We're having a heat wave.....

.....so not much is getting done around here. I went through two crates of assorted books and papers today and ended up with one crate to keep and one crate to put on ebay- needlework charts, books and magazines.

I've been spending a lot of time researching digital scrapbooking the last few days. There's so much talk about the new Stampin' Up digital program being released in a few months, and I am also considering the Creative Memories program. I've used Shutterfly in the past to make photobooks and been very happy with the results, but would like to explore doing more.



















I already have this program- Pixel Magic- which is, in fact, the HP Creative Scrapbook Assistant program under another label. It's been sitting, un-used, for a couple years now and I finally loaded it on my computer yesterday. I've played with it a little bit and think it's pretty easy, but wonder if there isn't something out there better without any more effort. I read some reviews on various programs and it doesn't get a very good rating. So, I'll keep looking- I want an EASY, good program.




















I threw this together last night while I couldn't sleep (DH had a migraine and I needed to be somewhere else to let him rest). I don't love it, and I will re-do the page for this picture, but it's not bad (IMHO, lol!) for a first attempt. I previously tried to master Photoshop, and when that was more than I could handle, Photoshop Elements, but they were both just too much learning curve for what I want to do.

All of the pictures at the link on my sidebar listed as "My treasures-family heritage pictures" are from before World War II. Some go back to the 19th century, and there are still some more to be scanned and added, like the one of my Great-grandmother as a young woman.

I want to make a totally adaptable digital album- one that can be emailed to all my cousins, could be printed in book form at Shutterfly or somewhere like that, could be turned easily into a slide show for DVDs, and can be easily printed out at home or professionally. It would be a GREAT thing to be able to share with all my cousins- and I have a LOT (like about 35) of cousins! (And, that's just first cousins- we won't even consider the numbers if you add in the next two generations!)

So, I need a program that will make a beautiful book/video/etc and without being too much work to learn. I'm going to "real" scrap the originals- they deserve a wonderful treatment- but before I do that I want something that everyone in the family can share.

So, if it stays this hot, I guess I'll be doing my research instead of my housework- sitting is a lot cooler than working around the house.