A Review–AND GIVEAWAY!

Okay, so I got this email from My Memories wondering if I wanted to review their program and give away a copy on my blog to one lucky winner.

Well, first, I said, um…is this for real? LOL…because I have never actually gotten anything for free to review on my blog before, so I was pretty sure it was just a gimmick. But then I emailed back and forth and it WAS for real, so WOOT! =)

The essence of the program (quoted from their website):

My Memories Suite version 2 software is a complete digital scrapbooking solution that provides a powerful set of creative tools and multiple sharing options that no other software can offer. Its intuitive workspace and enhanced time-saving features are perfect for a beginner to build an entire album in minutes, or to empower the design pro to build a scrapbook album masterpiece.

So I tried it out. Now I have to be 100% honest, if you are a Photoshop or other mega-graphic-editing genius software user, this is probably not the route for you. But since there are a lot of non-digi-scrappers out there, this would be a great way to jump into it.

Confession: I had to go on their website and read the (very simple) directions to figure out how the program works. I’m not sure what that says about me, perhaps that since I’m a Photoshop user, I am so used to complicated that simple is hard for me. Haha. But it wasn’t hard to figure out after a quick run-through of the online directions.

Since I’m in Christmas card mode right now, I decided to try my hand at a digi-card:

What I liked:

• Ease of use (after quick overview of instructions)
• Capability to mimic shadows and such to make it look less “digital”
• The option to use kits that aren’t already in the program, like this one was one I had from Sweet Tomato (retired designer) and it was extremely easy to grab and drop in. So if you’re one of the kind (like me) who pick up lots of free kits from places or if you’ve already got some purchased kits, you’d be able to use them with ease with this program.
• That My Memories has free digital options in addition to the ones available for purchase (although, I wasn’t a huge fan of the freebies, at least there ARE some)
• Capability to easily “Share” your creations from the program (ie: it doesn’t just save as a specific program file that won’t open in anything else, it exports everything to however you want it: jpeg, web, photo album to print, whatever)

And now that you have my two cents, let me get to the good stuff…are you interested in winning a copy? If you are, here’s how you can get up to two entries to win:

1. Go to MyMemories.com and find a kit that you think is cool, and then come back here and leave me a comment telling me which one you liked.
2. "Like" My Memories on Facebook and then come back here and leave me a SEPARATE comment telling me you’re following them on FB.

Oh, and if you’d rather skip trying to win it and just want to go buy it, I’ve got a special code that provides a $10 discount off the purchase of the My Memories Suite Scrapbook software and a $10 coupon for the MyMemories.com store ($20 value!)

Here’s the code: STMMMS8730

Giveaway ends on Sunday 11/27/11 and I will have my second grader tell me a number between 1 and whatever number the last comment ends up being and that comment will win (can’t get any more random than that…lol). The winner will receive a code to download My Memories Software (a $39.99 value).

A huge thank you to My Memories for giving me the opportunity to review this product and for providing a copy for me to give to one of you. =)

**EDITED TO ADD**
Wanted to note that the facebook "like" doesn't appear to be a freebie, it appears to be a $5.00 coupon off a purchase in the MyMemories store. I "liked" them and I didn't see anywhere that said there was anything for free just for liking them (other than a free extra entry into the giveaway here).

ALSO...all comments are welcome, but if you are commenting as anonymous, please leave me some way to reach you in your comment, otherwise, if your comment number is randomly selected, I will have to draw again because I won't know who you are. =)
**END EDIT**

In the interest of full disclosure: I did receive a free copy of this program to review, but no further compensation was provided and all opinions are completely my own.