My Memories Suite: Review and Blog Candy

This blog candy is now closed. Please see this post for the winner. Coupon code is still good to use for savings, see details in that post. Thank you!
I recently had the opportunity to try out and review the product My Memories Suite digital scrapbooking software. My first thought when I got the email was, "How did they know how much I needed this?!" (My baskets of cards are constantly overflowing but my poor few scrapbooks remain very "skinny"!) When I checked out their site and saw My Memories Suite is the #1 rated scrapbooking software package AND the top selling scrapping software on Amazon.com, that was really all I needed to know to want to get started! :) Look what I already made! Let me tell and show you a little bit about it before we get to the giveaway and how to win!

I love creating scrapped memories with my boys images, but the larger format of a page vs. a card, plus adding photos is more challenging for me. I also labor over trying to get pages just right, and unfortunately I just don't have that much time. A few years ago my husband bought me a different scrapbooking program from Costco (bless his heart) but unfortunately, it was very limited in its capabilities and VERY dated looking, even for then! I just didn't take to it at all. However, My Memories is everything that software was NOT, I am so impressed with it so far and excited about getting caught up on my pages! I finished a whole Christmas album's worth (pics from 2005!) in a couple hours, less time that it would have taken me to create an actual page on my own! (and now that I am more familiar with all the options and have my favorite embellishments and things "saved", the next pages will go even faster) This digital scrapbooking package has given me access to so many gorgeous pre-made layouts (yet allows me to easily create layouts from scratch if I want), trendy embellishments, lots of digi backgrounds and the ability to change color, add texture, text, titles, flourishes, the works!
Here is the first page layout I started with, pre-made (designed by a scrapbooking pro!).
Here it is "after", with my photo, text, some buttons, the borders moved, and a flourish. I love that I can save all these pages and print them out when I am ready, not having a bunch of stuff out, as well as being able to go back and make changes or add things any time I want.

Another really cool feature is the ability to have the program auto-fill you photos for you! Have a folder of those vacation photos? Select the Fast-Fill feature and it will automatically add them to the pre-made layouts with spaces for portrait and landscape oriented photos, inserting as many pages as needed to accommodate all your pics! All you have to do then is go back and add some text. If you are not as organized as having all your photos for each occasion in separate folders, or you want to choose where you each photo goes based on the layout or design of the page, you can of course add them individually. I tried both ways and had great success! When you select a pre-designed "album", it includes several different layouts. You can use your favorite ones, repeat layouts, add more pages, or remove any you don't care for.
Here are two more pages I did quickly. Above I have the elements labelled that I added. You can change the opacity of these to make them slightly transparent, which I did on a snowflake at the bottom right and on the flourish. Below I kept it simpler but had fun adding these snowflakes and dotted circles in the sizes I wanted over the photos to add interest and spotlight William' s chubby little face! It is so fun going through the different elements they offer to try out and then put back if you want to try something else! There are only a few pages in the album I did that morning.

And finally, here is a quick Fall one with a very different layout, this was pre-made as part of a "Fall" album, so it's all earthy colors textures, patterns. As you can see, it's a completely different style than the Christmas ones, there are so many looks to choose from. How fun are the clothespins and little notebook to add the journaling? :)

Something else that makes this scrapbooking suite unique is the ability to add sound, music, and narration to your pages! How cool would it be to add you and the kids talking about the event and then put that with the scrapped pages on a disc to send to a relative? Or email to friends? Or just be able to go through the album together with the kids in your lap while you both record the things you remember about that day? Priceless! I tried this and it was easy as pie, just hit the record button on the screen and start talking! (I just don't know how to add that effect here in the post to show you!)

If you're not the most "software savvy" person, (and I am not), they have several resources to help you with whatever you need: a blog with video tutorials, FAQs, customer support, etc. Here is a link for their blog, (there is a tab for it on the main page too) with several video tutorials on how to use the software, check it out!

Now, you don't need to purchase any additional kits to make fabulous pages, (everything you see above was already in the software), although the store has hundreds of custom kits that allow you to add more to your suite, papers and patterns specific to your tastes, alphabets, specific themes that work for your family and occasions you want to scrap (Bar Mitzvah, baby shower, skateboarding, etc) I was really amazed at how many fantastic kits that are offered for free, I think I downloaded about 30 of them! Now I have all these cool extras! I'll be sure to come back and show you some things I make with those!

Print your pages yourself, save it to a disc, or have My Memories print it out for you in a beautifully bound book. If you like a lot of texture to your pages, you could even add embellishments like real buttons or bows to the pages before sliding them into a page protector.

It's really difficult to put all the cool things about this software in one post! The last thing I'll say is this also a wonderful way to get my KIDS involved in preserving our special memories! What kid doesn't like to use the computer, and how can I argue they are "wasting" any of my good supplies? LOL! I know they'll learn the ins and outs of the program faster than I will and make some really cool stuff! :)

So do you want it for yourself yet? Then how about some really exciting news! My Memories has given me an extra copy of this software for you ONE OF YOU! ($39.95 value) To enter this blog candy, FIRST please go to the My Memories website and have fun spending a few minutes (or several! just don't forget to come back!) checking out their different products. NEXT, come back here and leave a comment telling me about a FAVORITE thing you saw, whether it was a layout, digital paper pack, etc. Be sure to have an email address to contact you (or one in your blogger profile) in your comment!

I will draw a winner and announce on Friday morning, 10/7. The winner will receive a special code and instructions from me on how to download the software (it is compatible with Mac or PC), no shipping required, you'll be able to get started scrapping right away!

Now, if you DON'T win the candy, here is special for EVERYONE to take advantage of:

A "Share the Memories" 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 -a $20 value! Please copy and paste (at checkout) the following code if you are sharing it or using it in your order to avoid typos: STMMMS25387 That makes this bestselling software package only $29.95 for you, plus you have the $10 credit for more goodies of your choice to download from the store.

There is NO expiration on this code, you can come get it off my blog anytime (but why wait?) Please feel free to share and post that code with friends who'd be interested in taking advantage of the offer! :)

Of course, digital scrapbooking in no way takes the place of my love for stamping, cardmaking and all of Gina K Designs's amazing products, and I will still incorporate stamps on pages from time to time (by the way, I have some terrific stamps coming out that will lend themselves terrifically to stamping!) but if you enjoy working on the computer (and I KNOW you do since you are here!), you'll love blending the digital aspect with your crafty inclination! In fact, I believe you'll find a lot of inspiration for your cards with the My Memories Software Suite, I kept seeing pages and thought, "Wow, what a terrific card layout!" :) Have fun getting scrappy! I look forward to reading your comments!