Shutterfly Photo Story for iPad App and Photobook Review and Giveaway #sponsored

I love taking pictures with my iPad - I carry it everywhere I go because it's my lifeline these days - I have e-book apps, apps to keep the kids entertained and now I have a fabulous new iPad/iPhone app from Shutterfly that is letting me take the special photo memories I've captured on the iPad, phone, camera and gotten from friends into cool new photobooks!



Because the app and the iPad are portable, I was able to sit at Barnes and Noble last week, watching Erik play with the train table, and playing around with Shutterfly Photo Story for iPad!  It was quick and easy to install and even easier to create a summer memories book from all of my photos!

Not only could I access the pics that I took with the ipad directly, I was also able to grab favorites from Facebook, Shutterfly and Instagram!  I chose all photos that I thought I wanted to use, found the background that I wanted and the app went to work, grouping the pictures where it thought I wanted them! That gave me a great foundation to work from and lots of wonderful options for backgrounds! I played around after the app did it's autofill to tweak the pages and change a few things around - the autofill had put the photos in chronological order, and there were a few pictures that I wanted grouped differently, so I was easily able to re-arrange things!   You don't even need internet access to set up the book if you're using the photos directly from your iPad, but it was great to be able to access the ones on my Facebook and the ones I had already uploaded to my Shutterfly account!

I decided on a black and white themed book- to let my pictures pop off the page - and it offered a fair number of page options - the only thing I would have liked was to have some different shapes other than square or rectangle to choose from - some of my pictures would crop better in a circle or oval frame, but overall I am totally pleased with the results!

Because I made my photo book for my family who don't understand things like QR Codes, I didn't take advantage of the really cool bonus feature - being able to add your recorded voice to your pages, but I think that the next time I make a book, I will definitely record each of the kids on their 'special' page and share it via email and the Shutterfly Share Page!  I am waiting for the day that Erik and Liam want to create their own stories - I can see photographing their artwork and letting them 'read' or tell the story  for each page!  You get 30 seconds of recording time per page which is a totally unique feature!  And there is a unique QR code on the printed version of your photo book that links directly to the online version so friends and family can easily access the recorded version!  They can access the completed book on any device and you can even share it on Facebook!

If you have an iPad, and want a fabulously fun and creative way to create new photo books, then I totally recommend downloading the Shutterfly Photo Story for iPad App!

One lucky Acting Balanced reader with an iPad* will get to create their own Photo Story Book for free** when they enter to win on the rafflecopter below: *You must complete your photo story book on an iPad to use the codes provided. **Free shipping to the US is included. Canadian winners will need to pay for their own shipping.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Sponsored: Masterlock is helping us feel safer heading back to school!

One of the things that Robyn wanted most heading back to school next month is a new smartphone. She's been carrying a basic phone around since she started middle school and really wants to be able to keep in touch in more ways than phone and text while she's at school... and since the school blocks non-school email, Facebook and other social networking, her friends all have 3G or 4G phones to keep up to date during their lunch breaks. For me, it's not that I don't trust her to have a phone, it's just that there are so many thefts these days and I am not alone in thinking that - 60 percent of people worry about the security of their belongings while they or their children are at school*

Robyn is getting better about using her locker, but I remember when she was first starting middle school and struggled with the combination and her lock, so she just stopped using it - or she didn't actually lock her locker! This wasn't a big deal when she didn't have anything to steal other than a yummy homemade lunch, but now she carries her laptop, iPod, phone and more! 1 in 4 Americans say their child cannot always remember their combination or struggle to open their lock* and if this is your issue, then Master Lock has created a great new lock to combat that problem! 

This is the dialSpeed Digital Combination Lock!  It's this mama's combination lock gone hi-tech!  Not only can you create easy to remember and quick to use codes, but you can also retrieve a back up code from masterlockvault.com. You can also store multiple resettable guest codes in case she's off school sick and I need to ask a friend to bring home her books!  It's so simple to use that you can use it one handed, so you don't drop all of those text books, electronics and 'stuff' you're carrying!

Having a lock you can trust is so important because while theft is fairly uncommon at my daughter's school, kids are bringing so many more tempting targets to school with them.  Electronics including cell phones, iPods and laptops are the most commonly stolen items on college campuses**

Master Lock also has some other great new solutions for back to school including:

• SafeSpace™ Portable Safe: Keep your things safe while socializing. Stash cash, jewelry, credit cards and more in the SafeSpace for security on-the-go
• SafeSpace™ Laptop Computer Lock: Delivering peace-of-mind for college bound students, the SafeSpace allows you to walk away from your laptop without your laptop “walking away” from you

Right now (until September 8th), Master Lock is inviting it's fans to play along at  Master Lock Facebook page or at www.MasterCampusChallenge.com to win great prizes including gift cards, video games, electronics and Master Lock products!  There are daily & weekly opportunities to win and of course a grand prize to wrap up the whole thing!  

You can also win big by hanging out at the Master Lock Twitter Party hosted by Resourceful Mommy on August 6th from 8pm - 9pm!  Get all the details and RSVP for the Party!

I know that I feel safer sending Robyn back to school with Master Lock products as part of her back to school kit and if you are looking for the same kind of peace of mind you should totally check out Master Lock for all of your lock and portable security products needs!

*Survey conducted by Survey Monkey from 3/12/13 - 3/14/13 among Americans representative of a National U.S. Census

**According to an ORC International Report 'School/Theft Statistics' prepared for Master Lock April 11, 2012

Photos provided by Master Lock.

#Giveaway and Review - Pretty by Jillian Lauren

I received the book, Pretty by Jillian Lauren as part of a Global Influence blogger campaign and was asked to make it my Labor Day quick read... well, as many of you know, almost all of my reads are quick reads and although I tried to make this one go quickly, I found that it required more thought and care than a 'quick' read...

Getting Organized with AboutOne.com and #GIVEAWAY ENTRY!

I had a situation this summer that I have to say quite frankly embarrassed me to no end... I misplaced my file with all of our pertinent information - marriage certificate, birth certs for the kids ... you name it... I knew where it was in the fall and then we moved everything around for the baby's arrival and whoosh - it was all gone!  And of course I needed to get my hands on it recently - and I've been tearing apart the house ever since - I now know where it isn't but that's not helping me figure out what I did with it....

Another Back to School Story...

Getting ready for back to school with Liam is a fun, but challenging experience - because of his Autism and his food issues making the transition to a new routine takes extra time and patience.  Laying the groundwork the past few weeks will hopefully pay off well when he heads back to school next week.

We're changing up EVERYTHING - he's going to a new school, where he'll be in a small portable instead of a large classroom, he'll have more peers in his class because he's graduated from PIC (partially integrated classroom) to a blended Child Development class - which means he's one step closer to mainstream schooling!