Mobile Memory Keeping Part 5│Scrapbooking

Mobile Memory Keeping Part 5│Scrapbooking

Scrapbooking Layouts in the Project Life App

I am just going to show you how I do a layout in the Project Life app.  There is already a perfectly good tutorial by the people at Project Life if you want to learn more about it.

I tap on the upper right blue section to pull up the large layouts template.

I like to use square corners so I tap the upper left square and it takes me to the page where you can change your template, background color, and corner preference.  I tap the square outline at the top right to switch to square corners.

I then, tap on the section I want to add my photos to.  I have already added borders to my photos in PicStitch, and other PNGs and art work in Photo or Letterglow.

Tap the left option to be direccted to your camera roll.  If your photos are in Dropbox, scroll down to the second Dropbox option.  The first one is only items saved to your mobile from Dropbox.

Select your photo and it will be added to the template.  You can do some minor photo edits when you add to the template.

So, I have added all the photos (because Journal Cards you may have saved from other designers will be accessed via your camera roll or drop box.)  And I want to add a filler card from the Project Life app.  So I tap the section I want to fill and then tap the right option to get to the Project Life cards in the app.  I selected the Midnight edition here.

Then I scroll through and select the card I wish.  You can add text in the Project Life app to your Project Life cards if you wish.

Now that I have my spread completed, I tap the upload button in the bottom right.

I want to save to Dropbox, so I select Export. and then 12x12.

I select the Save to Dropbox tap and then select what folder I want it saved to.  Now, I can upload my pages to any online albums, or to be printed.

I usually upload to my computer from this step and complete my pages in Photoshop for desktop.  It's just faster.  But!  I am not sitting in a car waiting at various sites for children to be done with school or other activities during the days. 


Scrapbooking Layouts in Phonto

To work on a 12x12 layout in Letterglow or Phonto, your original image must be 300dpi (A 12x12 paper is about 2448x2448px) to be printed and look right.  This generally doesn't happen with your camera phone, but...  you can store 12x12 pages in Dropbox and open them in Letterglow or save them from Dropbox to your camera roll to use in Phonto.  Letterglow is very similar to Phonto if you have an Apple device, but I would use the Project Life app if you do have an Apple device.  It is just easier to use for scrap layouts.  I only use Letterglow for adding artwork and text prior to working my layout. 

I have a file of sized backgrounds for you to use in Phonto.  You can download the file here.

I first put all the photos, journal cards, and a 12x12 background paper onto my camera roll from Dropbox. I have already added any borders, artwork, and text in other apps like Picstitch and Phonto.  I open Phonto and tap the camera at the bottom and select Photo Albums.

I first select the 12x12 paper I downloaded from Dropbox.  I don't keep more than one on my roll at a time because they do take up quite a lot of space.  Also note, that it will take a few moments to load a 12x12 paper in the app.

I then tap the bottom left where it shows three lines and then choose the option Add Image.  Here I add my template I have a Design A in the backgrounds file for you.  I click Done.

I tap on the template and then Size to bring it up in size but leaving a bit of my background paper showing.  Then I tap the bottom left again and Add Image to get to my camera roll.

I pull up a photo and adjust the size as I need to.  My photos all had borders added in PicStich and were sized at 6x4, so they are just about the right size just the way they are.  I just size them down one tap so they will leave some of the background showing.  Then, I repeat until I have all my photos added.

Next, I add my journal cards in the same way.  I pulled these right from Dropbox and the size is a bit off so I have more size adjusting to do with them.  But I repeat until there is only one section left to fill.  Then I tap on the template to select it.

I tap it again to get the options and Remove it.  I no longer need it.  Then I add my last card and size it to fit and make any last adjustment to straighten my cards and photos.  You can still add text at this point or any digital scrap PNGs if they are saved to your camera roll.  Now I tap the upload button at the bottom right.

I don't want to save this to my camera roll because it's a large file and my mobile may condense the file.  So I tap Open in other apps, then, Save to Dropbox.

I select the folder I want to save my layout in and it's ready to print or upload to mobile albums.  (And this will take a few moments to save as it is a large file.)

This is the layout.  I was in a bit of a hurry and one of the photos is a bit off, but it is easy to straighten everything in Phonto and get it looking just right.

The QR code, I added to the photo after uploading my video to youtube, copying the link and going to a code generator and then saving the little code to my mobile.  I found that since these are usually PNG files, you can't add them to photos in Letterglow as that app will change the entire square to plain white.  So Phonto does one thing that Letterglow can't!  

Information About Photoshop Touch

It's not possible, as of yet, to do 12x12 in Photoshop touch as they don't yet allow the required amount of pixels you need to do a 12x12 layout (at least 3000p x 3000p or 300dpi).  (Maximum resolution is 2,048 x 2,048 pixels restricted to 10 layers. The default remains 1,600 x 1,600 pixels with up to 16 layers. You can change the default in the app's Preferences.) And you can't open a layered PSD file in Photoshop Touch yet.  It will flatten any layers.  Which means that you could add embellishments and drop shadows to a layout that already has your photos and cards added, but probably not on a 12x12 layout.  If you try to open too large of a file, it will crash the app and just shut it off.  And since PST flattens any image you open in it, you cannot at this time use any PSD templates in the app.

 Letterglow, Phonto, Becky Higgins Project Life app, Photoshop Touch,

A Note About My Mobile Devices.

I also wanted to tell you all that I don't have a smart phone.  I have a kindle fire and an iPod touch.  As a stay at home mom with a plain old phone that I barely use that only costs me $5 a month to have on my hubby's plan, a smart phone just for scrapbooking would be such a waste of money!  I bought my iPod touch just for the camera, Project Life apps and scrapbooking.  You don't have to have internet access to use most of the apps (unless you want to add things from Dropbox to Letterglow, or the Creative Cloud into Photoshop Touch.)  I take pictures while we are out and about, and add text and things, and I usually work "online" at night while I am watching TV with my family.  An iPod isn't cheap, but, it costs less than an old version of Photoshop and several months of a smart phone bill!  I just wanted you all to know there is a less expensive option to have an Apple product to use without having the iPhone or iPad.  

I don't recommend the kindle for scrapbooking, as you don't have access to the Google play store or many of the Android apps used.  (You can't even get Dropbox, only a third party version of that app.)  Any other tablet device such as an iPad or a Samsung Galaxy Tab, would work for many scrapbooking tasks.