Evernote Tutorial Part 2 - Creating a Note

Creating a Note for Your Stamp Sets

When you have signed up for an account, I highly recommend that you download the software to your computer to all of your heavy setup.  I find it much easier and less clunky.  But, your mileage may vary here.  You certainly can use the web browser.

For this tutorial, I am using the Evernote software for Mac.  However, it will be very similar no matter what you choose to use.  Also, I should note that I don't think this setup works well if you are only using a smart phone.  I suppose it is possible, but I wouldn't think it would be the way to go.  

Start by creating a new note.  (The easiest way for us Mac users is "⌘  + N")  You can create a new note by going to File -> New Note in the menu.  This is what you will see on the right side of your screen.  

Give your note a title.  For this tutorial, I am going to make a new note for "Trendy Treetops".  

Now choose what Notebook you would like to put your note into.  I do not currently own Trendy Treetops, but I would really like to.  So, I am going to make my note and place it in my PTI Wishlist Notebook.  

**Note:  if you do not have any notebooks set up, you can create a new one by choosing File -> New Notebook.  You will see the following dialog box.

Give your notebook a name.  If you want your notebook to backup to the web and have access across multiple computers and devices, make sure you choose a Synchronized Notebook.

Here is a look at what my note looks like so far.

Now comes the fun part.  The body or the content of your note.  Here is a look another one of my completed notes so you can see what types of things I collect.

You will notice that I gave it the title of the stamp set.  I have it in the notebook called PTI Stamps.   It is tagged.  For the body, I include an overview of the stamp set, any coordinating dies, and then examples or inspiration pieces utilizing that stamp set.  This is the part where you get to have fun.  There are so many things you can do here.  I have read where some people include the tip sheets.  You can add text or descriptions to make it easier to find in a search later.  You can type in notes, add URL's, or add the reason you purchased the set.  The sky is the limit.  But, you do want to be mindful of how you want things to look, feel, and be.  It is easier to set all of your stamp sets up the right way than to go back and change 135 notes.    One change I am going to make . . . of course now that all of my stamps sets are done . . . is to include a link to the countdown post on Nichole's blog and the date it was released.  This has proven invaluable to me in the past.  I cannot believe I left it out this time around. (*face palm*)

How do I get all the stamp overview or die overview?  In order to get my stamp overview, I copy and paste the stamp image straight from the Papertrey Ink website.  I do the same thing for the dies.  I go to www.papertreyink.com and find the stamp set that I have.  I right mouse over the preview and choose "Copy Image".  Then I go to Evernote and paste it right in the body where I want it.  Here is what I have so far:

Now I scour the web and keep my eyes open for cards that inspire me.  Or cards that showcase this stamp set well.  I copy those to the note as well.  I also take the time to copy the URL.  I find that if later I have a question about something, I can easily access where I found the pic in the first place.  Here is what I came up with:

Isn't that a stunning card?  Good 'ole Betsy Veldman . . . my stamping idol.  You will notice I include the link back to the card.  Trust me that it is so much easier to take 10 seconds to do that step now.  You will never remember where that came from in a month, let alone 6 months or a year.  I continue to gather inspiration from around the web.  Anytime I see I card that I want to remember, I copy it real quick and add it to that stamp's note including a link back to the original.  Easy peasy!

I can already hear many of you saying, "Can't I do that step with Pinterest?  Do I really need to keep inspiration cards in Evernote?"  The answer is you certainly can use Pinterest if that is what you want.  However I have found that in my flow, I like having the inspiration right there.  The beauty of this is that it is yours.  You can control the what and how.

Now I go back and add the tags and URL.  I use the Papertrey Ink website as the URL.  This is such a great function now that there website has added the coordinating products and a link to the inspiration gallery.  With one click, I have access to a load of information.  Man, you gotta love technology.

To add the URL, click the funny "i" at the top right of the note.  About halfway down, you can copy and paste the URL into the box.  

To add tags, you literally type in your tag if it is the first time you are using the tag.  If you already have that tag in use, a drop down menu will show up showing you what options you have.  You can choose the tag from there.  Again, what tags you use are completely up to you.  

Here is my finished note:

That is it!!  You are done!  You just made your first stamp note!  Isn't it exciting.  Now imagine the possibilities.  You are needing some inspiration.  You head to Evernote and a whole world is available at your finger tips!  And it comes complete with links to inspiration, more information, coordinating products, and more.  I don't know about you, but that is something that makes this card maker one happy person. 


If you have questions or would like to see something else in Evernote, you can email me (sillyleann at gmail dot com) or leave a comment on this post.  I am not an expert, but I love helping out if I can.

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.