Studio J Review

I have been really whizzing through all my pictures by using Studio J digital scrapbooking program. I bought the membership for 3 months ($30) which gives me access to all of the kits (includes embellishments, digital stickers, paper, quotes, tags, titles, buttons, brads etc etc) and all of the layouts. It also entitles me to 50% off printing and free shipping (it is extremely fast).

In less than 1 month, I have scrapbooked an entire year (2010: 42 two-page layouts).

So, in essence, the use of the program cost me about 10 cents a layout. Each 2 page layout is $6.50 which includes a page protector.

I really wanted to compare the cost of paper vs. digital because people seem to think paper scrapbooking is so much cheaper (me included). Cost is somewhat of an issue for me but anyone who knows me knows that my main mission is not to save money or make my pages as cute as possible, it is to get my pages done and in an album.

So I broke it down like this, for a two page paper layout for the way I usually scrapbook.

• 2 pages patterned paper= $2
• 2 pages cardstock: $1
• Adhesive= 20 cents
• Stickers= let's say a conservative $2
• Portion of alphabet stickers= $1
• Page protector= 50 cents
• Photo prints= (I used on average 8 photos per digital layout, including at least 1 5x7) $1.30 This is from Costco but CTMH quality is night and day above
• Buttons, ribbon, brads, flowers or any other embellies: $1

Total is $9.

I'd say this is a really conservative estimate too! Many times I buy a pack of stickers for $4-$5 and don't use the whole thing. I know I waste a lot and don't use a lot of my supplies. With digital, that's not an issue at all.

Studio J is very user friendly. It takes me less than 10 minutes to put together a gorgeous page. You can edit your photos when they are on the page, change them to black and white or sepia, take out the red eye, adjust the color. You have access to digital stickers (the alphabet and numbers, large medium and small accents, tags, borders, quotes). You have a selection of titles or make your own using a large variety of fonts in any of the CTMH colors. You can distress the paper, chalk it, sand it. Many tools at your disposal. Can you tell I love it?

Here is some great news. Before you buy a membership, you can go in and make some pages. You'll have access to the basic functions, membership offers many more layouts and perks. But at least you can make a page and see how it works.

Not to mention (and this is a HUGE plus) I can scrapbook on the couch with NO MESS to clean up! Sometimes I wake up and grab my coffee, put on my favorite show and my cat is on my lap. I just fire up Studio J and scrap til the kids get up! With paper scrapbooking, at the rate I was going I scrapped one or twice a year. I cannot keep up at that rate. I take way more pictures than I scrap.

Many people ask if I miss the paper and stickers. I still have them! I still use that stuff too but I won't be buying much of it anymore. I will have some traditional pages mixed in and some of my old pictures will be traditionally scrapped. But going forward, I am sure most of my work will be digital.

Keep in mind as well....with each layout you purchase, you also get a JPEG of it. That means you can burn an entire year of layouts onto a CD also. This keeps them safe, makes it so you can print extras for Grandparents, and I think in this age of computers it is the future!

Just so you know, I do not sell CTMH, I am just a scrapbooker who was introduced to it by a friend. I just love it that much that it looks like I sell it :) !!