Melinda in VT Posted December 26, 2011 Share Posted December 26, 2011 I am currently woefully behind on our photo albums. I am trying to maintain five sets of albums--one for each of my four kids and one for DH and I to keep when they all leave home. Right now I print photos and stick them on acid-free 8.5x11 scrapbook paper, write short comments, put the pages in page protectors, and stick them in three-ring binders. This allows me to easily incorporate school photos, pictures the grandparents send me after I've done the pages for that vacation, etc. I am behind by several years (times 5 albums . . . ) and keep thinking that there might be a way to speed this up by doing the layout on the computer and then paying to have the unbound pages printed. I've seen sites that do bound books, but none that do the unbound pages. Suggestions? Thoughts? I'd really like to get caught up on the albums in 2012 and I'm trying to put a good plan in place this week. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Random Posted December 26, 2011 Share Posted December 26, 2011 I like StoryBook Creator by Creative Memories. (I'm not a consultant, and not paid for my opinion. ;) ) It does everything Photoshop does, but it's easy to use. It's easy to sort pictures, easy to maintain. I like to create beautiful pages with StoryBook Creator, then upload to Costco for printing at a fraction of the cost of printing with Creative Memories. If you are making 5 sets of identical albums, digital is the way to go! ETA: I'm pretty sure Costco does unbound pages. My Sam's Club also offers unbound page printing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azalea Posted December 26, 2011 Share Posted December 26, 2011 I'm giving you a bump in the hope that you will get more replies. My father's 80th birthday is in a week and I am trying to decide whether to print photos, buy a digital picture frame and fill it with photos, or maybe try a scrapbook or photo book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Photo Ninja Posted December 27, 2011 Share Posted December 27, 2011 Photoshop Elements is a fairly inexpensive software (about $80 or so on sale) that is great for digital scrapbooking. There are lots of tutorials available on using it for scrapbooking, and it has plenty of versatility. There are many websites on using it and lots of free digital papers and elements and templates you can download, as well as buy. I use Photoshop Elements, and it is perfect for what you are describing. I make one page, print several copies, and I insert the printed pages into my dc's albums. Then I can resize the same layout to 8x8 or 6x6 and print it for grandparents. I can also use the layouts as wallpaper for my computer and Nook Color. Lots of options. I usually print pages at Costco, but other online sites will allow you to print individual pages, not just complete books. A website I like (I am not associated with it apart from being a very happy customer): http://www.designerdigitals.com/ My favorite digital scrapbooking site. Look at the Ideas tab for examples of layouts people have done, most using Photoshop Elements or Photoshop. Look at the Supplies or Specials tab to see what is sold: kits, templates, elements, alphas, papers, etc. If you register (free), you can get loads of excellent, high quality papers, elements and templates free. Just download them from the Community tab, then scroll down to Weekly Challenges. There are three free items to download weekly, and you can go back and download past freebies as well. It is worth it. http://www.designerdigitals.com/digital-scrapbooking/supplies/index.php/cPath/167 Tutorials for sale and a few for free that teach how to use Photoshop Elements for scrapbooking techniques. High quality, easy to follow step by step directions. Another site: http://www.oscraps.com/shop/home.php http://creativepassionclasses.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desert Rat Posted December 27, 2011 Share Posted December 27, 2011 Another vote for Photoshop Elements. My dear friend gave it to me last year for Christmas. I taught myself the basics thanks to youtube videos. It's fairly easy to get started with just a few pointers/tutorials. It comes with quite a few pages and elements. I get a lot from various websites for $1-$7 a kit. Each kit is very versatile and can be used over and over. Here's an example of one I recently did using Photoshop: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melinda in VT Posted December 27, 2011 Author Share Posted December 27, 2011 Thanks for suggestions and links. I'm checking these out now. Any other suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
delaney Posted December 27, 2011 Share Posted December 27, 2011 Can I ask how much it is to print a page? Is it cheaper than the whole cut/paste/glue/decorate thing? I make books for all the kids so we are talking 6 at a time plus mine!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murmer Posted December 27, 2011 Share Posted December 27, 2011 I use My Digital Studio which is the Stampin' Up digital scrapbooker. I am enjoying it...They do have a print service that will just print loose pages or you can do a bound book...your choice. Or you can just print at home or at a local place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Desert Rat Posted December 27, 2011 Share Posted December 27, 2011 I print through scrapping simply dot com most of the time. For 12 x 12 it's $1.99, 8 x 8 is 99 cents. (Someone here recommended it and I love their service!) I also use Costco for smaller print jobs. They are 12 x 12 for $2.49, 8 x 8 $1.49. I think it's cheaper than paper scrapping. Once you use a kit in paper scrapping, it's gone. Digital you can use over and over. I also like that I can do one layout and print it 3 times for 3 books. Saves a lot of time and energy. I do our own birthday invites and Christmas cards, etc. My closets are empty now because I got rid of almost all my paper scrapping stuff. I scan in awards, etc. and make them parts of pages. The albums are also much lighter and easier to handle than paper scrapped books. Whew! Can you tell which method I prefer! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ma23peas Posted December 27, 2011 Share Posted December 27, 2011 Yes!!! Photoshop Elements and www.jessicasprague.com she has amazing deals on Wednesdays and other holidays...I think I have spent a total of $80 on her 'courses' and templates and made 5 years worth of albums from them!!! Here is a link to some of pages created by folks who use her stuff.. http://www.jessicasprague.com/cpg/thumbnails.php?album=8 I love her stuff and the pages are beautiful! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexasRachel Posted December 27, 2011 Share Posted December 27, 2011 I print my pages in books, but I mainly use artscow.com. I think they do pages as well. I made an 80 page 12x12 book of our recent Disney vacation for $40. I then printed 8x8 for my brother, niece, and parents for $25 each. the quality isn't as good as shutterfly, but they are still ok. There are lots of templates out there that would make it easy. I've taken classes at godigitalscrapbooking.com that were very good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leeannpal Posted December 27, 2011 Share Posted December 27, 2011 I have software called Scrapbook Max that I really enjoy. Lately, I've gotten back into paper scrapbooking again, but I love the look of the digital, and they are so easy to create and print. http://www.scrapbookmax.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alicia64 Posted February 5, 2012 Share Posted February 5, 2012 Can I ask how much it is to print a page? Is it cheaper than the whole cut/paste/glue/decorate thing? I make books for all the kids so we are talking 6 at a time plus mine!!!! I'm totally new to this too. Does anyone happen to know if using Costco's photo set up is a good or bad idea? Thanks for modernizing me -- great thread! Alley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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