Not only that, but ArcSoft Inc. has graciously offered to give away full copies of the software to 10 LUCKY READERS!

Review of the PC Version of Perfect 365
(by Cindy Wyckoff)

UPDATE:

I have to admit it….I had to see what I could do with my grandson’s photo in Perfect 365.  I bet you didn’t think about editing babies in this software.  I was able to take an ‘okay’ photo and turn it into a great looking photo in just three little clicks.  Love it!!
Click on photo to see larger:

I played with Perfect 365 on my PC and created a how-to video below that I think you will enjoy.  Have you ever had a picture taken of yourself and then wished you had a little more makeup on or even just some lipstick?  Here’s a sneak peek of one of the images I did a makeover on.
Hover your mouse over the photo to see the differences:

 Watch the Video….

Review Using the Mac Version of Perfect 365
(by Brianna Curran)

When I was asked to review the Prefect365 I was excited because I love taking pictures and uploading them online, but I am not the best with Photoshop. Although, Photoshop is a great tool and you can do endless things with it, it can get complicated and time consuming if you don’t really know what you’re doing, like me.

When I first loaded up Perfect365 I was amazed at, first, how fast it came up and, second, how easy everything is! The interface is easy to navigate through and it’s very simple to figure out how to work all the sliders and tools without reading a long “how-to tutorial.”

On a mac, everything was fast, crystal clear and simple. I loved that there weren’t too many options, buttons and distractions. The whole program is very straight to the point while still giving you lots of options to chose from leaving the people in your photos flawless!

To test it out, I, naturally, picked the most flattering picture of myself to edit.

This was a picture from our honeymoon in Hawaii. Pretty right? I wonder why he married me too sometimes. The first thing you notice, are the preselected faces on the left. They have the whole face with preselected eye makeup, lashes, eyebrows, skin tone, lipstick, blush and they can even thin your face. Dang! If you don’t like those options and want to adjust things more manually, they have a manual tab so you can have more control.

I was amazed at how it automatically recognized my face. It will even recognize mutiple faces in a photo and allow you to edit each one individually. Amazing! Even if some of the makeup seems a bit off on your face, you can manually adjust it so everything goes where it’s supposed to.

So after a bit of tweaking, I was able to give myself a bit of a facelift complete with eye makeup, eyeliner, lipstick, teeth whitening and I even cleaned up my eyebrows.

Ta da! Aren’t I so much prettier now? Well okay, there may be some things that I just can’t fix. It was fun to try out new makeup and see how I look with different shades of lipstick, etc.  It looks so natural too! No one could even tell that I did it all on my computer. ?

Another thing I liked was how easy it was to upload my beautiful face to Facebook, Twitter and Flickr. It takes a lot of steps out of the mix when you can do it all in the program. Just click “share” and log in to wherever you’d like to send it!

If you are an avid self-picture-taker, like myself, or just want a cool way to edit your photos in a refreshingly simple and fun way, Perfect365 is your answer.  It was easy to use, fast and looks so natural!

It’s a Giveaway!

For every “share” that you do about this article review, you get an extra chance at winning.  Pin it, Facebook share it, Twitter, Blog about it!  Link back to this article.  Comment below where you shared – with your links.  You have until March 7th and then we will pick 10 winners!  Yay!!!

If you aren’t one of the 10 winners, you can still get the program for 50% off! 

Perfect 365 Shopping Cart Link for FULL VERSION with 50% off coupon (For a PC, use coupon code scrapbdp365w2.  For a Mac, use coupon code scrapbdp365m2.)

FREE VERSIONS – Low resolution output of images only:

PC FREE Version of Perfect 365

MAC FREE Version of Perfect 365

Editor’s Note:  Check out our Free Downloadable Christmas Card Project and see how we used these beautiful metallic pens!

North Pole Declares Zebra Pen’s New Sarasa Metallic the Official Pen of the 2010 Holiday Season; Santa Claus Offers Tips to Go from Naughty to Nice List

EDISON, NJ (December 6, 2010) – Zebra Pen Corp., leaders in the writing instrument industry for more than 110 years, today announced that its new Sarasa Metallic gel pens have been declared the “Official Pen of the North Pole” for the 2010 holiday season by Mayor Doug Isaacson, the North Pole City Council and – of course – Santa Claus himself.

According to research, the average person will wrap 18 presents and send more than 20 greeting cards this holiday season.  With so much to prepare – including the “naughty or nice” list – it is necessary to have a high performance pen that adds a festive feel making the many tasks of the season more enjoyable.  Zebra Pen’s new Sarasa Metallic gel pens (MSRP $1.59/each pen) are the best way to add some sparkle to all of your holiday writing.

“We are honored that Zebra Pen’s Sarasa Metallic gel pens have been declared the official pen of the North Pole,” said Chris Farley, director of marketing for Zebra Pen.  “We’re also excited to be working with Santa Claus who has provided us with simple tips on how to get back on the nice list this year – and hopefully remain there.”

Zebra Pen’s new Sarasa Metallic gel pens glide easily on light and dark paper and are perfect for decorative holiday crafts, greeting cards and present tags.  Available in gold, silver and copper, the Sarasa Metallic pen’s smooth flowing ink gel is acid-free and guarantees a scratch-free, no-smudge writing experience.

As part of the partnership, North Pole city officials issued a proclamation stating “Zebra Pen’s Sarasa Metallic gel pens are the Official Pen of the North Pole for the 2010 Holiday Season.”  All North Pole residents will receive new Sarasa Metallic gel pens, to be distributed at city hall, compliments of Zebra Pen. [In addition, Zebra Pen will be giving away a 3 pack of the Sarasa Metallics each day from December 6 through December 23, just like the residents of the North Pole received.  Click HERE to enter and view the official contest rules.]

“The North Pole City Council and I are glad to designate the Sarasa Metallic gel pens by Zebra Pens the “Official Pen of the North Pole for the 2010 Holiday Season,” said North Pole Mayor, Doug Isaacson.  “These gel pens are superb and I know that everyone will enjoy writing with them, from Santa and the elves, to the mom checking her list, to the student taking notes at school.”

To help Zebra Pen celebrate the honor, Santa Claus himself has provided simple tips on how to jump from the naughty to nice list.

Five Tips to Get Back On the “Nice List”

1. Do NOT send fruit cake – it doesn’t taste good and no one eats it. Try sending a fruit or wine basket instead.
2. Don’t turn your residence into a community eye-sore – stop with the inflatable Christmas villages.  There’s only one North Pole – and I live there, not you.
3. Do NOT re-gift! If you don’t want it, chances are they don’t either.
4. Throw out your holiday sweaters and ornament jewelry – ornaments are for trees, not for people.
5. Refrain from sending a five page holiday newsletter summarizing your family’s achievements. If they didn’t hear about it six months ago, you’re probably not as close as you think.

Top Five Tips to Remain On the “Nice List”

1. Send a holiday greeting to all family, friends and coworkers.
2. Reconnect with old friends – and I don’t mean through Facebook. Take a proactive approach and call or get together with someone you have lost touch with.
3. Volunteer your time – even if it means missing the first half of a football game or your favorite reality TV show.
4. Support charitable toy, clothes and food drives this holiday season – and recruit your friends to help as well!
5. Have patience when shopping and be kind to store associates and fellow shoppers.

A top manufacturer of writing instruments in the world, Zebra Pen is dedicated to ensuring that each of its products provides the ultimate writing experience for everyone, whether at school, home or in the workplace.  Zebra Pen prides itself on developing innovative, user-friendly and quality writing products at a great value.

Zebra Pen products can be found in major retail locations including Staples, Office Max, Office Depot, Walmart, K-Mart, independent office supply and stationery stores, discount chains, food and drug retailers and wholesale clubs.  For more information on Zebra Pen products, programs and promotions, visit www.zebrapen.com or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/zebrapenus.

Simply download and print. Then follow the steps below to embellish!

Supplies used:

• white cardstock
• printed card graphics (download below)
• ScorePal (optional)
• Scotch Adhesive Dot Roller
• solid coordinating cardstock (not shown below)
• RoseArt Glitter Glue
• Zebra Sarasa Metallic Pens
• paper cutter or scissors (not shown below)

Step 1: Download and print out the card graphic.  

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(Don’t have Adobe Reader to open Pdf files?  Get it here FREE)

Click on the video icon to see a How-To Video on printing the image.

I printed the card on 8-1/2″ x 11″ Presentation paper (or matte Brochure paper).  After printing, just cut the paper in half both ways, so that the cards are each 4.25″ x 5.5″.

Step 2: (Optional) One of the cards comes blank (without a greeting on it) so you can write whatever you would like as shown below.  I used a gold metallic Zebra pen by Sarasa.  It wrote beautifully!  I loved the easy grip on these pens and how smoothly they wrote.    Click HERE to find out how you can win your own set of these beautiful metallic pens!

Step 3: Embellish with glitter glue.  I used red and gold glitter glue by RoseArt.  Just squeeze a little dot where desired.  For the star on top, I placed a drop of gold glitter glue.  Then I used a pin to drag out the glitter to match up with the star at the top of the tree (as shown below).

Step 4: I used gold metallic pearl cardstock.  You can use any solid cardstock that coordinates with your card.  Cut the 8-1/2″x11″ paper in half and then in half again so you end up with four pieces that measure 4.25″ x 5.5″.

Step 5: In order to properly layer the card pieces as shown below, trim off 1/8 inch off each side of the gold paper.  On the printed card, trim 1/4 inch off each side.

Step 6: Adhere the printed card to the gold paper.  You can use as is for a gift tag!  Otherwise, adhere to a folded half sheet of white cardstock.  (I cut a sheet of white cardstock in half.  Then I used my ScorePal to score the center so that it would fold nicely.)

Gift Idea: Make several and give as a set!  Beautiful!

Simp Q

Visit www.SimpQ.com

The Simp-Q Photo Studio Large Contains:

• Two 5500K color temperature lights.
• Built in washable white PP background.
• 5 pieces reflection structure board.
  • 2 Side reflector panels
  • 3 Front reflector panels
• A waterproof  black canvas briefcase with 2 external pockets, handle and shoulder straps
• Washable White photo base
• 2 fluorescent lamps
• 2 (5500K) fluorescent light bulbs
• 8 pins for reflector panel assembly
• 110W on/off switch plug

Why use a Simp  Q Photo Studio?

• Amateur or professional, ANYONE can take professional quality photos.
• Easy to assemble, store and transport at ANY TIME and ANYWHERE. Does not require a large space for its use.
• Save time and economic resources.
• Receive professional quality photos at your fingertips.
• The 5500 k color temperature light provides regular light distribution and minimal shadows on objects to get a quality result.
• A professional camera is not necessary, a simple conventional digital camera is okay.
• US Patent and UL Listed

Daylight

Visit www.DaylightCompany.com

Sticky Thumb Glue

Visit www.StickyThumb.com

House of 3

Visit www.HouseOf3.com

Art Bin

Visit www.ArtBin.com

Clipa

Visit www.Clipa.us