Saturday 31 May 2014

A garden of digital delights


Those of you who visit my blog regularly will know that I am very much a stamper who enjoys playing with paper, rubber and ink (just like my blog subtitle says!).  Having said that, I have a background in computer graphics so I have always been comfortable with the digital side of things, which has also played a part here on my blog, through the digital cutting files I design and give away.

The other day I noticed that Serif Craft Artist 2 Professional was on offer for £10.  I've owned other Serif software in the past, so I already knew that they have a reputation for creating extremely full-featured software at a great price.  Given that, I decided to splash out the £10 and give Craft Artist a whirl.

To say that I was blown away by it is a complete understatement!  This is a major piece of software that would cost many times it's price if it was from another manufacturer.  Even at it's regular full price of £24.95 it's one heck of a bargain.  It would take me an age to list all the things it can do - probably better, if you're interested, to see the YouTube introduction to it here.

Of course, if you're digitally crafting, you need digital supplies.  Happily, the internet is full of freebies ready to be downloaded and used, all you need to do is start googling!  Serif themselves have a site called DaisyTrail which has hundreds of digikits to use with the software, including more than 50 that are completely free to get you started.  When you sign up to the site (free) they also email you a £5 voucher to spend in the shop. DaisyTrail also has a forum offering support, tips, tutorials, challenges and competitions for users of Craft Artist, well worth joining.

That leads us nicely to the real topic of this post - I made my first ever 12x12 page this week, and it's digital!  There was a contest on DaisyTrail where you had to make a page incorporating a bicycle somewhere.  This page was my entry and it was also the first thing I made with the software.  When I started out using Craft Artist I was hopping about a bit aimlessly so I decided I'd set about actually making something and learn as I progressed.  This piece was inspired by a piece I made last new year's day.

Anyway, I've yammered on long enough!  If any of you have been thinking of giving digi-crafting a try, you can't go far wrong with Craft Artist 2.  There's even a free cut down version you can download to try it out.  Look for Craft Artist Compact on their web site.

(Oh, I've just realised this reads a bit like a sponsored post, lol  I have had no contact with Serif and they are not paying me in anyway for this post.  It's quite simply that I love the software!)

4 comments :

misteejay said...

How wonderful when a bargain turns out to be so much more than expected - enjoy.

Love the 12x12 page - it looks such fun.

Toni xx

MiniOwner said...

Fab page, Dan. Just love it!
Sue

Chidkid said...

Love the LO.. do you know if it's any good with an Apple Macbook?

fatmonica said...

Love this layout.It looks so realistic!Unfortunately me and Craft Artist don't get along.I simply can't do it!

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