Scanning Service for Photos

Pebbles in My Pocket did a great job scanning my grandmothers pictures. They got 500 scanned in in one day.
Here is the info from their last newsletter (Click the picture so you can read it).If you get on their mailing list they send out 40% off coupons and they sell the good suckers on the wooden sticks to bribe your kids with.

Using Memory Mixer & creating elements in GIMP

Here are the basic tutorials for using Memory Mixer.

Here is a tutorial for making elements in GIMP. An element is an image that has a transparent background so you can layer it on top of you pictures and background paper. It acts like a sticker or object.

Putting Downloaded Kits in your Memory Mixer Files

Download your files from the internet. For this example I downloaded a kit from Mommy Scraps.
Extract your downloaded file(s) by right clicking and selecting extract files.
Open Files and sort embellishments into one file and paper into another. Paper is usually .jpeg and embellishments are .png. I know this won't make digi artists happy, but you have to take out the disclaimers, sample pages ect from the folders. Everything in the folder will show up and may give you an error message when you are using Memory Mixer. It is a good idea to save the info about the paper so if you are ever published you can sight the designers. I just put them in a separate folder. (click on the pictures for a bigger picture)
Now you have to put the folders in the Memory Mixer's Files. Go to computer - Local disc c - Program Files - MemoryMixer - Components
The file folder name is what you will see in the menu so try to keep them the same. I will put the papers in the paper folder by clicking backgrounds - paper and dragging my folder over. Then I rename the embellishments folder the same as the paper folder and select embellishments and drag the folder over. Remeber to save these files to a disk in case you computer breaks and you have to start over. If Memory Mixer is open you may have to close and reopen to use the new embelishments.
If you are having trouble with the paper loading you may want to install Quicktime 7.2 and update your Memory Mixer software.

Downloading New Fonts

If you have Windows Vista it is as easy as three clicks.
Find and download the font you want. Dafont is free and they have more then any font lover could ever want.

Go to the downloaded file that has a zipper on it. You need to extract the files by right clicking and selecting extract files.

Go to the new folder that shows up and open it. Inside is the font file. Right click and hit install.

That's it. Now you can use your font in your programs. Sometimes you have to close and reopen Memory Mixer to have the font show up in the menu.

Digital Scrapbooking Software

The Memory Mixer software is an easy to use drop and drag scrapbooking program that lets you choose a background paper, insert and rotate all your elements, insert pictures, edit text, add music, and export as slide show that plays on a DVD or a pictures to print. You can download digital scrapbooking kits to use with the program. It retails for $89, but can be purchased at Roberts Craft with a coupon for $60.

Photoshop Elements and Gimp are photo editing software that you can use to create scrapbook pages, edit photos and create elements for scrapbooking pages. Photoshop elements is widely used in the digital scrapbooking community. You can find tutorials in scrapbooking magazines, books, and on the web. The program sells at costco for $80. Gimp is free open source software. Here is a great blog for scrapbooking with Gimp.



A 5 minute page using the memory mixer software: