Artisan 4.0 ~ A Review of Digital Scrapbooking Software

A few months back I heard about an opportunity to test a brand new software that could be used to digitally scrapbook, called Artisan 4.0 by Panstoria. I decided to go ahead and take the software for a test drive. For those that know me I can imagine the gasps. I am an avid scrapbooker, and in the past have been adamantly against digital scrapping. I gave my friends who “turned to the dark side” such a hard time. Where was the fun in using a computer to do your scrapbooking?!? Well friends, I am eating my words, and after I write this blog post I should send an apology note to all of my friends who digitally scrap. I had quite a fun time testing the Artisan software, and I have created some very cool pages using it. While I will not be giving up my old-fashioned scrapbooking ways, I have already started planning the projects I want to do using this software. I have decided to enjoy the best of both worlds. 

 When I went into this testing of the software I had never digitally scrapped before, so the entire process was new to me. I was very nervous because I was such a newbie to the process. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that even as a rookie, this software was quite easy to use. I spent quite a bit of time familiarizing myself with the software, and quite honestly, I still don’t know everything there is to know about it. And that is because Artisan 4.0 has so much to offer! There are so many cool things you can do with it! You can design the pages yourself, or use pre-designed pages, and you can even have the software fill the pages for you with your pictures. I just bought the adorable zoo kit, and can’t wait to add a few more kits to my collection.

 The Panstoria shop has the software available for download for $39.95, but if you watch the video below there is a 20% off code at the end! The Panstoria shop also has digital kits to enhance your software. You can buy kits, pre-designed pages, alphabets, and frames on their site. They also have a few freebies on their site. They have quite a few different themes and sets to choose from, and I have heard that in the coming weeks and months their store will be filling up with even more kits and such to choose from to enhance your software.  They also have lots of helpful videos on You Tube to help the newbies like me along on this journey.

What I like best about this software is that there is no mess. I can work on the pages for an album a little bit here and there like I do my own scrapbooking projects, only with the software there’s no mess to clean up, no expensive adhesives, no dangerous paper cutter sitting out on the table, etc. Another great thing about digitally scrapping is that you can change your layout easily. If you create a page for a scrapbook using paper it’s stuck. It’s often a pain to change layout, and can result in ripped paper or photographs.

 I know I sound like a commercial, I tend to do that when I'm really excited about something...but I really did enjoy using this software, and I am really excited about starting a few new projects on it. I will still do my old-fashioned paper & scissors scrapping, but this is another fun new hobby for me, a different way to creatively present all of the millions of pictures I take. I can’t compare it to other digital scrapping software, but I do think it’s fairly easy to use, and has a lot to offer when combined with all of the fun digital kits they have to offer!

 **Disclaimer: In return for doing the beta testing of Aritsan 4.0 I was given a free copy of the software. But please know that the free software did not influence this review. I really did have fun with this!