A couple of pumpkin layouts...a la Studio J

It's a beautiful fall day in in east central Alberta, did I spend it frolicking in the leaves with my kids? No. I spent the afternoon detailing my SUV (hey, it probably won't get done again until spring) I drive a Santa Fe, not sure if that's an actual SUV, but it's not a car, or a van, it's one of those crossover thingies. We call it Steve...if you've seen "Over the Hedge" you'll get it. ("I'd feel better if I just knew what to call it, so I'm naming it Steve!"  bonus points if you know who said it.) Anyway, it's now nice and shiny and smells of leather cleaner.  Life is good.
The gorgeous sunshine today reminded me of the October days we took the kids on a pumpkin hunt with their cousins. I have a couple of layouts to share. Would you believe these are digital? Done with CTMH Studio J website:

(click on the pic to get a larger view)

Those 2 in the middle of the 5x7 on the lower right page are mine :)

They were sure cute when they were little.

There they are again, on the right end of the log this time, only they got bigger.

Great thing about Studio J, not only did these layouts get done super fast, these papers which coordinate with the photos so nicely are no longer available. They have been retired from the CTMH catalog, but you can still use them in Studio J!  There are also exclusive Studio J papers and patterns which are not available anywhere else.

Give Studio J a try, it's FREE. Yep, I said FREE. You can access it HERE, and you can play with it until you're happy with your layouts. There are no charges until you order prints, which get delivered to your door, in fabulous archival quality. Pricing starts at $15.00 per 2 page layout, with discounts for purchase of a membership such as $7.00 per 2 page layout (that's just $3.50 per page, I couldn't print my photos for that, let alone a 12x12 layout!) which includes .jpg files for archiving, free page protectors and free shipping.

If you haven't tried Studio J yet, what have you got to lose? It's free to play! I suggest creating an account when it asks you, no charges- you just set up a user name and password which allows you to save your layouts and come back to them later. You'll be surprised at how quickly you can create gorgeous scrapbook layouts, with no mess to clean up.

Thanks for visiting my blog;

Lorrinda

Studio J Is Here!

Studio J is CTMH's fabulous new online digital scrapbooking site. I've been playing with it during it's testing phase and I really had fun using it. It's so simple,  but the pages you can create are just amazing, and best of all, no mess to clean up!!

Q. What is Studio J Design Software?
A. Studio J is free online scrapbooking design software brought to you by Close To My Heart. (Did I mention FREE?) Studio J helps you easily create custom-printed two-page layouts using our foundational scrapbook patterns, exclusive color palette, and themed designs all delivered in 12 × 12 custom prints ready for your albums. It’s a snap!

Q. Is Studio J easy to use?
A. Studio J software is extremely intuitive and easy to use. The program walks you through five steps that include:
1. uploading your photos (you can skip this step and come back to it later if you want)
2. choosing your desired themed kit
3. selecting an exclusive layout pattern
4. adding photos, embellishments, titles, and journalling
5. purchasing custom-printed layouts ready for your personal album


Q.  I love Close To My Heart products. Will Studio J use the same great papers, patterns, colors, and embellishments?
A. Of course! Not only the colors and patterns, but the My Stickease, buttons, metals and ribbon embellishments too! If you love Close To My Heart’s philosophy of "Faster, Simpler, Easier", then you will love Studio J!

Q. I've tried digital scrapbooking before, but I prefer the look of traditional 12x12 paper layouts. Why should I look at Studio J?
A. Studio J is a truly unique digital scrapbook experience! It offers very real-looking 12x12 layouts in CTMH papers and patterns that you love, with the simplicity and mess-free ease of digital pages. The printed layouts will match any current CTMH product you may have used on your albums, so you can insert them into your albums right along with your paper layouts! If you still prefer to cut and paste, you can design your layouts on StudioJ, then recreate them with your CTMH papers! Sort of like a pre-cutting preview! (Note: you don't have to upload any photos to play, you can create your layouts first, then upload your photos later)

Here are a couple of layouts I did during the testing phase:

What do you think? See the distressed edges, the buttons and ribbon, the MyStickease embellishments? When I received the printed pages I was amazed at how realistic everything looked! The buttons and brads have to be touched to see they're not real...everything looks 3D.

Want to give it a try?

Q. Do I need to download any software to my computer to use Studio J?
A. Nope! You only need an Internet connection, and then you simply log in to my MyCTMH website and click on the Studio J link to get started. Feel free to design to your heart’s content—you are not required to buy anything to get started!

Q. Can I save what I am working on and come back to it later?
A. Absolutely! You can create a customer profile that allows you to save and return to a project in progress at a later time. Your active projects will be saved for up to 90 days, giving you plenty of time to work on them. You extend that timeline for your active projects by 90 days each time you make a purchase, and your purchased projects will remain archived for one full year after purchase. Better yet, Close To My Heart will even send you an email to let you know where you are at with your project timeline.

Q. Do I need a printer that can print 12" × 12" pages to use Studio J?
A. Nope. Your Studio J layouts are not available for you to print from a home computer. In fact, we take care of the printing for you. When you purchase your designed layouts, we print and ship them quickly and directly to you using only top quality printing technology and archival-quality papers. Mine arrived via Canada Post within a week after I purchased them.

Q. What is the price?
A. You are not charged a thing until you place the order for your custom prints. The price per printed two-page layout is $14.95 (research has shown that the average paper-crafted 2-page scrapbook layout costs about $15, and YOU have to store the supplies and clean up the mess when you're done)

Shipping and Handling charge is a base rate ($13.95) for a pizza-style box that will hold 20 layouts (40 pages), so it is more cost-effective to create and save several pages until you are ready to order.

Right now CTMH has an introductory offer:
You can receive FREE Memory Protectors to protect your layouts in your albums, and FREE shipping/handling based on the number of layout prints you purchase in a single order as follows:

For 5–9 layout purchases: You’ll receive a pack of 5 Memory Protectors FREE!

For 10–20 layout purchases: You’ll receive FREE shipping/handling PLUS a FREE pack of 5 Memory Protectors for every 5 layouts in your single order.

Q. When can I begin creating with Studio J?
A. RIGHT NOW!  Click HERE to access Studio J. You'll need to create a free account for your login info, then any layouts you create will be saved in your account. Remember, there are no charges until you're ready to  place your layouts order.

Give Studio J a try today!

Studio J Preview!

What is StudioJ?

StudioJ is a new product from CTMH! Put simply, Studio J is online design software that allows you to create custom-printed two-page layouts you put in your albums. There is no software to purchase and install; instead, simply log in to Studio J and start designing your layouts! You can create and immediately purchase your layouts, or you can save them for up to 90 days in an active folder for later completion and purchase.

No need to fill up your hard drive or use up your RAM. This is an ONLINE program that is FREE to use! You only pay for the layouts you order, and CTMH prints them and sends them right to your door! How's that for convenient?

I got a chance to preview the website before it goes live to customers in April.  I've been playing around with it (short learning curve) and I gotta say I'm impressed!

Here's a preview of the layouts I did today: (note: I did a screen capture from the layout preview window, the watermarks you see here will not be printed on the layouts)
You can click on the layout for a larger view.

My most productive scrapbook day EVER!

And, I got to play with some other papers/layouts without even uploading photos. So now I have some layouts ready to use when I decide what pictures I want to scrap next.

The software is extremely intuitive and easy to use. The software walks a user through five simple steps:

1. uploading photos;
2. choosing the desired themed kit;
3. selecting an exclusive layout pattern;
4.adding photos, embellishments, title, and journaling;
5. purchasing custom-printed layouts.

Here's what I like best about the software....
* I got 10, 2-page layouts done in an afternoon!
* I prefer the look of traditional 12x12 layouts, but I like the ease of digital...this combines the best of both!
* I didn't have to drag out all my crafting supplies, or clean them back up.
* I didn't run out of adhesive or get ink all over myself.
* And...I can do this from any computer with an internet connection! Downtime at work? hmmm
* My layouts are stored for 90 days so I can log in and out on my own time to work on them.
* Did I mention it's FREE? Play with it, what have you got to lose?

This is going to be BIG! For anyone who wants to scrapbook, but doesn't have the time, the ideas, the money to invest in products, or the space to spread out a bunch of supplies, this is for YOU! Want to do multiple copies of a layout for friends and relatives? Just order multiple prints! If you prefer the "feel" of a 3D layout, you can embellish the prints with brads or flowers before putting them into your albums.

Studio J goes LIVE to customers in April, 2010.

Watch here for an announcement.

You can only access it through CTMH consultant websites (my link is on the right sidebar, at the top).

You can view the video demo NOW from the StudioJ link (also on the right sidebar).