Make Your Foray into Digital Scrapbooking Easy with a Starter Project

Scrapbooks have been kept for centuries!  They're not a new tradition or fad.  In fact, scrapbooks pre-date photos!  Once photos came on the scene, scrapbooks meant even more because they preserved even more.  

Scrapbooks turned into "scrapbook-ing" in the 1980s and 1990s when scrapbookers added a creative, decorative aspect.  

The 21st century has brought us digital scrapbooking.  Instead of papers, stickers, and scissors (and a lot of space to spread out in), a digital scrapbooker utilizes technology--a computer and computer software--to create books digitally, then submit them for publishing.  

I know some digital scrapbookers keep only digital versions of their work, but print has a lot of benefits that digital doesn't, and photo experts have long maintained print as one of the safest ways to store photos.  So I consider the "digital" part of digital scrapbooking in the creation only, not the finished product.

Your story is worth sharing and preserving (the benefits to the heart and soul are impressive), and photos are the highlights of your life's story.  So let's explore making that entirely doable for you!

If you're considering making the transition from paper scrapbooking to digital scrapbooking, here are some great ideas and reasons to do it (such as a book never needing a full battery in order to give you access to your photos).  

NOTE:  I am a Forever affiliate, called an Ambassador, because I love Forever so much!  This means I make a commission from purchases at my website, and being your Ambassador means I'm here to help you with questions, too.

Making Digital Scrapbooking Easy

Today I'll share with you a brilliant way to make your foray into digital scrapbooking easy:  a starter project.  

There are five things I love about this approach I'm about to share with you:

1. It's a great fit for anyone who doesn't feel very computer-savvy.
2. It's a great fit for anyone who doesn't have a lot of time to spend preserving photos and memories.
3. It's a great fit for anyone concerned about photo privacy.
4. It provides you both a digital (shareable!) version of your book (digital backups are always smart) as well as access to a professional printing service with a 100% satisfaction guarantee.  
5. Once you've completed the starter project, you'll have a taste of an easy way to digitally scrapbook.  From there, you can continue using the simple software platform (free) or you can advance to a more creative and flexible digital scrapbooking software if you prefer.  (In my opinion, this is the piece de resistance!  Finding a digital scrapbooking method that works for you makes it not just doable but enjoyable moving forward.  Fun is what makes it easy.)

There seems to be a false idea out there that preserving photos and memories is hard, is complicated, takes a long time, is only for some people but not for others.  It's simply not true.  Memories aren't just for certain people.  Photos aren't just for some people.  The feel-good benefits that come from photos, memories, stories, and connections are for everyone!

My two biggest tips for making digital scrapbooking easy and doable are:

First, use a template.  It's just faster and easier.  All the templates in the platform I'm showing you here are free, so that's an extra bonus.

Second, set aside some time.  Take some Me Time on a Sunday night or a Saturday morning to spend with your photos and memories.  As soon as you start, it will stop feeling like a chore because you will love it!  I promise.

So let's get you there with a Starter Project.  Right now, just explore the options and don't worry about how to make them.  I'll explain everything!  😊

The Starter Project:  Three Options

When you're trying something new, it's often easier when you first just get your feet wet.  I have three ideas for your Starter Project which will do just that, so choose whichever one sounds most interesting and enjoyable to you.  

I've chosen three projects that you can actually try out for free, too!

I'll give you some instructions on how to do that shortly, as well as a little tutorial video on how to make these items.  You'll love how easy the software is to use!

OPTION 1

This starter project can be done in less than 5 minutes!  This is a set of 4 cork-backed coasters.  Keep it for yourself, or give it as a gift.  Click this link to start the project if it's the one you choose.

You'll choose 3 photos, a quote or sentiment, and a little text with one of the photos.  Easy, peasy.  Really.

OPTION 2

This starter project can be done even quicker than the coasters!  This little magnet has a quote as part of the design, then you just add a photo.  Click this link to start this project if it's the one you choose.    

With magnets, you can choose a 3x4 size or a 4x6 size.  If purple isn't your thing or you'd like a different quote, there are lots of other magnet templates you can choose from here.

OPTION 3

This is a sweet little book called "Remember."  Clink the link to start this project if it's the one you choose.

The "Remember" book has a lot of different page options, each one with a word like "SMILE," "GROW," "SHARE," etc., room for a few pictures, and space for text.  Write down a few of your memories--things you remember--and find some photos you can add in, too.

If finding photos is a little overwhelming for you because you haven't organized them yet, here's an idea:  Go to a local park and take some nice scenery pictures.  This is just a book of your memories, and you're just getting your feet wet making a book.  You can save the photo organization for later if that's easier.  

By the way, my goal here is for your Starter Project to be free if you're new to Forever, but I know there are several options for sizes and bindings available for books.  If you choose the 8x8 softbound book during a 50% off sale, you'll still be able to get it for free!

The How-To:  Instructions

Follow these simple steps to make your Starter Project (hopefully for free!).

1. You'll use the free templates at a simple platform called Create & Print by FOREVER.  First, open your free Forever account here.  
2. Next, check your email for an email from Forever so you can verify your email address.  If you're new to Forever and you verify your email address, you'll be emailed a $20 Welcome Coupon that's good for 60 days.  You'll be able to use it for your Starter Project!
3. Now watch this 5-minute tutorial video about how to use the Create & Print software (formerly called Design & Print).  I like to say that the learning curve for the Create & Print software is almost a straight line!  This allows you to get projects done in a jif.
4. Choose the photos you'd like to use in your project.  Upload them to your Forever Storage (cloud storage for photos and videos).  If you're uploading from your phone, this tutorial video will help.  If you're uploading from your computer, this tutorial video will help.
5. Next, click on whichever Starter Project you've decided on:  the coaster set or the magnet or the "Remember" book.  Make the project!  👊  I'm your Forever Ambassador, so reach out if you have questions.  photoandstorytreasures@gmail.com
6. Once your project is completed, go to the "Deals" tab along the top of the page at the Forever website.  Check to see if your chosen product is on sale.  You should be able to use the $20 coupon to get these items for free if they are 50% off.  Everything is on sale all the time, and sales vary between 35%-50%.  If you want to wait until your item is 50% off, you certainly may.  Whatever the sale is, use the sale code you see there so you'll get the sale price at checkout.
7. Now, go back to your email and get the coupon code for the $20 Welcome!  Apply that $20 Welcome code in your cart as well.  You should have the sale code and the $20 welcome code.  You will pay shipping, but hopefully you're getting your lovely Starter Project for free.

Next Steps

Now that you've gotten your feet wet with the Create & Print software, you're ready to do some digital scrapbooking to preserve your photos and memories!

You can keep on using Create & Print by Forever for travel books, yearbooks, Reasons I Love You books, and much more!  

There are hundreds of templates in Create & Print, and new ones are added all the time.  Old ones are retired periodically, so if you see one you like, snap it up and get started!

And, of course, you have also seen that you can make plenty of photo gifts and home decor using free Create & Print templates, too!

If you love Create & Print, then my work here is done!  😊  Set aside the time, use Create & Print templates, and you're ready to become a regular digital scrapbooker.  I like creating yearbooks every year, and you can find a lot of different designs by typing in "yearbook" into the search bar or just clicking here to explore.  

However, if you liked Create & Print OK but haven't met the love of your digital scrapbooking life, let me introduce you to Artisan digital scrapbooking software by Forever.  

It has many of the DIY elements of traditional paper scrapbooking (like using embellishments and alphabet stickers and "ripping" papers).  There's a LOT of room for flexible pages and for creativity.  You can see the basics at an introductory class I taught a few years ago:

It's my personal favorite because I can do things like this with it, playing with fonts and creating my own pages (whether from scratch or from blueprints) and choosing my own digital art and designs:

If you think you might fall in love with Artisan like I did, you can start a 30-day free trial here and read all the computer system requirements.  (Mac users need a partitioning program.)

What Will You Do?

I love that these options mean there's something for everyone, that you can get it all with both photo privacy and a 100% satisfaction guarantee, and that you can really be your own digital scrapbooking hero!

Tell me--what will you do?  Which of the three Starter Projects will you choose?  Which of the digital scrapbooking options will be Your Thing?  Let me know in the comments.  You're going to love the world of digital scrapbooking, especially with Forever!  

Who do you know who is looking for a simple way to get into digital scrapbooking?
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The Christmas Gift-Giving Challenge ft. Easy, Unique Gift Ideas

There's always so much to do around the holidays, and Thanksgiving runs right into "When do we put the tree up?" and "When do we make time for Christmas shopping?" that gift-giving can become more of a chore than a joy.

And that's how my Annual Christmas Challenge came to be! 

This is an annual Christmas Challenge, so if you Pin or bookmark this post, you can come back to it every year! 

 

What is the Annual Christmas Challenge, and What Can it Do For Me?

The Annual Christmas Challenge is great because you can:

• spread out the cost of your gift-giving 
• give unique, cherished, top-quality gifts
• gift either something personalized you've created or something available with a click
• have all your shopping done by Thanksgiving (there's even a step-by-step checklist with dates)
• be entered into the drawing for a gift certificate!

There are so many options to choose from!  You'll find ideas that are great for parents, teenagers, friends, kids, siblings, in-laws, and anyone else you can think of!

NOTE:  I am a FOREVER affiliate, called an Ambassador, because I love FOREVER so much!  This means I'm here to help you with questions and have a great FOREVER experience.  I also make a commission from any purchases at my website.

How Does it Work?

The Annual Christmas Challenge officially starts until September 1, but you can always explore early and start thinking about what you want to do!  As I mentioned, everyone who participates in the Christmas Challenge goes into a drawing for a gift certificate, too!  (You just have to email me to let me know you're participating.)

You can watch this 7-minute video introduction to The Annual Christmas Challenge, if you like.

Here's how it all works.

1. Look at the plan (link below) and the steps you'll be following from September 1 - November 30 (or, better yet, Thanksgiving).  These steps in the checklist will help you spread out both the cost of your gifts and also the time spent "shopping."  The checklist and some additional resources and helps are on the first two pages of The Christmas Challenge Worksheet.
2. Peruse pages 4-9 to see a lot of unique gift ideas that will be meaningful for years to come, both digital services and in print.  
3. Now start your Gift List on page 3.
4. Go back to the checklist and begin with the first item!    

Everything you need is here at the Christmas Challenge Worksheet.
Just click this image above!

And If I Have a Question?

I'm happy to help!  In fact, I really love helping people gift something so fun and so meaningful and lasting!

If you have questions about ordering a Digitizing Box so you can help your parents digitize their slides or their parents' 8mm film reels, or if you'd like to make a vacation book or a puzzle or ornament and want to know what that looks like, or you'd like to let someone stop making monthly payments for cloud photo and video storage (and get *private* cloud storage, to boot), I'm here to help!

You can ask your questions in the comments of this blog post, or contact me here.  

These are truly amazing and even life-changing gifts, so get ready to start September 1.  Or today!

Let your gift-giving this year be a joy!

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Christmas in July: meaningful gifts to click & give

I love Christmas in July so much that it's hard for me to remember that I didn't invent it.  

Really.  I love using the summer months when things are a little more relaxed and I'm not under any time crunches to spend time creating and planning for gifts.  And I've loved it for a long time.

Another thing I love is designing cute things for myself and then sharing them with other people.  So everything you'll see here is absolutely unique because I designed it using Forever's Artisan digital scrapbooking software program. 

I've got 5 Click & Give gifts for you that you can order today and be ready to gift in 10-14 days as well as 5 Click & Create gifts where you start with an easy, unique, creative item that's done for you, and then you add a little something to it. 

I have been working on this for a while, and I'm SO excited to share these with you!!

Directions for ordering everything you see here are detailed at the end of this post.

PRO TIP:  These items are on sale 50% off about once a month, so if it's not on sale now, check back in a week or two.  Keep reading to learn about the $20 welcome coupon, too.

FIVE CLICK & GIVE GIFTS

These creative, one-of-a-kind (because I designed them!) gifts will be easy to give with just a click.  They are ready-to-order (though you may want to keep an eye out for a 50% off sale).

#1  LETTER (CARD) TO SANTA

This first one makes a fun before-Christmas "gift." This cute 4x6 card is a fun idea to present to children at the beginning of the Christmas season.  These cards are ready to print to and be filled out.  The cards come in a set of 10 and come with envelopes for "mailing," even though you'll probably want to keep it!

This ready-to-give, designed-for-you gift is found here.

I think this would make a fun gift for grandparents!

#2 DISHWASHER MAGNET

This cute 3x4 dishwasher magnet is only a few dollars. Turned one way, it indicates clean dishes; turned the other way, it indicates dirty dishes.  

This ready-to-give, designed-for-you gift is found here.

#3 BIRTHDAY CARDS

I love how these cards turned out and have enjoyed giving them this year!  This fun card is perfect for anyone of any age.  The message inside reads "Age is merely the number of years the World has been ENJOYING you."  Cards come in a set of 10 and include envelopes.  They'll be shipped to you flat, as shown in my photo here, and then you'll fold them in half.

 

This ready-to-give, designed-for-you gift is found here.

#4 MUG-RECIPE MUG

This 15-oz. mug comes with an easy, single-serving recipe right on it!  It makes a fun and unique gift.  Great for college students, anyone living on their own, or anyone who needs a quick lunch or breakfast for one!  (The photos don't show the whole recipe, but if you click the links below, you'll see just the designs and recipes in full.)

This ready-to-give, designed-for-you project French Toast in a Mug is here.

This ready-to-give, designed-for-you project Loaded Baked Potato Soup in a Mug is here.

#5 NO SOLICITING SIGN

Credit for the message on this cute sign goes to my cousin's wife!  She is a woodworker (among other things) and burned this cute message into a wooden plaque for their front door.  The first time I saw it, I knew I needed one.  😂

This metal print is 10" wide and 8" high and has a Chromaluxe® coated glossy white aluminum finish.  Shadow Mounting hardware is included.  

This ready-to-give, designed-for-you project is here.

As you'd see it at my house.  😁

FIVE CLICK & CRAFT GIFTS

You'll start simple here by just ordering what I've created for you, but then there's a physical something you'll gift it with, too.  Some keep things pretty simple, and some get pretty crafty, so choose your favorites!

#1 CANDY CANE GAMES

This 7x5 card is a fun gift idea for families.  Two candy cane-themed card games are included on the back.  These cards come with envelopes and are ready to print.  The cards come in a set of 10, so you're ready to gift to 10 families or friends!  Gift with a box of candy canes and/or a deck of playing cards.

This designed-for-you project is found here.

Thanks to Laura and Laurie at Our Grand Lives for the two game ideas printed on these cards!  They're acknowledged on the front of the card, too. 

#2 DRY-ERASE MENU BOARD

This is one of my favorite things to gift!  Tabletop Panels are 8x10 and have an easel-stand back and a glossy surface on the front, perfect for a dry-erase marker!  Print this project at the Forever print shop, then gift with a dry erase marker! 

This designed-for-you project is found here.

Funny.  I just remembered that I did not technically design this dry-erase menu board.  I created one very similar to this one that was personalized with my family name and a quote, and then I shared it in a Facebook group.  Several people loved it and requested that a Create & Print template be designed by the Forever design team for anyone to personalize, so although this WAS my idea, it's a different take on my design.  This only matters because now you have two options for ordering this:   😊

1. If you would like to personalize your own menu board where it says "The Cromwell Family" shown above, you can do that here where you'll click the text box and enter your own text. 
2. EASY BUTTON:  If you would like to order the one I personalized with the words "Kiss the Cook," (in place of a personalized name) you can just place it in your cart here.  This goes up in the "Click & Give Gifts" category, then.  😊

#3 PERPETUAL CALENDAR BLOCKS

This would also make a fun gift for a crafter, I think, if you don't want to do the crafting part!  Just gift the 3 pages and the wooden blocks.

If you've never heard of perpetual calendars, you just arrange and rearrange sides of the blocks to give the current date along with a holiday or seasonal message.  

I've made three different styles in the past, but I've redesigned them in neutral colors for you!  You'll order the set of three 12x12 scrapbook pages, and they'll be professionally printed on thick, glossy paper so these will look sharp!

This designed-for-you project is found here.

See all the pages of the Perpetual Calendar Blocks here.  As you can see, the instructions are right on the page, and the last page includes instructions for the recipient on which blocks to use for which messages.  For this project, you'll need to order these 3 pages plus 21 2-inch blocks (or 1 3/4 if you prefer--that's what I used for my own) and some craft paint unless you want to stick with the plain wood, which also looks nice.

These are my own blocks, which are obviously different from the ones you can order (above), but you can see how the dates and blocks look when displayed.

#4 SOAP TAGS:  We WASH You A Merry Christmas

Here's a cute and easy Christmas gift idea!  These tags are made on an 8x8 scrapbook page with cardstock thickness and are enough for 7 gifts.  Print additional pages if you need more.   Follow the directions shown.  

This designed-for-you project is found here.

I punched a hole at the top as shown after I cut out the tags, then tied the tag to the soap with ribbon. 

#5 MUG CAKE RECIPE CARDS

I have given these gifts a couple of times, and the recipients LOVE this unique gift!  These playing-card size recipes for single-serve cakes that can be made in a mug are cut out then gifted with a box of cake mix.  

This designed-for-you project is found here.

You have two printing options here for the cake mix cards.  

1. I designed these on glossy, thick 8.5x11 Artisan scrapbook pages, so you can order these like any of the other items shown and have them printed at the Forever Print shop for best quality.  This makes them a little more sturdy for repeated use as recipe cards.
2. You can click the three dots instead of the "add to cart" shopping bag icon to download a PDF version of this project and print it yourself.

NOTE:  I am a Forever affiliate, called an Ambassador, because I love Forever so much!  This means I make a commission from purchases at my website, and being your Ambassador means I'm here to help you with questions, too.

A BONUS IDEA to CLICK & PERSONALIZE & GIVE

These are not designed by me like the rest of these gift ideas, but I just can't resist!

This is such a fun way to share special moments or memories:  a tea towel for the kitchen, or a beach towel!  If you have photos from this summer's family reunion, a special family recipe to share, or any favorite photos to share, just click, personalize, and give.  

These two are beach towels (cotton/poly 30"x60") 

Find the Collect Moments template here.  Both text areas are personalizable.

Find the 6 Photo Gallery template here.  The text, photo layout, and color are customizable.

And these two are tea towels for the kitchen (waffle weave cotton/poly blend, 16"x25")

Find the Recipe Keepsake template here.  The background color is customizable.

Find the Sweet Strawberries template here.  The text is editable.

They're not as "click & give" as the other items I've shared, but "click, personalize, and give" is pretty close!  😊

ORDERING DIRECTIONS

Which gifts look like just the thing for the neighbors, friends, and family you'll be gifting to this year?  Here's how to snap up these unique, easy, and creative gifts.

1. Open a free Forever account here if you don't already have one.  (Newcomers will receive a $20 welcome coupon--just be sure you check your email for a message from FOREVER, then verify your email address and check your email again for your coupon.  It's good for 60 days.)
2. Next, come back to this post and click on any of the links provided for the items you'd like to order.  Once the project opens, you'll see a description of the project at the far right.  For projects with multiple pages or sides, you can click through them all using the thumbnails along the bottom (or bottom left.
3. There will be some little buttons along the top, between the description and the project preview itself (which looks like the photo or image I've shown here).  Click the little shopping bag icon to add the project(s) to your cart.  
4. Place your order!  This is a great option for saving 5%.  (Again, 50% off sales happen on every product about once a month, so you can wait to order if you prefer.  If you are ordering more than one type of project [mug vs. scrapbook page] they may or may not be on sale at the same time, so just choose the best overall price so you only have to pay shipping once.) 

Merry Christmas!  And Merry Christmas-in-July!  Don't forget to save this post for next year, too, by Pinning it using the image below.

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