Some of these pics I've put on the blog before, but I thought I'd include them anyway since they can look completely different in these layouts!
“I write because I don’t know what I think until I read what I say.” -Flannery O’Connor
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Newest Smilebox Layouts
Well, I've been busy over the last month, but we've finally managed to wrap up our Sonlight 3 and 100 from this past year. And, I've managed to begin exploring digital scrapbooking. Smilebox has been an awesome gentle introduction into this. My biggest issue now is finding a place to print them. My "loopy" friend Cynthia in Montana is going to have some printed at Costco for me. Meanwhile, I continue to look for an online place to do this. Anyway, I thought I could get a blog post done by posting a few of my latest Smilebox creations.
Some of these pics I've put on the blog before, but I thought I'd include them anyway since they can look completely different in these layouts!
Some of these pics I've put on the blog before, but I thought I'd include them anyway since they can look completely different in these layouts!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
16 comments:
You've been busy! I, too, just started tinkering with Smilebox. I love the layouts! You might want to check out http://www.scrapbooksplease.com/prints.aspx
for printing the 12X12s at a decent price. It comes highly recommended by our Creative Memories consultant here. I think she recommended the lustre finish, but they have different paper weights and stocks. Be sure to request your free paper samples with your order.
Those look GREAT! I'll let you know when the CD arrives with the pics on it.
Did you see the newest one that just came out this week? It's another cute album that I'm looking forward to using this summer!
I love the pages you made!
Also congrats on finishing your Sonlight for the year!
Thanks for the info, Michelle. I looked at their site. The premium luster pages are $4.99 a print, so that's pricey. However, the standard matte looks good to me and the price is $1.99 regularly. Right now they're having a sale for $0.99 on these! They do have an offer to print your page on all their papers for free so you can see the difference. That may be risky, though! I think I'm going to break down and buy the CM Storybook Creator Plus software. The Smilebox pages are not of a high enough resolution to print on a 12x12 page (according to Smilebox as well as all the online places I've tried). However, I have several friends who have printed them in 12x12. I saw an online demo of the CM product, and it looked so much easier to use than Photoshop. Are you using it?
I haven't seen the CM software demo. I've been using Photoshop for several years. There are still things that I haven't figured out though. I may try to use Smilebox and change the resolution through Photoshop (one of the benefits of Photoshop).
You can't beat 99 cents for a scrapbook page. I slip mine inside of sleeves anyway, so page weight doesn't matter too much to me.
Good for you for taking the time to learn how to do this. I have been 'playing' with it for about a year or so but not very 'committed' to it.
Linda - did you get your pages back yet? Cindy is a sweetie to do this for those of us who live far away?
What did you think? I found that my smilebox pastel ones muted the photos.....
I found a place to buy 12 x 12 matte paper online - comes to .60 a page....then the local scrapbook store says they'll print them for 1.48 a page....so that is 1.99 and that is my cheapest local option.
What did you decide about the smilebox 12 x 12's? I bet some of my problem with them was due to that.
I did buy the CM software and it's been a breeze to find free stuff.....just no time to play with it or even smilebox in the past few weeks. LOL
Did I forget to say your layouts are darling? ::snort::
DeEtta, I did print all of the above layouts at the place Michelle mentioned (www.scrapbooksplease.com) on their value matte paper. They had a sale for $0.95 per print. The shipping was $6.00 total. So that amounted to $1.62 each. I thought they were muted, some more than others, but nothing awful. Cindy is printing 3 of these same ones at Costco. So, I'll have them to compare. I did order the CM software, and am waiting for it to arrive. It looked simple with the online demo. There are lots of premade pages to use, too. I don't want to have to worry about the quality of the prints as I think I'll have to get them printed online. We have a small local store here, but I haven't had a chance to stop in and see if they have a printer. I'm not holding my breath. LOL!
I think I might be the only one printing those pages out at home using 8x8 size and photo paper. They look fantastic!
Is there a reason why no one else is doing this? I hope they don't fade!
Dorothy, I want them to fit in my CM albums which are 12x12. So, my home printer won't print 12x12. I may make a smaller 8x8 album for the grandparents for Christmas. If I do, I may print them myself. Of course, there are several online places who will print them so cheaply here that it's probably not worth it to do it at home!
So. Did you like them?
I liked some better than others. I like the matte finish better than the glossy. I thought some were fuzzier than others. I did install my new Creative Memories software Sunday. Then, I copied the Smilebox layouts into the program as a photo, increased the size to the entire page, and then used the Sharpen feature on the Enhance tab. It looked significantly better on the screen. I'm going to have them printed out again, and see how I like them, if it seems to make a difference. It seems like I'm spending a lot of money at the start, but once I decide what is going to work, it'll be easier.
Great idea, Linda about sharpening as a photo through the Storybook program. I think that's what DeEtta was saying as well, but I didn't really "get" it until I just read what you're doing. I also ordered the Storybox and it should come in a week or two so I think I'll wait to print anymore until it comes although I've been completely happy with the pages I've already done... I suppose because I'm so far behind that my family it THRILLED to have ANYTHING printed out and in an album (LOL)!
Yes, Cynthia, if these newest prints turn out good, I am going to be really thrilled at the combination of Smilebox and Storybook Creator Plus! I'll let you know how they look.
These look terrific! Great job, and what fun!
Post a Comment