You Tube Monday - Coraline: Knitting Little Itty Bitty Outfits

This is CRAZY!!! I had never really thought about it, but am glad this was sent along to me, so I thought I would share with you!

My Memories Suite 2.0 Scrapbook Software - Review and Giveaway!!! Enter by 10/28

I would like to preface this review by disclosing that I am NOT a scrapbooker!!! I have tried it in the past, I made them for friends and family members, but no matter how I tried I just could not get into it. I am however a photographer - in case you haven't seen the immense number of photos I have on my blog, I can tell you that I easily take hundreds if not thousands of pics a month. I don't know what I would do if I ever had to settle for film cameras....but back to my point...this scrapbooking software is not something that I would have ever blinked twice at, but I am glad that I was approached to try it out and host this giveaway for My Memories Suite.

So the program was super easy to install and like many other programs you have the option from the get go to design your own or use designer templates.
For the first run through I decided to do with the designer set. You then are given a screen where you can choose how many pages and which pages you would like to use. 

Next you are given the template. There are also many options on the sidebars to customize the pages utilizing the included pages, buttons, artwork etc. or you can purchase additional options in the gallery sidebar. For anyone who has been checking out my blog lately you will have noticed we had been enjoyed our unusually warm weather by going to the beach and of course I took tons of pics so I figured I would use these to make a few pages. 







When I was ready to start uploading pictures you can either upload one at a time or use the fast fill option - which took me quite some time to find when I was browsing through the toolbar. I was a bit disappointed with the small size of the picture icons - even in the preview screen there is no way to make them larger. This is an issue for me since I tend to take a lot of quickshots that have minute details so I could have between four and ten shots that are difficult to tell which is the one I want. 






Once you have your pics on the page you can twist, turn, crop,  make notes, journal, or add embellishments at the touch of a button. For the first 6 pages I picked each pic individually, but for the last 4 used the fast fill. It was really easy and quick. I do recommend knowing which pics you want to use ahead of time in order to avoid the small tile problem. 






In just over an hour and a half, here is what I had produced - 

 

 
 

 




I have not had a chance to experiment more with this software, but am interested to do so as it has some great sharing and interactive enhancement features - You can make a beautiful scrapbook an interactive memory experience for anyone who sees it. Use simple one-click options to enhance your scrapbooks, with music, narration, video, and even the Internet. Go beyond pictures by showing off video of the birthday party, or record a narration to capture the memories that pictures alone cannot. With My Memories Suite you simply don't look at a scrapbook-you experience it! Take advantage of a full suite of sharing options and turn your scrapbook into a movie to watch on a DVD-or view on an iPod. My Memories Suite allows you to share an interactive album on a disc (DVD or CD) that will automatically play on a computer (PC or Mac). Viewers can interact with your scrapbook by clicking on video, playing narration or navigating through your scrapbook like a website. You can even place in web links for them to visit or embed hidden files like Grandma's secret cookie recipe.

Now for the GIVEAWAY!!!

First we have special bonus just for reading - 

A code that provides a $10 discount off the purchase of the My Memories Suite Scrapbook software and a $10 coupon for the MyMemories.com store - $20 value! The code is - STMMMS47520

Before you run off and purchase this great scrapbooking software you can enter here for a chance to win. We have a number of ways for you to enter, but be sure to leave a separate comment for each one and to leave contact info! - feel free to break it up in a { name at host dot com} format - 

1. Mandatory entry - Pop on over to MyMemories.com and take a look around, then come back here and let everyone know which Digital Scrapbook Kit is your favorite 
2. Become a follower of this blog - link on the right hand tool bar or click here if you already are a follower - let me know
3. Follow me on twitter - @gckhomeschool - if you already do just let me know
4. Follow My Memories on twitter - @MyMemoriesSuite
5. Tweet about this giveaway with both @gckhomeschool and @mymemoriessuite in the message 
6. Post an entry about this giveaway on your blog or website and come back here to link it! 

Do any - at least #1 - or all of these by Friday Oct. 28th at 11:59p EST to be entered to win a FREE Full version of My Memories Suite 2.0 - 

My Memories Suite Version 2.0 digital scrapbooking software is a fun and creative way to keep and share memories, whether you have a Mac or PC. The software's design tools will help you to build entire albums effortlessly using one of the many installed templates, or designing your very own pages from scratch. 

Available worldwide. Intended for English-language computers. Technical support is English-only. This product is retail valued at $39.97.

Disclaimer: I was contacted to review this product and was given the software for free, but this did not bias this review in anyway. All opinions are mine alone and represent my personal experience with the product. The winner will be contacted through link they provide no later than Tuesday 11/1/11 and will be given a code to download software directly from the site.

Congrats to @blakepro  the winner of our giveaway!!!!

Try and Try and TRY until you get it!

I remember reading an article or blog post not so long ago about how much a parent really learns through home educating their children. This was not just about learning facts and figures in books or studying topics, but be aware of things that one thought they were not capable of doing and suddenly they get it. I mention this because over this past week I have had a break through - a momentous break through really!

A few years ago I taught myself to knit. I picked up the needles and book and figured it out really quickly. Shortly after this I tried to crochet, but just could not get it. I tried on several occasions and just could not get past a single chain. A few months later I decided to try to make an edging around a blanket that I made by crocheting and I figured out how to do that because I could identify where the stitches where because I had knit the portion I was now crocheting into. During that same week I tried to crochet a scarf again and just COULD NOT do it! I tried and tried and tried, but couldn't do it. Over the last few years I have picked it up several times to no avail. This past weekend I picked up an easy crochet book and was flipping through it thinking how nice it would be to make these projects. I flipped to a page with a really cute mesh shopping bag and said "Ya, know what I am gonna try again." -----

I can't tell you how many times I have said "I can knit, but I CANNOT crochet!" Well guess what I CAN now! If I had not been persistent and just given up I would never have been able to do it. Instead I kept trying and when it was the "right time" I just got it!