Scrapbooking is my money pit. My mad money can quickly go from substantial to nothing when there’s a 6/.96 sale on paper at JoAnn’s or a half off clearance at my local scrap shop! It’s an addiction, but I can quit at any time, really I can. I don’t need to scrapbook; 
I do it because I want to. Does that sound like an addict? I wonder if they have 12-step programs for scrapbookers. I do try to be financially responsible in my scrapbooking, finding frugal ways to cut costs. I love free scrapbook-related things, whether they’re the Disney paint cards at Home Depot or a free sample of ribbon at the sewing shop.
So I was happy to find that Scrapbook Flair has free downloadable software available. You’ll need to register at their site, but there’s no charge or financial information needed. You can get everything on CD for a shipping charge of $4.95, but I’d rather download for free and spend the money on yet more paper! The software comes with templates, design ideas, backgrounds, and digital embellishments. For free.
I’ve never done digital scrapbooking until half an hour ago, though I love to look at some of the incredible layouts others who are more creative than I have come up with. This software is pretty easy to use, though. It’s almost like layers in Photoshop. For me, the best part of it is all the design ideas that come in the software. Most are on the simple side, awaiting embellishments. None look like they’d be too hard for me to copy. 
The templates are set up so you just double-click and add your own photos. It almost seems like cheating… almost! The one on this page took about ten minutes from start to finish. Hmmm… I could get used to that! Typically it’s an hour or more per page when done by hand. Anything that gives me more time is valuable … even if it’s free!
Link to Scrapbook Flair Free Downloads