Digital Scrapbooking Software Review & GIVEAWAY!

Ever since I ventured into the world of blogging, I have been fascinated by people who design blog layouts and other digital scrapbooking elements. A part of me has always been interested in learning more about that and trying to create my own blog design layout, but I never quite knew where to start and was completely unfamiliar with the idea of digital scrapbooking software.

And then a couple of weeks ago I was contacted by a representative from My Memories, asking me if I would be interested in trying out and reviewing their digital scrapbooking software! Naturally I said yes, excited to finally have an opportunity to try my hand with some creative ideas for photo albums, my blogs, and more! I know I recently redid my blog design here, but I would dearly love to be able to come up with a theme that is all my own and not a design anyone could use. :-)

I will admit that the interface took a bit of getting used to, but I think that is because I am less familiar with creative software, haha! But once I downloaded a few kits to try out, I found myself more interested in creating photo album pages than anything! (With a little one, photo books make great gifts and this software will let you come up with anything and everything you can imagine.)

Here is my very first creation using My Memories Suite -- I thought I would start off simple with a scrapbook page:

I have only made one physical scrapbook in my life and it was for our wedding. It was so much work that I also declared it would be my last scrapbook... With this one page, I have totally fallen in love with digital scrapbooking and I want to SCRAP ALL THE THINGS!

And then I thought I'd play around with a blog header for my personal blog I want to resurrect:

I'm pretty sure I could play with this software for hours on end if I didn't have a job and a life beyond this! :-) Honestly, there are so many ways you could use the My Memories Suite Software -- blog design, photo books, invitations, and so many other creative print projects. Once you explore it, the software is so user-friendly, you can create beautiful, custom projects in no time! Not to mention, there are TONS of kits and digital scrapbooking elements available in the My Memories store -- you can even find some kits or quick pages available for free!

The folks at My Memories would love for one of my readers to have the opportunity to try out this fantastic software, so they are offering one of you the chance to win your own copy of the My Memories Suite!!

Entering the giveaway is easy:
(1) MANDATORY ENTRY: Visit My Memories and browse their digital kits.  Choose your favorite digital kit or layout and come back here and leave a comment, telling me which one was your favorite! Please be sure to leave your email address so I know how to reach you if you are the winner! 

(2) OPTIONAL 2^nd ENTRY: Follow My Memories on Facebook or Twitter and let me know you did in a comment. 

(3) OPTIONAL 3^rd ENTRY: Share a link to this contest on Facebook or Twitter and leave a comment with the link to your Facebook post or Tweet. 

CONTEST DEADLINE: All entries must be received by midnight on Monday, February 4th because I will be choosing the winner on Tuesday, February 5th!!

But that's not all... My Memories wants everyone to try their product and they are offering a special coupon code to readers of Melissa's Bookshelf!

Please use coupon code: STMMMS96615

With this code, not only will you save $10 on the My Memories Suite software, you will also receive another coupon good for $10 off anything in the My Memories Store!That's a total savings of $20!

So, what are you waiting for? Be sure to enter the contest and even if you don't win, you can still use my coupon code to get a great deal on software that will open up the world of digital scrapbooking, right at your fingertips! They even have a blog/forum, where you can find more great ideas to make the most of your My Memories Suite! 

Best of luck to you all!

*Disclaimer: I was provided with a copy of My Memories Suite in exchange for an honest review.

Product Review: Bookshelf from CSN Office Furniture

I am happy to report that my Antigua 4 Tier bookshelf arrived from CSN Office Furniture yesterday afternoon! I started putting it together shortly after it was delivered, but due to an interruption I was not able to get back to it until this afternoon. In the end, I think it took less than an hour to assemble, which is GREAT in my book!

Here are a couple of pictures of the packaging...

Here we have the box. It wasn't too big or too heavy so I had no problem getting it upstairs into the room where it would be going. That's a good thing, since my husband wasn't home at the time I started putting this together!

After opening the box, this is what I found: everything was neatly packaged and nothing was damaged! One thing I particularly like--see that little white square with the hardware in the middle? Rather than have all the pieces in a bag, they are packaged nicely so you can leave them sitting in their plastic compartments, just tear off the cardboard backing and everything's ready to be used as you need it. An allen wrench is also included, but it should also be noted that you will need a Philips-head screwdriver when putting this together, as well.

And now what you've all been waiting for....

The finished product!

Here's how it looks by the bed. It was a little bigger than I thought it would be so this isn't where I originally intended to put it, but I think I'm glad it worked out this way! Now this is my official home for my TBR books! It was nice to get them out of their somewhat precarious stacks on top of other bookshelves.

Overall, I am really impressed with this bookshelf. It's sturdy and attractive and goes together quickly with easy-to-follow instructions. My only complaint about the building process was that there were numerous instances where the pre-drilled holes for the screws did not line up with the pieces that were being attached. I know that is not an uncommon thing, but in this case it happened nearly every time I went to install the leg pieces. Despite that, this was still an easy bookcase to put together--probably one of the easiest I've ever built, in fact! One other nice bonus with this piece? It comes with floor levelers that you screw in to the bottom of each leg, so if you have uneven floors, problem solved!

All-in-all, this is a great little bookshelf that I know will get lots of use over the years, and I really appreciate CSN Office Furniture giving me the chance to review this item. Their shipping is fast (and in many cases, FREE!) and their items come safely packaged so you don't have to worry about damaged pieces. I will definitely be revisiting their site for future office furniture needs!

My rating:

Adding Another "Home" For My Books!

I don't know about the rest of you, but my book collection seems to steadily get bigger and bigger. I recently added some bookshelves that my parents were no longer using and I've almost outgrown them! What's a girl to do? Look for another bookshelf, of course! And this girl shops on a budget.

As it turns out, I was recently contacted by CSN Office Furniture to pick out a piece of their ample selection of furniture to review. I toyed with the idea of an office chair, as ours is looking a bit sad, but ultimately you know I couldn't pass up a bookshelf. The chair will just have to wait (although it was tempting, given the many options they have for office chairs!).

Now if I wasn't on a budget (and perhaps you aren't), I would be tempted to shop for something like this:


Isn't it gorgeous??? But right now that would require a new, bigger house to go along with it. Not quite in the budget. :-) But I can dream, right? And honestly, CSN Office Furniture has a bookshelf to fit every need, whether you are looking for something large or small, wide or narrow, or even a corner piece. Ultimately I found a darling bookshelf that will work great in one of our guest bedrooms, which have become the main locations where I keep my rapidly growing book collection. Here's a sneak peak at the shelf I'll be telling you about down the road, what do you think?


I can't wait to put it in its new home!

Perhaps you don't need any bookshelves right now, but even if that's the case, CSN Office Furniture has a wide selection of chairs, desks, and other office furniture for every budget, taste, and style. Their web site is easy to navigate (always a plus!) with many options to narrow down your search to find exactly what you're looking for! Take a peek at their site and see what you can find for your home or office today!

Be sure to check back soon to get my thoughts on the bookshelf after it arrives!