Crafting With My HP Envy: Part One #IntelTablets

When Intel offered to send me an HP Envy 15 M6, I was excited but nervous.  I have never owned a PC.  I learned to use a computer by using a Mac and I've never owned anything other than Macs.  The few times I've had to use a PC I've felt awkward and confused.  But I like exploring new technology, so I figured I'd give it a go.

When the box arrived in the mail, I opened it up and started to set up the computer.  I'll even admit that I didn't read the Quick Start Guide.  I simply plugged it in and started pushing buttons!  It was super duper easy.  There are on screen prompts that guide you through the whole thing.

The computer came pre-loaded with Windows 10, which I found to be fairly intuitive.  So far, it works very much like my Mac operating system.  There were only two things I had to look up:

1. Keyboard shortcuts.  I'm used to using the "command" key on my Mac.  I discovered that on my new PC it's the "control" key.
2. What's the difference between a right click and a left click?  I have always had a single click mouse, but my new PC's trackpad has right and left clicking.  Turns out that right clicking is a pretty cool feature.  It allows you to bring up a menu of choices instead of simply completing a pre-determined task.

So what to do with this new PC?  Well, I did the very first thing that came to mind: I loaded some artsy software that is PC-only.  I loaded Kaleidoscope Kreator 3 onto my HP Envy.  

Downloading the software was easy to do and I had no trouble installing and opening it.  Then I took this very basic doodle...

...scanned it into my computer and uploaded it into the kaleidoscope software.  

Using the Kaleidoscope Kreator software, I was able to transform the doodle into a variety of snowflakes/doily designs.  The touchscreen made it super easy to resize and rotate and get the exact results I wanted.

That's right, I said touchscreen!  This may look like an ordinary laptop, but it's not!  So cool to be able to edit my images right on the screen with my finger!  

After I created the kaleidoscope images I wanted, I cut them out with my ScanNCut.

Getting a little bit braver, I took some of the snowflakes I generated and added a few extra bridges and dots to create more intricate designs, which I also cut out with my ScanNCut.

I even cut some out of plastic to create these super fab earrings!

So many crafty possibilities with a world of artsy PC-only software now open to me!  I can't wait to explore what else I can do with my new HP Envy! 

Any of you PC users out there have tips or suggestions?

Thanks for stopping by!

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