Friday Focus: iPod Apps

Set 289 - Alphabet Soup

I had a wonderful Friday Focus post all ready to go today except for one thing that was supposed to be in my mailbox yesterday so that I could include that product in my post.  Of course, it wasn't there.  So I am improvising today.  Since I mentioned a serious iPod Touch addiction in a recent post, I thought I would list all of the apps that I use for cardmaking!!

For those of you that are seriously bored already - I do have a card for you before I move on to the geeky stuff!

Yesterdays Ways to Use It challenge was the first challenge hosted by Kim Hughes and she selected "All That Glitters".  I have had the idea for this card in my head for awhile as a way to use the set Alphabet Soup.

• Stamps: Stampin' Up Alphabet Soup
• Inks: Stampin' Up Real Red, Garden Green, Wild Wasabi markers
• Paper: Stampin' Up Real Red, Garden Green
• Accessories: Martha Stewart bell punch and antique silver glitter, small jingle bells from Michaels, Stampin' Up Scallop Border Punch, Sizzix Embossing folder

Now for the Friday Focus: iPhone/iPod Touch apps!

My hope is that some of you will read this and leave comments regarding apps that I have missed.  There seem to be a lot of scrapbooking apps out there, but there just aren't that many for cards.  Here are some that I like:

1. CSS Daily: Clean and Simple Stamps has an app that gives you one card and the full recipe for that card each day.  It's very nicely put together.  It's a pricey, but since there aren't many other cardmaking apps out there - I definitely purchased it.

2. CraftCard Gallery: This is a fairly new app that seems to have a very extensive card gallery.

3. Sayings - for Greeting Cards and Guestbooks: This app has 100s of sentiments for all occasions.  I am not going to say that this is the best set of sentiments ever, but it can come in handy.

4. Cartridge Checklist: A nice way to keep track of your Cricut cartridges - it also includes pictures of each cartridge.  It seems to be updated very regularly.  FYI: While I was looking at iTunes I just saw an app called Cricut Cutting Guide that appears to give the settings you need to cut a whole variety of papers...interesting??!!!

That's it for the very specific cardmaking apps, but I have a variety of things that I use regularly that are very helpful for my cardmaking.

5. Paperless: This is a nice list making app.  I use it every day for such things as:  keeping lists of cards that I need to make and, right now, I am listing stamps that I need to use to meet my stamping goal!  Here's a pix so you can see how nice it looks and works.

6. Byline: I read A LOT of blogs and I do it through Google Reader*.  Because I have an iPod Touch and not an iPhone I only have internet access when I am near WiFi.  But Byline lets me download all of the unread blog posts from Google Reader before I leave home and then, as I am waiting yet again for my children to get out of school or finish a rehearsal, I can read those posts and then sync back when I am home!  Love it!

*Just go to Google, set up an account, click on Reader and starting "adding subscriptions".  The Reader will keep track of new posts on each blog to which you subscribe

7. My Create Ink Color Combos.  No, they don't have an app.  If you haven't been there on your computer, simply go to http://www.mycreateink.com/.  It is a huge database of color combinations (using Stampin' Up colors). You put in the colors you know that you want to use and it shoots back possible other colors. I like to have it handy so I have created an icon for it on my iPod Touch.  Simply bring it up in Safari.  Then click on the "+" symbol and "Add to Home Screen".  You have just made your own "app".  Touch it and you have instant access to a full database of colors!

8. 2Do. This is the to do list for my life, but the reason that it relates to cardmaking is that it has a nice function for birthdays.  You can import all birthdays from your Contacts, then you can set it up to give you a specified amount of notice.  I have it set up to give me a To Do item one week before each birthday - then I can be sure to get cards made and out on time!

9. HanDBase - If you are not a former actuary/mathematician that now makes cards, you can skip this one.  I have included it because it is probably my most used app for cardmaking.  It's actually a relational database.  Relational databases are powerful things - one big step up from a spreadsheet.  This database is what causes the majority of my friends to call me anal.  But let me give you an example of how great it can be.  I have one database set up for "colors".  It has every Stampin' Up and PaperTrey color in it (including retired).  Then there are checkboxes by each color so that I can indicate whether I have coordinating CS, ink pads, buttons, ribbons, etc.  Then I have another databases for "ribbons".  When I input a ribbon, up pops a drop down box with all the colors from the first database - super easy to select.  So, here comes the powerful part.  The two databases keep talking to each other.  So after I input the ribbon, if I go back to the "colors" database, the database now shows how many ribbons that I have of each color.  Cool, huh?  (Or really, really boring!)

10. Photos.  I spend a lot of time managing photos on my iPod because I "right-click save" card photos when I see them on blogs or SplitCoast.  I then have to sync those cards over to my iPod.  But one feature that iPods are seriously missing is a good photo management tool, e.g. to sort those photos into such things as "Wishlists to Buy" or "Cards to CASE".  (FYI - one of my databases is a Wishlist database.  The database can hold photos so I can always see what I am shopping for.)  I am currently using Photo-Sort but it's not perfect.  In my case, it loses badly because it doesn't include the photo name that's on the computer and I often include information like stamp company and name in my photo name.  I just downloaded PhotoMgrPro.  It seems to solve the problem, but I haven't played with it long enough to know.  I would love to have any recommendations on this subject.



Congratulations - you made it to the end of the list!

If you made it to the list, that means you are as addicted as I am - and if you ARE that addicted I would love to read comments regarding the apps that you like!  Hope you found a new one in my list!