A Scrapbooker's Best Friend

If you use a digital camera, you know how difficult it can be to organize and sort through the pictures you want to print for your next scrapbook project. Not only can it be a frustrating process to actually find them on your computer, but also once you have found them, you realize a little fix would turn your great picture into a fantastic picture!

There are many choices available to you if you’re looking for photo editing software. Unfortunately, not only can some of these programs be fairly complicated to learn and use, some of them are also fairly costly. A great solution is Google’s Picasa. Not only does it allow you to effortlessly edit your photos, but it sorts them on your computer so you can easily find them, view them, and if you want to take it one step further, share them on-line with your family and friends! All of this at no cost! Yes, that’s correct – Picasa is part of the Google Pack and is absolutely free!

Here are a just a few examples of how you can use Picasa for your scrapbooking needs.

• We all have great photos, but unfortunately, the flash has caused red-eye. Fix it with a click of the mouse!

• Would your scrapbook project better suit a black & white photo? Convert it to black & white, or consider giving it a sepia tone look.

• Have you ever seen a wedding photo that focuses in on the loving bride and groom, and then gradually blurs the background? This effect can be easily added to any of your photos!

• Do you need to re-size your photo before you print it? Crop it so it better fits the layout you’re working with!

• Is your photo a little too dark? Adjust the contrast so your subject is better highlighted!

You can experiment as much as you need to in order to get the desired effect to your photos. And, if you’re not happy with the changes, you can revert back to the original at any time, so you never have to worry about losing the original format.

All of this and much more ... at no cost! And, since it's a Google product, it's completely safe to download.

Crop Across Canada has Expanded!

It took longer than expected, but we've finally expanded Crop Across Canada to include on-line Canadian scrapbook stores! It's been great fun doing the research, and has also been very interesting to see how many great shops there are, and what fantastic scrapbooking goodies some of them have chosen to specialize in! For those who don't have the opportunity to get out to a traditional "brick & mortar" scrapbook store, or if you're looking for a special item your local scrapbook store doesn't stock, these are a great alternative!

We've also added a "Helpful Information" section, and have posted our first two articles. Hopefully, many more will follow in the future.

We hope you enjoy the new additions to the site, and look forward to continually updating this to provide fellow scrapbookers with a great Canadian Scrapbook Resource!