Written instructions for Downloading

Tuesday Tech Tips

I have written out instructions for Downloading and Importing Digital Downloads into your software. This can be very helpful. I have also attached a download that you can print off and put in your CD cover or keep it by your computer. If you are a consultant you are welcome to download and just change your information for your customers.

Digital Content

The Digital Pre-Designed Pages are great for those that like working with templates. Price for Pre-Designed pages is $7.95 per book design.

The Digital Power Palettes, Digital Power Palettes Additions, Digital Power Palettes Kits, Digital Kits, and Digital Embellishments include digital papers, stickers, and/or embellishments so you can create your pages from scratch. They can only be used using the Plus software. Prices are $3.95-$9.95

You can also find FREE Downloads that are complete templates.

Tip: Visit my Site www.mycmsite.com/shannondabling,

Go to Help Zone>Digital>Digital Content to open and view PDF’s of each Digital Kit or Pre-Designed pages.

To Purchase Digital Content:

1. Go to my site www.mycmsite.com/shannondabling

2. Go to Go to Shop Products (top bar) > Digital Scrapbooking (left column) > Digital Content Downloads, and you can see from the main page all of your options. Click on each category to see all that is available.

3. Click on the Digital Content you want to purchase and add to cart.

4. Then View Cart to Checkout

(you can sign up and make an account so you can save your information for the next time)

5. For rest of the checkout process the site will guide you through it.

For Free Downloads:

1. Go to my site www.mycmsite.com/shannondabling

2. Go to Shop Products (top bar) > Digital Scrapbooking (left column) > Digital Content Downloads >Free Downloadable Themes

3. Click Download now on the desired theme

Download instructions:

1. Download the package to your computer or external hard drive
2. Open Storybook Creator Plus software
3. From the home page, click on “CM Content” in the Art section in the top left corner
4. A CM Content box will display the content currently installed
5. Click on “Import Package” at the bottom of the box
6. In the “Look In” drop-down box, browse to the location where you saved the package
7. Double-click on the package. This will begin the install procedure.
8. Repeat from steps 5-7 for each package you have downloaded.

Other Tips:

Webinars: Go to my Site and Go to Help Zone> Webinars

You can view recorded Training Webinars or see a schedule for Live Webinars. These are very helpful for getting the most out of your software.

Also Visit the Project Center for all kinds of ideas!

 

http://www.mediafire.com/file/drzjtnyzqmh/CD insert.docx

 

Happy Downloading

 

Shannon

Navigating my web site...

Tuesday Tech Tips
I know this is going to be short and sweet, mainly because my daughter turns 8 tomorrow and still have a lot to do for her party. But anyway I just wanted to tell you whats available from my site.

Getting to know the site:
First of all, the top navigation bar will be where you will want to look first.

Home>Our Company>Shop Products>Host a Get Together>Join my Team>Project Center>Help Zone>Host Connection

When you start on the Home Page you will notice that near the bottom of the page Creative Memories is always updating the NEW stuff that is going on, ex. what deals are going on, projects, inspirations, and more. So check there often because that changes. On the right column it has my name and CM ID. That Id number is what you use when you are at the CM photo Center. That area is where I can update my page and share files....of course non of that is set up yet, but check there soon because I will work towards getting that done.

The Our Company page has basic Creative Memories info.

Shop Products is where you can either purchase products online or view and see what is new. At the top of the left column the first option is New Products, then as the list goes one it categorizes product into section. Spend some time there and browse around. Then its easy to just add to bag. And when you are ready to check out look near the top right corner under the navigation bar there is a View your Shopping Bag link. Once you click that link it will show you what is in your bag. You can sign in or create an account. When you create an account it keeps all your info saved so its easy.

Host a Get Together section shows you all the benefits of Hosting a Get together.

Join my Team gives more info on becoming a Consultant like me.

The Project Center is somewhere you really should spend some time! When you click it, it will open a new window where you can click either Digital or Traditional sections. When you click on the Digital section> NEW digital project ideas is updated every few days with full instructions on how to create that look! Awesome! Plus this is where you can download Digital Freebies. I can't even go over all the great info available from this part of the site. You will have to visit it for yourself and see what I mean.

The Help Zone is also a very exciting place to visit too. From the Help Zone>Digital>Digital Content you can view all the PDFs of the Digital Content before you buy or Print and catalog them in a binder for reference. The training webinars are also available from the Help Zone. I challenge all my customers to view two webinars a month. You will learn so many tips and tricks you'll wonder why you didn't do it sooner.

The Host Connections is the part of the site for my hosts. Hosts can go into the Host Connection with there password and create guest list, email invitations, and other things to help make your Get Together great.

At the Very, Very top Right Corner you can Sign in, View Cart, and Contact Me.

Also, down at the bottom-right of the site there is a link to the Photo Center.

So thats it....for now.

Happy surfing


Shannon

Making Two Page Spreads in Storybook Creator Plus

Tuesday Tech Tip

I like to upload my beautiful finished pages to the web, like my blog, facebook page, and for some of my clients to proof their books at my proofing site. So I like to compile a second book with my pages side by side. Some times it's the only way it looks good. I really like to design pages in spreads. I really hope that this will be a new feature in the upgrade hopefully coming soon.

1. So first of all when I have a completed book I save pages as... jpegs

2. Then I start a new project and I double the width of the original book and use the same size in height. For example, an 8x8 book would measure 16x8 when looking at two pages. So I would create a new project in a custom size, which would be 16x8. Then I use the images that I saved as jpegs and "get photos" from wherever I save those.

3. Then simply drag and drop your images onto their appropriate side. Re-size if needed.

4. Then to make more pages your going to need to add more pages to the project. But instead of just adding a blank page and taking the time to re-size and re-align the images, Duplicate the page.

5. Then Drag and Drop your next image in place of one of the image that is already there.

 

the image will be shaded yellow and then your new image will fill that area.

6. Here is a sample of the final look.

 

Happy Creating

 

Shannon

How I keep everything (on my computer) Organized

Tuesday Tech Tips

First of all I use Memory manager as my final storage software. I used to have really big issues with keeping organized because I use two cameras. I have a small point and shoot camera that I call my purse camera, because it is always in my purse. It is so beat up and I let the kids have free reign with it and it's still truckin' along.

I also have a pro-grade DSLR that I shoot in RAW. I use this for fun shoots outside and for special occasions. I am finding that I am using it more and more for personal stuff. (But its a monster to carry around.) But because I shoot in RAW I have to convert to Jpeg before I can bring them into Memory Manager.

One of my theory's is that Memory Manager  and isn't meant to replace Photoshop (entirely) but they can work together. If you are a more creative soul and like to advanced photo-retouching or more control and freedom to post-process your images you can see how I use this.

Ok back on the subject....

So I first import my RAW images into Adobe Lightroom. I then color correct, and do all my post processing in LR and then export them out into a folder. I then import those finished files into Memory Manager.

It took me a while to figure this system out. And boy was I in a mess. Raw files here, Jpeg files there, and some on this hard drive, some on that hard drive, so last October over one weekend I sat down and found everything. Anything RAW I converted to jpeg and brought them into MM and searched my hard drive for misfiled images. That weekend I imported thousands of files and got them sorted into folders.

Then a few weeks ago I realized I was missing Jack's 2nd Birthday photos. So I did even more digging and found loads of photos on disks and on a hard drive that I hadn't checked.  Now I have more sorting to do, but it feels really good to have all my photos in one place.

But I do alot of posting photos online, and ordering prints and such online. So I have on my desktop these folders:

Image_Master

Print_Master

Web_Master

Exchange_Folder

(I have issues with spaces, which explains the underscore :)

My Image_Master folder holds many different types of projects and such. Basically anything that I am moving around, waiting for transfer, or even things I want to share or maybe want to play with I put in here. When I am done I delete them. This is only a holding file. I use copies of files here and in all these desktop folders.

My Web_Master folder holds anything that I am going to blog, upload, or post on facebook or web-related things. Even things that I want to email and such. Again as before this is only a holding folder. When I am done I clean it out. I do have a sub folder called CMblog for stuff I am using here.

My Print_Master folder holds anything waiting to be printed or burned to a disc to go to the printers. When I get it printed I delete it.

My Exchange Folder is for holding pictures from MM to SBC+. This is something that some local consultants suggested.

This system works well for me. I haven't made many of my own books, mostly because I knew I had stuff other places. (And I was shooting film up to 2006 with my SLR, I really loved that camera and couldn't give it up) So I have some film and some digital. It really was a mess. So I am just trying to see how I want to compile my books. But I think I am just going to start with 2008 and work my way down :)

 

Keep on top,

Shannon

Making Dingbats into Embellishments in Storybook Creator Plus

Tuesday Tech Tip

Dingbats are a font that uses shapes instead of letters.

First, Check out these free sites that have LOTS of dingbats

www.dafont.com

http://www.urbanfonts.com/free-dingbats.htm

 

Download a dingbat font to a folder or your desktop. It will be a zipped folder so you will have to right click and extract the folder.

Then go to the Control Panel and open your Fonts folder. Then open the new extracted folder and grab the TrueType Font file and drag it into the Fonts folder and your new font will install. You can now delete the folders you just downloaded from the website.

Now open your Creative Memories Storybook Creator Plus Program. Choose Open or Create a New Project.

On a Blank Page, Create a Text Box.

Then select the new font you just installed from the font menu. It will not show the name of the font but you will see the images and it will be in the alphabetical order of the name of the font.

Then type out the Alphabet A-Z.

You will be able to see all the different dingbats because each one is a different letter.

Tip: a space between each letter will make it easier when we cut them out.

Now Flatten the text box from the Layout Bar. Now you can adjust the size by dragging the corners.

By using the straight cutter tools crop the stars out in a grid pattern first by column and then by row. Then choose the option to "cut around the shaded area."

Tip:  Make sure you you have all the layers selected in the row or column you are cropping.

Once your done each star should be an individual element.

Then you will save and name each one by selecting one at a time, right click and choose "Save Selection"

I named them by type and letter. So the first Star is made by the letter A, so I named it Star A.

Tip: I saved all of these into a folder that I created for all my CM stuff called "CM Content"  in My Documents>Creative Memories and I always use this folder to download stuff that I will be using for SBC+

Now you have to bring these into the program by going back to the Home screen. Select the 'My Stuff' icon from the top left-hand corner.

Select File>Add Collection

Then give it an appropriate name. I would suggest using the term dingbat so you remember where you got them later. So I named mine Dingbats-Stars.

Then go to Content>Add Embellishment, browse for the folder where you saved your dingbats.  Then 'Get all embellishments'

Now all these Dingbats will be available in any project from the Embellishments Panel.

And now you can use them on any page, fill with color, paper, change the opacity, etc.

Hope you enjoyed this Tutorial on Using Dingbats. As always I love to hear your feedback in the comments section of the post.

 

Happy Creating

Shannon

Creating Templates in Storybook Creator Plus (Part 2)

Tuesday Tech Tips

Last Week I did Part 1 on Creating Templates in Storybook Creator Plus. This is Part 2, to see Part 1 click here

Using your templates:

1. Open any project using the same size of pages you created your templates as.  (Remember from part 1, I created my templates 12x12)

2. Once your in your project you will be able to 'Import Page' from the Home Tab

3. Then Browse for your Templates Project (wherever you saved your project)Default should be My Documents>Creative Memories>Storybooks>Templates

 

You will be able to see the template pages you have created to choose from.

If there is a big red X through the page, it is the wrong size and doesn't match the project size you are working in. (see below)

 

4. After you import your page it will show up as the last page in your project. Just drag it to the desired page in your project in the Pages Panel.

5. Next start filling elements (by clicking on the element or selecting them in the Elements Panel on the left) from the 'Tools' Tab using the fill tools: Color, Gradient, or Paper. Click on the small arrow for more options. 

 

6. Make it your own. Here on my finished page from the template. I switched out the stars with embellishments that matched my paper selection and digital kit.  I added a second circle to mat my original circle ( by right-clicking on the circle and choosing copy, and pasting onto my page.) Then I adjusted the size and moved the layer backwards (in the 'Layout' tab) until it was behind my original circle. I added another embellishment to the lower left corner for balance. I also added a mat to my photo and moved it slightly.

 

This is my completed page.

Here are some samples of other templates that I created in my Templates Project

 

if you enjoyed this Tech Tip, you can let me know by adding a comment to this post. I would love your feedback.

Happy Creating

 

Shannon

Creating Templates in Storybook Creator Plus (Part 1)

Tuesday Tech Tips:

There is a way that you can create your own templates in Storybook Creator Plus.

I saw a similar layout in a scrapbooking magazine, so I created my own version in SBC+.

Here are the first steps for creating your own page templates.

1. Create a New Project

2. Choose your page size. Remember you can only use your template in a project using the same page size. So I chose a 12x12 page print using blank pages (I did not choose a storybook because I will be importing these pages and will not need a cover option.)

3. Name this project "Templates"

This will be the project that you will always use to create new templates.

4. Then your project will open.

5. Start with something easy. Just create a square shape in a shade of gray. Select the shape menu from the side bar. Click the arrow next to the square shape and pick create a shape. From there just make your shape any size and select a shade of gray by clicking the color box icon.

6. Keep creating shapes and keep building your template...

7. Don't forget to add an add photo box. Decide what size you want and where you might want a photo

tip: if you hold down the shift key while changing the size of the box, (or any image or element) it is a shortcut key for unlocking the aspect ratio (unlocking the size).

8. Add titles and text boxes.

9. Try adding drop shadows, embellishments, different size photo boxes, etc

10. When you are satisfied, save your page.

Now that you are done with this page... Remember DO NOT add paper, color, or photos to this page in your template project.

In part 2 I will show you how to import this page into a different project. And how to fill with colors, papers, and images.

Happy Creating

Shannon

New! Digital Done-in-Four Webinar Series

(These are Webinars created from Creative Memories. These are different than the Webinars that I have been currently offering and taught by different instructors.)

Family photos trapped in your computer? Photos scattered from your memory card to your hard drive? Would you love to have a beautiful, completed StoryBook to showcase your favorite memories?
Digital Done-in-Four Webinars are a series of four training sessions that will guide you through the process of organizing photos and completing a Storybook photobook. This series is FREE and will cover everything from how to organize and edit photos in Memory Manager to creating your StoryBook pages and designing a cover.
Sessions are available Jan. 5 through March 11, 2009, and are designed to be taken in four consecutive weeks. Access the links below to register for your first session. There are a variety of dates and times available each week. Join from the comfort of your home. A high-speed Internet connection is required.

Start the week of Jan. 5

Start the week of Jan. 19

Start the week of Feb. 2
no links available yet

Start the week of Feb. 16
no links available yet

Sessions Beginning Jan. 5

All Times Mountain Standard Time; a high-speed Internet connection is required)

Session 1
Use Memory Manager software to organize and edit photos for use in your StoryBook photo book.

Monday, Jan. 5
9 – 10 a.m. https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/341626737
6 –7 p.m. https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/728316308
8 – 9 p.m. https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/816371868
Tuesday, Jan. 6
9 – 10 a.m. https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/128777581
6 –7 p.m. https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/534821861
8 – 9 p.m. https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/356856581
Wednesday, Jan. 7
9 – 10 a.m. https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/943497670
6 –7 p.m. https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/639412442
8 – 9 p.m. https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/910054233

Session 2
Get started with StoryBook Creator Plus. Choose a theme or digital power palette and learn the page-creation basics.

Monday, Jan. 12
9 –10 a.m. https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/394277659
6 –7 p.m. https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/835956692
8 –9 p.m. https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/756681047
Tuesday, Jan. 13
9 –10 a.m. https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/288585416
6 –7 p.m. https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/528202910
8 – 9 p.m. https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/299084303
Wednesday, Jan. 14
9 –10 a.m. https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/419994817
6 – 7 p.m. https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/216513452
8– 9 p.m. https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/833947023

Session 3
Use advanced design tools in StoryBook Creator Plus to enhance your pages.

Monday, Jan. 19
9 –10 a.m. https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/118167541
6 – 7 p.m. https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/347544222
8 – 9 p.m. https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/925633995
Tuesday, Jan. 20
9 –10 a.m. https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/369622178
6 – 7 p.m. https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/630665136
8 – 9 p.m. https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/193789990
Wednesday, Jan. 21
9 –10 a.m. https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/713656278
6 – 7 p.m. https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/698763117
8 – 9 p.m. https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/465299050

Session 4
Put the finishing touches on your StoryBook, review it for final edits and upload it to the Creative Memories Photo Center. Use your coupon code to order the StoryBook.

Monday, Jan. 26
9 –10 a.m. https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/442327838
6 – 7 p.m. https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/729985714
8 – 9 p.m. https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/592446922
Tuesday, Jan. 27
9 –10 a.m. https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/620326074
6 – 7 p.m. https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/944142972
8 – 9 p.m. https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/710993863
Wednesday, Jan. 28
9 –10 a.m. https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/148035496
6 – 7 p.m. https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/818932458
8 – 9 p.m. https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/773965874

Tuesday Tech Tips: PDF Pages for all the Digital Kits and Pre-designs Pages!

Creative Memories just updated my website this month and added this wonderful feature. If you want to view the kits and/or pre-designed pages before you purchase you can view the PDFs and see everything. Or if you have purchased kits and want a page for reference you can print all your purchased kits and make a folder or binder and have them to look at whenever.  Here is the Path

Go to my Home page

then click Help Zone>Digital>Digital Content

and there will be listed all the PDF's. Then just click the one you want and it will then open a new window of adobe reader with the page right there. Then you can either Print it right there or Save to a folder.

If you print you will want to print on a color printer.

But what I would do to save ink it save it to a folder and burn a CD with all the PDFs that I want to print and then take them to a copy shop and have them printed there.

Here is the direct link to the PDFs

Click HERE

Happy Day

Shannon

Tuesday Tech Tips: Webinars

Hello everyone, Yes I know its Friday. But it still sounds better to call it Tuesday Tech Tips.

Well some of you received an email from me inviting you to join LIVE webinars weekly for the month of October. I mainly sent those to my Digital Customers. If I missed you please email me so I can send you the link at spdabling@msn.com. All my customers are welcome to attend.

 

Ok so if you want to join these Webinars it is well worth it.  They are taught 4 days a week 9:30pm- 10:30pm from a team of consultants that are experts in their own right that LOVE Digital!

Monday: Memory Manager Basics

Tuesday: Storybook Creator Plus 1

Wednesday: Storybook Creator Plus 2

Thursday: Storybook Creator Plus 3

And then they repeat each week. Of course they are live and there is a Q&A at the end so each week could be different.

 

So to join in here are the steps...

1. Click on the link provided in your email.

2. Fill out the information needed to register for the webinar.

3. Click Register

4. You will receive an email with a link, phone number and code.

5. On the night of the webinar about 5-10 minutes before the starting time open your email and click the link.

6. If you have never been on a "Go to Meeting" webinar before there will be a bit of free software to download so you can see the demonstrators screen.

7. Call the phone number and enter the code.

8. Your on your way to learning new things.

 

And please let me know what you think! PLEASE! Feedback is the best way that we can get you what you want!

 

Happy Learning

Shannon

Tuesday Tech Tips: Photography 101: Tip 4

Place you subject off-center

Most people place the person or object they are shooting right smack dab in the middle of the frame.

When you place your subject off center this brings into play the "Rule of Thirds"

This is a simple rule, but probably is the most popular rules. Simply, divide the image into thirds both ways. (Some DSLR cameras already have this grid available in the view finder) Then when composing your shot, place important elements either along these lines or where the lines intersect. Here's some samples:

Here is what I'm talking about when I describe dividing the frame.

 

 

On my sample images you can see that the subject is somewhere near the intersecting points. Which makes for a better composition.

Having said all of this, the rule of thirds is also one of those rules that you can break. Sometimes you might find that you prefer the subject in the center. This is just one of those basic rules that helps you to teach yourself to compose and think before you click.

 

Happy Shooting

Shannon

Tuesday Tech Tip: Photography 101: Tip 3

Use Optical Zoom rather than Digital Zoom.

Cameras now usually have Optical and Digital zoom functionality.  Now when we used to shoot film we were using Optical Zoom.

Optical Zoom uses the lens of the camera to bring the subject closer. Digital Zoom uses software to digitally enlarge a portion of the image.

So why is Optical Zoom better?

Well Digital Zoom really isn't zoom at all. It just enlarges the image. You are losing quality because of the enlargement process. So the quality is better when using Optical Zoom.

So how do I know what kind of zoom I am using?

Well your camera will use Optical Zoom first, then Digital zoom. Check you manual for ways that you can have your Digital zoom turned off or how to notify you when you have gone into Digital zoom mode.

You are better off using Optical Zoom and cropping your photo in post processing.

 

Happy Shooting

Shannon

Tuesday Tech Tip

For Todays Tech Tip I think I will give a little photo lesson about details using yesterdays post as an example.

Yesterday I was my daughters first day of school. (second grade) and I wanted to capture the details that would show the excitement building until that day. I took a picture of a clock just minutes before it was time to wake up.

And of the calendar with the date circled.

This is letting me tell the story with pictures. And details show what was happening.

Don't forget to get a few candid's when they don't really know your shooting. I know its hard when these little ones that we take so many pictures of, automatically put on their "smile" face and strike a pose.  But these of Madison in her class room tell more about the story.

Maddie is really hard to get candid's of too. Sometimes the only ones I can get are when she asleep :)

 

 

Happy Shooting

Shannon

Tuesday: Tech Tips

On my last post I showed how I made a 4x6 card for my daughters teacher.

Most invitations I make are 4x6 so instead of making a whole bunch of documents I make one project named invitations and then I can keep adding pages for new invitations and they are all sized 4x6.

You can also use this idea for page prints.

Short and Sweet for today

Shannon

Tuesday: Tech Tip

  If your using Storybook Creator Plus there are always new things to learn. One thing that I learned about the software by attending a Q&A Training for the Software is that you can save the font, font size, and color by sampling a text box that you have applied all the changes that you want and then applying them to another text box.   (Under the Text Tab) (see photos) This is a great tip and will be a time saver!

So if your thinking about using Photoshop...

SO for this weeks Tech Tips (which I know today is Thursday, I'm thinking of not calling it Tuesday tech tips) Tuesday was Madison Bday and Wednesday was Laundry day so Tech Tips is today...

anyway...

If your thinking about using photoshop watch this and tell me Photoshop isn't complicated

Tuesday: Tech Tips

So today is Wednesday, I know. But I was a little under the weather yesterday. So you get Tuesdays on Wednesday!

So Today's Tech Tip is on making categories for Memory Manager.

I have been struggling with not making categories based on years. I know I didn't have to but I couldn't seem to wrap my head around the year thing. But at Saturdays workshop I was able to finally get all my categories and folders worked out. So I am going to share what I came up with that works for me. Of course your life is different but maybe this will help you to set it up.

So Here is a screenshot of how my folders are named  and organized...

With Holidays I named the folders with the month of the holiday so that they are listed in order. The kids are named with letters in front so that they are listed in order too. And these are general categories and then when I am in the folder I can then click on the year below to see the category in years. I hope this helps!

 

Shannon

Tuesday: Tech Tips- Backing up in MM

OK so here we go with a Tuesday Tech Tip!

I know I have stressed the fact that Backing Up is important, so I am going to share this way cool feature in MM. (Memory Manager)

Ok so the first thing when starting in MM is to bring all your photos into a Memory Vault. (one is already set up when installing the software, but it does have sample photos in there, so I went ahead and made a new vault for my photos) see below

then even before you organize anything you should create a shadow copy to another drive. see below

Now, what happens is whenever that drive is connected the shadow copy automatically updates! YAY! (my ultimate favorite feature)

Shannon

Tuesday:Tech Tips "Back-Up EVERYTHING"

So I was going to have another photography tip, but because of my own recent problems I am here to voice that it is important to back everything up!

On Saturday I took my laptop and external hard drives to a location to work on editing a past wedding, when someone walked by and tripped on my cords, pulling my hard drive to the floor. Just enough to kill it. I did have that wedding backed up but I did not have some other jobs backed up and now I am in a flurry trying to get the data recovered. It could cost up to $2000 to get it recovered, of course I could never spend that much. But the moral of this story is to back everything up!

Luckily for those that use Memory Manager, they have an awesome back-up system. You can copy all your images to CD/DVDs, to another hard drive, and make multiple vaults right from the software! Pretty Cool!

SO....BACK UP you files, DO NOT throw away negatives, and if possible store at a different location than your computer, and pictures like a safety deposit box or a fire-proof safe.

Memories are that important. It rings especially clear when I have read stories of the victims of the California fires. Most stories mention that they either got their pictures out safely or they lost everything including all their pictures. And I know that if I ever had to evacuate my home besides getting my family out safe I would do all I could to get my memories too!

Shannon