It's all about the tools, right?

I was trying to keep this tool-independent, but there are just too many things that I want to say that require someone to be using the same tool or at least know that I am NOT using the same tool.

I am using the Storybook Creator 3.0 software from Creative Memories. I bought 2.0 about 4 years ago and never really got into it. I have just recently realized all the cool things you can do with it and all so I upgraded to 3.0 (because some of the cool stuff I wanted to do was only available in that version).

I do like the IDEA that I am in something like Photoshop or Photoshop Elements, but I can do pretty everything in this package and I think it is a little more intuitive than those other packages. I have not tried anything else, so if you have found something that works for you, by all means, use it! This is just what works for me.

At first, I was using only the canned photobook templates, which was great for its purpose. However, I thought that was all I could do with the software. How wrong I was!! So far, I have only found one thing I cannot do within the package, and I never did it traditionally, so if I can't do it within the package, it is no big deal! This blog will document my learning of how to really make this package hum and do exactly what I want it to do!

One of the best things about having it all within a package is that when I have a new idea for a page, it is not on a sticky note somewhere or getting lost on my desk. I simply open the package (most of the time it is already open) and I create a new blank page with a reminder on it. When I have more time, I can go back into it and write more journalling or create the page or whatever. The placeholder is in there and I love that! What I did is that I have a "storybook" that I created that I have no intention of ever printing like a photobook. I can print each page individually if I want, which I do. I have a "project" called "individual pages" and that is how I keep them together and separate from my gift or theme albums, which are all in their own files.

The good thing about this is that I do not print the pages right away. I let them stew for a few weeks and have a chance to make changes if necessary before I print them. I have been really into this now again for about 6 weeks and have yet to print anything, BUT I have 32 pages DONE in the "individual pages" album, as well as having 30 placeholders (2 of which have a full page of journalling already written) and have 16 other albums in some state, whether I just have a skeleton or several pages done already.