Welcome to the Stories by Me Wizard!

To get started, please enter your email address.

Make sure to enter a valid email address because we send the completed project there when you're done here.

Once you've entered your email click Next!

This is the first time you've used the Stories By Me Wizard.

By clicking the "Agree" button, you assume responsibility for the photos you have submitted. Any copyright infringement issues and claims will be the sole responsibility of the customer.

Please enter a password that you'd like to use. The password must be between 4 and 10 characters long.

Click "Agree" to proceed.

Please enter your password

Forgot your password?

Once you've entered your password click Next!

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Use pictures that can be cropped to a square shape. Pictures of one or two individuals work better than large groups of people.

Grid lines on the puzzle block project are only for your reference. They are not printed in the final project.

If you just can’t crop a picture to fit the entire square, consider using a background color that complements your picture as a border.

Can’t figure something out? Try the HELP button!.

In order to convert your picture into an electronic file you must have a scanner.

Don’t have a scanner? You can get your photos scanned at stores such as Walgreens or Walmart or at photo retailers such as Ritz/Wolf Camera.

Here’s some basic scanning information. Because everyone’s scanners are different, we can only offer some general advice. Also consider consulting your scanning documentation or check out: http://genealogy.about.com/cs/digitalphoto/a/digital_photos.htm

- Type of scan: Select PHOTO

- Color Options: Choose COLOR (even if you are scanning black and white photographs). Our software will let you change the color to greyscale (black and white) but we can’t add color!

- Scan Resolution: Because we are sending information back and forth over the Internet, we need to work with manageable picture files. Resolutions set at 72 - 100 dpi (dots per inch) work great, but if you want to scan at a higher setting, that’s fine. Just be sure to create a copy of the picture and convert it to a lower resolution for our project. For archival purposes, do not crop your picture at this point of the process. You can always crop a copy later.

Confused? No worries! There are plenty of qualified companies that can help. Just bring them your pictures and they’ll create the necessary files for you to load on to your computer.

You can use your own photo editor to reduce the size of your file. Look for a command called "Image Size," "Resize," or "Resample."

If you don’t have access to photo editing software consider using a free online utility that will help you with the process. We like http://www.resize2mail.com/.

Be CAREFUL NOT TO OVERWRITE your original file! After you alter the image, be sure to do a Save As. Save the new image as a .JPG file.

Overview
This tool will help you adjust your photos so they'll fit each project!

Candle Box – need four (4) pictures
Family Faces – can prepare up to twenty (20) pictures
Gift Tags – need five (5) pictures
Puzzle Blocks – need six (6) pictures


How to Use this Tool
The photo displayed in the Photo Cutter window is either the first photo you added or the last photo you selected in the Add Photos Screen.

If you want to use a different photo that you've uploaded click on . To upload more photos click on the 'Back' button to go back to the Add Photos screen.

The first thing you'll want to do is adjust the size of the photo until it fills the window to your liking. Move the vertical slider up to decrease the size of the picture or move it down to increase it. If you have enlarged your picture to 300% and it still only covers a portion of the window, it’s probable that you have loaded a file that is smaller than 100k. Resize your picture to something in the recommended size range (100k – 500k) and try loading it again.

To move the photo around click and hold your left mouse button on the photo and drag it around. The grid lines (for the puzzle project) indicate the cutting path of the project. Try to position your picture so that important features do not fall on these lines.

If you see grey space in the window you can click on to switch to a color that complements the background of your picture.

The next thing you'll want to do is add some text to your project. (Option not available for Family Faces project.) Consider featuring the names and dates associated with each picture. Click on to add text. Click on to add a second line of text. You can move the text up and down on the grid by moving your mouse over the text. Click and drag relocate your text. Click on for various font options. displays the font color options.

Once you're satisified with your picture click on to save your photo.

Now that you've set up your photos it's time to print! To add photos for printing, select a photo by clicking on then click on to add the photo to the print list. Once you've added all of your photos click on the Print button. After you click on the Print button you should see a notice letting you know that an email has been sent to your address. The message should arrive in just a few minutes.

To print, click on the link or copy and paste the link from the email into your web browser. The page that comes up will ask for your email address and password. Once you've logged in you'll see your print out in the Adobe Acrobat Reader. At this point you can save, email it, or print it out.



Icons

Select a radio button for the desired color. Toggle Sepia for a reddish-brown color, Gray for Grayscale, or Original for the original photo color.


Changes the background color underneath your photo


Changes the grid color. The grid color is only meant as a tool to help you see the grid. The grid color will not print.


Changes the font color for both lines of text


Edits text for line 1.


Edits text for line 2.


Lets you select a different photo.


Saves your photo.


Adds the current photo to the page for printing.
Candle: Add up to four pictures
Family Faces: Add up to twenty pictures
Gift Tags: Add up to five pictures (You’ll get two tags of each picture.)
Puzzle: Add up to six pictures

It's time to add some photos to your project!
New Feature! You can now load up to 20 pictures to your account.

Click on Browse to find a photo then click on the Add Photo button.
Please note, photos will be removed after a period of 1 week.

Sending the Photo, please wait...

To delete a photo from your project, click on a thumbnail below and click on the delete button