my memories software review & giveaway

I am not a scrapbooker. I have a scrapbook, which I began in early high school and sort of-kind of worked on through my junior year of college. I loved the idea of scrapbooking, but I didn't love the time and creativity it took.

Enter digital scrapbooking. I have friends who have been into it for years (and who create really cool looking pages), but I really never understood what it was, and I definitely had no interest in trying it out. Then someone from MyMemories.com contacted me about reviewing their My Memories Suite v2 digital scrapbooking software. After checking out the company to make sure the offer was legit, I agreed.

The download process, as well as the installation, was simple. Within minutes, I was ready to create my own page. And that's when I got overwhelmed. I finally just picked a template and tried to go with it, but nothing looked exactly as I wanted it to. (Honestly, I wasn't too impressed with the templates available.) So then I switched to the "Design Your Own" option. I had a blast discovering all the things I could do! Obviously, I'm new to the world of digital scrapbooking, so I don't have anything to compare this to, but for a novice user like me, the MyMemories software seems pretty nice--and pretty simple.

One of my favorite aspects is the fact that you can add music and narration to your album and then burn it to a DVD or even put it on your ipod. Following our great road trip adventure to Oregon two years ago, I spent hours (and hours and hours) creating a DVD of our trip. And the end result was basically a slide show set to music. MyMemories would allow me to create a ... slide show set to music ... but with cool looking pages instead of just pictures! (In order to do this, you have to download the media export software, which is free.)

You can print your pages yourself if you want to, or you can have them printed in a photo book. I have a lot of experience with Shutterfly, and the photo books through MyMemories are very comparable in price to Shutterfly; in fact, they're actually a bit cheaper. (Of course, when you factor in that you have to pay nearly $40 to download the software, the price advantage goes away, but if you want to be able to completely customize your book, MyMemories gives you that freedom.)

They also have (as of this writing) 77 free downloadable kits--some papers, some embellishments, some templates, some quick pages (where you basically just drop in your picture(s) and the page is finished). I downloaded several already.

So do I recommend this? Yes, with reservations. Personally, I would never pay $40 for scrapbooking software--because I wouldn't use it enough to make it worthwhile. For someone who wants to get into it, though, I think this product would be useful.

I thought I'd give you a glimpse of what a novice can do with this software. You ready?

My first attempt. It took me forever to do this, and I'm not thrilled with it.

This one I'm much happier with--and it took me half the time!

Now for the giveaway! MyMemories.com is letting me give away their software to one of my readers! If you win, you'll be given a code to download your own MyMemories software. The winner will be chosen at random from all the qualifying entries.

Here's how to enter:

• Visit MyMemories.com and pick out a scrapbooking kit you like. Leave a comment telling me which one you picked. (You must do this in order to be entered in the drawing.)

You can earn one additional entry for doing each of the following (for a total of 5 extra entries). Please leave a comment for each one you do:

• Follow this blog. (If you already are a follower, leave a comment telling me that.)
• Follow the MyMemories blog. 
• Become a fan of MyMemories on facebook.
• Follow me on Twitter. (If you already follow me, let me know.)
• Follow MyMemories on Twitter.

This giveaway closes on Friday, September 30, at 11:59 p.m., so be sure to get your entries in soon, and check back on Saturday to see who won!

For those of you who don't win, if you decide you want to buy the software, here's a coupon code for $10 off: STMMMS47474. Just enter it at checkout.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this software free from MyMemories.com. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."