Designer Tip brought to you by LLL Creations!

~~Creating  clusters for future use~~

Many people love to use clustering in their layouts.  Sometimes you can spend a lot of time making them and when you get it 'just right' it's a proud moment.

But did you know you can actually saves these clusters for future use?

I'm going to show you how.

The best way to do this is to start with a blank page in My Memories Suite.  (If it's a cluster you would love to save on an existing page you've already made I will explain that later.)

#1 - Open My Memories and select the page size you normally use.  I use 12x12 for my scrapping so my examples will be in that size.

#2 - Start creating your cluster on a blank page.  Play around with your layers until you get your cluster the way you like it.

I suggest after you have all your items where you want them that you shadow each embellishment next.

#3 - When you are done shadowing and you have everything where you want it, use your cursor and draw a box around all of the items to select them all.

(When you let go of your cursor, they will all be selected).  Now go to 'Arrange' and then 'Group'.  Your cluster is now grouped as one piece and you can move it around your page as one embellishment.

Ok, now time to save it for future use!

#4 - Now you want to go to 'Share' and then 'Export'.  On the screen that pops up choose PNG file type.  Make sure you change the options for 'Pages Included' to only include the page with the grouped cluster you want to save.  Also you can change the location you would like to save your cluster.  (Maybe create a folder on your desktop to save them in?)
After you have those selections finished just click the 'Export' button.  Voila!.  You now have a merged cluster that you can reuse instead of redoing!

Note:
- If you use a graphics program you can now go and crop it down so you don't have all the extra space around the edge.  If not, that's ok, it will still work!

- Also don't forget, these merged clusters are only to be used for your personal use or as stated by the designers TOU for the kit used which in most cases is PU only.

Now when you want to add that cluster to an existing page you are working on in My Memories Suite, just click on 'Embellishments', 'Add' and click the 'Browse' button on the bottom left.  Find the folder where you are saving your clusters and bring it into your page.

If you have clusters you've made on existing pages that you would like to save, there are a few ways of doing it.

#1 - You could 'duplicate the page' and delete all the other items on the page that you don't want in your cluster.  You now can go to step #3 above.

(After you save your cluster you can delete the duplicated page from your book.)

or

#2 - Select one at a time all of the items you want in your cluster while holding down the 'ctrl' key on your keyboard.  When everything is selected go to 'Arrange' and then 'Group'.  You can now copy that group of items onto a blank page and go to step #4 above.  (It's a little harder this way if there are many layers of items in your cluster)

So start saving your clusters and save yourself some time scrapbooking!

The flowers used in this example are from my newest collection called 'Floral Infinity'.  Come see the kit, the add-on packs, the bundle and the photo books using the entire kit.  On sale too!

If you liked this tip, feel free to comment or come over to my facebook page and tell me!  Or better yet, show me a layout you did trying this tip!

LLL Creations at My Memories:

http://www.mymemories.com/store/designers/LLL_Creations

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https://www.facebook.com/LLLCreations