Archive for the ‘Q&A’ Category
Friday, February 3rd, 2012
We are pleased to share happy news with our randomly selected giveaway winner. Congratulations to Debbie Dill from Simpsonville, South Carolina! Email StudioJewel@gmail.com and they’ll hook you up with your $100 gift certificate.
On to your questions + comments from this week.
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Becky, I was wondering if you consistently use the same “filter” on Instagram? And which one you love the most?
I have several go-to favorite filters.There isn’t just one filter that is so perfect for every shot, know what I mean? The same filter used on a nature shot vs. a still life shot vs. skin tones will look totally different. So the filter I use really depends on the picture I take. To answer your question, here are my favorites.
I snapped a quick still life picture to demonstrate how different filters look on the same image. While these are my favorite filters for this particular image, they’re not necessarily the same favorites for skin tones. So here are a few more favorite filters.
{ tip of the day }
That picture of me? Not taken with an iPhone. My friend + super talented photographer Natalie Norton snapped that picture of me with her dSLR. Did you know that you can instagram (yes, I’m using it as a verb) photos that aren’t necessarily taken on your iPhone? True story. I figured this out accidentally a few months ago and it’s just one of those things you iPhoneographers must know! You can get any image from your computer to your phone with syncing … or you can email the image to yourself then save the image to your photo library and there it is! All ready to be instagrammed. : )
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Do you personally combine Project Life with POTD?
I have been doing the 365 or photo-a-day approach for the past few years. This year is different for me. For 2012, I am using Project Life to document our family’s life one week per layout. Sounds kinda the same, right? Yes, I will still end up with the same number of photos and pages in my photo book (I am using the Clementine Edition on Shutterfly in the 8×11 format), but I’m just more relaxed with this approach. The end result will be equally cool to past years of documenting with a picture every single day. Hope I’m making sense. I am really, really happy with this approach. In fact, I will be honest and tell you I have done one layout in 2012 so far (you can see that HERE) and … that is all so far. The idea of “catching up” on the last 4 weeks might feel a little overwhelming if I’m trying to keep up with the POTD approach. But I’m not. That pressure is gone for me this year and I know that this weekend I can skim through my pictures from this past month and easily get caught up in probably an hour.
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Are there any Project Life kits for 8.5 x 11 scrappers? I’d love to buy Project Life but I don’t want to switch formats.
I totally know what you mean by wanting to keep all of your books/albums the same size. The reason 12×12 makes so much sense is this: 99% of us print our photos in the standard 4×6 size. The whole idea behind Project Life is to SIMPLIFY the memory-keeping process. Adapting the design of Photo Pocket Pages so that they adapt for an 8.5×11 album isn’t simple. It would require the user to crop photos and get creative that way. We are always open to ideas and suggestions and possibilities. Smaller versions of Project Life very well could be part of our product offering in the future.
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I take a lot of photos daily on instagram with my iPhone. Have you ever considered making Photo Pocket Pages to fit the 4×4 photos? I have found sleeves that hold the 4×4 photos, but nothing that can fit journaling cards too & such.
Yes, we are working on those now. I’m super stoked.
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What’s the latest on when the plastics will available on Amazon.com?
This is what is on its way right now and due to hit Amazon’s shelves in about two weeks.
Photo Pocket Pages – Big Pack of Design A (60) – $24.99
Photo Pocket Pages – Big Variety Pack 1 (60) – $24.99
Photo Pocket Pages – Big Variety Pack 2 (60) – $24.99 *NEW (40 Design A + 20 Design D)
Big Pack of 12×12 Page Protectors (60) – $24.99 *NEW
12×12 Page Protectors (12) – $6.99
6×12 Page Protectors (12) – $5.99
Photo Pocket Pages – Design G (12) – $6.99
Big Envelope Pages (5) – $9.99
Scrapbook Dividers (15) – $7.99
3×4 Journaling Cards (100) with plain grid design – $3.99
We can’t give a specific date because we don’t have one. The timing isn’t up to us. It’s up to customs, freight, transportation, logistics, and Amazon folks who are receiving the product. In the meantime, there is no need to keep checking Amazon as long as you’re checking my blog regularly or at least getting my facebook or twitter updates. I’m a communicator. I will give you updates so you don’t have to wonder.
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Will you please share more layouts that are more like the pictures on your home page? They are basic: Pictures + cards from the Core Kit. Beautiful and simple. Those pics show the true beauty of what you have created! A brilliant idea. As a full-time employee and a full-time mom who loves creativity … I just think seeing “basic layouts” is important. Just a thought.
I completely agree with you! If you missed it, be sure to check out my Project Life in its most basic form blog post. I would be thrilled to see more submissions from Project Lifers who aren’t necessarily getting “creative” with their pages. If you are simple with your style and using our products in the most basic form … please submit your layouts. Then I can be better about sharing those. : )
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With the way your Photo Pocket Pages have evolved and expanded in recent months, why are there no horizontal cards in the Core Kit, to work with Design B + Design D?
Because, like you mentioned, of evolution. Now that we have different configurations of Photo Pocket Pages available … including many more that are in the works right now … it absolutely makes sense to include horizontal designer journaling cards in the Project Life Core Kit. We’re re-ordering more Core Kits in every edition and these will now include a box of horizontal journaling cards. They’ll probably show up to Amazon around May-ish.
In the meantime … if you already have a Core Kit, you also have a stack of 3×4 grid cards that came in the kit. These work for both horizontal + vertical use. Leave them plain, or dress up the edge with a simple strip of Project Life Cardstock if you’d like. We have cardstock collections for every edition available right now. You can see them all HERE.
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Do you think you’ll ever do a Project Life booth at CHA? I kept thinking about it during the show!
While I have fond memories of attending craft and scrapbooking trade shows many times over the years, I’m just not there “in the scene” these days. I totally recognize that it’s unconventional for our company to not exhibit like most other scrapbooking companies. But I think we’re unconventional in a lot of ways and we are quite content with that. Exhibiting at a trade show or a consumer show is not a small project. Any time I would invest even thinking about extra stuff like that (let alone actually working to make it happen) just means less time designing products and inspiring others to document their lives. Right now I’m focused on the core of who we are … and what we do … and how we can help others.
One day, perhaps. But this isn’t my season for trade show exhibition.
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Have you ever thought about selling Project Life on TV? Just throwing that out there. I know you’re thinking big and I can totally see it.
Yep – we’ve thought about it. I have experience with QVC from “back in the day” when I did a bit of that in my last job (designing stuff for QVC, selling stuff on-air at QVC, etc.). For many reasons and thanks to my experience, we’re opting out of QVC scene with Project Life. At least for now. But I’m a never-say-never girl.
One day, perhaps. But this isn’t my season for QVC.
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Becky, I use Picnik to edit and number my POTD photos. They are closing in April. Do you recommend any other (FREE preferably) photo editing sites? Thanks so much.
Honestly, I’m really only familiar with my own little system, which is iPhoto on my Mac. That’s where I organize my pictures. I welcome others to share their thoughts, experiences, and ideas in the Comments.
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What’s going on with Project Life in the UK + Europe? Is it no longer going to be available on amazon.co.uk?
The way Project Life will come to customers in the UK and all over Europe has been modified and we feel this will be a much better customer experience for those in that part of the world. You can read all about it HERE.
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Let’s see some Project Life inspiration for teens and tweens.
Amen. Anyone of any age is invited and encouraged to share your Project Life pages with us. Email submissions@beckyhiggins.com. Remember: It’s not the creativity that matters. We want to see how you’re documenting your life with pictures + words. Same goes for those of you in your retired or empty-nester phase of life. We would love to see how you’re using Project Life!
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I bought your original baby kit from several years ago and it is pure genius! Are you considering bringing that back at all?
Yes. Can you picture it? Project Life: Baby Editions. It’s a natural idea! The old kit that I did still required you to put pages together and get a little creative. I am such a fan of further simplification and that’s exactly what you can expect out of all of our products. I do not have an expected date (I know you’re going to ask), but at least you know it’s in the queue.
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Hey Becky, I’m working on my first Project Life album and I’m realizing that my husband and kids are the main subjects my project. How do we (the documenters) make sure that we are included and not forgotten?
1) Hand the camera over and ask someone to snap a picture of you. 2) If no one else is around that can snap an occasional picture for you, learn about the timer option on your camera. Then set the camera down on the table while you’re working on homework with the kids, the floor while you’re changing a diaper, the counter while you’re doing dishes or working on a project, or a tripod if you have one. That’s a sure-fire way to get yourself in more pictures.
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Do you have an estimated time frame of when the new Project Life template will be uploaded to Shutterfly?
You haven’t heard – it’s already there! And we are LOVING it! Read more HERE.
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I love your teal ottoman! Saw it posted on Pinterest & on your blog. Could you share where you got it?
Home Goods – one of my favorite go-to places for home decor, and it has been for many years now.
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{ a couple favorite comments }
Marcia on Facebook said: Becky, I LOVE PROJECT LIFE!!! It takes me to my happy place. Thank you for coming up with this supercalifragilisticespealidocious idea!
Marci in Oregon said: Really enjoying the fact that I can be as creative as I want to be, or just stick my to-do list in the slot, or a grocery receipt… it is that simple! THANKS!
(Unknown) said: I will always do Project Life. It works. It is easy. I really love it. It has given me back the love of capturing my family’s life with a bit of flare.
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{ next week’s feedback friday }
It will be a special edition. Your questions will be answered by the other half of us – David Higgins. So … what’s on your mind? What would you like to ask David? He has been 100% involved in taking this little idea in my head to what it is today. He’s not a scrapbooker but he knows a thing or two about … just about anything. : )
Tags: CHA, horizontal journaling cards, Instagram, ottoman, Project Life, QVC
Posted in Q&A | 51 Comments »
Friday, January 20th, 2012
Each week I take the opportunity to answer your questions and offer feedback to your comments that we spot here on the blog, facebook, twitter, and your emails. This week’s edition is a tech edition by the man many of you know as my “techie brother”. A very special thank-you to Kevin, who truly has a passion for helping people understand technology. He is very generous with his time. I will be back with my feedback next week.
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Question about iCloud: We have one iTunes account so we can share apps on all our devices but iCloud now combined our contacts. With both we have 100′s of each others’ contacts on our phones. If he deletes one of mine or I add a new one, it does it to the others phone. Is there a way to keep contacts separate but still share apps, movies, music … you know, the stuff we have to pay for?
Absolutely, and my recommendation is to have two separate Apple IDs for that very reason. Remember that iTunes allows you to share your purchased content with up to 5 computers as long as you are authorized on each computer. For example, if I purchase an app under my ID, I can send that app to my wife for her to use… again, as long as I am authorized on her computer with my Apple ID (you can authorize multiple Apple IDs on a single computer). To authorize a computer, go to Store | Authorize this computer… from within iTunes.
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I would like more information about what class, and/or where to start out on your own doing digital scrapbooks, i.e. photoshop, using brushes, all the techy stuff of that is overwhelming!
There are lots of sites out there, but it may be difficult to weed through the bad ones to find the good ones. One site you should check out is JessicaSprague.com.
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I definitely want to know more about iCloud and how to share things when both my husband and I have separate iTunes accounts. Any way to merge them? Going forward should we share one family account?
iCloud really is an awesome service, especially now that it’s free. I use it very heavily for email, contacts, calendaring, etc. One of the great powers of iCloud is the ability to share and collaborate calendars. The larger the family, the more complex your calendar likely will be (like ours), and as a result, you will need to rely on a good, solid calendar sharing system. In order to keep things organized, I really recommend everyone having their own account. That way, family members can manage their own schedules, while at the same time, sharing with others. And having everything color-coded is the icing on the cake.
You can begin sharing your calendars either in iCal on the Mac or at iCloud.com on Mac or Windows. Unfortunately, sharing can’t be initiated from an iOS device… yet.
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I have a question regarding all the fun (and often free) journaling cards and such floating around out there for Project Life. What is the best way to use them? I’ve dropped them in iPhoto and printed them off like snapshots but in order to alter them or add text, etc what program should I use? Photoshop, PS Elements or another? Obviously cost is an issue. I’d hate to drop a fortune on something just for that purpose – I am not a graphic artist.
Adobe PhotoShop is a great tool to have, but for most people, it’s overkill. PhotoShop Elements would be great for working with journaling cards, and would also give you the flexibility to do lots more than just that. You can purchase a copy of PhotoShop Elements for about $100 from your local big box store (Best Buy, Fry’s Electronics, etc).
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I have a PC and Photoshop Elements 9. Any idea how my photos are organized in PSE? Does PSE go back to the original file, or does it have its own copy? My hard drive filled up amazingly fast & I need to move my photos to an external hard drive but I don’t know how that will affect PSE. Also, if PSE makes its own copy, that could explain why I ran out of memory so soon. Thanks.
Although I don’t use PhotoShop Elements a whole lot, I did some quick Googling to see what I can find. First of all, one of the complaints that users have is that Elements is a “destructive” editor. Meaning, when you make a change to an image, you are actually changing the image, not a copy of the image. This is definitely something you want to be aware of (although you can run through multiple undos to revert back).
As far as how files are organized, I’m not sure, but I would imagine they are kept within your My Pictures folder. Take a look for those files and check the file size on the directory (right-click > Properties) to see if the size makes sense.
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I know you can upload photos to the iPad with the camera cord, but can you save photos (that have been edited) back to a camera card for printing?
You can’t move photos back to an SD or CF card from the iPad, but there are a couple different ways to get the pictures. First, when you are done importing the photos to the iPad, you are given two options: 1) delete the photos from the card or 2) keep the photos on the card. If you choose to keep the photos on the card, you are still able to import them to another device.
The other option is to sync the photos from your iPad to your computer through the normal syncing process. On a Mac, those photos would be synced to your iPhoto library. In Windows, they would be synced to your My Pictures folder.
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Does a 2.5 year old iMac need anything, such as MacKeeper, to help maintain performance & speed?
The age of the computer itself doesn’t mean a whole lot from the perspective of keeping the software clean, and 2.5 years really isn’t that old for a Mac. There are a couple things that I recommend all Mac users do to keep their system running clean.
First and foremost, don’t install anything that you aren’t intentionally installing. Some questionable web sites require you to install certain apps or plug-ins to “work”. In some cases, this is ok, but in others, it’s not. There are too many to name individually here, but just watch for the ones that are obvious.
A utility you may want to become familiar with is the Disk Utility. There is a feature in there called “Repair Disk Permissions”. I typically recommend running this about once a month. It just keeps your hard drive and OS running clean (like an oil change).
I’m sure MacKeeper is a good utility, but it’s probably not worth the money for most. I personally don’t run any antivirus or utilities like that on my system and it runs awesome. The best defense is using discretion and reading prompts.
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What type of wireless router do you have at home? Our iPad seems to have issues connecting to our wireless (often told simply ” cannot connect” and then we are not able to use the Internet.) Also, we have the original iPad not iPad 2 (I know friends are having trouble with their iPad2 connecting as well).
I am asked this question quite often, and usually by people who’s home routers are dying a slow death. My recommendation (and what I use at home) is the Apple AirPort Extreme. This is also the case for a Windows-only home. Yes, Windows! Wireless standards are just that… standard. It doesn’t matter what computer or device you are running. I know plenty of people using an AirPort Extreme in a Windows-only home, and they love them. I’ve had mine for years, and the signal-to-noise ratio (i.e.: performance) is second to none when it comes to personal wireless routers. It has a lot to do with the antenna design and the way the standards are implemented. Yes, they’re a little more expensive, but trust me… it’s worth the cost.
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Can you elaborate on apple tv – How does it work? Is it like an iPod for movies/tv, i.e. You can only watch what you pay for on it? Thanks Kevin.
This is not a short answer. In fact, I could literally spend hours explaining lots of details about how this works. If you head over to KevinAllgaier.com and search my blogs for “Apple TV” and “iTunes”, I think you’ll find some good information over there. If you still need more help, shoot me an email.
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Please discuss iCloud – how and what things are best kept there. And also photo stream – how it works and how it relates to iCloud. Thanks.
The quickest way to get a jump-start on learning what iCloud is would be to visit apple.com/icloud. There are FAQs and videos out there that explain it pretty well.
PhotoStream is a new service as part of iCloud, and I think it’s fantastic. It’s essentially a mechanism that allows your photos to be synced across all of your Apple devices. For example, if you take a photo on your iPhone 4s, that same photo will also show up on your iPod Touch, iPad and Mac (in iPhoto) within a few seconds (depending on your Internet connection). It has really saved me a lot of time by not having to physically sync my iPhone every time I want to use a picture. I just open iPhoto, and it’s already there.
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Is there a free app to make ring tones from songs that works and isn’t too complicated?
If you use a Mac, the absolute best way to do this (and it’s free) is using GarageBand (included with all Macs). It actually has tools built-in specifically to make ring-tones.
It’s a little more difficult with Windows, but still possible. First, you will need to open the audio file in QuickTime and single out the portion you want to use. Once you’ve done that, you will need to export in an AAC/M4A format. Once you have the new file, you need to change the file extension from .m4a to .m4r (“r” for ringtone). Once that’s done, just drag and drop it into iTunes, then sync the ringtone to your iPhone.
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I would love to know more about PSE 10. Where is the best place to learn how to use it? I have tried doing Ali Edwards’ tutorial about 10 times without success. I am usually pretty good with techy stuff but this just seems to escape me. Are there any online courses that you would recommend? Thanks Becky & Kevin.
Check out JessicaSprague.com. She’s got some great tutorials for you.
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I bought my Macbook Pro almost a year ago and have been using iPhoto for my photos. I use TimeMachine with an external hard drive to back up my computer. Is that enough of a backup for my pictures? I haven’t deleted pics from my memory cards for the last year because I’m worried I’m not doing enough. What do you think?
Before I answer your question, I need to let you know that your iPhoto library is NOT being backed up by Time Machine if you have iPhoto open. It’s a bug that I wish Apple would fix. So please be sure to close your library once a day (preferably overnight) to allow Time Machine time to backup.
My philosophy on backups: if your data doesn’t exist in at least 2 different places (home, work, etc) on at least 2 different types of media (hard drive, DVD, cloud, etc), it’s not being backed up. Using Time Machine is a great start, but what if someone broke into your home and took your computer and external hard drive? I hope that never happens, but that’s how you have to think about this precious data.
What you’ve done so far is great. Take it to the next level and consider using an online backup service like carbonite.com. Plans start at $60/year, but it’s well worth it for peace of mind.
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How can I store and file photos that are on negatives, disc, USB and SD card as well as on computer? Would love to have all photos in one place.
Your first step is to digitize all your photos using scanning services, etc. Once you have them all digital, then you need to design a good backup strategy (see previous question).
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What is the best way to organize digital pictures? What system do you use Becky and what system do you use Kevin?
I use iPhoto to keep my photos organized, and then have them backed up using Time Machine, and on several external drives as well as occasionally to DVD.
Organizing your photos is a very personal decision, one that is just a little different for everyone. I actually have most of mine stored in a linear fashion based on date. If I need to find a photo, I know about when it was taken, and then search from there. Some people have the time to architect a very elegant system using face recognition, metadata, etc.
Note from Becky: Kevin is to me, what Miyagi is to the Karate Kid. : ) Therefore, much of what I have learned is directly due to Kevin. It won’t surprise you then, that I have adopted a similar system of chronological/numerical organizing in iPhoto. We’ve been doing it this way for oh … probably 8-9 years now and it works for me. I know there are more detailed ways of doing it but I stick with this because … like I said, it works for me.
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I would love to know how to get rid of excess files/programs/(crap) on my MacBook. My hard drive is full & it is running so slow!
Unless you are super familiar with what files are legitimate and what files aren’t, this can be a challenge. The first place to look would be in your Applications folder. Look for apps that you know you no longer use. Simply drag them to the Trash Can and then empty the Trash Can.
The next step would be to comb through your Home folder. To get an idea of what folders are taking up the most space, highlight each of the folders individually and press Command+I (“I” for information). That will tell you how large that folder is (including its contents). From there, it’s just a matter of spending the time to find the stuff you no longer need.
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Best online backup for photos… About 64 gb worth currently…. What do you recommend? PC people. Amazon cloud is cheap, but not easy to upload folders or mass amounts to. Dropbox is $100 a year. Box.com even more. Have external and laptop is all currently. So afraid of external failing. Advice??
See a few of the questions/answers above, but my recommendation for cloud-based backup is carbonite.com. Plans start at $60/year for unlimited storage.
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How do you add a logo/ name to a photo that you upload to your blog. Is there an easy way or a way to add your name/logo that it automatically is on the photo when you upload it to your blog?
Once you know how to do it, it’s super easy. You will, however, need software to do this. I recommend either Adobe PhotoShop or Adobe PhotoShop Elements (definitely more affordable at about $100).
For a quick tutorial, go HERE. This shows you how to add text to a journaling card, but adding a logo or other text is the same concept.
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I would like to know the best way to learn how to use Photoshop Elements. It’s not as intuitive as I thought it would be. I just want to do things like merge several photos into 1 4×6 and lay a phrase or word on a photo and get it to print. I’m thinking I wasted my money but know I just need to learn.
A few others have the same thing in mind! There are lots of online tutorials, but as I’ve mentioned – one place you might want to check out is JessicaSprague.com.
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Is there a way once I down load songs from iTunes to my iPad to then transfer them to a non Apple desktop PC?
Apple has a great how-to article on how to accomplish this HERE.
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I took Kevin’s advice on the no cable idea for the home (everything is running through apple tv and netflix) and LOVE not paying for cable! But my questions now are – a) should I bother to invest in a roku box and Hulu? b) does Kevin use an antenna to get the basic channels (abc, nbc, and cbs) and if so, can he recommend a reliable one?
Congratulations!! Isn’t it great? 
Yes, I picked up an HD receiver antenna at Wal-mart for about $30. It’s small enough to just sit behind the TV (which is wall-mounted). It works great for receiving local channels in HD.
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My son just got an iPod for Christmas. What protective software do you recommend now that he has full access to the world wide web. He is only 9. I know parental proximity is the best software available!
Oh, great question! I strongly recommend a good filtering service. One of my favorite (and it happens to be FREE) is OpenDNS (opendns.com). For more information, go to my blog at KevinAllgaier.com and do a search for “OpenDNS”.
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Thanks for the chance to ask! Is there a way to record me reading a book for my kids on my Macbook Air, and then to copy onto a CD? Thank you.
I love where this is going. I actually have created my own audiobook for my kids (they think I’m a dork for doing it, but I loved it!). The best (and easiest to use) tool to use is GarageBand (it came bundled with your MacBook Air). Essentially, you will record the audio, then export to iTunes. Once it’s in iTunes, you can then burn it to CD.
Tip: you want to make sure you have a good microphone so that it sounds good. I really like any of the Blue mics (www.bluemic.com).
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How can you un-erase a photo that was accidentally deleted from an SD memory card??
The good news is, as long as you haven’t overwritten the SD card (i.e.: taken more pictures), there is a good chance the deleted files are recoverable. There are lots of tools available on the web for both Windows and Mac. Do a quick Google on “recover deleted files SD card”, and you will get lots of good information.
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I was wondering if you can recommend a good online storage site for my photos. I need to make some space on our Mac by deleting photos and I don’t trust having them only on our external hard drive. For the record, I don’t particularly enjoy Picasa or any other sites with the ability to share photos. I’m strictly looking for a storage site. Thanks Kevin & Becky!
For online storage of photos (not to be confused with an online backup solution), you may want to check out SmugMug.
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I have two blog-related questions! One: I’m in the middle of redesigning my blog and when creating “buttons” for my navigation bar, is it better to create them in Illustrator or Photoshop? Two: do you have any tips when it comes to optimizing photos for use on a blog (i.e. resolution, filters to make them pop, etc)? Thanks Kevin & Becky! You both are awesome!
To answer your first question, it doesn’t really matter what you create them in, as long as they are saved as a PNG or JPG.
When it comes to optimizing for the web, the key is file size. PhotoShop has some great compression built-in that will keep near-perfect quality while significantly reducing the file size. You definitely don’t want to save an image smaller than you want to display it on your site (upscaling looks nasty), but you also don’t really want to use a 2,000×2,000 pixel image on your site if you only plan on displaying it at 200×200. You may also want to play around with different file types like GIF, JPG and PNG to compare quality and sizes. My personal preference is PNG these days.
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What are your favorite iPhone apps?
Wow! That’s a tough one. For image editing, Camera+. For panoramics, AutoStitch. For online storage, DropBox. For social media, Twitter. For games, AngryBirds (of course!) and Amazing Breaker. For health and fitness, RunKeeper. For remote support, GoToMeeting and GoToMyPC. For ordering pizza, Papa Johns. For scheduling flights, Delta. For getting around New York City, NYC Subway. That’s just a handful of apps that I have. Unlike most, I also have a huge amount of “geeky” apps for networking, bit and byte calculations, etc.
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I have started the huge task of scaning and saving my 12×12 albums spaning over 10 years. It is my New Years resolution! So far I have scanned 2 albums. My question is how should I save these files? Should I use a disc, USB or similar? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Also I have photos on negatives, disc’s, USB and computer files. Any suggestions on how to best organise these.? We get so busy with life and the organising gets forgotten.
You’re right, life does get very busy! As I mentioned in a question above, organization is very personal, and difficult to respond to in a short response like this. I personally don’t organize a whole lot other than linearly and chronologically. That’s the easiest for me.
When scanning your 12×12 pages, the higher the resolution the better. If I were just going to re-print them, 600×600 is more than enough, but for long-term archive, you may want to consider 1,200×1,200. Yes, this will result in a much larger file size, but will cover your bases for long-term archive. You never know when you may be asked to put one on a billboard. 
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When I am browsing sites (mainly blogs I read) and I was actually on old navy when the hit happened and was denied by my internet security (kaspersky). It says that an application IE contains a link to web page – gives address, used to steal passwords, credit card numbers and other confidential data. Then it said denied. Am I in danger? I have a PC and I use IE for my web browsing etc. Is there something better?
That sounds like it may have been a phishing attempt. Basically, malware that makes it look like you have a problem and tricks you into buying unnecessary software to fix it. Very annoying. This is one of the reasons why I’m not a big fan of Internet Explorer. I would definitely switch to using either FireFox or Safari (both work great on Windows). You will very likely encounter far fewer problems, and they are much more secure than IE.
Tags: feedback friday, kevin allgaier, techie brother, technology
Posted in Q&A | 20 Comments »
Friday, January 13th, 2012
J habite en france, ou puis je trouver les fournitures?
I love that we got an email in French! This reader lives in France and is wondering where she can buy Project Life. The answer for her, and for all Europeans is HERE. Anyone who lives anywhere outside the U.S. can go HERE to find your closest distributor for Becky Higgins products.
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Is there any chance we can purchase the Project Life boxes that the old kits used to come in, to protect the albums when moving?
No, sorry. Those were nice but they’re gone.
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Are there any plans to make monthly dividers that are more like the ones from the past kits? I loved the clear dividers with the color designs printed on them.
Yep, we’re working on bringing those back – a set to go with each Project Life edition. But first, we have more of our Scrapbook Dividers coming and those will be available again on amazon in a few weeks. They are neutral and classic and work well with any theme or style.
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I’ve been considering Project Life for a couple of years now, and thought I was familiar with the whole thing. But now that I am ready to buy, I don’t see anywhere the details of what is included in the Core Kit. What do the title cards say? Are the journaling cards already in there?
When you click on any of our Core Kits on the Products page, you’ll be linked to their listing on amazon. Here you will see more details and several images of the contents. You will probably also benefit from seeing my posts – What Exactly is in a Core Kit? and Project Life Core Kit: A Closer Look at the Cards. I appreciate your question because I do think it would be good to include more specific information (# of cards, # of sticker sheets, sizes, etc.) on our Amazon listings for the Core Kits. Thank you! We’ll work on that.
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I would love to know how you organize your recipes! I would like to make a book of some sort and I’ve been brainstorming. You have such awesome ideas – thought I would ask!
Oh wow. I’m am so not the person to be asking about recipe organization at this very moment. Unfortunately. In fact, thank you for reminding me that I have actually been neglecting the Recipes section of my web site. However, if you haven’t checked that out in a while, it does stand as a wonderful little place that I have collected some of our favorites.
I wish I had a fantastic answer for you and one day – I kinda think I should come up with a great solution since I do love organization and I do love good recipes. But for right now, my recipes are so unorganized. Some are in a cute little recipe book I used to keep up with, some are on the computer, some are scribbled on a piece of paper and shoved in a binder. Some are hiding in a recipe book and itching for me to pay attention and actually make it! So no – I’m sorry I don’t have a great idea. However, I have a very strong feeling that some of your fellow readers will love to chime in with their solutions and favorite recipe-organizing sites. : )
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What is the best way to add the different sized Christmas cards into Project Life?
Great timing on this question, as I’m sure many of you are contemplating – do I throw all the cards away? Do I keep them? If so, what do I do with them? Well if you want to implement them into your album (not necessarily Project Life, but any 12×12 scrapbook) … there are a couple thoughts I have on this: 1) Simply place all the cards you’re keeping in a Big Envelope Page (these will be back in stock in a few weeks if you missed them earlier). Or 2) If you’d like to see them in your album instead of tucking them away, you could simply trim down the cards that are not a perfect fit for the standard pocket sizes … and use any of our Photo Pocket Pages to store and display your cards. In fact, I’d be willing to bet many of the cards would be perfectly fine to trim down to even a 3×4 size.
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I know there are a lot of suggestions for a 3×4 punch … Any thoughts on whether you might do this one/think its crazy/etc?
We don’t think it’s crazy. We think it’s brilliant. And we’re working on making that possible.
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What size corner rounder should I get so they’re the same size as the corners on the Project Life cards?
Personally, I use THIS one and I’m very pleased with how the rounded corners look, as well as the quality of the tool itself.
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My son is 14, and I am 13 years and 9 months behind on scrapbooking. No joke. I’ve made 3 pages and one wasn’t even about him, lol! I’m considering starting Project Life, starting from when he was a baby. I have always been overwhelmed with scrapbook layouts, supplies, etc. Do you think this would work?
Ab. so. lute. ly. I created this for you. You will find it to be incredibly gratifying and liberating when you toss that guilt and pressure out the window and simply start sticking those photos into Photo Pocket Pages, resulting in caught-up albums for your son.
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Does anybody have a solution on how to carry out your Project Life while waiting for products to come back in stock? Would love suggestions, as I don’t want to get so far behind.
I would invite anyone who wants to contribute their thoughts, to please do so. My thoughts: Take pictures as you planned to take pictures in 2012 (whether it’s just random/whenever or a photo-a-day approach). Keep the pictures that you know you want to use in a folder on your computer called “Project Life 2012″ … or go ahead and print the pictures you plan to use. Additionally, jot down a few notes to go with your pictures that you don’t want to forget, whether it’s on a note-taking app or in a document on your computer, or handwritten on a note pad. Just keep all your notes in one place.
When those Big Packs of Photo Pocket Pages are back in stock in a few weeks, you’ll be ready to snatch up what you need, drop in those pictures, catch up on your 3×4 journaling cards and be right on track.
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{ a couple favorite comments }
Debra said: I have just discovered you … it’s like you read my mind. I love scrapbooking and taking pictures but don’t have time. Your system seems perfect!
Stacy said: You rock! You encourage me to continue putting the emphasis on the photos, not on all the foofee stuff. Thank you.
Tags: corner rounder, organizing Christmas cards, scrapbook dividers
Posted in products, Q&A, scrapbooking | 102 Comments »
Tuesday, January 10th, 2012
You know, when I started this “Feedback Friday” thing in December, I didn’t expect so much to “come up” that would keep me from being consistent with my Friday posts. But it has. And you know what? Stuff will continue to come up again and again because that’s how life works out. So instead of my instinctual desire to say “Sorry I’m late with this post” or “Sorry we’re skipping Feedback Friday this week” or “Sorry I haven’t finished that video that I talked about” or whatever … I’ll just remember that ya’ll get it. Life happens to you, too. : )
Now. On to Feedback TUESDAY … responding to your comments + questions on various topics.
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What kind of dog is Oreo?
Havenese.
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Do you know of a good book or resource on how to be a better blogger or how to get started with blogging?
Oh goodness, there are so many resources out there. There are books about blogging and blogs about blogging and conferences that are specific to bloggers. But I’m afraid I don’t really know of any one, specific resource that is “the” best because I never sought after any formal blogging education. Maybe some fellow readers/bloggers can chime in on this one? I will mention that I know of a conference coming up in April that I think would be a lot of fun and useful for those who are interested in learning more about blogging. It’s called SNAP and you can learn all about it here.
I began this blog 5 years ago for the purpose of sharing, uplifting, and inspiring. I guess my personal advice (purely based on personal experience) would be to make sure that you are absolutely, positively passionate about what you’re blogging about. People who start with the I-want-to-try-to-make-money-by-blogging mentality aren’t as likely to find success or enjoyment for that matter. I am never, ever “searching” for things to blog about because I am genuinely passionate about cultivating a good life and recording it and helping others to have success with that. While I spend a good chunk of time blogging, it hardly feels like work and the content comes very naturally in the context of what I love, and what I do, and what I love to do.
*We’re not talking about personal/family blogs; that’s different. I assume the person who asked this question is interested in starting a blog that would be open to anyone and everyone and I assume they are interested in monetizing a blog or creating a blog to support their small business.
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Is the weight of the cardstock in Cobalt and Clementine products the same as the Amber and Turquoise products from last year?
Yes, it is exactly the same.
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I love the idea of sharing Project Life layouts and seeing what others are doing. What’s the best way to share my pages too?
I love all the sharing too – it’s awesome + inspiring! In fact, right now there is such an abundant amount of sharing and posting and chatting about everyone who is doing Project Life that I’m finding I can’t keep up with seeing everything that everyone is doing.
We have an official Project Life Community over at Big Picture Classes. It’s completely free and includes a forum for idea-sharing, it’s a great place to ask questions of other Project Lifers, and of course there is a gallery dedicated to sharing layouts. This is a wonderful place to share your layouts!
Also: Jessica Turner (The Mom Creative) hosts Project Life Tuesday on her blog each week, which is where anyone can link up to their layouts. She does this because she loves, uses, and believes in Project Life – not because I asked her to. Hey, guess what? It’s Tuesday right now! Head over to her blog and check it out.
Also: Our Digital Project Life offering on JessicaSprague.com comes with a gallery for idea-sharing as well.
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I’m brand-new to Project Life and wondering how to use the bi-fold cards.
The bi-fold cards are designed to give you twice as much real estate as a regular 3×4 journaling card. This is handy for those days when you have more to say. I know some people like to go beyond that as they attach small pictures, movie ticket stubs, or other memorabilia on the bi-fold cards as well. Fill it up however you’d like, then fold on the scored line and insert into a 3×4 pocket. Or … leave it unfolded and insert in a 4×6 pocket.
 Bi-fold journaling card from Michelle Wooderson‘s Project Life album.
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Any chance there will be a Project Life Wedding or Baby edition?
Absolutely there is a chance! In fact, that’s the plan. Just not right this second. In fact, don’t plan on seeing those products in 2012. We are prioritizing the school/childhood version of Project Life before any other themes. As you know, the school/childhood stuff is taking a little longer due to the “life happens” theme I mentioned a minute ago. (*sigh*)
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I have about 20 years of photos to catch up on. Not proud of that, but happy they are in boxes awaiting a glorious unveiling. Please help me get a sense of what I might need to put together some albums and get caught up. Just wondering if you have a good suggestion for a basic “Dig yourself out” package.
“Dig yourself out” package!? That’s awesome. The good news is that I absolutely have a recommendation. The bad news is most of what I’m recommending has sold out … but more good news is that it will all be back in stock next month. Lucky for you, waiting another month isn’t such a big deal when you’re talking about pictures that have been waiting around for 20 years. : )
My recommendation: Get a bunch of the Photo Pocket Pages (Big Packs of 60 are the best value). Then decide – Do you want there to be a designer look to the albums or a plain/classic look? If designs are important for adding flavor, pick up a Core Kit (as many as you need) in whatever edition(s) floats your boat. Or … if you want to have the most timeless, neutral look of all, get a bunch of the plain grid 3×4 Journaling Cards for all the notes and stories and captions you want to add with the pictures. Put everything in some nice binders (note: our classic Signature Binders will be available this week) and that’s all you need! Oh, and a pen. : )
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I can see how the Design F Photo Pocket Page design would be really cool for school pictures and trading cards but how does it work with my regular Project Life album?
Picture this: A title card in the top corner and then all the 3×4 pockets filled with your kids’ scanned art (mini versions) … or a bunch of 3×4 cards with family quotes or “momisms” that you say all the time … or fill it with 3×4 pictures to simply get more on a page. Design F is one of my absolute favorites because of being able to get so much onto one page while still maintaining an organized look. Here’s how Liz Tamanaha used Design F for her 2011 Project Life title page.
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I’m just curious to find out why European customers have to wait longer to get Project Life?
I really wish our friends there in Europe could have access to Project Life now, trust me! Product is making its way but it’s a long way to travel and it’s a much more complicated process to get it all there than one might realize. But it’s coming – next month I believe. If you are in the UK or anywhere in Europe, go here to sign up for email updates from Tammy Morales. She’s keeping her customers well informed.
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I’m taking most of my pictures with Instagram these days. Since these are square photos, what’s the best way for me to implement them into the Photo Pocket Pages? Are you coming out with a design that will work for square photos?
First of all, me too! A lot of my daily photos are taken on my iPhone, using the Instagram app. Secondly, yes – we are planning to offer more Photo Pocket Page designs that meet the needs that so many of us have for square photos. I’ll share the ETA on that as soon as I have one (we’re working on it).
In the meantime, try using Design E for a super dramatic Instagram page once in a while (6×6 square pockets). Personally, I think that would be so cool. On a more “normal” scale for implementing those Instagrams, check out what Marcy Penner does. She uses square pictures a lot and simply adds them to her 4×6 and 3×4 cards.
I know there are apps/printing services for the Instagram (and similar) images but I haven’t personally tested them myself yet. The one I hear about the most is PostalPix and I hear it’s great. If you’re interested in printing yourself or uploading the images to your favorite printer, Deb Duty shares a quick tutorial on her blog HERE that shows you step-by-step how to prepare those files to print. Simple stuff.
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Do you have suggestions for how to incorporate 3.5×5 photos into the Project Life format? I’m helping my mom consolidate my family’s photos from my childhood into several Project Life albums and the first several years are primarily 3.5×5 and then they switch to 4×6 pictures.
I think mounting those pictures on 4×6 cards seems like the most natural solution so that you can slip those into the 4×6 pockets. We are going to be coming out with 4×6 grid cards (ETA to be announced) and that will help a lot, especially with projects like what you’re talking about. I think it’s awesome that you’re getting all those old photos into albums. Good for you and your mom! What a neat project to work on together, too.
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I am wondering about the number stickers included in the Core Kit. I thought they might be intended for dates, but there is only 1-10 so that doesn’t make sense. But I can’t think of what else they could be used for?
As you know, we included day stickers so that you can label the day of the week as it pertains to specific pictures and journaling cards – if you want. This applies especially well to those who are documenting life with the photo-a-day approach, which of course isn’t everybody’s approach. That is why we also included number stickers, simply for numbering your pictures and journaling cards. For example, you would put a clear “1″ sticker over the first picture and a colored “1″ sticker on the journaling card that goes with that picture. And so forth. It’s not likely that you’ll have more than 10 photos per page, which is why the numbers are 1-10.
Another fun way to use the number stickers is for making lists in your journaling like Deb Duty did in this layout:
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What is the best way to print on the cards using computer and printer? I would appreciate any help or suggestions.
Liz Tamanaha has an excellent + simple tutorial HERE on her blog.
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You said that you are probably going to do two pages per week. Do you mean two pages front and back or do you mean a front and back and count that as two pages?
I mean that one week will be represented with 2 pages that face each other – left side and right side of a layout. When you flip the page in our family book, you would view one week at a time on each two-page spread.
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The Turquoise Edition Core Kit sold out before my eyes. Do you think you will have more of these coming?
It disappeared before our eyes too! One day there were plenty in stock and then over the holidays – *poof* – they were gone. I’m not sure why the sudden surge of interest in that particular edition at that specific time, but we’re thrilled that Turquoise continues to be so well-loved and yes we are making more. I will share an ETA when we have that. In the meantime, the other 3 editions are still available.
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{ a couple favorite comments }
Dana in Texas said: I’m even more excited that I have found Project Life to help me ORGANIZE what I feel and see everyday. I am such a believer in capturing my heart on ‘film’, and preserving future history. I think it is THE main reason I am a photographer, because I know that I am preserving a memory I may not remember otherwise, and on a day I know I will never get back – for me AND other families. It’s an awesome and sometimes overwhelming feeling.
Christie: From the bottom of my heart (tears in my eyes!), I thank you for creating this product. You brought the joy back to me for preserving memories for my family. I’m learning to make it my own, and I’m LOVING the process once again.
*Note: Even though we don’t have our school-related products out yet, Christie is using Project Life products to do her kids’ school albums. Check it out here. Remember that I have been working on making a video that will also share tips on getting organized and how to get things going with your kids’ albums. I’ll do my best to continue sharing inspiration in this department.
Tags: bi-fold cards, blogging, dog, havanese, Instagram, Project Life
Posted in Q&A | 58 Comments »
Saturday, December 17th, 2011
Here are just a few of the Project Life “glamor shots” we’ve been receiving lately. So many people have been receiving their products lately – very exciting! Everyone is welcome + encouraged to submit their photo to projectlife@beckyhiggins.com any time! We love to see your pictures!
I want to congratulate our randomly selected winner from this week’s Annie Sloan Chalk Paint giveaway. Hey, Susannah in Columbus, Ohio - it’s you! Shoot an email to shadesofamberinc@earthlink.net and they’ll take it from there.
On to Feedback Friday … uh, well – actually it’s Saturday this time. ; )
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Wondering if you could recommend a good paper trimmer? I’m asking my husband to get me one for Christmas and I’m not sure which one to ask for. There are so many out there!
There is a new trimmer on the market that I really like. It’s from American Crafts and is called Cutup. You can learn all about it HERE. Lately I’m especially putting the scoring blade to good use for when I need perfect, clean folds, but of course it’s a great trimmer too – and several great blade styles to choose from.
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How true-to-life are the colors of the new products in person vs. what is shown via computer?
That completely depends on your monitor. Your monitor and your friend’s monitor and my monitor are all different and colors will read differently on different computers. There’s no way to get 100% accuracy. So if something looks brighter or more dull than you were expecting, the good news is that all the colors in both Cobalt and Clementine Editions are really, really nice. : )
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Any news on when the shipment to New Zealand is likely to arrive?
I believe product has arrived this week to both New Zealand and Canada as well! For anyone living outside the U.S. please be sure to contact your distributor directly for questions regarding timing and availability. Find your distributor HERE.
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The new Signature Binders that will be available shortly – are they the faux leather material or are they a different material because of this pattern?
Our classic Signature Binders are a coated paper. They are so pretty and completely wipe-able with a damp cloth if needed.
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Do you know if the Signature Binders will be on Amazon in time for Christmas?
No, unfortunately not. But we should have them in stock on Amazon (for U.S. customers) by the New Year, or right around the New Year. And soon after that for everyone else outside the U.S.
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I’m all new to Project Life and can’t wait to start with my personal project in 2012. Unfortunately, in Europe we have to wait about 2 more months until the kits become available for order. As I’m not good at waiting, I consider to use the digital layouts in the meantime and get them printed as a photo book. I’m puzzled and interested in your opinion: Which Project Life option do you prefer and why? Thank you very much in advance for your input!
I strongly encourage everyone to do what works for them, and what makes the most sense. For me personally, I do both. I do a family yearbook with the digital photo book option because they’re smaller/skinnier and I can print multiple copies so that each kid gets a family yearbook each year. (Remember: we’re switching our photo book platform to Shutterfly and that should become available just before Christmas!)
I use the physical product for our kids’ individual scrapbooks because this is where they can each have more photos + details about just them, and it’s also a great place to store the physical “stuff” (papers, art, memorabilia) that is theirs. I’m going to be addressing this in more detail here on my blog the week after Christmas – in time for the New Year. Scrapbook organization/approach is a hot topic and lots of people are wondering the same thing.
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I recently stumbled upon Project Life. I was excited and slightly overwhelmed at the same time. I’m thinking about jumping on board in 2012. Any advice you (or anyone else) can give 1st time ‘Project Lifers’?
Excellent question. My goal with Project Life is to help people (particularly newbies or anyone just feeling overwhelmed) SIMPLIFY the process of documenting life and preserving memories. My advice to you, and anyone in that same boat, and most people for that matter … is to keep it simple. All the title cards and journaling cards are already designed and look fantastic. You don’t need to do a thing to them. All you need to do is add your pictures and write some captions and memories and whatever notes you want to write, on the journaling cards. That is all.
There’s a lot of talk about the “365″ approach. Certainly that’s a fun way to use Project Life. The idea is to represent each day of the year with a picture. On one layout, you’ll have the title card + 7 photos + 7 journaling cards. That’s it. What a fun way to represent everyday life as it is right now!
BUT … that can be quite the ambitious project if you haven’t been doing much memory-keeping up to this point. You may prefer to just use the Photo Pocket Pages to slip in whatever pictures you want, and have whatever theme you want for each layout. No rhyme or reason. No rules. Just stick them in + get it done! My friend Brandi did something like this earlier this year. She printed nearly 300 favorite family pictures from 2010 – everyday pictures, travel pictures, pictures of the kids and activities … and just stuck them all in pockets, adding some journaling notes, and that’s it. DONE. No cutting. No pasting. No designing anything. No “creative” work at all.
Brandi literally scrapbooked an entire year’s worth of pictures in a full album – in less than a day. Man, I love that.
This is exactly what Project Life is for. SIMPLIFY. The beautiful thing about Project Life is the flexibility. Many want to play more and get a little creative, and that’s great too! As you visit my blog and see the things I share on facebook + twitter, you’ll find a lot of inspiration for what kind of everyday pictures to take, what kind of memorabilia to keep, and fun ways to jazz up and personalize your pages more. All of this is fun and inspiring but do not think for a second that you need to do anything more than stick your pictures in, write some notes, and that is it. Bottom line: Project Life will fit your needs – whatever they are. Project Life doesn’t have boundaries. You set the pace.
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Becky, I am curious as to what you are going to use next year for your Project Life – Digital? Shutterfly photo book? The 3-ring binder version? Just curious.
As mentioned in another question above, I have been doing both and will continue to both. Digital photo books for the family yearbook and physical product for our kids’ books. More detail about my system coming soon – video style! : )
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Regarding the digital Project Life elements on JessicaSprague.com, do they take into account bleed for printing as they look pretty close to the edge?
Be sure to check your print settings.
1. When you go to the initial print screen in Photoshop, you will need to do a couple of things. Make sure that the “Scale to Fit Media” box is unchecked. Then click on the “print settings” button.
2. Under the print settings, click on the borderless option for your paper.
3. Click on the “Page Layout” tab and make sure that the expansion is set to “minimum”.
Images + tips from Laurie at JessicaSprague.com. She adds: These print screens won’t match yours because it is specific to my Epson printer, but you should have something similar. The main thing is that you want to make sure that your printer isn’t trying to expand your image. A lot of times when you choose a borderless option for printing, your printer thinks that you need to exand that image to fill up the whole sheet. This is what we don’t want to happen. If the image is expanded then we won’t get the true size of the journaling card and it won’t fit in the page protector.
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My husband and I don’t have kids. I often wonder if I do Project Life who will want or care about my interests and legacy since we don’t have kids?
Of course I don’t know anything about your close friends or extended family or anyone else who might have a personal interest in looking at your pictures and memories, but I am quite certain that you are loved and that many would be interested! But here’s the thing. There are two grand purposes to Project Life.
1. LONG TERM: Leave a legacy, tell your story. Leave a record of your life + memories to pass on to others, including your posterity.
2. SHORT TERM: Enjoy the experience and the process of preserving memories through pictures and written words.
So in your situation, #2 is what applies the most. Even if no one ends up with your scrapbooks, the fact that you are taking pictures of your life and documenting your memories, your successes, your struggles and everyday mundane stuff? Just going going through the motions of that are literally making you more aware of your existence. You become more keenly aware of your blessings, which makes you happier. You are more conscientious of how you spend your time. Quite possibly – it can result in you making changes for the better. All because of the act of documenting life.
Isn’t that so cool?
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Becky, I have being using Project Life for the last 3 years. I would love it if all my Project Life binders had the same type of spine, label holders and are the same width. I also love the design from the past years. Have you thought about reissuing the previous binders with the new awesome quality of the current binders?
Yep, that’s exactly what we’ve done! The past designs (Amber Edition + Turquoise Edition) are now available in a brand-spanking-new Binders. Same design but much-improved quality and even the label holders on the spine! Of course we also have our new designs (Cobalt Edition + Clementine Edition). And the Signature Binders (coming soon, as mentioned above) are going to be the same quality, same dimensions, and same label holders on the spine.
If we happen to bring back the Original Edition of Project Life (our very first one introduced 2 years ago that is currently unavailable), we will certainly make that binder design comes back in the new + improved format as well.
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Is there any hope of Shutterfly offering any of the other designs in the future? Would LOVE to have Cobalt available!
Shutterfly was only able to select two of our designs for the launch of Project Life on their site – Turquoise Edition + Clementine Edition. I really, really wanted all editions to be available but that wasn’t my choice. You asked about hope. My hope is that Project Life on Shutterfly SOARS. My hope is that lots of people play with the designs and see how easy it is to drop pictures in the templates that are already designed. If everyone enjoys the Project Life photo books and Shutterfly recognizes its popularity (for lack of a better word) well then maybe they’ll be interested in picking up more of our designs. I think we’re all in a wait-and-see state of mind. I personally can’t WAIT for you to SEE Project Life on Shutterfly. I’m already itching to get a book started myself.
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I just purchased the Clementine Core Kit and other products to use Project Life for my family history. I just haven’t figured out how it will work.
That is awesome! I would love to see more people do something with those older pictures and I think it’s terrific you’re taking on that project for your family. Depending on how many pictures you have, and what kind of pictures, you could do something like this: Use the Scrapbook Dividers (sold out but coming back next month!) and use those to create a section for each ancestor. Within that person’s section, you can just include pictures + information about them in random fashion, or you could have a layout for childhood pictures, a layout about their work, a layout about their hobbies or travels, etc. It’s hard to give feedback about this unless I know the specific circumstances like how many pictures you have and what kind of memorabilia you have, etc. But I’m sure the ideas will come!
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I’m sure you knew this concept was going to fly. I wonder if you and David have dared to think just how big your business may grow.
Honestly, we don’t have much time these days to dwell on those kind of thoughts. We just work hard to make things happen + do our best to carry out the vision for how Project Life can be a blessing to so many people. We are so grateful for how it is impacting people’s lives. As for the first part of your comment, we did absolutely believe in this concept. It is because we believed in it that we risked a lot (and spent a lot out of our pockets) to start our own company in 2009 and bring Project Life to the masses. Not a day goes by that we don’t feel grateful that we did that. It was the right thing to do, at the right time. We continue to be very grateful for so many happy and loyal fans/friends/followers/readers/customers/Project Lifers … and we look forward to the continued journey with you guys.
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{ a favorite comment }
Jennie wrote: My Project Life kits (yes, I ordered Cobalt & Clementine!) came today, but my hubby insists I can wait 11 days til Christmas to open the box. Men…they just don’t understand! I’m probably more excited than my kids for Christmas!
Tags: binders, digital Project Life, jessicasprague.com, paper trimmer, shutterfly
Posted in Q&A | 25 Comments »
Friday, December 9th, 2011
Comments and questions are gathered from facebook, twitter, emails, and right here on the blog. It’s time for another edition of Feedback Friday!
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I noticed that a couple of your Photo Pocket Page designs have pocket openings on the side sometimes, instead of at the top where I expected. They’re wonderful and completely useable but I’m just wondering … is this on purpose?
Yes. Sort of. We originally designed everything to have openings at the top – always. But it’s not that simple. On a couple of the designs, because of the pocket configuration and the manufacturing machinery and the way things have to work logistically, a few openings are on the side instead. Like you said – it doesn’t change the usability and the function of the Photo Pocket Page.
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Do you do any other scrapbooking besides Project Life now? What about your childhood, your story, your ancestors, etc.?
Great question. (Gulp.) As much as my natural instincts are to feel guilty about what I’m not doing, I am far too realistic for that and guilt gets pushed to the side big-time. I am a documenter of life, an amateur photographer, a family historian. But that doesn’t mean I’m good at all of that, all of the time. It certainly doesn’t mean I have everything pulled together the way I’d like. Right now I’m focused on documenting the here + now of our family life with Project Life. I have also embarked on a journey called catching-up-with-my-kids’-books. And trust me, you’ll be hearing a lot about that soon since the journey has been documented with video. Other than that, no. Nothing else right now. Yes, I have childhood scrapbook pages and family history pages but it’s definitely not where I want it all to be. Yet.
Bottom line: There is a time and a season for everything. I totally have a vision for what I want to do with our family history stuff, and David’s and my childhood stuff. Another topic for another day. The vision is there. I’m just looking for some spare time.
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I am sure you have been asked this but have you ever considered catalog sales? I feel you have the most amazing products that could transform so many peoples lives as it has mine. I just think it would be so cool to see reps out there demonstrating how to use your products and inspiring others!
Yes, once upon a time it was a thought. But no – it’s not what we’re doing. Our business model keeps everything so simple. Our product is made and shipped to Amazon and anyone (in the U.S.) can purchase our products there and have it shipped directly to them. That is the simplest thing that we can do that is also very beneficial to the customer – you. Many of you are practically Project Life “consultants” because of the way you share it with friends and family. You have to know how much we appreciate that. Very, very cool.
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When is the Shutterfly version of Project Life going to be available?
Barely in time for Christmas.
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Will the Shutterfly/Project Life photo book be available in more than one size?
You bet. The “default” photo book sizes are 12×12 and 8×11 but you can convert your project to 8×8, 7×9, and even an itty bitty 5×7 gift size. I can’t wait for you to see these Project Life photo books!
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I wish I didn’t have to wait for other items to come in while some items are available now. It would be nice to get everything at the same time.
I hear ya. And I promise you that we’re not trying to stagger the availability of different products. Please keep in mind that there are so many behind-the-scenes logistics in manufacturing physical product that most people wouldn’t even think about, that affect the timing of products becoming available. Please also remember that this is our transitional year as far as product offering. When we started our company just over two years ago, we offered one SKU – one item. That’s it. Last year we offered 2 items. We now have 30 products and more in the making. So yeah – it’s a little tricky to keep everything on a predictable schedule. The beautiful thing about the way we’re offering product now is that we’re getting on track to keeping plenty of inventory in stock all the time – all year long. The few items that are currently sold out were re-ordered weeks ago and will be available again in January. As we move forward, we’ll be able to close that gap even more so that “sell outs” are very rare.
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I notice that the Photo Pocket Pages are not all the exact same total width. It’s subtle, but I’m just wondering why.
It’s all about the math. For the 4×6 and 3×4 cards to fit perfectly in every single pocket (which we really fine-tuned with all the new products) … each Photo Pocket Page is going to have to be a slightly different width. When you factor horizontal and vertical and different configurations … it is what it is. And those size variations are very, very subtle. The alternative is to have them all the exact same size, which would mean the cards and photos would not fit well in the pockets. They would be too tight or not have too much room, etc. Hope I’m making sense. It’s all about the math. This is the “fun” part of product design. ; )
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Where did you get the white chairs that I always see in your pictures and videos?
Stanley is the brand. Coastal Living is the line of furniture. The name of the chair is the Wayfarer Side Dining Chair. We had the seat cushions recovered with a faux shiny wipeable leather that I found at a local fabric store.
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I don’t know if anyone has ever mentioned it but I think it would be awesome to have a set of page protectors that fit the 4×4 Instagram photos.
Oh, trust me. That’s in the line-up. : )
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Can you please use month concepts when saying, for example, that the School Kits might be out by Summer 2012? Living in Australia, we are in summer now and I started getting overly excited!!
I’m so sorry that I wasn’t thinking of our friends in the Southern Hemisphere when I said that. We just aren’t close to having a date for the release of those products yet so I needed to keep it vague. I guess I could say we’re hoping for sometime between June – August 2012.
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What about the date stamp? Is it in the core kit?
Nope. We no longer have a date stamp as part of our products. This is easy to find online or at your local office supply store.
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Does anyone have any cute ideas/pictures for the very first page of their album? I love the cards with the kit but I want to make mine a little more personal, and I wast it to represent the whole year, anyone?
Excellent topic. I have a whole blog post about this in the works. If anyone wants to share their Project Life title page, please email a really good photograph to submissions@beckyhiggins.com for us to consider sharing with our other content.
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{ a favorite comment }
Can I just say that I know it is not by chance that I happened upon your website several months ago? I was a huge fan of your work with CK, but lost touch with everything scrapbook-related for a while as my family went through some tough changes and I was running in “survival mode”. I believe that I have an actual part in my body that is connected to my current level of memory preservation, and most of the time this body part weighs a ton and is twisted in several knots due to my “guilt” and inability to keep up with all of the photos I take and memories we make. It literally weighs on me daily. Several months ago your name popped into my mind as I was on the computer and I was curious as to what you were up to. I got chills and tears in my eyes as I watched your Project Life video (“Project Life by Becky Higgins”) and thought, “Wow, this is going to be the thing that saves me!” I was giddy and excited as I showed everyone the video, and have been following every development of your products ever since. I’m hoping Santa has a few white boxes for me under the tree this Christmas!
Tags: chairs, date stamp, photo pocket pages, Project Life, shutterfly
Posted in products, Q&A, scrapbooking | 40 Comments »
Friday, December 2nd, 2011
If you missed it last week, I am going to do a Feedback Friday blog post on (most) Fridays. This is one way I can try to catch up on the comments + questions that float around here on my blog, my facebook page, twitter, emails, etc.
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Can we see Project Life used as a baby album?
This request was part of last week’s Feedback Friday and I’m happy to share a few submissions that came in after that. So grateful for those who shared!
Layout by Juliet in Singapore.
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Pages by Jill in Pennsylvania.
Jill writes: I have been doing this for my daughter Reagan since she was born on March 1. I love how easy it is to use the journaling cards to jot down her milestones – when her teeth come in, when she tries new foods, when she rolls over and the list goes on and on. Also love that I can slip in bits of life into the pockets – clothing tags, receipts, pieces of baby cards, and the list goes on and on (again!).
Note: Jill is using the Original Edition of Project Life that she got at the beginning of 2010. And since I know someone will ask … Yes, it is possible that we could bring this edition back again.
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Pages by Emily in Washington, D.C.
Emily writes: Here is how I am using Project Life: My first baby, Parker, was born 6 months ago, and I had my Project Life album all ready to go. Instead of chronicling week by week (which was a bit overwhelming for me, not to mention there was no way I could limit myself to just seven pictures!), I decided to do a monthly account of my son’s life as he grows. It has proven very rewarding and successful – I add in bits in pieces over the month when I have a spare minute! Each month starts with photos by mama (in the same chair with the same stuffed animal) and his stats if he had a doctor’s appointment each month – and I keep track of all the new things he’s doing as well as our family’s experiences with him throughout the month. Throughout the month, I write down little bits in a notebook that I transfer to journaling cards. To be clear, I’m doing a month-by-month of his first year, after which I’ll probably switch to a family PL album.
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How do you move past a creative block that has been lasting for months??
Assuming you’re referring to scrapbooking, I don’t feel the need to have that self-inflicted pressure in my life. I don’t feel like I have to be creative about how I preserve my family’s memories. That’s what is so liberating about putting my pictures + stories together with Project Life. I just add my pictures to the already-designed products that our graphic designers created and my work is done. I gave up the “I need to be creative” mentality a long time ago and highly recommend that for anyone who is putting too much pressure on themselves. There are far too many other important things in life.
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I was wondering if there are plans to make a chocolate or navy version of the Signature Binder?
We are starting with Black and White and we’ll see how those do. If everyone loves our Signature Binder as much as we do, we would love to expand the line to include more colors.
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Are we going to be seeing any Project Life related stamps?
Not anytime soon, but never say never.
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I have been wondering if there will ever be a list of all of your Cultivate a Good Life quotes put out in one place? Pretty please!?
I’m pleased that you’re enjoying those posts. I am collecting them every time I post one, but I haven’t yet had an epiphany as to how I might share the full collection in the most effective way. I thought of a set of 3×4 cards, a calendar (one for each day in the year), but honestly – nothing feels like the “it” idea just yet. Open to ideas. For anyone who may not know what we’re talking about, I share something on facebook + twitter almost daily and it says “Part of cultivating a good life is …” and then I share something that’s on my mind or based on my experience or whatever.
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Are there any plans to offer the Scrapbook Dividers with designs on them?
First of all, yes we are reprinting more as I write this since they sold out so fast. We should have more available in January. Secondly, we made the Scrapbook Dividers completely simple and neutral so that they could be used in any Project Life book or scrapbook. I am a big fan of versatility. Having said that, I know some of you would like to see designs printed on the dividers. It’s hard to know how much interest there is but feel free to add your comment. How would you feel if we offer designer stickers that coordinate with each Project Life edition, and you would place those on the dividers?
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I know you don’t know for sure, but any idea when school-related Project Life products will be ready?
I sooo know that many of you are anxious for this to come. Me too. There are a lot of reasons why it has been pushed back + pushed back some more. But we are working on it. I want it to be completely brilliant. I want these products to truly be a solution for all of you that want to get your kids’ scrapbooks done. It takes time and I have a lot of cookers going in my life – much more than just what you see here on my blog. Thank you for being patient. I don’t have a date, but it’s possible (if I had to guess) that we’re looking at Summer 2012.
Here’s the good news (since being patient can be hard): I have been working on a very detailed + informative video that will walk you through the process of getting organized with all of your kids’ stuff (papers, art, school work, pictures). Even though school-specific products aren’t available yet, I think anyone can get started right this minute with a little inspiration. I plan to share the video this month.
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I was wondering if you have ever considered doing a monthly themed Project Life kit? I use my PL to do a “month in review” (it feels like less of commitment and more do-able that way) and I was hoping to see a monthly themed set that would incorporate the seasons/holidays throughout each month.
We have thought about that, yes. I seriously wish we could move forward with every idea all at the same time, because there is so much potential! I just wanted to remind everyone that we do love when you share your ideas for what you’d like to see. You have great ideas and we’re pretty good listeners. If you have product input to share, email projectlife@beckyhiggins.com any time.
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Will the Project Life Binders and the Signature Binders fit the school days kits from a few years ago? I’m going to order for my 3 kids if they will work!
All of our binders are totally the standard 12×12 size so they’ll fit anything of that standard size. Yes, those old kits will fit. Order away. : )
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Do your new binders hold any more pages than the ones from last year?
No. Same thickness as last year’s. If any of you have a We R Memory Keepers 12×12 3-ring binder, it’s the exact same dimensions as that.
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Can you please post some tutorials on how to use the Digital Project Life elements?
JessicaSprague.com offers a class called Up + Running with Photoshop that goes over all the basics to use digital products, such as our Project Life elements. It would be a wonderful skill to know some core concepts for so many different uses. I highly recommend it, based on everything that I’ve heard … and in fact, I’ll be taking the class myself soon. Anyone else care to join me? The class is 20% off right now!
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Spotlighting a favorite comment on facebook.
Terrie said: Ok, don’t know WHERE I’ve been, but I just discovered your products and I’m SO excited! I love to create scrapbooks for my photos, but due to life being so busy, I’ve not been able to “get around to it” for many years now. Thanks to you, I’m going to be getting back to my fav hobby. Thank you Becky for creating this system and making it so easy to keep up with preserving my precious memories!!!
Tags: baby scrapbook, binders, Project Life, school products, scrapbook dividers
Posted in products, Q&A, scrapbooking | 85 Comments »
Friday, November 25th, 2011
I’m starting something new. And I’m calling it Feedback Friday.
Between my blog, facebook, twitter, emails, forums, and message boards there are plenty of questions floating around at any given moment. You’re looking for feedback on various topics – related to Project Life or not. We will do our best to gather those questions and comments and I will offer my feedback to as many as I can … each Friday here on my blog.
Sound good?
Here we go – round one! : )
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I love and own Project Life. It’s a wonderful way of expressing my creativity in a efficient and fast-paced way. I hate to complain so don’t take this personally, but it’s all that’s ever seen or discussed on your blog. You used to have so many ideas on organization and floral arrangements and photography. I just miss all the other aspects of your blog that you used to post.
Feedback: I don’t take that personally. I take that as constructive feedback – thank you! I’m so happy that you love Project Life. I’m fully aware that my sharing as of late is very, very heavily Project Life-related. This is because it’s a particularly busy time for our company because of our new partnerships, new products, new Creative Team and other news-worth happenings. I want to be sure to keep everyone in the loop since most of you are using (or contemplating using) Project Life.
That said, I do agree that it’s time to bring back the balance of content. I’ll be very happy to get back to “other” topics soon. Whether or not my sharing is related to ideas or products or anything else, I certainly appreciate that you’re stopping by and hope you continue to enjoy your time spent here.
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I’m so excited about all the Project Life elements available on JessicaSprague.com but I was hoping for some full page templates.
Feedback: We agree! And … we’re working on those right now, actually. Coming soon!
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I’m confused. Are these the digital elements that you need to use to create the book to be printed at year-end by Shutterfly? Or is that coming later? I am hoping for a drag and drop digital book.
Feedback: The digital elements available on JessicaSprague.com are for you to be able to use the art however you’d like. It’s for people who use Photoshop to create their own pages, party invitations, and other projects. If you are brand-new to this concept and want to learn the very basics, I recommend taking a beginner level class such as Up & Running with Photoshop: Beginning Digital Scrapbooking (which I see is on sale right now!). As mentioned above, we’re also about to release our full 12×12 scrapbook page templates – Project Life style. So that makes the design process super easy! No matter how you choose to use the digital elements, you would then print your projects however you’d like.
If you are looking for the drop-in-your-photo-and-add-your-journaling method, that’s the Shutterfly photo book – coming in December. The concept is that all the pages are already designed for you (with our Project Life art) and you just drop in your photos + journaling and Shutterfly will send you a printed + bound book. Very cool.
Everyone has their preferred way of doing things, which is why we’re so pleased to add these digital options to the option of the good ol’ paper-and-photos-in-your-hands method. : )
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Do you need Photoshop to use the digital Project Life elements?
Feedback: Yes, Photoshop Elements is the most commonly used program but you can use just about any editing software.
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Where is a good place to order prints? I want something fairly cheap, good quality and would be nice to have less than 1-2 week turnaround.
Feedback: Great question! I know there are a lot of fantastic online resources, and I also know a lot of people choose to print at their local Costco, Sam’s Club, WalMart, Target, Walgreen’s, etc. In other words – endless possibilities! I would love for anyone to comment on their favorite online resource!
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Is there any way to transfer my current pre-paid project on Zilbio, to Shutterfly? I have barely started my Ziblio project, but would love to take my pre-paid amount and apply it to a new album with Shutterfly.
Feedback: Sorry, but Ziblio and Shutterfly are not affiliated with one another and so that’s not an option. If you have started a project with Ziblio, you can either finish it (I’m actually quite excited to finish a couple projects that I have in the works there) or you can inquire about a refund. I don’t know that it’s possible, but you can ask them. Call the customer support line at 877-209-1560 or email support@ziblio.com
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I would love to see you do a leather or faux leather album.
Feedback: Personally, I feel like We R Memory Keepers nailed it with their leather albums. I’ve been using them for years.
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I have thought a lot about doing a black and white version of Project Life and wondered if you had considered that?
Feedback: We have thought about a more neutral edition of Project Life, yes. We have also thought about a wedding edition, and baby editions, and classic editions, and grunge editions, and contemporary editions, and … you get the idea. There is so much fun potential to grow the Project Life family of designs and we have plans to do just that. : )
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I’d LOVE to see some examples of Project Life used in a baby album.
Feedback: Me too! I know some people are doing this and I would love nothing more than to see it with my own eyes. Anyone is welcome to share their projects with us, any time! Just email your pictures to submissions@beckyhiggins.com. As I mentioned, I would love to do a couple baby editions of Project Life but it’s going to take a little time. Focusing on the school/childhood stuff first. ; )
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I saw your mom’s crocheted washcloths on Facebook. Does she sell them? I love those kind of washcloths!
Feedback: That’s so cute. She loves to make them (she loves just about any kind of needlepoint work) but no – she doesn’t sell them.
Posted in Q&A | 38 Comments »
Thursday, October 20th, 2011
First a quick note to say – congratulations Amy in Scottsbluff, Nebraska! You were randomly selected to win the Favorite Four giveaway from Big Picture Classes! Please email projectlife@beckyhiggins.com with your shipping address so we can send your goodies to you.
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I know a lot of you – especially those who are newer to Project Life – have a burning question:
WHAT SHOULD I BUY?
We now offer a lot of products, which is fantastic for having options so that you can hand-select exactly what you need. But sometimes you just want someone to tell you - Get this. This is what you need.
This image is going on the top of the Products page. We’ll keep it there for your convenience as you browse products. And when you send your friends over to check out Project Life, they can instantly understand that there are must-haves and everything else is “fun” to add. Although … let’s be honest. Some of you say ALL of this is essential! : )
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If you have a question that I haven’t answered about all the new products, please ask it in the Comments below – and I will answer it in the Comments. In other words, be sure to check back for answers. With all of the plastics arriving in the next 1-2 weeks, it’s important to me that you feel like you understand everything you want to know as you prepare for purchases. You’re smart shoppers. I like that.
Just in case you missed some previous posts, here are a few questions I have already addressed:
Q: How much will everything cost? Oct. 18 blog post.
Q: Is that clearance sale still happening? Yes – but only the Amber binders remain now. It’s a crazy bargain, folks – $8.44 for a binder. Wowza.
Q: What exactly is a Project Life Core Kit? What comes in it? Sept. 7 blog post, which is loaded with pictures inside the little white box.
Q: I live outside the U.S. and can’t wait to get my hands on Project Life. Visit our Shop page so we can direct you to those that can help you.
Q: How will I know when the new items arrive on Amazon? My best advice is to check my blog daily. There are a lot of exciting things going on right now and I wouldn’t want you to miss a thing. Plus – I give even more behind-the-scenes kind of updates (+ POTD Ideas + thoughts on cultivating a good life, etc.) on facebook + twitter.
Q: I like freebies. Can I get my hands on any Project Life goodies that are free? Okay, so that’s not a real question that anyone’s asked. But I just wanted to remind you that these super cute cards are yours, if you’re interested. Easy. Quick. Free.
And … several other product FAQs here.
Posted in products, Q&A | 152 Comments »
Thursday, October 6th, 2011
I am grateful for your comments (your excitement is the best, thank you!) and questions. There were some excellent questions regarding the releasing of new products and I’m happy to address them.
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Q: I’m confused about what I should order. What exactly do I need to get?
A: If you want to stick with absolute basics, this is what you need: Project Life Core Kit + Photo Pocket Pages + Binder. That’s it. Those are the essentials to create a full album.
Note about Core Kits: Right now there are 2 editions of Project Life that are available (Amber + Turquoise) and 2 more editions that are coming in November (Cobalt + Clementine). No matter which edition you chose, it’s all the same contents, just different styles.
Note about Photo Pocket Pages: All of our new Photo Pocket Pages are still on their way and should arrive in the next few weeks-ish. The only Photo Pocket Pages in stock right now are Design B. The most ideal (and for sure the best value – price to be confirmed soon) way to buy the Photo Pocket Pages is to get the big pack of 60 when it becomes available in a few weeks-ish.
Note about Binders: We do have Amber + Turquoise Binders in stock but I want to be clear: These are the original binders with the black linen spine. The new & improved binders are coming in November. They are absolutely improved, manufactured by We R Memory Keepers, and will cost a bit more. I can’t confirm the price of the new binder just yet. But if you want to save a few dollars, then I would go for the binders that are in stock right now.
Back to the question – and now that I’ve clarified the essentials – everything else is just fun. The Cardstock, Scrapbook Dividers, Big Envelope Pages, and all the different Photo Pocket Pages that are coming. You certainly don’t have to have these items to complete a scrapbook if you’re trying to spend as little as possible. Remember: We love making scrapbooking affordable so more people will do it.
*** Everything – essential or extra – can be viewed on the Products page – always.
Q: What’s the difference between the Photo Pocket Pages still in stock and the new ones coming soon?
A: We have improved the quality, strengthened the seams … and kept the prices low, even though manufacturing costs went up.
Q: Why does the Cobalt edition have a title card with “2012″ on it?
A: Most of you will be using the kit for 2012 pictures + memories. It was a fun design that Kim came up with for the title page of the Cobalt edition that she designed. If that doesn’t work for your scrapbook (let’s say you’re using the products to create a scrapbook with pictures from a few years ago), simply don’t use that one card. There are plenty of extra cards in the Core Kit that you can choose from to replace that one.
Q: How fast are these new items going to move? Do I need to be worried about things selling out?
A: I am happy to keep you as updated as I can. I want you to be as informed as possible to make the best decision about what to buy, and when to buy it. Right now I can tell you that if you want to get the Amber or Turquoise Edition of Project Life, but you want to wait until the big pack of 60 Photo Pocket Pages and other plastics come in a few weeks, you should be okay to wait if you’d like. Of course there is risk in waiting. You never know if there will be a huge spike in sales randomly one day. But as of right now, those 2 editions are moving steadily, but not crazy-fast since they’re the 2011 designs that have already made their rounds this year.
There aren’t that many “original” binders left (see question above). Especially now that I’ve been clear about how the NEW binders will cost more, what’s left in inventory now will probably go fast. So if you think you want a black-linen spine binder, I wouldn’t wait. We will for sure not be making those binders again now that we’re spoiled with the fine manufacturing that is We R.
As for the other products that we just released, the situation is similar to the Project Life Core Kits. Sales are steady-but-not-crazy-fast on the Cardstock and Journaling Cards (box of 100), since most of our customers already have these from earlier this year.
The very best way to stay informed is to be sure you check my blog regularly or subscribe to my facebook or twitter updates. I will let you know if something is getting close to selling out. Most companies wouldn’t dream of doing that. I prioritize communicating well with my customers.
Q: I live outside the U.S. and I can’t view the video you just posted. Why?
A: It looks like some music is not “allowed” on YouTube videos in certain countries – probably a copyright issue or something? Bummer! Perhaps I’ll have to remove the music and re-post the video for international friends.
Q: Who is the artist of the “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” song in your video?
A: The version of that song that I used is actually by the Glee cast. I use Glee music in a lot of my videos.
Q: What about the binders – when will we see those?
A: We’re still on-track for November.
Q: Can I only use the Project Life binder with the Becky Higgins products?
A: Nope. You can use any binder you want. Our binders are the same standard sizing as just about any other 12×12 3-ring binder out there. Feel free to choose another binder. But really – ours are the best. ; )
Q: What about the Signature Black Binder and Signature White Binder?
A: We are sampling and re-sampling and re-sampling again so that we make these signature binders positively perfect. I don’t have a release date on these until we nail it.
Posted in products, Q&A, scrapbooking | 43 Comments »
Friday, August 26th, 2011
I am thrilled to announce something today about our upcoming products. Specifically, our Binders. All Becky Higgins Binders are now going to be manufactured by We R Memory Keepers! As in – the best of the best in binder manufacturing. As in – a bazillion years of experience in the book binding industry, and of course the scrapbooking industry … since it became an industry. They are absolutely a leader in binders and albums. And because they’re making our albums, this means you can expect nothing less than … the very best. I’ve been personally using We R binders for all of our family scrapbooks for nearly 10 years.
We are super stoked, and we know that any of you who are familiar with the We R brand are pretty stoked right now too. What you are seeing are our first four Project Life Binders: The Turquoise Edition and Amber Edition are our two 2011 Project Life editions that most of you are familiar with (we actually made the “Turquoise Binder” spine brown because – trust me – it just looked way better with the design).
The other two binders you see are … (drum roll please) … the two new 2012 editions! Say hello to the Clementine Edition and the Cobalt Edition! This is the first you are seeing of the new designs. Next week is when we plan to share lots, lots more from each of these two new kits (designer components + pieces that come in the Core Kits as well as some of the Project Life Cardstock). Stay tuned for that!
But enough chit-chat. Let’s get to some pictures!
I’d be willing to bet you have some great questions now. I’ll try to address several, and if I missed something … ask away in the Comments. Plus – tell me what you think! I’d love to hear.
Q: So these are different than the Binders that you have still in stock on Amazon?
A: That’s right. They are different and they are better. We do still have some Turquoise Binders and Amber Binders in stock, and they are still for sale. And while these currently-for-sale binders are not as crazy-excellent quality that our new binders will be, they are still good binders.
Q: What is different about the old binders and the new binders?
A: First and foremost, the construction, techniques in manufacturing, and materials used are better. The metal corners are new (yay for protecting the corners!). The metal label holder on the spine is new. The surface is now glossy – which not only looks sharp, but makes it so easy to wipe off little finger prints. The spine is now a color instead of black.
Q: Why would I want to purchase the “old” binders still in stock?
A: You don’t have to, of course. Those who either A) Don’t want to wait for the new binders, or B) Want to pay a few dollars less will be snatching those up very quickly.
Q: How much will they cost?
A: Our current binders (mentioned above) are $12.99 on Amazon for U.S. customers. While we do not know the exact price of the new binders yet, you can expect that they will cost a few-ish dollars more. Simply put, better manufacturing costs more. I do not know what the prices will be for customers outside the U.S. but that will soon be announced.
Q: Where are the binders manufactured?
A: Salt Lake City, Utah. The good ol’ USA!
Q: When can I get my hands on these binders?
A: I wish I could give you a date (and I will as we get closer) … but it’s going to be sometime this Fall – along with all of our other products coming out this Fall. It will likely fall somewhere in the October/November time frame.
Q: Can I pre-order the binders?
A: If you are in the U.S. or Europe, where Becky Higgins products are sold on Amazon – no pre-orders. If you are in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, or pretty much most other countries, yes. Pre-orders will be available on those respective sites very soon. Please watch for that here (NZ/AUS) and here (CANADA and other countries).
Q: I like all my albums to be matching on the bookshelf. I think I’ll miss the black spine you used to have on all your binders.
A: Today’s great news gets even better! We will also be launching our Signature Black Binder and our Signature White Binder. More details and pictures of these items coming soon.
Tags: binders, Project Life, we r memory keepers
Posted in products, Q&A, scrapbooking | 111 Comments »
Wednesday, August 10th, 2011
Wow — the enthusiasm. Yay, you guys! We are stoked that you are stoked about what’s coming this Fall. Thank you for your comments on the last post. There were also a few excellent questions so I’m happy to address those.
But first – I think Kristina in Brisbane, Australia wins the award for cutest comment. She wrote, “Thank you Becky. It’s pretty emotional for me about the possibility of capturing amazing memories for my children and future generations without it being daunting, too hard, too fumbly, etc. If I was a bubble, I’d burst.”
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{ your questions }
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Q: It feels like Project Life just got a whole lot more complicated with all the choices! But I’m anxious to see the new designs.
A: Okay, so that wasn’t a question but it’s a legitimate thought that I’m sure a few of you have had, even though we know most of our customers are pleased with the change. I’m happy to explain what led to the change. We used to offer full kits. Everything-in-a-box. Simple, right? Well … not so much. Most everything was A-OK but manufacturing defects are inevitable, period. So in a huge box with lots of contents, if any one piece was wrong, there was a lot of time/work/stress/money spent on replacing little pieces here + there. Now, if there are any problems at all, it’s a simple return/exchange with Amazon (U.S. customers) or with your international distributor, for those of you outside the U.S.
Another reason for breaking apart the kit: We love making scrapbooking affordable. Even though the price for one kit was incredible (and, quite frankly, far less money than you’d ever spend on that much stuff anywhere else), it’s still money. And money can be tight, especially these days. The way we’re moving forward with our products now, folks are able to get only what they feel like they need to get the job done, and skip the fun extras if it’s not the right time to be spending extra money.
Bottom line: There are several reasons why we decided to do this, and what you need to know is that David and I have put a lot of time, thought, and money into this business. We don’t make decisions lightly. Please trust that we are very thoughtful and very intentional about our choices with what and when and how we do things so that you – our customers – have a good experience, while also maintaining that our family life is our #1 priority.
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Q: So are you saying we will have to purchase the page protectors separately? If they are not included in the price of the kit, then will the kit price go down?
A: Yes, that’s what I’m saying. The Core Kit will absolutely cost way less than our full kits have cost in the past. This is one of the advantages of breaking the kit apart. Let’s say you only want the Core Kit and the Big Pack of 60 Photo Pocket Pages, and not necessarily the Scrapbook Dividers, 12×12 Cardstock, or the coordinating binder. No problem! Just get what you want and not what you don’t.
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Q: Has the quality improved with the binders since the last ones?
A: This is a very resounding YES. I will be share more details on this very soon, but trust me on this one. I’m confident that you’re going to be very pleased with our new binders, which includes the reprint of the Turquoise and Amber binders, as well as the new 2012 Project Life styles and our signature “neutral” binders. Information and images on all the binders will come soon, along with the 2012 Project Life product reveals. Remember: All of these items are roughly a month behind the October releases that we’re talking about right now.
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Q: Why buy your page protectors when other companies make the same thing? What is different about yours?
A: First of all, we have had production delays for a reason: We are more picky than ever. Quality control. The search for perfection. You name it, we have been working very hard to make these staples as close to perfect as possible, so that you are happier than happy with our products. So if quality is a big deal to you, that would be a reason.
Secondly, the way we’ve set up our business for U.S. customers is that we sell directly to you by way of Amazon. This is how we’re able to keep our prices down. So if affordable is a big deal to you, that would be a reason.
Thirdly, a few of the basic designs are obviously “what’s out there” already. We know that (refer to the first two points in this response). But we added them to the line-up for a simple reason — it’s nice to have the same quality and affordability across the board. So if consistency and convenience are a big deal to you, that would be a reason.
Most of our designs, however, are unique to our brand and are very much inline with our philosophy of taking the guesswork out of scrapbooking for those who want to simplify the process. Our pockets are 4×6 for the standard photos and 3×4 for the Journaling Cards (and “half-size” photos and memorabilia and whatever else you use the 3×4 pockets for). This is key in helping us to be better about journaling little notes, stories, and anecdotes to go along with our pictures.
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Q: Are the Core Kits that will be available in October for 2011? Or can they be used for any year? I am assuming that when the 2012 kits become available, I would use the core kit that applies for 2012. I am new to Project Life, but I’m SO excited.
A: Simply put, all of our Core Kits have been, and will continue to be, completely applicable to any year and any approach. The designs are not date-specific. You could pick up any kit and get your whole childhood in an album. Or you could use the kit to document a picture-every-day in a calendar year. Or you could go back and get the 90′s into a couple scrapbooks with our products. The whole idea is that you make the products work for your needs. You don’t have to conform to any format. I’m so excited you’re giving it a try!
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Q: Do you ever plan on creating Project Life in 8.5×11? I switched over from 12×12′s years ago because the size is SO much easier for my kids, parents, grandparents etc. to handle.
A: Yes, we have totally considered this. The reason why the 8.5 x 11 format doesn’t work for this system is because, in order to simplify the process for you, that includes leaving all the 4×6 prints just as they are, as opposed to requiring you to crop everything down. It just doesn’t work quite as well. If the 12×12 albums are larger than you’d like (I’m in that camp these days too, so I totally relate) … the Digital Project Life is what you want to look into.
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Q: I know you can’t see into the future, but am wondering if you can comment on if these products will be available over the coming years in similar formats. Should I stock up on school kits for my young children now, or will I be able to purchase these products in 2 and 4 years from now? Again, I know you can’t see into the future, but what’s your best guess?
A: You’re a planner. I get it. I’m a planner too! And while I don’t have that crystal ball we’d all like to have sometimes, this is what I can tell you: Project Life works. Project Life solves problems. We’re setting things up in such an organized and intentional and methodical and user-friendly and solution-based manner, that it’s a no-brainer to keep a good thing going … for as long as you guys think it’s a good thing. We plan on all the BASICS being available year-round and bringing out NEW DESIGNS at least once a year.
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Q: I haven’t seen you mention anything about Digital Project Life. Will there be new designs for that? If so, any timeline of when it will be out?
A: Yes, Digital Project Life lives on, and the new 2012 designs will come by the end of this year. We just have a stronger emphasis on the physical product right now because that’s where the interest is for most of our customers, and because purchasing actual, physical product usually involves more planning of sorts. Particularly for our international customers, as they are able to place pre-orders in advance.
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Q: It would be awesome to have a punch the size of the 3×4 Journaling Cards. My (project) life would be complete if I had a punch I could use to quickly size things perfectly and pop them into the page!
A: It sounds like you’re not alone in your thinking. And I have to tell you, a lot of what we’re bringing is due to the suggestions and requests you’ve thrown our way. We really, truly listen and I hope that’s obvious to our customers by now. So … about the punch … we’ll look into the possibility. How’s that? : )
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Q: Are you going to be creating a school kit?
A: Okay, so I know most of you know this already, but for those of you who missed the memo, I repeat – School- and childhood-specific products are planned to show up early 2012. It’s simply not possible to do everything at once. Trust me – you wouldn’t want me to try that. I’d go completely mental and broke, all at once. : )
In the meantime, I would definitely plan on picking up a few staples that are coming out this Fall. For example, this stuff:
You’ll be able to get a great head-start with at least organizing your pictures. When the school/childhood stuff comes out, that will help you pull it all together beautifully. More on this in the coming weeks. We’ll discuss this in depth.
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I hope this has cleared some things up for those of you with questions. Most of you know I’m very accessible to my readers/customers. I do my best to answer your questions. Please remember that while Project Life is growing and spreading like wildfire (thanks to you guys, for sharing it with your friends!) … we are still a small business, and not even quite two years into this adventure.
Family is most important. Service and community involvement and friends and even sleep are important too. We also care a lot about making sure Becky Higgins LLC provides the very best for you. Trust me when I say, we are happy to continue working hard to do our best. And, as always, we appreciate your enthusiasm and loyalty so very much.
Posted in products, Q&A, scrapbooking | 62 Comments »
Friday, June 24th, 2011
In case you’ve missed it before (here and here), my ever-so-giving and super-smart brother Kevin does “Tech Friday” on my blog once in a while. Why? Sometimes you ask me tech-related questions. I’m not a tech expert. Kevin is. Kevin’s very generous with his time and loves to help others understand technology.
Here is the latest round of tech Q+A. He’s answering the questions you asked on facebook + twitter. Feel free to leave more questions here and he can add them to the cue for the next time. Thank you, thank you, thank you Kevin. Isn’t he just super?
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Q: @MotherWifeWoods asks, What’s the best & least expensive way to get my screen to match what I print? My pictures come out too warm.
A: If you are comfortable with using the built-in calibration tools in OS X (sorry Windows users, no built-in tools), you can go here and run a quick calibration. It’s free and works pretty good.
If you’re looking for something a little more complete, you will want to check out the Spyder calibration tools. Prices range depending on the version you purchase, but they start under $100.
Once you have calibrated your screen, you will want to download the appropriate ICC profile for your printer. For example, if I were using an Epson inkjet printer, I would go to www.epson.com and locate/download the ICC profile for your printer. By doing this, the computer and printer will now be fully in sync, and colors should match exactly.
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Q: Donna asks, I have recently had a lot of trouble with the storage devices I have used to backup the almost 50,000 pictures I have. I would like to know if you could tell me the best and safest type of storage out there so I can stop worrying about losing all of my pictures.
A: One of the problems with backing up a LOT of large files is the time it takes to transfer from media to media (i.e.: hard drive to cloud storage or even hard drive to hard drive). The easiest form of backing up your data is by using a service like Carbonite. It’s a no-brainer solution because it handles everything automatically. It’s still a valid solution if you have a lot of data, but it will take longer and eat up your bandwidth.
My personal backup solution involves a high-capacity Drobo storage device that I have at home. In addition, I have a copy of that same set of data made each week, and leave that copy at the office (in case something happens to my house). It’s not as convenient as a cloud back-up solution, but definitely faster. You may also want to consider an occasional dump to a series of DVD to store at a friend’s house.
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Q: Karen says, Yay for Kevin!! My question is that with my “time machine” on the Mac. How can I make it only save certain files I want to be backed up such as pictures instead of everything on the Mac?
A: Although you can’t be selective with Time Machine when it comes to file types, you CAN be selective when it comes to selection. Open your Time Machine preferences (System Preferences | Time Machine), and you will see an “Options…” button. From here, you can choose which directories to exclude from your backups. That’s all the control you have in Time Machine, for now.
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Q: Nanci asks, I would love to know how Kevin keeps track of his commitments? What software or online system does he use to track his to-do’s, promises, misc info?
A: Life is crazy! And my life/schedule is no different. I usually have a lot going on all the time. Before I tell you how I manage MY time, I need to remind you that everyone is different, and this is a very personal question. My answer may be unique.
Having said that, I use … iCal and Mail. Yup. That’s it. It’s simple and effective for me. I’ve tried several other task management solutions like ToDo. TaskPad and Task ToDo. The problem I found with all of these is they attempt to do more than I wanted them to do. Between using iCal for calendar items and tasks, and Mail for email, it’s the perfect solution … for me. As an added bonus, I’m a big fan of “Zero Inbox”. Google it to learn more.
*** Added note from Becky: Same here, Nanci. It’s iCal for our family. ***
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Q: Brittany asks, I’m wondering how I can email groups from my iPhone. I love to send pics to grandparents but there’s got to be a better way to do it than adding each off their email addresses separately.
A: Unfortunately, sending to a group you already have established isn’t a native feature … at least not yet. I am hoping that when iOS 5 comes out later this year, this will be a feature that is slipped in, because I want it just as bad as everyone else.
For the time being, there are two ways around this. The first option is to manually choose your recipients. Rather than having to filter through your entire contacts list, however, you can filter to just the group you want to send to. This isn’t bad if you only have a small handful of recipients to send to (less than 10).
The second option is to download a utility app from the iTunes store to do the job for you. One that I use occasionally is called “GroupEmail”. It costs $0.99, and gives you the ability to send to groups. This is one of many that are available.
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Q: Stephani asks, I’m looking for decent priced video editing software that is compatible with iTunes to edit our home movies. Just to make it even more confusing, I have a PC.
A: Video editing on a PC?? Noooo!!!! Just kidding. Not only is it possible to do this, but a lot of people still do. You’re not alone.
There used to be two solutions to check out: 1) Avid and 2) Pinnacle Systems. However, if you visit the two sites, you will realize they are both now owned by Avid. So, just to make it easier, there is one real option to consider … Avid.
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Q: Melissa says, I would love some iPhoto basic info to go along with the time machine questions below on how you organize photos, sort them, tag them, back them up, etc.
A: Tagging photos is a great way to keep your library organized, but it’s time-consuming. If you love your photos enough to keep them “OCD organized”, definitely get in the habit of tagging. If you haven’t tagged before, start now. Albums and Smart Albums are good to, but tagging is awesome, and those tags are also backed up to Time Machine (as part of your overall library). iPhoto also has a really cool facial recognition engine built-in, and it actually works pretty good.
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Q: Jennifer says, Would love to know his thoughts on a good point & shoot camera. iPhone is not an option … initial cost is OK but not willing to pay more monthly to have one so need a one time cost point and shoot camera worth the $$$.
A: I’ve always been a big fan of Canon, and still use nothing but Canon. My point & shoot is the SD900, but it’s showing it’s age now (I use it less and less, and my iPhone 4 more and more). If I were to get one today, it would probably be the Canon ELPH 300 HS. Price ranges from $300-400.
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Q: Joanne asks, Should my first Apple computer be an iPad or a MacBook Pro? I’m leaning towards an iPad 2 because of its portability.
A: If you plan on using it for just basic tasks (email, web, games, etc), the iPad is awesome. One thing to watch out for is that the iPad is still somewhat limited in what you can do with it. It’s a GREAT companion to a laptop. When you want to do light lifting on the go with great battery life, the iPad is where you go. When you want to do some heavy lifting (photo editing, video, etc), the laptop is the place to go. If you can only have one or the other, I would strongly consider picking up a MacBook Pro now, and adding the iPad when you can later.
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Q: Sabrina asks, I’m thinking about jailbreaking my iPhone. Besides losing the support from Apple, do you know of any drawbacks? Have you heard horror stories about the phone locking up or losing functionality?
A: I’m personally opposed to jailbreaking because once you hack away at Apple’s software, you can no longer guarantee that things will run smoothly. I jailbroke my iPhone 3G back in the day, and after 3 or 4 days, reversed it because it was too unstable. Having said that, I know plenty of people who have done it and are happy. Those people are usually tech geeks though (just to give you an idea).
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Q: Melaina asks, Why can’t I delete just one individual phone call on my iPhone? It either all or none.
A: Unfortunately, I don’t have a good answer for you on that one. “It is what it is”, as I am finding myself say more and more often these days. I’m not sure why Apple doesn’t allow you to do that, but I can’t think of what it could be. Try again when iOS 5 comes out later this year to see if they sneak that feature in.
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Q: Jennifer Wells asks, Sometimes when I am reading a blog or website, in the place where the photo is supposed to be, a blue box with a question mark shows up. What gives??
A: Usually, that is because the one updating the web site hasn’t done all the clean-up they needed to, and left some unfinished business. Short of refreshing the page to force a reload, there isn’t a lot that can be done on your end. I would be interested to know if it happens on some computers and not others, though.
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Q: Margie asks, I would like to move all of my photos from iPhoto to Lightroom without losing my most important metadata (mostly keywords & ratings). Do you know the easiest way? The latest idea I’m considering is trying out the 30 Day free trial of Aperture and using Aperture as the go between, i.e., iPhoto>Aperture>Lightroom. Any thoughts or experience about this? I know this is a rather specific question so no worries if it is too “out there”. Thank you.
A: You’re actually on the right track by considering the iPhoto -> Aperture -> Lightroom approach. That’s valid and should get you where you want to be. If you end up going this route, be sure to clean up after yourself so you don’t have 2 or 3 copies of everything scattered all over the place.
Another option to consider is an app called Picture Sync. The idea is that it syncs your metadata. Two things to be aware of: 1) it’s no longer supported, so you may get mixed results and 2) it’s no longer updated, so it may be a good one-time approach.
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Q: Michelle asks, Just purchased a new Macbook. What would be the best software to use for photo editing that includes adding text. iPhoto is great for everything else apart from that.
A: When you say “adding text”, are you talking about adding text on top of an image? If so, you are correct in that iPhoto doesn’t allow for that. Primarily, iPhoto is a photo management tool, and secondarily, an editing system. PhotoShop is the opposite. You can look at using Adobe PhotoShop, Adobe PhotoShop Elements, or Pixelmator. These apps can be relatively expensive, but remember … you aren’t just getting the ability to add text. A whole new photo-editing world will be opened up to you.
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Q: Dawn asks, How can I find the date that I took a picture on my iPhone?
A: It would be nice if you can do this right on the iPhone (and maybe you can with a 3rd-party app somewhere), but right now, that’s not the case (as with other iOS features, check on this after iOS 5 is released later this year). What I do is import my photos into iPhoto (or any other photo management app), and then expose the metadata that way.
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Q: Sandy asks, How do you add a playlist to your blog? So many people have that, it’s so cool!
A: I actually have never seen that before, but after doing a quick Google, it looks like a lot of people are doing this (wow, the wording of that makes me sound like an old fart!). It depends on where your blog is hosted as to whether it will even work, and then how you add it. Do a Google on “add playlist blog”, and you should get some good answers out there.
Tags: kevin, technology
Posted in Q&A | 45 Comments »
Friday, May 6th, 2011
{ FIRST } The winner of the Silhouette goodies from yeterday’s giveaway is … Lydia in Texas (the one who said she would gladly build a shelf for the Silhouette)! Lydia, email cwalsh@silhouetteamerica.com to claim your prizes! Congrats!
{ SECOND } My 1,000th blog post is coming up! What’s one of my most memorable blog posts ever for you? I would love to hear from you, and may even include your note in that 1,000th post. Email submissions@beckyhiggins.com and tell me which post you’re thinking of.
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{ TECH FRIDAY WITH KEVIN }
There was such an awesome response to my brother’s Tech Friday post last month. So we’re doing it again! I invited you to ask any tech-related question (via facebook + twitter) and you didn’t hold back. Today, Kevin is answering your questions. Because he’s seriously just such a nice guy.
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Q: Loved the answers about changing over to NO CABLE, but what about sports?? Are there channels for just certain sports/teams/etc or is that out like local channels? Olympics are included in local? I’d love to switch since we only use about 5 channels+sports PS: you 2 are super cool sis & bro team [Ada Fisher]
A: As I mentioned before, the one gap in my home entertainment system is live sports coverage. I’m not a huge sports nut, so it doesn’t bother me much. I do, however, like to watch significant events like World Cup, Wimbledon, etc. Those, fortunately, are covered by the big networks like ABC, which are in turn broadcast (in HD) via free airwaves. These are the channels that are picked up by purchasing an inexpensive receiver from Wal-mart or Target.
If you follow college basketball, you may have noticed something very interesting during this last “March Madness”… a free app that streamed all the tournament games directly to your iPad and iPhone. I watched a few games this way, and the quality was pretty amazing, especially over WiFi. I think going forward, this is how it should be done. Free live streaming (to any device).
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Q: My 2 kids and I each have iPhones or iPod Touches and share a computer with iTunes. Is there any way to have separate accounts in iTunes? Everyone is always spending everyone else’s money when they buy things. The kids get gift cards and can not keep it straight whose money is whose. That being said the kids like to share apps and music too. Is there a better way to mange all of this? [Tracey Romanofsky Edmonds]
A: First of all, if you have multiple people in your family using a single computer, I HIGHLY recommend that each user have their own computer account. That will A) ensure that each person can have their own wallpaper, settings, etc, and B) allow everyone to have their own iTunes libraries with their own payment/credit information.
As for sharing content (music, apps, etc), no problem. Check into “Home Sharing”. It allows you to share your purchased iTunes content on up to 5 computers at home or work… legally. Here’s a blog post with more information on Home Sharing.
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Q: I have an iPad and love it. I NEED an iPhone! Should I get one now and deal with not being able to surf the web and talk on the phone at the same time? Or should I wait for the next version of the phone, which hopefully has that capability? [Briana Thatcher]
A: As you know, CDMA (the network that Verizon users) has a serious drawback… it doesn’t allow you to use voice and data simultaneously. This is not the same on a GSM network (like AT&T). I consider this a serious drawback because I use that feature all the time on AT&T. Unfortunately, this will not be remedied on the iPhone until the iPhone itself works on their new 4G LTE network. So the question is, will the next iPhone run on the new network?
Apple, of course, doesn’t comment on unannounced products, so it’s left up to people like me to guess what their next move is. Unfortunately, I don’t have a crystal ball, but if I was a bettin’ man, I would say that the next iPhone will NOT work on LTE. The fact is, LTE isn’t broad enough… yet. I am willing to bet that the next iPhone will have a slightly newer design (possibly a larger display), but will have both GSM and CDMA radios built-in, so it can be used on either network. My advice: buy your iPhone now.
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Q: Briana, I have had an iPhone thru Verizon since February, and I haven’t once missed being able to surf the web and talk on the phone at the same time. Not once. Go for it! [Annie LaPoint Mills]
A: See previous response. The great thing about technology is that we all use these devices differently. I certainly don’t expect everyone to use an iPhone just like me. That would be nuts. “Adapt and enjoy” is my motto.
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Q: I have an Epson 1400 printer. The ink doesn’t want to dry on the photos. Is there a smaller photo printer I should try? [Marsha Alford]
A: I really like Epson for photo printing. I have the 2200, and love it. I haven’t heard of ink “not drying” on photos before, so it begs the question… what kind of paper are you using? I know it sounds crazy, but there is a real science to how ink embeds itself in the fibers of paper. Some people say it’s crazy to buy Epson-brand paper just because you have an Epson-brand printer. The fact is, paper is scientifically designed to accept ink in a certain way.
I gave up on printing smaller prints (4×6, 5×7, etc) at home because it’s too expensive in the long-run (and I don’t do it often enough), but if you’re looking for a good small-format photo printer, check out the Epson Artisan 50 Inkjet Printer. It will run you about $150.
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Q: What is the best way to transfer/copy PSE 6 to an EHD? Is it possible to do that? [Joanne Nickla Teliszewski]
A: I’m assuming you want to run the application from the external hard drive. The first thing you want to do is remove the version installed on your primary (internal) hard drive. That will clean it off. After that’s done, you want to reinstall the application from the original install disc. During the installation, it will ask where you want the app installed. Point the installer to the external hard drive, and you’re set to go. One thing you should know: by running the app from an external hard drive, you will likely run into some performance issues. Nothing major, but don’t be surprised if you find that it runs just a tad slower than normal.
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Q: I would like to know how David & Becky did the TV/picture screens that are in their kitchen. Maybe you can explain. [Jeanette Campbell Matheson]
A: It’s a lot easier than you think (don’t tell Becky I said that!). The simple part is finding and mounting the screens. In David & Becky’s case, they hung two screens top and bottom. The coolest multi-screen display I’ve seen was 4 screens wide by 8 screens high, each of them mounted right next to each other. Pure awesomeness! I digress. Once the screens are hung, you need something to drive them. In D&B’s case, their screens have a built-in SD slot that has a series of photos preloaded on them. The software in the TVs themselves reads the photos from the cards, and displays them like a screensaver. If you wanted to go one step further, you could add an Apple TV to each of the screens. That would just give you more functionality.
[Becky interjecting] I’m sorry my brother is the one who had to finally answer this question that many of you have had! I’ve been meaning to make a video of our kitchen digital photo display.
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Q: Does Kevin have any recommendations for iPad apps? Esp. for editing pictures, but any would be cool! [Nancy Wongsotaroeno]
A: Here’s a blog post that shows some of my favorite iPad apps.
As for image editing, check out ArtStudio for iPad. I also really like Camera+ for iPhone. You can, of course, use this on an iPad, but I’ve also been told that an iPad version is coming out soon. That would really be awesome.
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Q: I have TOO many photos in my iPhoto library of our main desktop Mac at home (about 22K photos and growing)! I want to weed through them, assigning key words and also delete the photos I don’t need. I would love the ability to do this while mobile (I travel a lot for work). If I got an iPad with the iPhoto app, could i put part of my main iPhoto library on it while on travel, then work on whittling down and organizing the photos in certain events, then sync it back up to the main Mac when I got home? If not, how would you recommend accomplishing this? THANK YOU! P.S. my whole work life is PC/Windows based, so I’d have to buy whatever equipment you recommend. Thanks again!! [Carol Macha]
A: Let me get this straight… you want to start tagging 22,000+ photos? That is serious ambition! I don’t even know you, and I’m proud of you.
I’m faced with a similar challenge. My solution is to cut my losses and do the best I can going forward. That doesn’t work for all, and it sounds like it won’t work for you. I wish I had better news for you on the prospect of taking photos on the go, tagging them and then returning them to a more permanent storage (while retaining the tags). iPhoto is a great photo management system, but it has its limitations, and this is one of them. As the iPad is becoming more popular, maybe this is an opportunity for Apple… portable management. Sounds like a good idea to me!
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Q: Another iTunes question. We have the similar situation like Tracy. (too many “iToys”?) How do we manage all these different devices? Two kids have iPod Touches, my husband & I have iPod Nanos & iPads. The kids each have an iTunes account for their iPods. Since we just purchased Apple TVs (thanks for sending us over the edge!) we are looking at purchasing more movies on iTunes now. Can we sync all of our different devices with my account without any problems for the purpose of loading movies onto their iPods? Thanks for helping with the techie stuff! [Susan Loveland]
A: The more “iToys” and iTunes accounts you have, the more complicated it can get. See the previous response for some tips. Another idea is to just have one main iTunes account that everything is purchased through. That way, it’s easy to manage and track. As long as you’re using Home Sharing, you will still be able to share your purchased content with up to 5 computers (and countless devices), enabling everyone in your family to enjoy.
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Q: Ack! Another question. I’m trying to use HandBrake to get a DVD that we have into iTunes. When I select source and then the DVD, it says that I need VLC. So I downloaded VLC, opened the movie using it, and now I don’t know the rest of the process to follow. What now? Do you have an easy tutorial on the process I’m supposed to be using (but can’t figure out)? Thanks so much! [Susan Loveland]
A: VLC, in this case, is used for nothing more than a resource app that HandBrake uses to decode/encode. In other words, you need to install it, but you really never need to run it.
For a complete tutorial on how to use HandBrake (and why), check out this blog post.
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Q: Is there an app for radio for the ipod touch that doesn’t require internet signal? [Ellie Lundstrom]
A: The only way to listen to the radio (whether it be old-fashioned with an antenna or new-age over the Internet) is to have some way of delivering that content to you. In the case of Internet radio, you HAVE to have an Internet connection, otherwise it won’t have a way of reaching your device.
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Q: We’ve noticed our internet download speeds have slowed down. We have many things pulling from our wifi (iPod touch, Color Nook, printer, 2 laptops, DSi, BlackBerry, etc.). We have a Motorola Surfboard Wireless Cable Modem Gateway, model SBG900. Would a new modem/router combo improve speeds? If so, what do you recommend? [Kristine Dreffs]
A: The first thing I would do is test your modem/router to ensure it’s working properly. I’ve actually seen the wireless portion of modern routers go bad over time, while the wired portion works just fine. The first thing you need to do is plug a computer directly into the router with a network cable. Once you can get online, go to www.speedtest.net to test your actual Internet speed. If this matches what you think you should be getting from your ISP (give about a 10% allowance for network overhead), then your router is working fine. At that point, there may be an issue with the wireless location or antennas.
If you’re still looking for a new router, I highly recommend the Apple Base Station (works for both Macs and PCs. They are a little more expensive than other wireless routers, but when you look at the features, I think you’ll find it’s worth the cost. Linksys is another brand to look at.
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Q: Love the photos! I have a question…how do you print pics from your phone? I was without a camera for two weeks and used my phone for POTD. Help! [Betsy]
A: Great question! Check out this blog post here for a solution.
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Q: On Becky’s blog post about BYU, she said that she is using your instagram for many POTDs. How do you print those? Because they are not a 4×6. I have the same program and love the features and would love to use those pictures! [Kirsten Travis Davies]
A: One of the characteristics of Instagram is its square aspect ratio. When you print a 4” wide Instagram shot, it will print at 4×4”, not a standard 4×6”. If you send that photo to be printed at Costco or another printing facility, the photo would likely come back as a 4×6”, but with a 1” border on the top and bottom. This is because they won’t be using custom paper to print your photo. What does that mean for you? A little more work. You will need to manually chop off the excess.
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Q: After remodeling our master bathroom we have had one area of wall and ceiling that constantly “peel”…what do you suggest? [Vicki Maloney]
A: Personally, I would replace the sheetrock with LED displays. That way, when you want to change your wallpaper, it’s just a matter of a click, click and save.
Tags: kevin, technology
Posted in Q&A | 29 Comments »
Friday, April 15th, 2011
Say hello to Kevin. Among my friends and many of you, he has become known as my “techie brother”.
I know I’m coming from a biased place as his little sister, but seriously. The man is a genius. But even cooler than that, he is incredibly generous with his time in helping countless people with their tech questions & needs. He is as passionate about technology and helping people understand and use it properly as I am passionate about helping people document life. And if you couldn’t tell, he’s all about Apple. He helped us make that switch many years ago. I like to call him an enabler. I’m a fan for life.
Photos taken with my iPhone, using the Instagram app (Earlybird filter + Tilt-Shift feature)
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We’re calling today Tech Friday because:
1. Kevin & his cute family have been with us all week (their Spring Break). The idea just sorta happened.
2. I mentioned this on facebook & invited you to ask Kevin your technology questions.
3. We aren’t creative enough in the moment to think of something more clever than “Tech Friday”.
Without further adieu, I give you Kevin.
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Initially, I thought it would be fun to try and tackle about 10 or so of your questions. After reading through the questions, however, I decided I would answer ALL of them! They were all just too good to pass up. Keep in mind that when troubleshooting some of these issues or answering your questions, it’s much easier to do so with two-way dialog (so I can ask follow-up questions). I apologize if I misunderstood your question.
Here we go…
Q: Oh, I have been so frustrated trying to change my blog’s profile pic on Facebook. I have a Pages account linked through my personal account. Can’t change my info either.
A: To change your Facebook profile image, log into your account, then go into your profile settings. From there, you will see an option to upload a new image.
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Q: How do I make my own ringtones for my iPhone from my iTunes music? Thanks!
A: Making ringtones for your iPhone is not only fun, but can help you to quickly determine who is calling (when you set ring tones for specific callers). To get started, you want to create a new Garageband project (Garageband comes free with new Macs as part of the iLife suite). With Garageband ready, drag the song you want to use as your ringtone from iTunes into Garageband as a new audio track.
Now that your audio track is ready to edit, you need to crop the audio where you want. When you are ready with your 30-second (or less) audio track, go to Share > Send Ringtone to iTunes. From there, sync your iPhone and set your ringtone. You can also make your own custom ringtones. The ringtone I have set for my daughter, for example, is a 30-second segment of her laughing… hysterically. It always puts a smile on my face when she calls.
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Q: I’m trying to figure out the best way for our family to be able to watch cable television shows, but without cable. I want to get rid of the cable bill! How can we watch current TV shows without having to wait for the season to end? All this technology stuff confuses me :{
A: First, let me start by saying I haven’t paid a cable TV bill for over a year… and I love it! Not only is it cheaper, but we watch exactly what WE want to watch, and on our schedule. I accomplish this by using a few different sources. First, I use Netflix for streaming older movies and TV shows via a computer or Apple TV (price: $8/month). Secondly, I use iTunes for current content (price: varies based in your usage). Thirdly, I purchased a $20 HD receiver from Wal-mart for all of our local channels… in HD (and no monthly fees). What does that leave out? Basically your real-time national news (i.e.: CNN) and live sporting events (i.e.: ESPN).
I really believe that we are witnessing the beginning of a massive transformation in the way that we consume video content. Traditional TV broadcasting will be a thing of the past over the next 3 – 5 years for most consumers, and everything will be online streaming.
For more detailed information, check out this blog entry here. Because this is a common question I get, I thought I would document it for all to see.
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Q: Monitor calibration – what is it and how do I do it without spending a fortune?
A: Monitor calibration is the process of ensuring that what you see on your monitor is exactly the same as someone else’s monitor (or printer). When you purchase a new monitor, the color saturation and hues will already be off balance (some more than others, depending on the quality of the screen). Most people either don’t notice or don’t care. However, if you are a heavy photo editor sending your photos to be printed at a lab, you may want to care. If your screen isn’t calibrated, the printed result will likely look different than what you see on your screen.
I use the Spyder (by Datacolor) to calibrate my screen. The process usually only takes a minute or two, and if you do a lot of printing at a lab, you may want to run the calibration once a month (air temperature and other natural changes can affect your screen’s color accuracy). I would also recommend finding a lab you like, and asking them for their color profile (in the form of a file). You can then use that color profile to ensure your computer screen and their printers are 100% in sync.
Your total out of pocket investment could be as little as $90 (for the Spyder Express).
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Q: I would be interested in knowing the kind of program that he uses to make the videos on your blog… the ones that play music behind you. And if he has any tips on that subject.
A: I use a Mac, so there are two different video editing apps I use: iMovie (free with new Macs, part of iLife) and Final Cut Pro. I use iMovie when I need to do something quick and want to add some of their really cool built-in filters, etc. These projects are mostly for home use. For anything professional, I resort to using Final Cut Pro. Final Cut Pro is part of Apple’s Final Cut Studio, which sells for $999. Don’t rush out to buy it just yet, though. This past week, NAB (the National Association of Broadcasters) was held in Las Vegas. Apple unveiled their brand new Final Cut Studio X, which is a completely re-written suite of video editing apps. It will be available in June via the Mac App Store, and will sell for a jaw-dropping $299! This is the same software used to edit movies like “Lord of the Rings” and “The Social Network“.
For Windows users, I would check out Pinnacle Systems or Avid.
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Q: I want to know how I can get my very own brother like Kevin!
A: Unfortunately, there is only one of me to go around, but I do love helping people get the most out of technology. Feel free to stop by www.kevinallgaier.com any time to get help and to stay current on technology trends. You can also follow me on Twitter @kevinallgaier.
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Q: Can I hook my laptop up to my TV, so I can view videos, movies on the TV? Thanks!
A: Yes, but how depends on your laptop and TV. If your TV is new enough, it may have a VGA input on the back. If so, it’s nothing more than purchasing a cable to go from the VGA output on your laptop to the VGA input on your TV. If you don’t have VGA, then you may need to purchase some adapters. The best way to do this is to take an inventory of what video ports you have on your laptop and TV, then take that list to your local Best Buy or Radio Shack. Show them to a sales rep there, and they can help you find the right adapters.
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Q: What are your favorite apps for the iPhone? And, on a related question; what cool thing the iPhone have that most people are unaware of?
A: When I show people what my favorite apps are on my iPhone/iPad, they usually end up yawning. That’s because my favorite apps are pretty geeky. For example, I love using the GoToMyPC client on my iPad. This allows me to remotely control any of my traditional computers from anywhere. For the non-geek, I really love Camera+, Remote, Angry Birds, Tiny Wings, Netflix, Facebook, Twitter, Delta and Adobe Ideas. All great apps. I also use the built-in apps very heavily, like Calendar, Mail, etc.
As for hidden features, that’s a tough one because everyone uses their phone differently, some more advanced than others. A feature that I am guessing is NOT used as heavily as it should be is AirPlay. AirPlay allows you to share video and photos stored on your IPhone on your TV, via the ($99) Apple TV. Here’s an example: we took the kids out for a ride through the desert the other day, and I took photos and video along the way. As soon as we got back to the house, I was able to immediately display those on the big screen for the whole family to enjoy. Very powerful (and useful).
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Q: What video camera do you use for the blogs and how are you able to achieve such good lighting and audio? Is there an external microphone on your camera and if so, which one. Wow. I can’t wait for your response! Thanks.
A: For video that will ultimately be posted on the web, you don’t need any fancy equipment. Remember, the target screen will be relatively small compared to a TV or “the big screen”. I’ve actually created full videos that were shot 100% on my iPhone 4, and the quality is incredible. As you hinted at in your question, lighting and audio are also very important.
Most good lighting can actually be done naturally. You just have to pick the right place and the right time of day. Artificial lighting can be used if needed, but that can also be simple. You don’t need to invest a lot of money in expensive equipment. Sometimes a floor lamp sitting around your home is sufficient. Whatever you use for lighting, make sure it isn’t too harsh.
As for audio, most consumer camcorders these days have a built-in audio line-in port, and I bet most people don’t even know they have it. It will look like a headphone jack. Head to your local Best Buy, show them your camcorder, and they will help you find an external mic that you can use to plug into that line-in jack. Once you add this, I guarantee your audio will see a huge improvement. No more surrounding noises!
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Q: What are your favorite photoshop actions? Favorite iPhone apps or features that love? How do you make specialty blog backgrounds?
A: The only PhotoShop actions I use are created by me to add a signature to image edits, etc. Everything else is built-in to PhotoShop (filters, effects, etc). As I mentioned before, I love to use Camera+ for iPhone. I’ve actually used this for shots from my dSLR as well. That’s because I think the filters are incredibly powerful. It’s not just limited to photos taken on your iPhone.
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Q: mmmwwwuuuaa <– That’s my version of ‘big kiss’. Becky, you truly are so kind and caring. Kevin is a peach. Mrs. A, your parenting skills beam through your children. Congratulations.
A: We have awesome parents, there’s no doubt about that!
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Q: 3 good reasons to switch to a Mac versus a PC?
A: I’ll do better than that… I’ll give you 5 (and even that is holding back). Before I do, I need to give you a little background. Five years ago, I was a die-hard Windows users. So much so that I actually wanted to work for Microsoft. Shortly after, I started to feel frustrated that they were dropping the ball on their products, and had stopped innovating. About that same time, Apple was making some noise, so I checked out their hardware and software. After using their laptop with OS X for 2 days, I was hooked. As a tech guy, I follow (and recommend) the best technology available. Five years ago, that was Microsoft. Today, it’s Apple. Who knows who it will be in five years.
Here are my top five reasons to switch to a Mac:
5) While the Mac is not immune to technical failures, they are very minimal compared to PCs (most of the problems that plague PCs are because of the Operating System… Windows)
4) To date, there are millions of viruses affecting PCs and zero affecting Macs
3) Apple is an industry leader in system integration, from the office to the living room
2) Using their software inspires me to do better work of my own
1) They are an absolute pleasure to use! My motto is, “I use a PC because I have to. I use a Mac because I want to”.
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Q: Candace, I can tell you he uses Final Cut Pro for the video editing. (My hubby’s a videographer so the screen shot Becky shared was all too familiar…) it’s a pretty extensive program that professionals also use, but there are more simple programs like iMovie that can still put out a great product. Hope that helps!
A: See question above. I bet your husband already knows about the new Final Cut Suite, and is super excited for it!
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Q: Does he by chance know of a good app for the iPad that recognizes handwriting and turns it into a document (Pages or Word)?! I would be forever grateful as it would help with taking notes at school!
A: Check out Penultimate. It’s a whopping $1.99. Although it won’t convert hand-written text to typed text (I don’t know of any that do because of the complexity involved), it’s a great note-taking app for iPad.
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Q: My Mac’s idisk is almost full so I think I need to move my photos to an external hard drive to free up space. How do I do that?
A: You have two options here. The first option happens to be the easiest, but it would also cost you a little cash. You can increase the amount of storage on your MobileMe account from the standard 20 GB to 40 GB or more. The additional capacity is an additional cost/year.
Option B would be to, as you suggest, move files from your iDisk to an external hard drive. The easiest way to do this is to turn on iDisk syncing on your Mac. You can do this in the MobileMe section of System Preferences. After you turn this on, you will see a new drive mounted on your desktop. This is your iDisk. Now, you can drag and drop to and from the iDisk, just like you would an external hard drive. Don’t forget to delete the files from iDisk once you have moved them off to an external hard drive.
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Q: Does he know if you can easily move your iTunes library from PC to Mac? Thinking of getting Mac but a big issue would be moving iTunes.
A: Yes, and I help people with this all the time. After you install iTunes on a computer, it auto-creates a special directory that store all of your iTunes content (music, videos, album, artwork, etc). On a Mac, this folder (called “iTunes”) is in your Music folder. On a PC, this folder is found under My Documents > My Music.
To move your entire library from a PC to a Mac, all you need to do is copy and paste the “iTunes” folder from the PC to the appropriate location on the Mac. Before doing this, be sure that iTunes is completely closed on both computers. Performing this copy across a home network can get somewhat complicated. If you are comfortable doing that, go for it. If not, an alternative is to copy the folder from PC to an external hard drive (via USB), then from the external hard drive to the Mac. When it asks if you want to overwrite the existing folder, choose yes. After it’s done copying, launch iTunes on the Mac, and you are good to go. Your entire iTunes library will look exactly as it did on your PC.
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Q: Are there any good maintenance tips everyone should do to keep their computers running efficiently? I’m interested in Windows. Thanks!
A: Great question. My personal laptop (MacBook Pro) runs like an absolute champ, and it’s because there are a few things I do routinely. The same can be done on a PC. First and foremost, you must ALWAYS be conscience of the software that is installed on your computer. If you ever install something that you aren’t sure of, you are just asking for trouble. Always know what you are installing. If you aren’t sure, always err on the side of caution.
On a PC, I strongly recommend running a disk defragmentation on your hard drive once a month. This can be found by going to Start > All Programs > Utilities. When you save files to your computer, it rarely writes the file in one place. Usually, the file is fragmented and saves to many parts of your hard drive. As a result, your system, will run slower as it tries to piece together all the files. Running a “defrag” (as I like to call it) analyzes your drive, and assembles the files in a more continuous fashion, making it quicker to access them when you need them.
On a Mac, I recommend running a “Repair Disk Permissions” every month. While Mac OS X doesn’t suffer from the same file fragmentation issues that plague Windows, it does suffer from the occasional file permission amnesia. What this utility does is analyzes every file on your system, and compares their access permissions with what they should be. If there is a deviation, it corrects the problem. Not performing this task on a regular basis can result in apps misbehaving in strange ways. To run this, go to Applications > Utilities > Disk Utility. Highlight your local hard drive, and click the “Repair Disk Permissions” button.
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Q: How do you use iCalendar and have it update in real time and across multiple devices like iPad, iPod Touch, and iPhone? Thanks!
A: There are a couple ways of doing this. The first way is by using MobileMe. MobileMe is a service provided by Apple that includes email, web hosting, photo/video sharing, calendar, address book, etc. I consider MobileMe to be the mortar that holds everything together (with the iPad, iPhone and Macs being the bricks). Currently, the service will cost you $99/year (well worth it, if you ask me), but there are rumors going around that there will be a free version available very soon. Either way, you can sign up for a free 60-day full trial now. As long as you have your MobileMe account set up properly on each of your devices, syncing of your calendars, addresses and email will happen automatically (and usually within a few seconds of a modification).
If you don’t want to use MobileMe, you can use a free Google calendar to do the same thing. After you set up your account, you will want to add the new calendar to each of your devices. Is definitely a little more complicated to set this up initially, but the long-term affect is virtually the same as if you were using MobileMe.
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Q: Photo organization in iPhoto – how do you organize your photos, do you give each individual photo a name or do you just tag a group or event? Also how do you copy previous years of photos onto an external hard drive – Do you copy them there first and then delete from iPhoto??? Help please – I have way too many precious photos……
A: I try and keep my photo organization pretty simple. I’ve tried more complicated approaches in the past, but it just cost me more time than it was worth. Having said that, you need to organize your photos the way that makes sense for you. For me, I keep everything chronologically. That’s about it. If I’m trying to find a photo from a trip to San Francisco in March 2009, I go to that date range in iPhoto. Done.
In addition, I do create various albums for photos that I plan on sharing with others via my MobileMe account. Not only does it make it easier for me to filter out the shots I don’t want to publish, but adding additional photos is a matter of dragging and dropping, then syncing.
I usually keep about a year’s worth on my local hard drive, and archive the rest onto DVD and external hard drives. I use a system called Drobo, and if you are serious about long-term storage and not losing your photos, it may be worth a look for you as well. As a brief intro, a Drobo is a unit that contains multiple hard drives that act as one. When you save a file, it saves the files across multiple drives. That way, when a hard drive fails (and they do fail), your data is still protected. A Drobo system does get a little pricey, but I consider it the cost of insurance for protecting your keepsakes.
Tags: apple, kevin, technology
Posted in Q&A | 58 Comments »
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