Have you been able to tell yet that I love My Digital Studio? I know you are waiting for some actual cards or scrapbook pages to be shared... and that is definitely coming. But today I wanted to share some more about MDS. One of the problems that I originally had with MDS is not really knowing what was available and then... what do I do with my creations after I'm done. So I wanted to share four things with you that has made my experience with MDS easier.
#1 - First of all, if you are new to My Digital Studio or maybe know nothing about the digital scrapbooking world where do you start? Well... start with the FREE Express Trial of MDS. You can download the trial and get your feet wet. Click HERE to get started.
#2 - If you are new to My Digital Studio or maybe know nothing about the digital scrapbooking world where do you start? I love creating but sometimes I need to get some inspiration. Or I just need to see something used before I can really grasp how to use it myself. So here is a wonderful resource for you. It is MyDigitalStudio.net. It's a great place to get all the latest info on MDS, find great projects others are sharing, watch video tutorials, join forums and really get to know MDS. I highly recommend it even if you are just thinking about MDS.
#3 - Ok... so, you've downloaded the FREE trial version and you have checked out MyDigitalStudio.net and found some great ideas and you fell in love with it. Now you are ready to get the full version and get some additional downloads. But maybe you are unsure of the artwork that is available to you. Well... there is an MDS catalog. You can find the PDF catalog by clicking HERE. Or clicking on the picture above.
In this PDF catalog you can view all the content available to you. This catalog goes from October 2009 to April 30, 2012. Monthly it is updated to add the most recent weekly downloads. I have a link to this catalog on my sidebar to the right that is updated monthly. This is a great way to find downloads for the scrapbook and other projects you are working on right now. And another great thing is that the digital downloads can be downloaded almost instantly. Visit my Stampin' Up! website to order your downloads or click on the SHOP NOW link on the right hand sidebar.
#4- Now that you have completed the first three steps... you are ready to have your creations in your hand. So now what? Well, there are a few options.
First I'd like to let you know about My Digital Studios Print Products. You can have all your creations printed out beautifully by Stampin' Up!. They have different options to order your creations. You can find their pricing on these products on MyDigitalstudio.net or you can click on this PDF Print Pricing File file to view it. The products you receive will be professional and beautiful.
But there are more options as well. You can save your creations on a removable device and take them to your local print shop (CVS, Staples, Wal-Mart etc) and have the printed. You may want to use this method if you want to get your projects a little quicker.
Here is another thing that I have learned. I live in a small town so we are limited on print shops here locally. As I mentioned above... CVS, Staples, Wal-Mart and Walgreens are the available options. I recently visited Wal-Mart and asked them about their pricing and what their capabilities were. I was sad to see that they could not print out 12x12 pages. Their largest format was 8 1/2 x 11. A few days later I stopped and talked to a different lady at the photo desk. She had a great idea. Wal-Mart sells 12x12 photo calendars. You go to the kiosk and can upload your pictures and create your calendar (of course not as beautifully as you can in MDS.. LOL). The lady suggested to upload my already created 12x2 pages into their calendar project. They do all the hole punching and adding the binding there. So she said that all you have to do is let employee know that you DON'T want those things done and you will have 12x12 pages that you can add to your book. Their calendars are $20. In the end you have 13 pages for $20. I think that's a great price and a great way to get your pages printed. Only downfall... you need to have 13 pages ready. :)
And still there is a third option. You can print your creations out at home. I have tried this and loved being able to have my creation available to me immediately. I have a laser color printer. The items I printed off looked great. I am now looking into getting a wide format printer (does 12x12 pages).
I'm pretty excited that there are so many options available to me. I hope you will give MDS a try. Let me know what you think. I love hearing how others are using MDS and the tips and tricks they have learned.
One last thing to share with you. Do you have Photoshop? Or other photo editing software like it? The My Digital Studio downloads are compatible with many of these other programs. When I first checked MDS out they did not have the free trial and I was able to get some downloads they were offering free. Instead of buying the software I tried the downloads out in Photoshop. I loved it and it lead me to buy the MDS software. While it is nice to be able to use the programs you already have... MDS makes it so easy. I love it.
I know this was a long post. I hope it has helped you. Don't forget to leave a comment.
Happy Digital Crafting! :)
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