the template in order to get as much of my picture as possible) then click the tools tab. Paper should be active. Click on the arrow under paper. All the papers you have loaded will become available to choose. Find your picture and select it. This makes it look like the png file I have attached. I am not a tutorial writer. Any questions left in the comment section will be my next effort to figure out and post.

*The template seems to chose to use different spots of the picture . I think this may be due to the original process of saving. I will investigate this further.