Monday, May 07, 2012

Evernote Tutorial - Part 1

I am a crafting organizational bull.  Probably more like bull in a china cabinet, but I do get after it pretty aggressively.  One of the biggest things I am passionate about it keeping a good inventory of my stamp collection.  I find that knowing what you have allows you to better utilize what you have.  I have shared how I keep up with my stamps in the past by using a stamp book (you can read all about it here).  Although I still find that type of organization useful, I have really grown to love my electronic means of organizing and indexing my stamps.  Enter one of the greatest technological inventions that has changed my life . . . Evernote.  I have been using Evernote for years - literally over 8 years.  Boy how it has changed through the years and what an amazing thing it is!

I have had some questions directed at me about how I use Evernote.  And somewhat recently, I had a request to put together an Evernote tutorial.  I wanted to provide a quick Evernote overview.  I will come back in a day or two and post some tutorials.  So, if you have any questions, I will try my best to answer and/or help you out.  Just know that I am having a sweet baby boy this week.  :)  So, maybe just maybe, I might be a bit preoccupied for a bit.

*Disclaimer:  I am not an Evernote expert.  I am just a satisfied user who wants to pass some helpful information along.

Evernote Overview

Evernote is essentially a cloud based Note Application.  It takes your note data and stores it on their servers for your use.  You can use your web browser for access without the need for any software.  However, there are some native apps that are very beneficial for both PC and Mac and even mobile apps like iOS and Android.  The web browser is a good way to use Evernote, but in my opinion the best way is by using the applications provided by Evernote that install directly on your computer, phone, or tablet.  This makes access to Evernote and by extension all of your information almost anywhere you would be in the world.  

Because of the way it accesses the cloud, your information stays up to date on all of your devices without any effort from you at all.  (You do need to have internet access for Evernote to sync with the cloud.  If you are using a computer without an internet connection, for instance, it wouldn't be able to sync your information.  It would sync the next time it has a connection - same for a tablet or phone.)

Evernote does an amazing job utilizing search, tags, notebooks, etc. It keeps your data and turns it into very useful, searchable, clickable bits of information.  This allows you to keep so much information without worry because you will be able to find it again.  



Here is a photo of all of my devices in perfect sync.  I have access to all of my stamps, dies, colors, impression plates, my non-PTI stamps, and even my wish list.  I always have one of these devices with me. I use my MacBook in my craft room quite a bit.  When I am updating inventory, I use it on my craft table.  I also use my iPad in my craft room as much or more.  It has such a smaller footprint than my MacBook.  And the screen size is still extremely good.  I pretty much don't go anywhere without my iPhone.  So no matter where I am in my world, I have access to all of my goodies at the touch of a button.  Of all four devices, I access my stamping information and notes on my iPad the majority of the time.  It is definitely my go to device when looking something up.  If I am entering information, I choose to use either my iMac or my MacBook equally with my MacBook probably with the edge because it can go in my craft room with me.

Usage

I would like to mention that there is both a paid and free subscription to Evernote.  Go to evernote.com to find out all the benefits of upgrading your free account.  It is a great deal, but you can still use Evernote for free.  You will just be limited to 60 MB per month (which can go fast when you are setting up all of your notes).  It is worth checking out either way.

Basics

Notebooks - These are useful in order to keep certain data or note types separate.  You can find all of your notebooks on the left hand side of the screen. 



You can see I have many different notebooks.  For this tutorial, I am focusing on the PTI notebooks and my Other Stamps notebook. My Papertrey Ink notebooks include PTI Colors, PTI Impression Plates, PTI Stamps, and PTI Wishist.  

You can also get to your notebooks by using the Notebooks Drop Down Menu.



Tags - Evernote can utilize tags that make finding certain notes quick, easy, and completely painless.  You can see all of your tags by clicking the triangle on the left side of the screen.  You can see from my screenshot that I have many already defined.  If you keep scrolling, you will see all of my tags.  



I have tried to tag all of my stamps into categories that make sense to me.  Some of my categories include 1.75 Circle, Animals, Anniversary, Baby, Backgrounds, Birthday-Sentiments, Birthday-images, Christmas, etc.  

Say I wanted to find a stamp set that included Anniversary.  I can quickly chose the Anniversary Tag and all of my notes that are tagged with Anniversary will pop up,  



I can scroll through all of the stamps sets that I own and include Anniversary and choose what I want to work with.  It is that easy.  

You can also quickly access your tags by using the Tags Drop Down Menu.  



Sort Order - This is probably the most overlooked feature of Evernote.  You have a few options available to sort the notes you are looking at.  You can access the sort by clicking the triangle just above your first note.



You can sort by Title, Date Created, Date Updated, Source URL, and Size.  For this tutorial, I will forces on the first three.  

*Sort by Title - It sorts the notes by placing them in alphabetical order according to the title.  Then you have the option to reverse the sort order which is exactly what is says (Z to A instead of A to Z).  Show in groups is the option that groups them with a separation bar according to letter and/or number.  I will show you a photo of the grouping option.



It puts all of the "A's" together and even shows you how many you have in that group.  Then all the "B's" and so forth.  

*Sort by Date Created - Again, it is self-explanatory.  It sorts the notes in the order they were created by date.  You again have the option to reverse the order and/or group them.

*Sort by Date Updated - This option sorts the note according to the date that the note was last updated.  And then of course you have the option to reverse the order and/or group them.

Thursday, May 03, 2012

Last Sunflower Card

Well, this is the last card I have using my sunflower stickers.  It is funny as these stickers have literally sat in my craft room for over a year.  I never touched them once.  Now that they are all used up, I somewhat wish I could get another set.  Sigh!!!

This happens to be my favorite by far.  I have really been working on my CAS lately.  I am going to have to revisit this style more often.


Another scheduled post.  I am hoping you will find me snuggled with my new baby boy.  But, we shall see.

Wednesday, May 02, 2012

Make It Monday #64

I loved Nichole's video for this edition of Papertrey Ink's Make It Monday.  She took us through her thought process when card making.  It was an incredible insight into her creative process and really gave me some things to try and do.

I was needing to make a Thank You card for a very special group of people.  A group of my husband's co-workers got together to throw us a surprise baby shower.  It was such a kind thing to do, and I was completely blown away.  One of the ladies made this diaper cake for me.


Isn't that just amazing!!  To top it off, the same person painted this for our new little one's room.



Talk about creative talent!!!

Besides the amazing diaper cake that was Dr. Seuss themed after our nursery, we received so many wonderful treasures and well wishes.  It was so thoughtful and very appreciated.

So when I started my card this morning, all I could hear was Nichole Heady in my head talking me through the entire card.  :)  I didn''t use one of the MIM color combos, because I wanted to keep it in line with the theme of my shower.  So, I chose to work with red, white, and blue (or more specifically white, pure poppy, and enchanted evening).  Here is what I came up with.


Let me tell you how she influenced this card.  First of all, I picked out a few things I thought I would want to work with or would match the theme or overall feel I was going for.  I needed to make it somewhat gender neutral as well.  I pulled out my Seeing Stars Dies first knowing that stars would be a great way to go and cover all my needs.  Next, I pulled out my Pure Poppy and Enchanted Evening inks.  I decided that I wanted to stamp a background and Background Basics: Houndstooth came to mind.  So, I stamped the background in red and die cut the stars in enchanted evening.  The stars were a bit plain, so I dressed them up with a small amount of decoration by impressing them with an impression plate and adding some pen doodles.  Because the stars would take over most of the front of the card, I decided that I needed to add my sentiment on top both to add dimension and tame the overwhelming stars.  Insert . . . fillable frames.  Once I had the frame stamped, I started looking at the overall design.  I placed the stars where I wanted them and really liked how the frame looked good offset with one of the stars popped up over the top.  I added the stamped red stars because I needed another element of red.  I knew I was going to embellish the small star with a button.  After looking at my design, I decided to use white floss as I needed another white.  It still didn't look quite right.  I needed just a touch more white.  So, I added the satin ribbon.  I felt like the ribbon pulled it all together.  I am pretty pleased how this turned out.  It didn't take me forever.  I didn't hem-haw over every little detail.  I used Nichole's wisdom of methodology and it literally fell into place.  Thanks Nichole.

Thanks for looking at today's Make It Monday.  I had a blast.

Supplies - All Papertrey Ink unless noted:
Paper - Stamper's Select White, Enchanted Evening
Ink - Pure Poppy, Enchanted Evening
Stamps - Fillable Frames #5, Tag It's #6, Background Basics: Houndstooth
Other - Pure Poppy Button, Fresh Snow Satin Ribbon, White DMC Floss, Guidelines Impression Plate, Clear Spica Copic Marker, White Signo Pen