iPod/iPad Apps


I LOVE my iPad.  It has my entire life on it!  Amazingly, it also plays a roll in my crafting life!!

This is a list of the various apps that I use and love.

Reading Blogs - Feedly

I am compiling this list of apps soon after Google announced the demise of Google Reader.  This has changed the way that I read apps.  I believe that I have found my alternative - Feedly.  I love it because it works on both desktop and iPad.  However, it is important for you to know that Feedly and all of the readers had been based on Google Reader - they don't actually have their own functionality.  From my research, Feedly is the closest to having it so I have converted.  But if they are not ready by July 1, 2013 - this may change.

I wrote a completely Feedly tutorial here.

I also have a series of other Feedly posts, particularly in further defining the issues with Google Reader and also comparisons to bloglovin'.  Click here to get all of those posts.


Organizing Challenges - Chronicle


This is very easy to use diary!  (They also have one called Chapters - which is the same except you can keep multiple diaries.)  I use this daily for tracking challenges.  I don't even play all the challenges, but this diary becomes an amazing source of inspiration!

I spent about an hour on the first day that I bought the app typing in the challenges that I like.  (My favorites are listed on a tab at the top of my blog.)  I did this in a way to make it look clean and organized and easy to use for future weeks.  So, for example, on Sunday I like The Paper Players, The Sweetest Thing and CR84FN.

Here's what I did:

     a. Click on the pencil/paper icon on the upper right - that gives you a new journal entry page.

     b. I typed one line that just listed the challenges, as follows:

                   The Paper Players.  The Sweetest Thing.  CR84FN.

      c. Then I spaced down a space and added the details of each challenge (probably not necessary if you don't play them but I needed to know when they ended, any special requirements, the "keywords" etc.

                   The Paper Players.  By Friday midnight.
                   The Sweetest Thing.  SSSC###.  By Friday 10 pm.
                   CR84FN.  CR84FN##. By Friday 10 pm.

      d. Why did I do the two different listings?  Because that first typed line is what shows up on the summary of the diary pages.  With just the names of the challenges,  I can quickly scan through and see where my favorite challenge is!!!

      e. Then click done, but make sure that what you just typed was on a Sunday since that is the day those challenges came out.  You can click on the date and it allows you to change it.

       f. So now when each Sunday rolls around, I don't have to retype all of that.  I go to the previous Sunday, then -
            - tap on the screen (the words come up)
            - tap and hold for a second and you get this little magnifying glass
            - when you lift your finger you get the option to "Select All", then select "Copy".
                    Hit the Done on that screen.
            - click on the pencil/paper icon to create a new journal entry
            - tap and hold on the blank journal entry, select "Paste" and all your info is there!!!

      g. Now the important part.  As you are reading your challenge blogs, save the challenge picture to Photos.  Then bring up Chronicle to the day for the challenge, click on the four square icon in the top right.  Select the photo that you want and it pops into Chronicle.  There's space at the bottom of each diary page to hold all of the photos.  FYI - it first comes in at a cute angle - if you use two fingers you can make it bigger and straighten it out.



Storing Inspiration Photos - PhotoMgrPro

There are many ways to store your inspiration photos.  You can use Pinterest.  You could just save them and tag them in your blog reader (like Feedly.)

I use both of those, but they just don't have enough organizational capabilities.  So I store my photos on the iPad, the Photo app that comes with iPad is terrible!  There are dozens and dozens out there that improve on the native Photos app. I picked PhotoMgrPro for two reasons:
  •  It allows me to create folders and sub-folders.  For instance, I have a folder labelled Stampin' Up that lets me save cards that I particularly like with Stampin' Up products and inside the folder I have sub-folders for "dies", "embossing", "wishlist", etc.
  • It allows me to name and caption my photos in any way that I like.  So if I save a card that I particularly like the colors on, I tap on the card, tap on "metadata", tap on "caption", then type in the colors.  I don't do this with every card, just ones that I particularly want to remember the info.

PhotoMgrPro is not the prettiest app out there.  There are some absolutely gorgeous apps that allow you to put things into folders - but they don't let you rename and caption.  I really wanted both abilities!!

Unfortunately, when you saved a photo in from you blog reader or from Safari or Pinterest - it goes to the iPad native photo app.  So...as soon as I save a photo, I pop right into PhotoMgrPro, go the folder in which I want to keep the photo, click on Import at the bottom, then select the one that I want to pull in.  It's a couple of extra taps, but I find that it is SO worth it to have my photos organized.

PhotoMgrPro also has a "Favorites" button which is nice.  I bring a lot of card photos over from blogs, but there are some that are just spectacular so I when I have the photo up, I click on the heart.  Then later, on the first screen, I can click on Favorites and I get to see those that are the best of the best!

There is a move feature which is handy.  I have quite a few photos in my Wishlist folder, then when I buy it, I can simply move the photo our of the wishlist to the appropriate folder.



Designing Cards - Paper53

Amber at Damask Love , details all of the amazing features of Paper53 and shows you how she uses it to lay out her cards.  (For absolutely unknown reasons, I cannot get this link to go directly to the post.  But if you go to her main blog, just go to the search feature down the right side bar, type in Paper53)

If you do your own sketches or constantly find yourself with ideas in your head - this app seems to be a great app to capture it all!!  But just be warned - the app is free, but the features that you need are in-app purchases and are a little pricey.



Storing Past Challenges


There are two easy ways to easily access past challenges if you need some inspiration.

IF THE CHALLENGE BLOG HAS A TAB WITH ALL OF THEIR PAST CHALLENGES:

One of the things that I do is provide direct links to archives of my favorite challenges.  I create my links, then place them all in one folder on my iPad - I'm never short of inspiration.  Here's how you do it.
  1. Find out if your favorite challenge has an archive.  For CAS(E) this Sketch - it is here.  It's just a page that shows all past sketches.
  2. Bring that page up in Safari on your iPad or iPhone.
  3. Click on that little box with the arrow coming out of it (the sharing button)
  4. Choose the option to "Add to Home Screen"
  5. It will prompt you for a name for this icon, just type in the challenge name.
You now have an icon that, with one click, brings you immediately to all of the sketches!!

I check out my favorite challenges, created icons for all of them that I could, then added them to a folder called "Inspiration".  It's my favorite folder on my iPad!!

HERE ARE A FEW EXAMPLES:


IF THE CHALLENGE BLOG HAS A PDF WITH THEIR PAST CHALLENGES:

The iBooks lets you download pdf files!  

Just open up the file in Safari and it will ask if you want to open it into iBooks.  It saves it there and you always have a great reference if you are ever stuck on a card.

(If you want to rename these files you have to do it in ITunes).


HERE ARE A FEW EXAMPLES:

Just open up the file in Safari and it will ask if you want to open it into iBooks.  It saves it there and you always have a great reference if you are ever stuck on a card.   BUT KNOW that these do not automatically update.  Every so often, you need to redownload them to have the latest and greatest!!

(FYI: If you want to rename these files you have to do it in ITunes).


Keeping Track of Design Team Cards - Palu
This is my only recommendation that is a little bit "out there" - all the others are very popular apps in their own right.

I am a clean and simple cardmaking - and this also translates to the apps that I love.  I don't want bells and whistles and cluttered colors and too many buttons.  I want an app to do what I want it to do and nothing else!  So I have been on a long-time search for a what would basically be a To-Do list for my design team commitments - but would allow me to include the challenge graphics so, at a glance, I can see what I am obligated to at any point in time.

I found Palu (Diary Communication Tool by Simple Sharing) and I am loving it.  

  • It's just a calendar that allows you to add one photo per date.  (If you have lots of obligations on the same date this doesn't work - but I don't overload too much on commitments.)
  • It is a handwriting app.  I find the iPad such a pain to type on that I like the idea that I can quickly scrawl something like "TAWS" across a date and I know what it means!
FYI - if you have LOTS of obligations, check out "Awesome Note" - it's a little pricey but includes LOTS of lists and multiple photo capabilities.  It's a very nice organizer - although a bit of a learning curve, but just a little too much for me to use as a design team organizer (and a little too little to organize my entire life!)

iPhone/iPod Only Apps

There were a number of apps that I used before I had an iPad that are specific to an iPhone or iPod Touch.  They do work on the iPad - when you hit the little 2x button in the bottom corner it makes it bigger so it takes the entire iPad screen - but it is blurry.  Because I haven't used them in years, I really can't say if they are still useful
  • CSS Daily (samples of cards using stamps from the company Clean and Simple Stamps)
  • Crafty Card Gallery
  • Sketches 4 Cards
  • Sayings - for greeting cards and guestbooks
  • Cricut Cutting Guide
  • Cartridge Checklist (for Cricut)



I so hope you are loving your iPad!  I think many people start out with a love/hate relationship.  I still get somewhat frustrated because there is little documentation about the iPad or about the apps.  I think it is just today's way with technology because my children are constantly telling me that I don't need documentation - that I should just keep trying things until it works! So that's what I do!

Promise me that if you are ever frustrated with any of my recommendations - e-mail me!  I have probably had the same frustrations!

Or if you ever want to chat about other types of apps - calendars, to-dos, recipes, crosswords, other games etc. - I would love to chat!