The manufacturers of this
program claim that it lets you "create one-of-a-kind scrapbook pages,
with over 100 customizable templates to choose from..." There
really is a lot going on inside this program, included are:
- 100+ Scrapbook pages
- 100+ Photo Projects
- 300+ Clip Art Props
- 150+ Edges and Frames
- 150+ Backgrounds
- and it will produce
either 8 ½" x 11" or 12" x 12" pages
Additional graphics can be
downloaded for free from the Ulead web site. They have a lot of
nice features available on the main site, including some tutorial and walk-throughs
for their products. I found that to be a very helpful.
The program loaded very
easily onto my computer, it asked if I wanted QuickTime5 and then realized
that I already had a more advanced version. I will be honest you, you really
do need the guide book they include with the program, if only to get past the
start screen and to figure out how to make your own pages rather than
modifying their pre-made ones.
There are just tons and
tons of projects to choose from included with the program, from 3D Folding
Projects (frames, gift boxes, ornaments, bookmarks, CD cases, business card
stands), Stationary Projects (CD labels, letterheads, envelopes, bookmarks,
gift tags, notes and calendars), Photo Frames (very cute), Album and Scrapbook
Projects ( scrapbook pages (both sizes), album covers (both sizes) and page
borders). My only "problem" with some of the projects is that there
isn't a blank template offered for the boxes, CD labels, bookmarks and
ornaments so you can only modify what they give you.
Once you get started on a
page there are lots of options to choose from. There are tons of paper
backgrounds to choose from, and you can modify the color balance of them if
you want. If you want a solid colored background you can fiddle with it
for a few minutes to select just the right color/tone. There are a lot
of clip art props that you can use to decorate your pages with. I did
feel that the initial selection is a bit limited (cutsie) but there are more
available as free downloads from the parent site. I couldn't find a way to
import clip art from a different program (like Hugware). You can select
different photo edgings to use, a neat option you don't get in standard paper
scrapbooking. They also have the option to frame your photo with their
selection of frames. This
was a selection that wasn't really to my taste, the frames tend to be a bit
more formal and ornate than I like. They would probably be very nice for
heritage album pages.
The printing feature worked
well. When you choose it, you are able to specify if you want a normal,
tiled, poster, T-shirt or multiple. Normal would be a standard page (page size
options are included). Tiled means you can specify how many columns and
how many rows of the project you will print (good for the gift tags). Poster
means just that, it will allow you to increase the image size by several
hundreds of a percent, allowing room for over lap between the standard pages
so you can put them together. T-shirt automatically reverses the image so that
it can be printed on the transferable paper that you can buy prepackaged. And
Multiple allows you to choose between several companies pre-prepared printer
paper. You can pick out label paper, sticker paper, CD label paper oodles of
options, and it will size the project to the page/boxes. However, you can not
print more than one project on a page. You can print multiple copies of the
same project on one page, but not two different ones.
There was one option that I
really liked a lot. I happen to have two CD-ROMs on my computer, so I was able
to have the program CD in one and my photo disk in the other. When
looking for a new photo to insert, it showed me a thumbnail of every program
on my CD. I really liked that feature, much better than the "I
think this is it" click and hope you were right method. It just made
photo-fussing easier.
Since it is a software
program, it is for scrapbookers who would like to be able to use their
computer to complete scrapbook pages. I would think seriously about getting
this as a gift for a friend interested in starting to scrapbook. I also think
that it would be a great project program for kids and teens for at home or in
the classroom. It would also be a good program from someone wanting to make a
very quick online scrapbook. The program/company is tied in with the iMira
online photo site, and transferring your finished pages from the desktop to
their online site is a snap.
Click
here to see sample pages Aubra completed quickly and easily with the software!
