I've been blogging for about 2.5 years now and before that I ran a scrapbooking website for more than 4 years so it's safe to say that I've seen a lot of scrapbooking and photography related stuff on the internet. During this time my own tastes have changed as I evolved from a paper scrapper to a digital one. I used to get my ideas from magazines and now I rarely open one as I can find anything I need (and more!) online. Technology has also changed things as I went from a film camera to a digital camera, went from dial up to high speed internet, joined the world of blogs, forums, instant messaging, itunes and more.
Things have changed A LOT during that time, but the one thing that has stayed constant for me is that I love finding new ways to enjoy my photos and record the memories that go with them. Whether this is about making a scrapbook page or finding a fun way to blog, I'm always on the lookout for cool stuff online and I find it.
So here's my list of what I consider to be my very favorite resources and tools. I will update this link list periodically and keep it accessible in my sidebar under the title of "Finding Fun Links"
The Best Links Ever - according to Katie the Scrapbook Lady:
adobe photoshop express - It doesn't have all the features of the full photoshop programs but it's free and it's online so you can edit your pictures anywhere on any computer. Very cool!
big huge labs - make collages and other fun projects with photos. See my post on flickr below because big huge labs is great to use with flickr since you can link to your flickr account.
bless this chick emporium - create fun little characters to use as avatars or include in emails or blog entries. They are addicting!
blyberg card generator - create journaling cards online. They will remind you of old catalog cards you might have found in a library. Fun for blogs or scrapbooking!
flickr - upload a limited number of photos for free, or buy a pro account and upload as many pictures as you want. I love the pro account because I can access the full resolution size of my photos at any time. It's like having your own external hard drive full of your own photos accessible anywhere you can get an internet connection! Plus there are many ways to be involved in the flickr community with groups, maps, contacts, favorites and more.
fodey newspaper clipping generator - make your own little newspaper graphic. Fun for blogs or even as a graphic on a digital scrapbook page.
greeting flix - make movie type greeting cards using your own photos for free. Forget e-cards, this is way more fun!
photojojo - fun stuff for your photos. Really, they just find really cool things that all relate to photos which is right up my alley!
scan my photos - I was thrilled when I found this service! I had 1300 of my older photos scanned so now I have digital copies. You can read more about my experience here.
smiley central - I love these little smiley guys and I usually include one in most of my blog posts. They are fun for email or forum signatures also.
