Shutterfly iPhone 5c Case

Here I am with another review of a Shutterfly iPhone case. This case was for me, and I have a iPhone 5c.  I started at the Custom iPhone Cases page.

From there, I selected my 5c phone model and Slim Case with Liner. For the scientist I went with the Slim Case only option, but I wanted more protection for my phone, and I also wanted to see for myself how it was different. With those choices, only a Glossy finish is available.

I chose the Gallery of Four iPhone Case.

You actually have several customization options for this case. It wasn't until I was customizing my 3rd phone case that I truly understood all the options available.

In the Options Tab you can change your Phone model and whether you want a liner or just the slim case. I believe that if you purchase the Case with Liner, you must use the liner. The case will not fit without the liner. Note: there is a text box available in addition to the photos. You can leave this blank if you don't want text. You will get a warning that you can ignore when the case is added to your cart.

In the Backgrounds Tab you can change the background color of the design. In this case, that means you can change the color of the lines between the photos. In the screen shot I changed the background to red.

In the Layouts Tab you can actually choose different numbers and orientations of photos.

I stayed with the 4 photo option and a white background color. Here are front and back views.

Here is a picture of the liner. It reminded me of silicone bake ware, but not as soft to the touch. As far as I can tell, Shutterfly only offers a dark liner. I would actually call it a very dark gray, not true black. I had to slip the liner on my phone first, and then add the slim case as a second step.

Here are the slim case, the liner, and the phone all side by side.

The side with the volume buttons and the opening for the camera. The volume buttons are covered by the liner, but there are little bumps for your fingers to feel.

The bottom with the power connector.

The top with the power button. Like the volume buttons, it is covered by the liner and has a raised edge for your finger to feel.

I was quite happy with my phone case. I have dropped it at least once on my kitchen tile floor, and there was no damage. I couldn't even see any mark.

When my son saw my phone case, he wanted one too. He selected the same design as me. When his arrived, I was a little disappointed that the picture of me at the top was kind of cut off - my face fell too high on contoured edge of the case. I thought I had place the photo carefully, so I investigated further.

With our two phones placed side by side, I saw that the design is shifted upwards on his phone, no doubt contributing to that top photo moving up into the bend of the case.

So then I went back into my Shutterfly Projects to compare to the preview images in their online ordering system.

It actually looks like the white lines in my phone were shifted DOWN compared to the preview image. Miller's white lines are closer to the preview, but the image seems enlarged or something, causing my face to be higher.

But overall the Preview image matches the end product fairly well. It is that top photo that seems most sensitive to the alignment issues, so I suggest using a photo there that has a bit more of a wide angle view and won't be hurt by vertical shift.

There was one more thing I wanted to say. I pre-read some of the reviews before I ordered the 5c case. One of the reviews complained that, although the phone case was beautiful, the Glossy finish was very slippery, causing the customer to drop her phone more often. I was intrigued by that review as it suggested the case was causing more harm than good. Here is my take on it: Yes, the Glossy case is somewhat slippery, but I don't think it is any more slippery than the plastic case of the 5c itself. For me it was a non issue because I was used to holding the phone, with its slippery surface, already. But for someone who is used to a phone or a case that has a more grippy surface, the Glossy might indeed feel very slippery.

Well, those are all the phone cases I plan to purchase for a while. I think they are really fun. Even sorting through your photos to pick your favorites is fun, although it can be hard to narrow it down.

Thanks for stopping by!

Shutterfly iPhone 6 Case

For Father's Day, I got the scientist a case for his iPhone 6. For a long time he has insisted he didn't want a case for it. And at his work, I've seen lots of people using their iPhones without cases. But the case I saw on Shutterfly looked pretty slim, so I took a chance and customized one for him.

I chose for him the Collage Squares case. Here is the screen shot.

The options I chose were the Slim Case (no liner) and Matte finish.

Here are pictures of the scientist's phone. He had been using it for about 2 months when I took these pictures. The surface is smooth but not shiny at all.

The side with the volume buttons:

The other side with the power button:

The bottom with the power connection:

The top with no buttons:

If you want to order an iPhone case from Shutterfly, I suggest taking your time and clicking all the buttons. Different phone cases are available for some phone models but not others. If an option is not available it is grayed out on the screen. But that might lead you to believe the options are more limited than they really are.

For example, here is the same screen shot as above. It is the Collage Squares case, for iPhone 6, Slim Case, Matte. Notice that the iPhone 5c option is grayed out. That lead me to believe that this case design was not available for the 5c when I later ordered the case for my phone.

However, if I had just selected Glossy instead of Matte, look what happens. This design is available for the 5c, it just has to be Glossy. If I had known that, I probably would have picked this design instead of the one that I ultimately chose.

If you are customizing your own phone case, I suggest starting from the main Custom iPhone Cases page, and selecting your phone model. It will narrow down the choices for what covers are available for your phone.

So, how does the scientist like his phone case? He misses the slimmer feeling of the phone by itself, but he likes looking at the little pictures. He thinks the case does protect a little against bumps and scrapes, and the little lip on the edge probably protects the glass just a little. He was extremely happy I ordered him the Matte finish and not the Glossy.

I'll write again soon and share the case I got for my 5c. I chose a different case design WITH the liner, and the Glossy finish, so there is lots to compare. I will also speak to some of the customization options (like background color and different photo layouts) that some cases have. This Collage Squares case just did not have those customization options.

Thanks for stopping by.

Shutterfly Magnets

I feel like blogging again. Blogging is seasonal, I think, for a lot of bloggers. Sometimes you feel like doing it, and sometimes you don't. Something just popped into my head: Sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don't. I think it has something to do with candy bars. Anyway....

I've ordered quite a few little 8x8 inch photo books from Shutterfly. They are nice, and I've shared some of them here on my blog. I'm constantly getting Shutterfly coupons. Sometimes I use them, sometimes I don't.

One of the things I got a coupon for was a free magnet. I selected the Photo Gallery Set of 4 2x2 Magnet. Here is a screen shot of the page:

I was a little surprised when I got the magnets. I was expecting something hard and solid, like acrylic. I don't think the description makes it clear, and I didn't read any reviews when I ordered, but these are flat flexible magnets. Like the kind that a restaurant might give out with their phone number on it. They appear to be made of a printed paper that has been bonded to the magnet sheet.

They come on a single sheet with the images in the four corners. A cutting machine has stamped the cut lines around each individual image, and you have to tear them apart.

I found myself quite pleased with these little magnets, and when another coupon came my way, I ordered another set. So now I have eight little 2x2 inch magnets. I think I want to cover a large portion of my fridge in them.

They aren't the best print quality, but that is fine for me. They stick to the fridge very well, and I've found that in trying to reposition them, there are places where my fingernail caught on the printed paper layer of the magnet and started to peel it up.

On my first set, the cutting machine was misaligned at one corner, so that magnet has a funny cut in it.

Here is one more close up.

I enjoy looking at these magnets on my fridge. I plan to get more. The $14.99 price (+shipping) seems a little high to me, so I will probably continue to take advantage of coupons and maybe add some magnets on to other orders that I happen to be making.

One of the things I love about Shutterfly is that you can save coupon codes in your account. They are sorted by expiration date, and when you place an order, their cart will automatically apply the appropriate coupon. And I think you can usually combine a coupon if they also have a sale going on.

I have also ordered some custom iPhone cases from Shutterfly, so look for reviews for those in the coming weeks. Thanks for stopping by.



UPDATE. I ordered some more magnets, and wanted to add a note here. The Photo Gallery Set of 4 2x2 Magnets gives you the option of adding a line of text on each magnet.

On all of the magnets I ordered, I simply left the text area blank because I didn't want any text. When I Previewed the magnets before ordering, they looked exactly as I wanted - no text, and the text box was invisible.

Once the Magnets were placed in the Cart, I received an error message because I had left the text boxes blank. I just hit "Ignore" and everything turned out fine.

Jane Eyre Times Four

I recently got lured back to Netflix with their offer to take another free month trial. I found that they have several Jane Eyre movies available in their streaming service. Miller and I watched three of them over the course of a week while the scientist was away. By now, I'm sure Miller wishes he'd never heard of Mr. Rochester.

I originally discovered Jane Eyre through the PBS Masterpiece version that I'll post at the end of this list. I read the book back when Miller was a baby, and I enjoyed it. Jane had a lot of bad things happen to her, and she was often treated unfairly. But she always remained a kind and forgiving person, and she never compromised her morals. She never came across to me as a very religious person, and yet she always conducted herself in a very Godly manner. I've always thought that she simply saw the value in doing things God's way, from a logical analysis of it. I find that refreshing.

This was the first Netflix Jane Eyre I watched:

It was made in 1996 and is 116 minutes long. I didn't particularly like this one. It was unmemorable. In fact, I abandoned it about 3/4 through. Later, though, I went back and watched the end.  This Jane was a bit too un-animated for my taste, and Mr. Rochester was a bit too mean and rude. I felt their affection for each other was not believable. And there were some serious plot changes that really bothered me, particularly in the third section of the story. They completely changed the Saint John character and wove him in to the story in a different way. Dumb!

This was the second Netflix Jane Eyre I watched:

It was made in 2011 and is 121 minutes long. Again, this Jane seems to go through life in some kind of comatose state showing little emotion. I don't like that. Her falling in love with Mr. Rochester just wasn't believable. However, I did enjoy some of the conversations between the two of them. This Mr. Rochester was again very rude, but you definitely get a sense of him being intrigued by Jane, if not actually loving her. Again, they changed the Saint John part of the story. That seems to be a commonality in shorter enactments of the story: to leave out large sections of the third part. The ending of this movie was absurdly abrupt (WHAT? That's the end??), with no sense of how their lives play out.

Edit: I re-watched this one, and realized that the Saint-John character was actually pretty faithful to the book - they just rearranged and put his part of the story at the beginning (!)

Here was the third Netflix Jane Eyre I watched.

This one was from 1983 and is a series with 11 half-hour episodes. I definitely prefer the series or mini series format, as they can include much more of the story and stay more faithful to the text. This Jane Eyre was a lot more lively than the previous two. I liked that, but it seemed to go a little too far - she was downright bubbly at times. This version would be my second favorite, although it did seem long. And I also have to say it felt very dated.

And finally, my favorite version of Jane Eyre, which I also recently watched again, but not on Netflix:

This one is a 2-part mini series from 2006. It is about 4 hours long. This one is pretty faithful to the book and includes much of the third part of the story. Mr. Rochester is severe but also endearing. Jane is reserved but shows emotion. Their developing love is believable. I really love this version. It is my favorite, and I have watched it many times, and I will watch it many more times I'm sure.

It was really interesting to watch so many versions back to back - to see the things they had in common and which things were different. I am reading the book again right now. I'm almost to the wedding. I like the book because it is told in first person, so you have a sense that eventually everything is going to work out for Jane.

This might sound like a strange comparison, but I've always thought that Sookie Stackhouse was a modern (if urban fantastical) version of Jane Eyre. They were both orphans, both different from their peers and often treated unkindly. Yet both were good people who always did what they thought was right, even knowing that doing so would cause them pain and trouble. And in the end they are both rewarded in the lives they lead. Just what I like in a good read.

Under Water

Earlier in the summer I made a spontaneous new camera purchase. I have been wanting a waterproof camera for the last couple years. When I saw Costco had one with a discount I went right out and got it. Actually, my local Costco was sold out (so bummed was I!), but it was still available online (Yay!). I got the Fujifilm FinePix XP70 in orange. Miller picked the color.

It is so fun! It was probably the most fun I had with a camera right out of the box. It has some fun photo effects filters, like fish eye and miniature (tilt-shift effect), but I've only played with those a little. Miller and I have had a blast taking under water pictures and pictures of splashing into the water. I even figured out how to upload the photos to my iPad over the camera's Wi-fi signal. Major technology leap for me there.

Here are some scrapbook pages I made with photos taken with this camera.

Long Blocks Templates by Scrapping with Liz; Summerific Papers and Elements,
Hei Hei Elements, Button It, Punchfetti No. 5, and Juan Carlos and Fifi by creashens

And a series of pages from one of our days at the lake.

Sweet Summer Basics by Laurie Ann; Sun Kissed by Stolen Moments; Sizzling Summer by Little Butterfly
Wings; Free to Be by Valorie Wibbens; Glitter Papers by Two Shutter Sisters; Season Templates
and Daily Life Templates 7 by Scrapping with Liz

Sweet Summer Basics by Laurie Ann; Sun Kissed by Stolen Moments; Belvedere by Pink Reptile Designs
July Template by Amy Martin; Glitter Papers by Two Shutter Sisters; Bare Necessities Frames 1 by creashens
Fun Fold Overlays by Scrapping with Liz

Sun Kissed by Stolen Moments; Free to Be by Valorie Wibbens; Seeing Clearly Alpha (brackets) by Etc. by
Danyale; Daily Life Templates 7 by Scrapping with Liz

Sun Kissed by Stolen Moments; Free to Be by Valorie Wibbens; Seeing Clearly Alpha (brackets) by Etc. by
Danyale; Daily Life Templates 7 by Scrapping with Liz

Sweet Summer Basics by Laurie Ann; Belvedere by Pink Reptile Designs; Free to Be by Valorie Wibbens;
One of a Kind by Little Butterfly Wings; Glitter Papers by Two Shutter Sisters; Daily Life Templates 3
by Scrapping with Liz

I love my little water proof camera! Thanks for stopping by.

Scrapbooks for Christmas Part 2

I'm back with Miller's second Christmas scrapbook. I also wanted to say a few more words about printing with Shutterfly.

I really like how the Shutterfly shopping cart works. Specifically, their cart lets you combine offers! For instance, I had a coupon code for a free 20-page book. I made my book with 28 pages, so I had to pay the extra $8 for those pages. But they were running a 40% summer sale (I believe it was with a Coupon Code), so I got 40% off of those additional 8 pages. The cart accepted multiple Coupon Codes. I like carts like that. (There are some restrictions, though.  I think I tried to apply a free shipping code once, and it didn't let me do that with the other coupon I had.)

Another time they were running a 25% sale (no Coupon Code required). Again, I got the 25% discount on the extra pages, on top of the free book.

Also, I like how the credit card field was formatted - putting in the dashes between each 4 digits. It makes it really easy to double check that you entered your number correctly. For some reason, I'm always worried I will put the number in wrong.

Now, back to that book I made for Miller. For the cover I chose one of the layouts I made for The Lilypad Month of Challenges. The challenge was to make a photo summary of the year, so it makes a perfect cover.

An unimaginative, and yet quite adequate, title on the spine. Brought to you by Bob the cat.

And here are some of my favorite pages.

The back cover. This was another layout from the Month of Challenges. The page was about my most favorite picture I took all year long, so that made a great page to put on the back.

At this moment, I'm not planning to make Miller any more scrapbooks for Christmas. But maybe some for the grandparents. If I do, I'll be sure to share them. Thanks for stopping by!