Does Anyone Do Digital Scrapbooking? What Site Do You Use?

I have the Creative Memories Digital software and LOVE it! I use that and then save the pages as .jpgs. I can then either have the pages printed out or load them to a Shutterfly book (which is what I usually do). If you want me to share a book I've made on Shutterfly with you doing this, pm me. I'm not the most elaborate but I think you'll get the idea.

P.S. I'm not a consultant, just happy with the product.

I've used the CM Storybook software for several years and LOVE it. I like that I don't have to pull a bunch of stuff out (and have my kids get into it). I also love that if anything were to ever happen to my books, I have them still digitally. I'm not super-creative so I also like that I can start with a pre-arranged template and totally make it my own. I order 8 x 8 books and don't find them overly pricey, probably less expensive than buying the book, paper, embellishments, etc. I also like that my youngest can't tear off embellishments and such from my pages that I worked so hard to create. Just yesterday I found pictures out of an old "traditional" book that I had worked SO hard on, and she had taken them out. Arrrgghh!!!! Oh, and once you purchase an embellishment you can use it over and over again, even change the colors, size, etc. If you aren't sure about it, try the free version of the software (not very customizable, but you can get the gist of how it works) before you upgrade and buy the customizable software.

Shutterfly is amazing. It doesn't limit you to anything. You customize it to whatever you need and the deals you get are great. They are currently running 40% off their photo books with promo BOOK40 or free shipping on $30+ with SHIP30.

If you go through ebates (http://tinyurl.com/6lt6efd), you get 4% cash back on your purchase and you can still use the promotions.

Shutterly does do digital scrapbooking. You can move the pictures however you want and add tons of embellishments, stickers, backgrounds, text boxes all kids of stuff, just like scrapbooking where you manipulate the page however you want. If you check out the site, you have to go to the customize section.

I did one for both of my kids (my daughters 5th year and my son's 2nd year) and they turned out fabulous. High quality. I'm very please with them and am making another one for each of them. They have lots of great deals too. I've done the paper scrapbooking with CM and they are always so expensive.

I use Artscow! It lets you do everything. You can even make your own graphic and upload them for use. Just love all the templates they have available. It's free site to join. They have tons of templates, many of which are free. I am so impressed with the quality of the product.

I have a book I did with CM free software and it's beautiful but I felt it didn't have enough functionality.

P.

I was using My Publisher...I DO NOT recommend them! terrible

I do both traditional and digital scrapbooking. I use Heritage Makers (http://publishyourphotos.com/) for my digital. One of my best friends is a consultant. I was very hesitant at first b/c they are a little more expensive than something like Shutterfly, but now I love them. You can either start with a blank slate and do whatever you want or you can start with templates. Their templates include some done by Heritage Maker consultants on their creative team and some done by other people who submitted their designs so there are tons to choose from. I think you can browse the templates without being a member. They have a ton of art work and add new stuff every month. You access it through the internet so you can pick it up on any computer. The absolute best thing is having a consultant to call when I have trouble or can't find what I'm looking for or don't know how to do something. I used to use Shutterfly, but twice I had the system freeze up and I lost my entire project-- even what had been saved. How does that even happen??? Anyway, the quality of HM products is superb. Seriously amazing. They also have cards of every size-- you can even design them online and ship them directly to your recipient. That's one of my favorite things. And they send you idea books with all kinds of different projects. If you have any questions, I can refer you to my friend. Good luck with whatever you choose!

Full disclosure: I like Creative Memories so much that I became a consultant (just last month, after doing traditional scrapbooks for years, and digital for the past couple of years). Part of the reason was because I was so impressed with the binding, the page quality, and the overall excellence of the books.

Here is what I like about the CM system. Their Memory Manager software is what you use to digitally store, organize and edit your photos. I just finished a huge (96 page!) family ancestry/genealogy scrapbook for my kids. I ended up with tons of census pages, photos of cemeteries, immigration documentation from Ancestry.com, and I'm now scanning those in to Memory Manager. I created folders for each family line and when I'm done I will have ancestry documents all available in Memory Manager. I was able to repair some badly torn and worn ancient photos using the editing features (and I have never done anything like that before). You can create sort boxes for each of your children, or for a particular vacation, or the school year, etc., and scan in photos, art work, school work, etc. I have a recipe sort box and did a family recipe photo album for each of my kids with favorite recipes and some basic cooking fundamentals, like how to make a white sauce, and things like that.

Then the Memory Manager works so beautifully with the Storybook Creator. I prefer starting with blank pages, but they have beautifully pre-designed pages that you can just fill with your photos. A couple of pages in my ancestry book were just backgrounds with writing on them, no photos.

Even my dh said that the finished product was very well done (meaning the binding and the printing and the weight of the pages).

One of the reasons I'm doing more digital than traditional now is that I can just open up my laptop, open the page I was working on last, and move photos around, get backgrounds, journal, etc., instead of having to get out all the paper supplies. And a simple click of the mouse saves everything.

I'd be happy to help you in any way if you want to PM me.

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Shutterfly! Great products, easy to use, and great prices. My SIL's mom uses CM and I've seen the books. I think the quality/creativity at Shutterfly is just as good (if not better) for less money!

Sorry, I just re-ready your question....I'll leave my answer because I really like Shutterfly:)

I do traditional scrapbooking using CM products. My consultant is a huge digital scrapbooker, and looking at how quickly she's able to put books together, and the quality of them, if I were to do digital scrapbooking, I would definitely use CM. It's a great product.

Just to let you know shutterfly has changed theirs so there are now many many more options. You can design the page anyway you want, add stickers, backgrounds as pictures, etc. The only downside I found was a 100 page limit.CM sounds really interesting too, but I haven't tried it. After reading the posts below I may have to check it out.

MyMemories.com!!! Just started a few months ago and love it. Am working on a way to upload each page as jpeg onto shutterfly to make book; not sure will work but hoping so!!! I know you can order through MyMemories too!

I was a traditional scrabooker and then someone shared Heritage Makers with me! BEST THING EVER!! I sold all my creative memories stuff and went full digital! I was hesitant at first but once I got my first project...there was no turning back!
I am now a consultant of 2 1/2 years and my life has changed dramatically! Not only am I totally current on all my scrapbooking....but I make money doing it!
I would love for you to check out my website: www.PublishYourPhotos.com

Keep in mind that all our artwork is FREE with Club HM and and all your products are always 25-34% off! Shutterly also owns all your photos and projects and can use them anywhere without your permission! BOOOOO!

Let me know what questions I can answer for you!