I am familiar with digital scrapbooking. I usually use Photoshop CS5 to do my layouts. I make them in 12x12, resize to 8x8 and have them printed at one of the several online companies that print. I can go more into depth on what companies there are out there in a future Digital Friday post.
Being a new Close to My Heart Consultant, I was curious about Studio J. I was intrigued by not having to buy sets of graphics, know a bit about photoshop (which can have a steep learning curve) and scour online for layout ideas. Studio J has all of those things, I found. I logged into their site. You use their online tools, so there's no program to download. Pretty cool! I uploaded a handful of photos from Currituck Lighthouse that I took on my vacation last year. Soon, I was given a choice of paper packs to choose from. I chose one called "Bliss". I then got to choose a layout I wanted to use. Surprisingly, they had several to choose from.
I did have a few mistakes, but luckily there is an undo button at the top of the window that came in very handy. You can then choose your embellishments. You can even recolor the embellishments as you wish. Try doing that with your regular scrapbooking ribbon ;)
After a little tinkering, this is what I came up with: (click on the photo for a closer view)
For my first time using the site, I think it turned out pretty nicely. I know I might be a tiny but biased, but I honestly set out to do this to show you guys what I thought of it. The fees you pay are for the layouts. One layout consists of a two page spread like the one I posted above. I only purchased the jpg image file. It cost me 2.95 although I think if you're making an actual, physical album, the best way to go is to choose the printing option. It costs 6.95 and you need a minimum of 5 layouts before finalizing the order. (it saves on shipping that way). This might initially sound steep, but you're not paying for separate image/embellishment files and you'll get high quality printed pages shipped to you.
Final Thoughts:
Overall, I think Studio J is pretty nice. If you're new to digital scrapbooking, it's perfect. If you're using an ancient laptop, it's great because you're not using an actual program on your computer. I could actually scrapbook FROM vacation using this method. nifty.
My only cons are this: If you're a very experienced digital scrapper with all the necessary equipment and like spending lots of time adjusting drop shadows, curves, color levels and such, this might feel too superficial for you. However, if you need to get pages done quickly, it would not be a bad option, even for the experienced user. In my opinion, this is designed for the beginner/new digital scrapbooker or the person with little time. Regardless, it makes lovely and well put together pages with lots of customization. Every part of the layout I made could have been changed or adjusted..
If you want to give it a try, head on over to Studio J.
They're having a special when you buy 9 layouts. It would be nice to get those scrapbook gifts done before the holiday rush
Get a free Studio J® layout in October! In this special promotion, you will receive a free custom-printed layout when you buy 9 custom-printed Studio J layouts. To receive the discount, just add 10 or more layouts to your cart. You’ll see a discount reflected in your order total. And you can totally take advantage of this promotion by ordering in multiples of 10. Buy 9, get 1 free. Buy 18, get 2 free. Buy 27, get 3 free. Up to 4 free layouts! If you haven’t tried Studio J yet, now is the time to start!
Dates: October 1–31, 2012
I guess that ended up sounding like an advertisement, but I didn't mean for it to be. I really did enjoy the product. Before I had began, I was skeptical even though I am a ctmh consultant. Just making the pages is free, so go ahead and try it for yourself. Let me know how it went for you! I'd love to hear your experiences and see your finished pages
Until next time!
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