Ditching Monthly Cloud Payments

 I'm so excited for this summer for several reasons, but a big one is what I'm calling

THE "SUMMER OF 69"

Many people don't know this, but there's a way to stop paying monthly fees for the rest of your life to back up your photos and videos (to places that reserve rights to close your account at any time).

And even a way to stop buying a more expensive phone with bigger storage space all the time.

My goal is to tell 69 people about it this summer! Totally life-changing information (and no sales pitch, I promise). I just want to teach people.

To be a part of the Summer of 69 between Memorial Day and Labor Day 2026, just email me at photoandstorytreasures@gmail.com and we'll set up a Zoom time to chat.

You'll get a lot of important information, but you'll also be entered in a drawing for a $25 gift card. More than once, if you like.

NOTE: The first 69 people will be entered into the drawing, but I'll definitely talk to 70+ people about this life-changing option. That goes for anyone reading this after Labor Day 2026--email me anyway. I'm always happy to get you out of those "monthly payments until you die" plans you are probably doing, even if you miss the gift card drawing for The "Summer of 69."

Being able to truly preserve my photos and videos forever with no monthly subscription payments and the ability to actually delete things from my phone while still accessing them through my phone is the greatest thing I've discovered for my digital memories. Being able to pass them down--guaranteed--to future generations is the icing on the cake.

I can't wait to tell you about it. 😊💕

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Scrapbook Look #7 - May 2026

"Scrapbooking isn't just re-living memories.  It's re-loving them."  ~Janna W.

Welcome back to Scrapbook Look!  However you like to do it, we can all enjoy the relaxing and therapeutic benefits of scrapbooking, including a quick pre-designed yearbook that doesn't require extra software.

Here's a look at some of the scrapbook pages from my 2025 yearbook.  This time I'm including both the digital layouts before I had the book professionally printed and also photos of the final, printed product, too. 

This page was fun to put together because the digital art (see Credits below) was just so darling.  Being a Gryffindor at heart, that's the background paper I chose for our Harry Potter watch party with themed dinner.  I meant to get a picture of our family at the party but never did!  The themed food is always fun for me to remember, especially with a few new additions this year.

And this is another memory I love being able to re-live and re-love through my photos and story in a scrapbook.  For this one, I wanted a few hints of decor but I wanted to really let the photos themselves take the stage.  

I took the layout idea from Forever Design Map 11, which I added beach-themed papers to.  (credited below)

I really like how the sea-colored paper at the bottom with the rip makes it look like a wave!  I had so much journaling about this trip that it ended up being a good spot for that, too.

Here's what those pages look like in my printed book.  The pages feel like velvet, and I feel like I could touch the water!

CREDITS

• Scrapbook pages made using Artisan software by Forever.  (information | subscription | digital art store)
• Digital art credit: Wizard World Kit by Mags Graphics, Forever Design Map 11 for 12x12 by Forever Digital Art, Ocean Escape Page Pak by Cottage Arts, Beach Story Page Kit by Designs by Mandy King, and Summer Blues Bundle by Little Feet Digital Designs 
• Digital book printed here (in gorgeous, high-quality pages I fall in love with every time), with the digital version PDF also kept forever there in my private account.  

NOTE:  I am a Forever affiliate called an Ambassador (a decision I made because I love it so much), so you will find affiliate links in this post. I earn a commission from anything purchased at my website, and being your Ambassador means I'm here to help you with questions, too.  If you're new to Forever and open your free account here to give it a try, you'll get a $20 welcome coupon towards anything mentioned in this post.

FAQ

Why digital?

First, there's no "right way" to scrapbook, except for two things:  1- quality so your book will last for many, many years to come, and 2- something you will love and therefore do.  

I personally choose digital because it's faster and easier, taking up less space in my house than the papers and scissors and stickers (and table space) I needed when I was a paper scrapbooker.  I like that instead of having to crop (cut) a photo to make it fit, I can easily resize, zoom in, etc.

I also love the ability to print multiple copies with just the click of a button, and for safety reasons I like that my scrapbooks exist both digitally and in print.  (I have scanned my old paper scrapbooks for the same reason.)  

Why digital just to print it?

Aside from what I mentioned above:  Accessibility!  Yes, I print my digitally-created scrapbooks because print is an easily-accessible form of seeing and also sharing (and gifting!) photos and memories.  Print doesn't need a full battery in an expensive gadget.  Plus, photo experts still recommend print as an important way to store photos and memories, in addition to digital forms.

SOMETHING SPECIAL FOR PAPER SCRAPBOOKERS

This month I have something special for paper scrapbooking friends who worry about only having one copy of their scrapbooks.

There's nothing better than a lovingly-created scrapbook page.

🔥Except fireproofing it!🔥

Right now through June 30, FOREVER has a special Scrapbook Page Digitization Box! You can get 100 scans (50 double-sided pages) for $100, with additional scans available at $1 per side. This service helps safeguard years of creative work—capturing photos, handwritten notes, and layered designs—while making it easy to enjoy, share, and print in the future.

Order your Box before June 30 for the $1 per page price (minimum 100). It will include packing instructions and bar codes so your special pages can be tracked every step of the way. (If you read this after June 30, 2026, you can still digitize your scrapbook pages with a regular FOREVER Digitization Box at regular prices.)

Thanks for stopping in.  See you at next month's Scrapbook Look!  (Or, first click the Scrapbook Look tag at the bottom of this post to see more scrapbook pages.)  

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Why External Hard Drives Aren't Forever (not even a decade)

It's easy to think the Latest & Greatest form of technology is the answer to everything.  Being able to back up photos on a CD was amazing for a while.  Then DVDs for backing up family videos.  And lately EHDs (external hard drives) are all the rage.  And now SSDs (solid state drives) are vying for attention, too.

Having a secure place to back up photos and videos wouldn't be that important, except that what you're saving is absolutely irreplaceable.  Like this:

That's my daughter, a few days old.  And her big brother kissing her cheek.  I'll never, ever get that moment back.  I never get another chance to capture those faces in that time.

I'll tell you a little more about that sad video (with some hope!) later, but here's why CDs, DVDs, and hard drives aren't forever.  Not even a decade.

Why Hard Drives Don't Last

Most EHDs and SSDs last 3-5 years, simply because the connectors fail.  They just stop working.  They're not really made to withstand repeated use.  (Which is ironic since the purpose of EHDs & SSDs is repeated use.)  But it's not just the connectors.

We can learn a lot from the experience of Iron Mountain.  They were tasked with backing up the entertainment industry's music.  Music, as you know, has gone from records to 8-tracks to cassettes to CDs.  It has been stored on hard drive disks since the 1990s.

About 1/5 of what Iron Mountain recently received on hard drives to archive was entirely unreadable.    

“In our line of work, if we discover an inherent problem with a format, it makes sense to let everybody know,” Robert Koszela, global director for studio growth and strategic initiatives at Iron Mountain, told Mix. “It may sound like a sales pitch, but it’s not; it’s a call for action.”

They found that hard drives are not designed for long-time archival use.

“It’s so sad to see a project come into the studio, a hard drive in a brand-new case with the wrapper and the tags from wherever they bought it still in there,” Koszela says. “Next to it is a case with the safety drive in it. Everything’s in order. And both of them are bricks.”

What we learn here about music applies to anything else stored on a hard drive.

Like our photos.  And our home movies.  And that audio recording of my mom reading her grandkids a story.

What to Do About It

Kevin Purdy suggests that the best solution to this problem is:

The gist of it: You cannot trust any medium, so you copy important things over and over, into fresh storage.

Seriously?!

But what if you don't have the equipment?

Or the time?

Or the knowledge?

Thankfully, there's another option.  I suggest this three-step solution.

1. Use a digitization service.  I suggest the one with the highest customer satisfaction (as independently determined by TrustPilot).  It's phenomenal.  Then pair it with #2 below.
2. Next, put the updated versions of your photos and videos on a flash drive or a computer if you like, but whatever you do, back it up in the cloud.  This is the only private cloud storage service that guarantees your photos and memories will be yours for your lifetime + 100 years, a legacy you can pass down.   Not only that, but they triple back-up everything, keeping your files encrypted, and will update file formats FOR YOU.  (Like, when .jpeg files become outdated in 20 years.)  Another bonus with this particular service is that you'll buy your cloud space, so there are no recurring payments (until you die!) to keep your photos and videos always accessible and safely backed up.
3. Print the photos in pages.  I know print is kind of "going out of style" these days, but print will never be at the mercy of a hard drive crash.  And don't think you have to have a lot of time or "be creative" to put photos and memories in books!  Find a high-quality print option that will last for generations, then spend 10 minutes a day on it.  Really.  It works.  

Don't miss that amazing point:  If you don't have equipment, time, or know-how to "copy important things over and over into fresh storage" as Purdy suggests, FOREVER Storage will literally do it for you.  

If that's not peace of mind, I don't know what is.

A Few Words of Encouragement

SO, WHAT ABOUT THE BABY?

If your heart broke watching my video, I first want to let you know that the video has a happy ending.  Knowing that the magnetic tape in VHS tapes deteriorates, I sent in my home videos to be digitized using FOREVER Digitization a few years ago.  I was brokenhearted to receive that video I shared with you at the beginning.  Most of it was fine, but there were a few parts that were garble-y, including that sweet moment.  I was pretty upset about it for several days before remembering that I have the original Hi-8 tape that might be in better condition.  It had been stored differently, so I sent that in to FOREVER Digitization for digitizing and crossed my fingers.  It was in much better shape, so I now have that video as it was meant to be seen!  

SENDING MY PHOTOS AND HOME MOVIES AWAY?

I know it can be scary.  I've done it four times now, and the first time was indeed a little scary for me, so I know how you feel.  When it came down to it, though, I decided that if I didn't get the VHS tapes digitized, I'd just have to throw them away in 10 years anyway.  Nobody has a VCR any more, and my grandchildren-to-be definitely won't!

If you're at all worried about sending your DVDs or VHS tapes or slides off to be digitized, learn more about FOREVER Digitization so you can see how much care goes into the safety of your precious memories.  There is a lot of hope at that link!

GETTING AHEAD

I heard of someone recently who had saved all their family photos and home movies on an external hard drive, then put it in a safe deposit box for their family to have when they pass on.

The intent is beautiful.  But, practically speaking, that EHD may not even be readable 10 or 20 years from now.  It makes me sad to think about.

But you can get actually get ahead of technology issues by following the 3 steps above, using the links I included.  And that's the best news of all.

It's important to keep in mind that every form of technology has a different purpose and capability.

NOTE:    If you're new to Forever and open your free account here, you'll get a $20 welcome coupon towards anything mentioned in this post.  I am a Forever affiliate called an Ambassador (a decision I made because I love it so much), so you will find affiliate links in this post. I earn a commission from anything purchased at my website, and being your Ambassador means I'm here to help you with questions, too.

So, share this post with anyone you know who is still using an external hard drive to save their photos and videos.  All types of hard drives are not long-term storage devices.  They won't even last through the rest of this decade.  But there's hope because there are other, better options!

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Scrapbook Look #6 - April 2026

 "Scrapbooking isn't just re-living memories.  It's re-loving them."  ~Janna W.

Welcome back to Scrapbook Look, our monthly series of quick glances at a few of my recent digitally-created scrapbook pages!  However you like to do it, we can all enjoy the relaxing and therapeutic benefits of scrapbooking, including a quick pre-designed yearbook that doesn't require extra software.

Here's a look at some of the scrapbook pages from my 2025 yearbook. 

This family reunion in the beautiful Rocky Mountains in June was the perfect time to use a feature I've used before but not for a while:  Use a favorite scenery photo as your background paper!  It makes for a very simple layout with little to no embellishments like ribbons or hearts, but it seems so classic that I really like it.  Because I can use any font from my computer with this scrapbooking software, I had a lot of fun choosing just the right thing. 

Lately, I've been preserving random photos from a given month that don't fit nicely into one event on a month page.  I've been using individual pages from pre-designed templates (see Credits below), and I think they work so great for this!  The page is pre-designed, but I can adjust it however I want to add more pictures or whatever I need to.  

I really enjoyed playing with a new feature on these RMNP pages that I just learned how to do, which is creating a shape and then putting text in it (which I made a video tutorial about here).  I'm always looking for something new and creative (which is so easy with Artisan--it's full of incredible possibilities) for my pages, and this one was fun to play with.

You might remember my Mesa Verde pages from Scrapbook Look #3 in January--this digital art collection for Rocky Mountain is from the same designer, and the 3 or 4 pages of this trip showed different parts of the background map paper based on where I put my photos and text, which I thought was fun.

CREDITS

• Scrapbook pages made using Artisan software by Forever.  (information | subscription | digital art store)
• Digital art credit:  Escape to Colorado Collection by Seatrout Scraps, Family Yearbook 2 by Forever Digital Art, National Park Project - Rocky Mountain (CO) by Designs by Mandy King, All Things June Mixology by Forever Digital Art
• Digital book printed here (in gorgeous, high-quality pages I fall in love with every time), with the digital version PDF also kept forever there in my private account.  

NOTE:  I am a Forever affiliate called an Ambassador (a decision I made because I love it so much), so you will find affiliate links in this post. I earn a commission from anything purchased at my website, and being your Ambassador means I'm here to help you with questions, too.  If you're new to Forever and open your free account here to give it a try, you'll get a $20 welcome coupon towards anything mentioned in this post.

FAQ

Why digital?

First, there's no "right way" to scrapbook, except for two things:  1- quality so your book will last for many, many years to come, and 2- something you will love and therefore do.  

I personally choose digital because it's faster and easier, taking up less space in my house than the papers and scissors and stickers (and table space) I needed when I was a paper scrapbooker.  I like that instead of having to crop (cut) a photo to make it fit, I can easily resize, zoom in, etc.

I also love the ability to print multiple copies with just the click of a button, and for safety reasons I like that my scrapbooks exist both digitally and in print.  (I have scanned my old paper scrapbooks for the same reason.)  

Why digital just to print it?

Aside from what I mentioned above:  Accessibility!  Yes, I print my digitally-created scrapbooks because print is an easily-accessible form of seeing and also sharing (and gifting!) photos and memories.  Print doesn't need a full battery in an expensive gadget.  Plus, photo experts still recommend print as an important way to store photos and memories, in addition to digital forms.

Thanks for stopping in.  See you at next month's Scrapbook Look!  (Or, first click the Scrapbook Look tag at the bottom of this post to see more scrapbook pages.)  

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How to Find a Photo Fast

Do you have a lot of photos?  If you're like most people, the answer is yes!  

A lot of anything is hard to keep track of, don't you think?  

I think physical things are a little easier (it's on the top shelf, or it's in the kitchen), but digital files all look the same, so to speak, from the outside.  So how can you find a photo quickly? 

The Prep Work

Before we get to my secret of finding photos fast, let me first show you the easiest, most convenient way I know of to organize your photos.  

Organizing is the first step to finding photos, and this fantastic method can be accessed on a computer, tablet, and especially your phone with a convenient app. 

Having all your photos in one place is a really important way to find your photos fast, so this organizational method does just that.  (If your photos are in multiple locations, you'll want to use this brilliant idea along with the tutorial video there.) 

This organizational method is great, yes, but it also provides you with premier, unparalleled cloud photo/video storage as well!  It's actually a big deal.

Paring down photos helps you find a photo faster as well, so if you need a little downsizing advice, try this.

NOTE:  I am a Forever affiliate called an Ambassador (a decision I made because I love it so much), so you will find affiliate links in this post. I earn a commission from anything purchased at my website, and being your Ambassador means I'm here to help you with questions, too.  If you're new to Forever and open your free account here to give it a try, you'll get a $20 welcome coupon towards anything mentioned in this post.

The Secret Weapon(s) for Finding a Photo Fast

OK.  Now it's time to tell you my secret!  Once you have your photos all in one place and organized, you can use a quick trick to help you find a photo fast:  tags and descriptions.  Here's how it works.   

Although my examples are very simple in this short tutorial video, I definitely suggest being specific with your tags.  "Christmas" will show you all the photos you've tagged "Christmas," but "Christmas93" will help you find only photos from Christmas 1993.  "Bob" will show you all his photos but "BobGraduation" will show you only those.  

Think through the tag system that will work best for you.

Or, simply write descriptions next to your photos in your Forever Cloud Storage.

If you don't want to set up a whole tagging system, you can simply add descriptions to each photo like "Bob and Sue went to Windandsea Beach after dinner at La Valencia in La Jolla" because descriptions are searchable, too! 

This 15-minute video shows how to actually do the search, both in your Gallery (Library) and in your Albums, and what the difference is.

One of the many reasons I recommend Forever to backup, save, and share photos and videos is that the metadata you add (the description, tags, dates, etc.) stays with the photo even if you move it to another platform, such as downloading it to a flash drive or computer.

Get Started

And that's it!  These tools will help you get your photos organized and tagged so you can find a photo fast.  Get started here.  When you can access your photos quickly and easily, you can enjoy them, share them, love them, and use them.  And that's the whole purpose of a photo!

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