'Cheater' Scrapbooking

I've been trying to think of all of my favourite crafting things what to share with you today, and realized I haven't probably bragged nearly enough to the world about this fabulous tool I use when I want to get a bunch of pictures dealt with in a hurry.

May I introduce you to Studio J.

I love it. It's an online-based design software (from Close To My Heart) that allows you, without any purchase or committment, go in and play with your photos and scrapbook designs. AND if you DO want to use it to actually enhance your scrapbooking, you pay per printing - no expensive software to save up for or installation to fumble through - it's EASY EASY EASY.  I can literally do an entire two-page scrapbook layout in 5 minutes.

Like this one:

Or this one:

I use it to supplement the papercrafted scrapbooking I do, so like, my daughter's first-year scrapbook is a combination of what I spent hours labouring over, and then what LOOKS like I spent hours labouring over, but took no time at all.

Like this:

One day I was sick I spent on the couch and did I think 15 layouts in a few hours. It was great!  And another project I've been chipping away at is getting my 400+ wedding photos all "scrapbooked." I dunno, what do you think?  (You can click on them each to make them bigger and see the super cool techniques you can do!)

I love it because I take LOTS of pictures, and then all my digital photos end up dumped on a computer somewhere in the house and never get looked at! But if I take a little bit of time each month I can get my photos scrapbooked, and out in my living room so that we and our visiting family can enjoy flipping through them all. It's FABULOUS.

Anyway, sorry it's not a technique, or a here's-how-to-do-this post today - promise I'll do one of those next time I'm posting. But this is one of my FAVOURITE things and therefore, you absolutely had to know about it! hahaha  'Cause you know, I'm full of self-importance like that! hahaha

Watch this fabulous how-to video that takes you from start to finish of a beautiful two-page layout in just over 7 minutes (and that's with instruction time!)

 and then access Studio J here* to create your free account and get started! Because why take all those pictures to never share them with anyone??

(Yes, I'm a freaky scrapbook lady.  Yes I am okay with that about myself. hahaha JOIN me! It's FUN!)

That's all for now! Cheers!


*if you're in the States or somewhere else outside of Canada and have trouble using the above link to access Studio J try this, and please leave a comment to let me know! I've never tried it from somewhere else before! You can absolutely use it, just may need a consultant in your country to help you out. Maybe. :-)