I poked around with My Digital Studio on Sunday because I had opened my (big) mouth at a meeting saying “Oh, I can do that for you.”
My Digital Studio, aka MDS, left us, along with many other retiring products, when the 2014-2015 catalog retired. I was one of the many who were rather devastated. I used it in spurts for so many random purposes. Before it was GONE I made sure to purchase and download any images, punches, etc. I thought I might need in the future. I also went through all of the videos on the MDS.net website (because I knew I couldn’t do many tasks without notes) and took copious “notes-for-dummies”. I wanted to have step-by-step instructions to do what I wanted to do when I wanted to do it.
I discovered that there are many YouTube videos available as well. So…..fear not. We can still use it. I understand that as we, the users, update Java on our computers, we will gradually be unable to use MDS in its original form. That’s where My Memories comes in. My Memories is the company that hosted and helped to formulate our My Digital Studio. I haven’t used it yet but I know it’s out there for us. I’ll share more information about My Memories when I have it!
All that being said, I made some “bands” to go on paper-plate-spray-painted-fire helmets that kids will decorate and wear at our Mi Wuk Sugar Pine Fire Department‘s upcoming Family Fire Fest. The Family Fire Fest is a national event to inform parents, kids and families about fire safety, with a special day set aside annually on the Saturday following October 9th each year. October 9th is the date of the Great Chicago Fire which was the catapult for this annual commemoration and teaching opportunity.
This isn’t the most exciting ‘finished product’ you’ll ever see, but it does exactly what I need it to do: make it easy to print and cut out a bunch of word strips. With the aid of my ‘cheat sheet notes’ I was able to lay out my words on a curved line, group them and then copy/paste and rotate as needed to get as many images as possible on one sheet of printer paper.
Next step is to print multiple copies and cut them out so that the kids who are working on their craft projects at the Family Fire Fest can color and attach them to their paper plate ‘helmets’. I’ll have a finished photo after the event this coming Saturday.
If you are interested in the My Digital Studio notes I compiled, feel free to ask and I’ll share them with you. And remember, you can also find lots of tips on You Tube.
