Here is my first post on Path last year.

My first post on Path in November, 2010.

Path recently went through a big overhaul and now I am in love with the app. As a digital scrapbooker, using a personal journal app is AWESOME! Let me go through a few of the Path features.

Path, Your Personal Journal App

Your path has a main photo and you have your own profile picture. This is my Path.

I took that sunset picture in the rear view mirror of my car. I love it! You can add pictures, videos, places, songs, comments, people and when you go to bed and are awake.

Adding To Your Path

Here is the screen where you start. Click on the “plus” circle.

And this menu will fly out.

Awake or Sleeping?

Click on the Moon and you can record when you “Go to Sleep” or “I’m Awake.” Do you know of any other personal journal app with that feature?

Your Thoughts?

Have a thought you would like to share? Here you can write anything you want to remember that doesn’t fit into any of the other categories.

Adding Music

Listening to a song? Click on the music note and you will get a list of songs.

Adding Pictures, Video & Places

The next two are for adding the place where you are and/or the people you are with. And the top one is for adding a picture or video. When you take a picture or video, you can choose from several filters. This one is the Old Time filter.

And here is a picture in my path.

And here is a video on my Path.

Adding Friends to Your Path

Your friends can add an emoticon (choice of 5) or a comment to any of the updates in your Path. By default, Path is a private personal journal app. Path is not the place where you will collect friends and share it with the world. You max out your friends at 150. I have decided that Path is the place where I share my personal life with those who are close to me. I won’t add everyone as a friend, so don’t be insulted if I don’t add you. I will add those who I spend time with (either offline or online.)

Social Networking Overload?

I plan to use Path as a personal journal app to aid me in my digital scrapbooking. I am part of several different social networks and each one has a purpose. Path will be a more private personal place for me.

Let’s Talk About This Personal Journal App!

So, that is Path. What are your thoughts? Is this something you will use? Does the maximum of 150 friends concern you? Is there a place for Path in your social networking bag?

Related articles

• Path Tries Again, Now as a Mobile Journal App (allthingsd.com)
• Path revamps with ‘Path 2′: A diary for the social, mobile world (gigaom.com)
• Fly Or Die: Path 2.0 (techcrunch.com)
• Path. The Good, The Bad, and The Beautiful (go2web20.net)
• Path: What You Need To Know About It And How It Plays A Role In Your Life (socialmouths.com)

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Personal Journal App, Path; Daily Geek Find originally posted at Scraps of My Geek Life.

My grandmother preserved some of their memories, but not all of them. And where are those memories my grandmother preserved? My mom has a copy of all the pictures and videos. My kids have no idea these even exist.

I was thinking that adding all of those memories to LiveOn would be so awesome because not only would my kids have access to it, but my sisters and their kids and all the future generations. I am also sure that we all have different memories and experiences with my grandparents. This would give each of us a chance to write what we remember and share with others.

Preserve Memories Forever With LiveOn

LiveOn Rewind will help me get all those photos and videos into my LiveOn account to preserve memories forever. LiveOn Rewind is very easy to use. Here is the process:

1. LiveOn sends you the box.

2. You package up the photos and videos.

3. LiveOn converts your memories.

That is so simple!

I have tried to do this myself before and it is very time-consuming and even though I am very tech-savvy, I still had a few of the videos that I would spend hours converting and discover I did something wrong. So, I just gave up. I’m going to let LiveOn Rewind take care of those now.

LiveOn Rewind Coupon Code

LiveOn has provided me with a holiday coupon to share with you. With “HOLIDAYREWIND” you will get 30% off your LiveOn Rewind order.

Disclosure: Thank you to LiveOn for sponsoring this blog post. Please LiveOn to learn more about sharing and preserving your most important memories. I was selected for this sponsorship by Clever Girls Collective. Although story ideas were provided, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Let’s Preserve Memories Forever!

Do you have memories that are in a box or drawer that need to be preserved for future generations? Tell me a story about a memory you want to preserve for the future.

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Preserve Memories Forever For Future Generations With LiveOn originally posted at Scraps of My Geek Life.

Back to my tech gift guides… If the techie in your life is a tech mom, blogger, tech kid, gamer, fitness techie, grandparents, tween, tween, family or digital scrapbooker, then I have a list for you. If you have any ideas or would like your product added to the list, send me an email (michele@scrapsofmygeeklife.com)

Without further adieu, my tech gift guides….

Tech Gift Guide

for Tech Moms

If your Mom is like me and prefers digital to diamonds and gadgets to gold, then the Tech Moms Gift Guide is for her. There is nothing like the smell of a new gadget or unwrapping that brand new laptop.

for Bloggers

Bloggers need to use gadgets to capture pictures, videos and to keep on blogging. Here is my Bloggers Tech Gift Guide.

for Kids

Our kids live and breathe digital. It is second nature and they don’t even think twice about using technology. It is their reality and I feel it’s my job to teach my kids how to use technology to enhance their lives (and use it safely.) Here is my Kids Tech Gift Guide. There area a few non-tech items that my kids LOVE too.

for Gamers

It’s kind of obvious that gamers would be into technology, but if you are not a gamer and have a budding gamer or seasoned gamer on your list, here is the Gamer Tech Gift Guide.

for Fitness Techies

I am not just into fitness, but I’m into fitness technology. The only way I run is if I can use my Nike+ AND Runkeeper to track my runs. If I can’t use technology during a workout, it’s no fun. If you know someone like that, there is the Fitness Tech Gift Guide.

for Scrapbookers

Whether you are a digital or paper scrapbooker, technology will help you tell your family’s story. Here is my (Digital) Scrapbooking Tech Gift Guide.

for Families

Each year we buy a tech gift for the whole family. Something everyone gets to enjoy. Here are a few of the tech gifts we have enjoyed. My Family Tech Gift Guide.

for Teens and Tweens

I have both a teen and a tween in my house, so I asked them what are the MUST HAVE items on their list. My Teens & Tweens Gift Guide.

for Grandparents

Are your grandparents tech savvy at all or do you need to help them upload the pictures from their camera? My Grandparents Tech Gift Guide has gifts for both.

There you have it. A tech gift guide for everyone on your list. Let me know if you have a gadget I can add to the list. I’m always looking for good idea.

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Tech Gift Guide for Moms, Bloggers, Grandparents & Many More originally posted at Scraps of My Geek Life.

Holiday Gift Guide for A Scrapbooker

Do you have a gift that you would give to a scrapbooker (or would like to receive?) Leave me a link and I’ll add it.

Disclosure: I received some of the products in exchange for reviews, but it was my choice to include in my Scrapbooker Holiday Gift Guide. You will see #spon next to the items I received. All opinions are 100% my own. 

Scrapbooker Gift Guide Affiliate Links

Following are Affiliate links to the scrapbooker products in the list above.

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Gift Guide For The Scrapbooker On Your List originally posted at Scraps of My Geek Life.

Creating Books With Instagram Pictures

Here are services that help you create a book by pulling in your Instagram pictures and they will print a real book. for you

1. Keepsy – Easily create an album using Instagram pictures. It took me about 10 minutes to sign up and have an album completed. I did not send for it so I do not know how good it looks, but you can see ScrappinMichele’s Instagram Pics here at Keepsy. You can order it, link to it or post to your Facebook page. To print my book it is $29.95 + S&H.

2. Blurb – With Blurb you can also make a book. The starting price for a book on Blurb is $10.95 (soft cover). You can choose different layouts and add text if you. Remove or add any Instagram pictures and change the order. Within 10 minutes, I had a book and I could send it off to print. The book I created was $17.95 plus S&H to print. I didn’t see an option to link to the book without “publishing” it.

Creating Layouts With Instagram Pictures

And here are scrapbooking kits and templates that you can download to make your own creations with Instagram pictures.

3. Simple Journalers by Gina Miller - Gina created digital frames with journaling prompts. Just add your Instagram pictures and you are ready to go.

4. Cathy Zielske’s Layered Templates  - Cathy has a few of them at Designer Digitals & 1 on her blog:

Layered Template #87

Layered Template #88

Freebie Template from Cathy’s Blog

5. Hello Sweetness Instagram Templates at O’Scraps

6. Instagram Notes Project – From Biograffiti at O’Scraps. She has the full instructions to create the paper project from your Instagram pictures on her blog.

Instagram is only available for the iPhone now, but even with that it has really taken off. I’m sure there will be more and more services and products available to work with your Instagram Pictures.

Let’s Talk About Instagram Pictures!

Do you use Instagram? What do you do with your Instagram pictures? 

Creating With Instagram Pictures; What Do You Do With Yours? originally posted at Scraps of My Geek Life.

Digital Scrapbooking

Below are answers to some of the common questions I receive about digital scrapbooking.

What do I need to start creating digital scrapbook layouts?

The biggest investment would be the computer, printer (if you choose to print your layouts yourself) and the software (see next question). You can purchase digital scrapbooking kits, however, you can use a kit over and over again to create many layouts. With paper scrapbooking, once you use an element, it is gone.

What software should I purchase?

There are many different programs available starting from $29 to over $500. If you are just starting out, I recommend you start with a dedicated scrapbooking program because the software will come with some digital kits to give you a head start. A few examples are:

• Digital Scrapbook Artist
• MemoryMixer Version 3 (affiliate link)
• Creative Memories Storybook Creator
• Hallmark Scrapbook Studio

There are several online options which usually include a few digital kits. Often these are to create photobooks or other printed items. A few examples are:

• Smilebox
• Shutterfly
• Picaboo

If you would like complete control over your layouts and prefer to either make your own elements or purchase digital scrapbooking kits from online stores, then the graphic design programs are what you want. The learning curve is the greatest on these, but will give you the most flexibility in creating your layouts.

• Photoshop
• Photoshop Elements (what I use)
• Paint Shop Pro
• iPhoto (mac only)

What do I do with my layouts after I create them?

1. Print at home in various sizes (8×8, 12×12, 8.5×10, etc) and put them into regular scrapbooks.
2. Upload them to a professional printing company (Kodak, Shutterfly, etc) and create a photobook.
3. Create slideshows and burn it to a CD or DVD.
4. Upload them to photo sharing sites (Flickr, Picasa, Photobucket) to share with your friends and family.

What are the advantages of digital scrapbooking over paper scrapbooking?

• Digital scrapbooking is not as messy. It is very hard to scrapbook with little children around because they tend to get into your paper and scissors. You can easily save a layout before it is done and go back to it at a later date.
• The digital scrapbooking kits are purchased once and can be used again and again (by the same person).
• It is much easier to create a page for several people. I have 4 kids and every Christmas, I create one digital layout. Then I put different pictures into 4 different layouts. The layout for my oldest son will have pictures of him in them and I do the same for each of my kids. That way they each have a more personalized layout for their own book.
• A layout can be printed out or burned to CD/DVD as many times as you would like. It is a lot easier to share with your friends and family. I have created slideshows of my layouts throughout the year and sent the slideshow out as my Holiday card.

If you have any further questions, please leave them in the comments below and I will update this post with those answers. In the next few months, I will go into more detail about the different programs, where to get the digital scrapbooking kits and how to begin digital scrapbooking.

If you would like to see a few more examples of some layouts I have created and uploaded, check my layout gallery at NDISB.

Are you a scrapbooker? Paper or Digital?

Credits for scrapbook page: Techno Geek by MIss Mint (background), Fonts/Alphas: , Neutral Date Me kit by Suzy Q Scraps (5 in title & numbers), Fonts are Cooper Black, Chalkduster, CK Ali’s Hand Official, A Whole Year, January kit alpha by Dani Alencar (Geek & glitter), 5 crazy daisy flowers by Melissa Bennet

Related articles

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• New Digital Product Releases | 02.26.2011 (aliedwards.com)
• Mixbook Acquires Scrapbooking Service Scrapblog (mashable.com)

What is Digital Scrapbooking and How Do You Get Started? originally posted at Scraps of My Geek Life.

Here are 10 last minute online gifts for digital scrapbookers:

Digital Scrapbooking Kits

Purchase a gift certificate from an online digital scrapbooking store. Here are some of my favorites with the links going directly to the gift certificates page. All of these stores offer high quality digital scrapbooking supplies. Most full kits are between $6 – $8. Purchasing a gift certificate from a few different stores would give your digiscrapper a nice variety of options to purchase.

• After Five Designs
• Designer Digitals
• The Lilypad
• OScraps
• Scrapbook Graphics
• Scrap Orchard
• The Shabby Shoppe
• Sweet Shoppe Designs
• Weeds & Wildflowers

Flickr Pro Account

A Flickr Pro account will let your digiscrapper upload an unlimited amount of pictures every year. Flickr is a great tool for backing up photos and sharing with friends and family.

Picnik Premium

Picnik Premium adds more tools to the Picnik toolbox. You get more effects, tools, collages, fonts, stickers, editing tools, unlimited history and connections, layering, add-free and much more. It is definitely worth the $24.95 and you get a card to print and give to your digiscrapper.

Log Your Memory Planner

The Log Your Memory planner (affiliate link) is more than just a planner. According to the website, the pllaner is “Your all-in-one memory-keeping calendar, journal, planner and idea book designed to help you capture your everyday, real life memories!” There are several versions available to download immediately.

Adobe Photoshop Software Downloads

Adobe has several programs to enhance any digital scrapbooker’s toolbox. These are available for both Mac & Windows.

• Photoshop Lightroom 3 will organize all your digital photos and help you fix a “not-so-perfect” photo.
• Adobe Photoshop CS5 & Photoshop Elements 9 are used for creating the digital layouts. Both will do the trick. Elements is a scaled down version of CS5 and very reasonably priced. I used Elements 9 for my layouts and there are not many features that I need that aren’t there.

Big Picture Classes Gift Certificate

A Big Picture Classes gift certificate will give the digiscrapper in your life the gift of knowledge. There are always new classes being offered in a variety of subjects. Not your typical digital scrapping classes either. Classes range from journaling to scrapping your wellness journey to taking better pictures.

Club CK

Club CK is for all scrapbookers, paper and digital. I like it because Creating Keepsakes is a large community of scrapbookers. Upgrading to the premium version gives you a subscription to the tips & tricks magazine. It has a lot of ideas and layouts which is good for inspiration. Premium subscribers also get discounts, free fonts and access to back issues to Simple Scrapbooks, Digital Scrapbooking & Creating Keepsakes magazines.

Digi Game Annual Subscription

The Digi Files The Digi Game (affiliate link) annual subscription includes the monthly Digi Files kit, Playbook and every 4 months, a free collab kit. The Digi Game is available in a monthly or annual subscription.

Shutterfly Gift Certificate

Shutterfly offers a wide variety of products that you can make with your photos. Everything from photo books to cards to mugs and calendars. There are 12 x 12 photo books designed specifically for digital scrapbookers. These gift certificates never expire.

MyFonts Gift Certificate

MyFonts offers a wide variety of different fonts. A digital scrapbooker can never have enough fonts.

Each one of the 10 gifts can be purchased last minute and will make a digital scrapbooker happy. Last minute does not have to mean it’s not useful. Do you have any additions to this list?

Each picture above is a screen print I took with Skitch and uploaded to Flickr. I added the effects with Picnik.

Disclosure: Affiliate links are noted above. I am on the Yahoo! Motherboard and received my Flickr Premium account for free (but I paid for Flickr for the last 4 years before I got the free year).

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10 Last Minute Digital Scrapbooking Gift originally posted at Scraps of My Geek Life.

Nancy O’Dell’s Unique Perspective

In the 14+ years I have been scrapbooking, I have read hundreds of books about scrapbooking. I figured there wasn’t going to be a lot in this book that I didn’t already know. I was so far off!

Nancy O’Dell has a very unique perspective on scrapbooking. She comes from a family of scrapbookers going back four generations. She writes about her mother’s scrapbooks making her feel loved. Her mother left her 53 scrapbooks when she passed away. I can’t imagine a better gift to give your children.

Telling Stories

As a journalist, Nancy is the perfect person to talk about telling stories. She describes being a reporter as “telling other people’s stories.” As scrapbookers, we tell a lot of stories about ourselves and others. She equates journaling to interviewing yourself. She has a lot of advice about interviewing and storytelling. I know my scrapbooks will tell better stories because of her advice.

My favorite chapter was her interview with Dr. Kenneth Condrell, a nationally knows child psychologist, family counselor and author. Dr. Condrell explains why the scrapbook albums we create for our kids can improve their self-esteem, build confidence and strengthen family bonds. He calls it,”a parent’s secret weapon.”

Full of Love also includes chapters on the following topics:

• Taking Better Pictures. Nancy interviews her friend, Ulrica Wihiborg who is the assistant editor at People magazine and a professional lifestyle photographer.
• Tools and Techniques. She offers tips on the basic tools and not-so-basic tools she uses for scrapbooking. All the products are Creative Memories products. I put her “Go naked” tip saved me time and put the focus back on my stories.
• Album Page Layouts. Lots of sample layouts with products used and explanations. Nancy includes a lot of her own personal pages she has created. Everything from her wedding, family moments to the red carpet and interviews with celebrities.
• Our Albums. Nancy talks about her mother’s scrapbooks, her own scrapbooks and why she scrapbooks. She is a working mom of 3 and shares her tips for finding time to scrapbook. She carries supplies with her so if she finds herself with a few free moments, she can do some scrapbooking.
• Foreword By Garth Brooks. Beautiful words written by her good friend.

Her Simple Formula

Nancy O’Dell has a very simple formula for scrapbooking. I have created a page around the quote because it’s something I want to remember when I’m scrapbooking. It’s my new scrapbooking motto.

Better Stories + Better Photos = Better Albums

This book is so much more than a scrapbooking how-to book. It re-ignited my love for scrapbooking and gave me a new perspective on how I create my pages. She shows you how to do so much more than create layouts. She shows you how to create stories.

Full of Love is a must-read for scrapbookers and anyone who wonders why we scrapbook or would like to scrapbook. Full of Love retails for $19.95 and is only available through Memories.

Full of Love Giveaway

Creative Memories provided me with one copy of Full of Love to giveaway to one of my readers.

To Enter, leave me a comment below with why scrapbooking is important to you AND tweet this post using the pink retweet button below. Only one entry per person.

Giveaway will end at 5:00 pm ET on December 30, 2010. I will randomly pick one winner and you will be notified via e-mail. You will have 24 hours to respond or I will choose another winner.

Full of Love Changed How I Scrapbook

I had the pleasure of meeting Nancy O’Dell earlier this year. She and I both participated in the EA SPORTS Active challenge. I attended her March of Dimes charity auction. It was very obvious that evening that she loves what she does and she is a genuinely beautiful person both inside and out. Her family and friends are very important to her. This also comes through in her book because she is very true to herself. Her love for her family comes out in her scrapbook pages.

As I was looking at the pages she created, I realized that I wasn’t looking at the stickers or the color of paper, but instead I was reading her journaling and looking at the pictures. Her stories definitely came through in her pages. It has changed my perspective on how I will scrapbook going forward. I often spent a lot of time worrying about getting the right embellishment. Not anymore. My focus will be on the stories and the pictures.

Nancy O’Dell’s Hummingbird Scrapbooking Line

In a partnership with Creative Memories, Nancy has created a full scrapbooking line, Hummingbird Series. It is available for both paper and digital scrapbooking through Creative Memories.

Disclosure: Creative Memories sent me one copy of the Nancy O’Dell’s Full of Love book to review and one to giveaway. All opinions are 100% my own.

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Nancy O’Dell’s New Scrapbooking Book is Full of Love (Review) originally posted at Scraps of My Geek Life.

Image by Greg McMullin {Gone To Kenya, back soon} via Flickr

I have been completing a Project 365 every year for the last several years. I take a picture every day, but that is often where it stops. I would like to get the pictures into albums. One of my 2011 goals on my vision board is to complete a project 365 again, but I have more planned for the project next year.

What is Project 365?

Project 365 is a year long project where you commit to taking one picture every day. The picture can be of anything. It was started by Taylor McNight on January 1, 2004. I wonder if he knew what he was starting? Photojojo has an excellent post, written by Taylor, with tips and ideas for completing a Project 365.

Why a Project 365?

People participate for many reasons. A few are:

ScrappinMichele Project 365 Geek

Photography Skills. By taking one picture every day, you can work on your photography skills. Experiment with different lighting, settings, time of day and subjects.

Everyday Life. When you capture one picture a day, you may need to get creative with your subjects. It’s a great opportunity to take pictures of your house, daily routines, meals, local hangouts and other things we engage with on a daily basis.

Scrapbooking Mojo. If you are a scrapbooker, you have probably had times where the mojo just isn’t there. Creating the Project 365 layouts puts the focus on the pictures and tend to be simpler pages. By creating regularly, it helps to keep the mojo going.

Project 365 Geek

I’m starting a new blog called Project 365 Geek. Not only will I post my pictures from each day, but it will be a resource for all of your Project 365 needs.

Some of what you will find:

• Challenges
• Links to Project 365 digital and paper scrapbooking kits
• Photography tips
• Weekly newsletter
• Daily Project 365 tips
• Project 365 tools
• Weekly topics for photo ideas
• Project 365 layouts and samples
• Much more…

On January 1, the blog will not be 100% complete. My hope was to have it ready, but being sick has gotten the best of me. I considered scrapping the whole idea, but I am really excited about this new site, so I’m going to make it a work in progress.

Bookmark the site and sign up for the newsletter. You don’t want to miss all the fun!

Have you ever done a Project 365?

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Are You a Project 365 Geek? My New 2011 Project originally posted at Scraps of My Geek Life.

Thoughts?

Feeling Crafty? Would you like to win $100 Wal-Mart giftcard? Check out my #CanYouTopThis challenge to you!

Hilarious Scrapbook Commercial originally posted at Scraps of My Geek Life.