Thursday, March 12, 2009

March Madness: Beach Versus Blue Grass

At Highlowaha finding and sharing creative ideas is a like a sport. We engage in rigorous daily workouts, stretching ourselves to think creatively, staying current about the latest high performing equipment - all the while preparing for the next main event. With such a deep team of accomplished athletes, Katie, Heather, Cheryl, and I knew Highlowaha was up for the challenge of creating our own March Madness.

Eight teams are competing over the next four weeks to see which has the most creative idea (resource, tip, recipe, etc...) from 2008. A team shares their first idea and then, if advancing on to the next round, shares their second, third, and fourth ideas until Monday, March 30 when we meet for the final showdown. On Monday, Iowa's Ready to Read Bags beat Florida's Snuggie Blanket.

Today the California Golden Girls meet the Derby City Darlings in Round 2.

Idea #1
Animoto
What better way to reminisce those unforgettable moments in life than through Animoto. Animoto.com is a website that allows you to be your own producer of a 30 second video. Users simply choose a song and memorable images. Animoto then automatically generates a unique video for them. No two videos are ever the same. The resulting video is produced in a widescreen format, containing the visual energy of a music video and the emotional impact of a movie trailer. If life is worth living, why not record it. Make a unique video like this one: http://animoto.com/play/ykHLVUSbFH2jRTs0K7gRyw

******OR*******

Idea #2
Photo Books from Shutterfly
Photo books from www.shutterfly.com : Simply by uploading your favorite photos to the Shutterfly website, and selecting from an array of backgrounds and layouts, you can create a wonderful gift for someone you love or for yourself! Photo books come in two sizes, a large “Memory Book” or a smaller “Story Book” to suit your needs. Faster - and possibly cheaper - than actual scrapbooking, the Photo Books are great for those who don’t have a lot of time (um, all of us!), or just feel like they are scrapbooking-challenged! Some people even take pictures of their children’s artwork to make a collage of their work, without having the clutter of all the papers. http://www.shutterfly.com/shop/Photo_Books/product_c18000

If American Idol can get an average of 32,000,000 votes each week, let's see what we can do. Post in the comment section letting us know... Video Clip or Photo Book?

Signing off until tomorrow...

57 comments:

Unknown said...

I vote Animoto!

Anonymous said...

The photo books are cool looking - they get my vote.

Peggy said...

I like them both...

make sure you click on the "see why" for Shutterfly... it takes you through the demo... as opposed to just looking at their advertisement first page...

Shutterfly! (but I didn't check out the cost)

Anonymous said...

Photo Book! I think I'm going to try an create one for my grandparent's 50th wedding anniversary.

Cheryl Houston said...

Okay. This is a tough one for me because I've used the Shutterfly books before but they can get pricey. I probably ordered mine before they got the smaller versions though.

I love my book but I have never seen Animoto so I went to check it out. Too cute!! You could use this as an invitation or an announcement.

I even created a Ray Video... http://animoto.com/play/IG07CKy6B7SBL7mFhKjJRg

I vote Animoto.

Claudia @ Highlowaha said...

Good morning, everyone. Another rainy and dreary day in Texas. Anyone want to share a ray of sunshine? I could use it.

I see we've had some early morning voters. Keep them coming.

Anonymous said...

I vote photo books! I am going to make one with all my cruise pictures from last week! My mom made one for my 21st birthday trip last year, and it turned out so cute! I love shutterfly!

Anonymous said...

I've always liked the shutterfly books but I just watched the Ray video and it is so fun so I'll have to go with Animoto.

lindsaymarie said...

i'm voting for the video. as far as i can tell from the website, it's free, and you could send it to a lot of people.

DJ said...

My vogte goes to the Shutterfly books - I think my family would enjoy those most.

Kat said...

I vote for Animoto. I loooove Shutterfly, but I like that Animoto is free!

Cheryl Houston said...

Subscribers!

Yay! I think we're back on track. You should have received an email in the last 12 minutes for todays post. Unfortunately it had the wrong subject title but hey, this is a work in progress. :) We'll get it right soon!

Laura K said...

I just got my latest Shutterfly book in the mail yesterday, and I've been showing it all around today - LOVE IT! I made this of a bunch of engagement pictures, and included 'text' pages for wedding guests to sign messages to the bride and groom on the wedding day, in lieu of a guestbook - so cute! My mom thinks it's the coolest thing ever, and all my coworkers are impressed - I will certainly do these again and again! Another vote for picture books!

Anonymous said...

I like being able to touch and feel something...

So Photobooks for me!!

(I will use the video, but Shutterfly gets the vote.)

Chaotic Kristi said...

photo books!

Katie said...

I vote for animoto! I am so excited to start using this website and its FREE, even better!!!!

No rays of sunshine over here, only an impending surgical removal of what is believed to be staph infection from my eyelid! Boo!

Ashley Benz said...

Definitely photo books!

Unknown said...

My vote goes to Aninoto, it's more fun and Free!

Unknown said...

Animoto- It's a free, easy and interactive way to share you memories! I like being able to create a video and send it to friends all over the place.

Claudia @ Highlowaha said...

Diane, Ashley, Patricia, Karina... welcome to Highlowaha! I'm not sure if you've been lurkers or if you are tuning in to support your favorite team. Whatever the reason, we are glad to have you.

Be sure to come back tomorrow and find out who won (and the next day and the next day and the next day). We are a fun group with lots going on.

As some of our readers like to say, we are the perfect break in your day!

Anonymous said...

I vote Animoto! I love how the music adds to the enjoyment of the photographs...also love that it's FREE!!

Jess said...

I vote Photobooks. I recently saw a couple done by friends. They document their entire year and end up with yearly photobooks instead of tons of digital photos on the computer or half done scrapbooks. I love, love, love it!

Cheryl Houston said...

If I just counted correctly we have a tie right now!! 9-9

Cheryl Houston said...

Oh- Jess posted just before me... Photobooks from Shutterfly just moved into the lead....10-9.

Cristine said...

Photo books -
Plus you can find great deals on them too. I got some for free or 50% off. For those of you using pampers gifts to grow - you can get photos & photo books free on that website.
Also, if you don't like Shutterfly - Snapfish does books with hard covers of your picture or logo. I did a Struble Suds one for Christmas.
PS - if you need coupon codes or discounts, send me an email more4momsbuck@gmail.com.

Jessica said...

My vote goes to Animoto. It looks like a really fun (and free!) way to share pictures :)

Anonymous said...

AS someone who feels scrapbooked challenged I would have to vote for Shutterfly. I'm also video challenged but for now I feel like shutterfly would do wonders for all my daughters keepsakes.

Shannon C said...

Wow this is a hard one because I like them both. But, since I've never heard of Animoto I'll vote for that one.

Unknown said...

I'm voting for Animoto!

Anonymous said...

I've used Shutterfly before but Animoto looks interesting. I vote Animoto.

Laura K said...

If you want to check out photos of my printed book, visit my blog: http://lkkphotos.blogspot.com/ Like I said, those books are awesome! Other vendors I would recommend: Blurb and MyPublisher...also planning to try out Walgreens, so I'll let you know how it turns out!

Cheryl Houston said...

Claudia- are you keeping count? I show Animoto in the lead 13-12.

Everyone! Go and check out the book Laura made! It is AWESOME!!!

Anonymous said...

Photo books! I made photo books for my parents and in-laws after our wedding, and they LOVED them! I'm going to try and make books periodically with pics of Lucian, too. A great way to display all those digital pics that sit on your computer. And they have tons of different templates for page layouts, so you can really personalize it.

Anonymous said...

We used animoto to send out our save the date info for our wedding. It was free too! My vote goes to animoto.

Brad & Tarrah said...

I vote for Animoto! It is a new idea & FREE! Also, you can send the link of your video to all of your friends through email!

Unknown said...

I vote for Animoto because it'fun site where you can maka an excellent picture slide show with music.

jrcakes said...

animotot

Anonymous said...

I vote for Animoto

Unknown said...

Animoto is really cool. I actually have a membership ($30)and can create longer videos-- to a whole song rather than just 30 seconds. If you take lots of pictures at friends weddings like I do, it is a great suprise for the couple the next day. My friends have loved it!

Anonymous said...

My wife loves animoto...she makes a video for each of our trips. It has been easier to share with our family and friends. So...animoto has my vote.

Anonymous said...

I vote Animoto

Anonymous said...

I vote Animoto!!! Go Kari... luv Vane!

Anonymous said...

I vote for Animoto.

Anonymous said...

Another vote for Animoto!!!!! :)

Anonymous said...

I vote Animoto

Anonymous said...

I vote for Animoto

Unknown said...

I have been using Shutterfly for a while but Animoto is free and new.

Anonymous said...

"animoto"

Jadyn Ngo said...

I vote Animoto.

Claudia @ Highlowaha said...

Wow!!!! Did the west coast just wake up?

Animoto is in the lead! Voting closes at 7:00 CST. Twenty more minutes.

Unknown said...

Sorry we've been out getting a tan since it is beautiful in CA today ..in the 70s.

Claudia @ Highlowaha said...

Way to rub it in, Wendy. Dallas... 44 degrees and overcast!

Unknown said...

Actually we've had rain for the last three weeks so it is nice that there is finally sunshine again...I was beginning to have "cabin fever."

Anonymous said...

I vote Animoto!

Anonymous said...

shutterfly

Anonymous said...

I love the shutterfly books for abc books

Anonymous said...

I vote Animoto as well!!