My Memories Suite - Review and Giveaway

Scrapbooking has always been something I loved - the idea, of it anyway. I have a dear friend who does amazing things with stamps and papers and brads and buttons... but I can never seem to reach the levels of creativity she does. I love the look of scrapbooks, and I've bought some supplies, but never seem to have the space, or time to do it. Or other things that prevent getting down to it, like little fingers that love to touch things that you're trying to use, or littles that need to sit on your lap just when you'd like to get started on a project.Recently I was asked to review My Memories Suite, a digital scrapbook program. I jumped at the chance, thinking that maybe I could finally get all our photos organized into pretty albums. I don't know anything about digital scrapbooking, so I was a little nervous about it. Once I opened the program, all the buttons and gadgets looked overwhelming, but I discovered that it is actually very easy to use. Most of the buttons are icons, so it's obvious what the application is. I was impressed with the amount of attention given to each item that could be added to the page - (I can bevel and shadow and fill AND shape my text?? Wow!!)

Here you can see a couple of pages I made with the software. The first page is made from scratch. I chose the corrugated background paper, then added the photos, then embellished with the flower, button, ribbon, staple, and text. Adding photos to a page is easy: you just drag pictures from a folder on your computer, and drop them onto the page. The second image here is from a template in an Autumn-themed album. I just dragged and dropped the images into the spaces for photos, then replaced sample text with my own.
I'm excited to get to know more of the features in this program. For instance, you can add a video, or even background music to your album for a multimedia experience! I can see the albums made with all these features making great gifts for our boys' grandparents, who live far away. It's also nice to actually have a book in your hand to look at, so at My Memories you have the option of printing out a photobook as well, or even a calendar. Turn your pages into a jpg and get them printed as cards, photos, or put them on your blog, like I did!

Buy it!
My Memories has given me a special code for my readers to use towards their purchase of this software. Use the code STMMMS23143 at checkout to receive $10 off your purchase, plus a $10 coupon to use at the MyMemories.com store - a $20 value!

Win it!
One reader will receive My Memories Suite absolutely free! To enter, please go to www.MyMemories.com, choose your favorite digital paper pack or layout, come back here and leave a comment below telling me what it is.

For extra entries, you may "like" My Memories on facebook, follow them on their blog, or on twitter. Leave a seperate comment below for each like or follow, telling me that you did.

The winner will be randomly chosen Monday, October 17th.

Thanks, My Memories, for giving me the opportunity to try your software for free! All the best, dear readers, with the contest!