This Friday, we’d like to show you how you can use Skitch to create a quick note to send the mother, grandmother, wife, or girlfriend in your life to let her know you’re thinking of her — and not just on Mother’s Day. After all, she should be celebrated every day!

The hardest part of creating the card is picking a photo. Once you’ve taken one with Skitch or you’ve opened another photo you like in Skitch, just use the pen tool or text to write your message for Mom. Skitch’s tools are so simple, you can easily get the kids involved in signing the card, too!

After you’ve added your personal touch to the image, sharing it is a cinch. Just tap the share button in the corner to share a link with her, post it to Facebook or Twitter, or send it in an email. In just a few short minutes, you can create an adorable card that communicates just how much Mom means to you.

If you’re looking for even more ideas to make this Mother’s Day special, check out our tips for planning the Perfect Mother’s Day brunch. How are you using Evernote and Skitch to plan Mother’s Day this year?

If you or someone in a key role were to take a sick day or a vacation, would someone else be ready to pick up the slack? Would a new hire be able to learn a specific task without you sitting next to them and walking them through it? Or what if you just want to save yourself the headache of remembering a lengthy process the next time you need to get it done?

Documenting important tasks that keep your business moving forward is a great practice for professionals, whether you work on a team or are trying to be a more productive individual. Keeping notes about your workflow makes it a lot easier to remember how to do things, share your tasks with others, and make sure that everyone understands what needs to be done and exactly how to do it. It also makes things a lot easier when the unexpected occurs – when your processes are written down, someone else can easily fill-in.

Here are a few ways I use Evernote, Skitch, and Clarify to help me document different kinds of workflows:

Documenting Simple Procedures

Evernote is a great place to keep non-screen-based workflows written down, such as procedures for follow-up phone calls to clients, or steps on the computer that don’t need detailed explanation, like sending an email. For these types of workflows, I use the checkbox and numbered list features to outline specific steps, then add text to further explain items, if needed.

Documenting Complicated Workflows

For any workflow where someone needs to complete detailed actions on a computer, pictures are always better than words. The idea behind documenting your processes and workflow is to save time; using a combination of text and images can help minimize confusion so that others are able to complete the correct steps quickly and efficiently. There are two ways I’d recommend documenting this type of workflow:

Skitch + Evernote

Skitch lets you grab a screenshot, annotate it, and send it directly to Evernote for a simple way to document, store, and share simple screen-based processes. It’s often hard to remember exactly what every screen in every application does or what every icon means. Instead of struggling to figure it out each time, you can take a screenshot and use Skitch to highlight all the details you need. And, if you store it in Evernote, all your notes on the process will be available to you or a teammate with a simple search. The combination of Skitch + Evernote is great for documenting a single screen or a single step in detail.

Clarify + Evernote

Clarify (available in the Evernote Trunk) is a great tool for documenting multi-step workflows on your computer. With Clarify, you can take multiple screenshots, annotate each one, organize them into a series of steps, and add additional text to further explain each step. Once you’ve created the entire workflow document, you can save it directly to your Evernote account for collaboration or sharing. A good example of when you might want to use Clarify is in explaining how to send out an email newsletter, which usually involves a number of critical steps.

Once you’ve documented your processes you can then store them in a Shared Notebook, then set view, modify and share permissions for each person your share the notebook with.

Or, if you’re using Evernote Business, add them to a notebook in your Business Library so that anyone you work with can access them when needed. In my business, I’ve created notes for using our CRM tool, accounting software, and even how to post an item to our blog at www.CustomLivingSolutions.com - each of these processes has many steps and would be hard to explain with just words!

Don’t forget to check out my new book, Evernote @ Work! It’s available in the Trunk, and it’s loaded with ways you can use Evernote in your daily work to make things easier, more effective, more collaborative, and more productive for you and your company.

Do you use Evernote as part of your daily workflow? Tell us about it in the comments!

Get Skitch for Mac
Get Skitch for iPhone and iPad

PDF Annotation

Starting to use the new PDF features is as simple as you’d expect. Open a single or multi-page PDF in Skitch or drag it right onto the app. Then, annotate it with shapes, arrows and text. Point out items that need a change, use the Highlighter to draw attention to important sections and add text to give your recipient instructions on next steps. Navigate to any part of the PDF using the new drawer along the edge of the app. Once you’re done, share the document back. This is where the real magic begins.

The Skitch Summary

There’s a real sense of satisfaction that comes from knowing that the people you’re working with fully understand your thoughts. When you share an annotated multi-page PDF, Skitch lets you add a new first page to that document. This page is made up of previews of each piece of feedback contained in the PDF. Click on one and you’re taken to the annotation. This summary makes it a snap for your recipient to scan over all of your feedback, understand it, and take action without needing to go beyond the first page.

As anyone that’s found themselves on the receiving end of feedback knows, it’s always incredibly helpful to get a sense of your reader’s thought and how many changes they’re looking for before diving in. That’s the second part of the Skitch Summary. When you email an annotated PDF to someone or create a public link, the viewer will first see a display of the quantity and type of annotations in the document.

Sharing the PDF

Sharing a Skitch Summary couldn’t be easier. You can include a summary when you choose to email your PDF with the share button. In addition, on Skitch for Mac you can attach a summary when exporting or by selecting PDF with Summary in the Drag Me bar, then dragging it straight onto your desktop or into other apps. It’s that easy to share rich, detailed feedback on PDF documents.

Evernote Premium

Anyone with an Evernote account gets complimentary access to a 30-day preview of PDF annotation and the Skitch Summary. It’s easy to create an Evernote account and get started using PDF annotation. Evernote Premium users get full access to these features. Upgrade to Evernote Premium »

Fast Feedback with new Stamps

Stamps are an all-new annotation tool in Skitch 2.5 that lets you communicate your ideas incredibly quickly with simple shapes that stand out. Place a stamp to quickly indicate that you like something, hate it, or need a deeper explanation. When it’s perfect, stamp it with a Skitch heart.

After you place each stamp, you can also add a little more detail to your feedback with a pointer and a label. To add a pointer to any stamp, just click or tap on the (+). The pointer will display, and you can now move the blue dot to position it anywhere around the Stamp. Adding labels to stamps is as simple as clicking the “a” symbol. Each stamp comes with a standard label, but if you’d like to change it, just start typing your own text (only a few words).

Plain text options

Skitch’s text annotations have always boldly stood out from the background. Now, in addition to our annotation text, Skitch has a Plain Text styling so you can keep it simple while filling out forms and other online documents.

To switch to Plain Text, compose your annotation as you normally would by clicking or tapping on the “a” icon in the sidebar and typing. Then, when you select the text box a second time, a toggle will appear that allows you to switch to Plain Text. You can also switch to Plain Text in the style menu at any time.

One thing to note is that we don’t include a Skitch Summary by default when you use Plain Text -this is because we expect that you will most often use the feature to fill out forms. If you would still like to include a summary, be sure to choose this option when you are sharing the PDF.

Handy Resources

The first time you open the app, you’ll notice new Tool Tips popping into your Skitch window, providing more information about new features in this version. The tips also contain links to our Product Guide in case you would like to learn more about these features, or any other feature in Skitch.

Get Skitch for Mac
Get Skitch for iPhone and iPad

And Much More

In addition to all the great new features listed above, we’ve made a ton of improvements to each of the apps to help them run more smoothly top to bottom. Skitch 2.5 is available today in the Mac App Store and iTunes. Try it and let us know what you think!

Document any damage

One of the best ways to cover all your bases is with photographic evidence. Snap a photo in Skitch, then mark it up to point out exactly what you’d like the insurance company to notice about the scene.

Keep track of important information

Getting all the information in order surrounding an insurance claim is critical to getting a fair appraisal. Make sure you never lose any important documents by keeping them all in Evernote. Even if you’ve handwritten notes about the incident in a hurry, you can snap a photo and sync it to Evernote so you’ll always have it available.

Map it out

Skitch can help you make a simple, clear map to show where the incident occurred and describe what happened. Just capture the map with Skitch on your mobile device, mark it up, then sync it with Evernote.

Skitch and Evernote are a great team for making sense out of complicated processes. How are you using Skitch and Evernote to capture and keep everything organized? Share your story in the comments below!

Organize Your Ideas and Inspiration

Snap pictures of flowers or the layout of other gardens that you want to try to replicate, then use arrows, shapes and text to show what you like in the photos. Because your Skitch images now go through the Evernote service you can search for text in these photos, making it easier to remember what ideas inspired you when you get ready to start the real work.

Plan Your Space

Skitch has the tools you need to create a simple plan for your garden so you can avoid buying plants that you don’t have room for. Take a photo of the spot you’ll be working with, then use shapes, text, and marker tool to help you build your plan with information including measurements or notes on sunlight. Make the most of a sunny space on your windowsill, or put together some garden boxes in the backyard — whatever space you want to devote to your spring garden project, Skitch can help you use it efficiently.

Identify Problems and Find Solutions

Don’t let a mystery pest get you down. Take a photo and point out the problem in Skitch so that when you head to a nursery or garden center you can be sure to get the help you need. Skitch makes it easy to point out the issue you’re concerned about with arrows and shapes on your mobile device, so you’ll have access to it wherever you go to get gardening advice.

Work with a Team

Some gardening projects are just too big for one person to handle on their own. When you need to bring in reinforcements to get the job done, start it off on the right foot with Skitch. Mark up the areas you’d like help with in Skitch and share it with your team. Whether you’ve got friends or family helping you out or you’ve hired professionals, providing detailed images of what you want will save everyone time and make sure your planting turns out perfectly.

Follow Along on the Blog & Connect with Us

Want more great spring tips from Evernote? Follow along with Spring Made Simple by searching for the tag Spring Made Simple on the blog, and all the great spring content we’ve got in store this season will populate. Each week we’ll be adding a number of special tips to kick your spring cleaning into high gear from our Ambassadors, delicious and easy Evernote Food recipes from notable chefs and restaurateurs, and tons more! You won’t want to miss out.

Do you have any great spring tips, ideas and recipes to share? Post your favorite spring cleaning tips, connect with others tackling new projects or just join the conversation on Twitter and Facebook. Follow @evernotelife and use the hashtag #evernotelife on Twitter throughout the spring season, and Like us on Facebook.

Get Skitch for Windows Desktop »

Improved Look and Feel

The new Skitch design is clean and streamlined to showcase your images and the tools you need to annotate them. The Capture menu is front-and-center, which makes snapping your screen or adding content fast and easy. To the left of the Capture menu there are new Undo/Redo buttons, which simplify editing your annotations. Overall, you’ll notice that the new friendly design and simple layout helps you focus on your content.

Sharing

Another major enhancement to the app is the Sharing features. With this update, if you have an Evernote account, you can share links to your Skitch images via email, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook directly from the app. Just sign into your Evernote account, then choose your preferred method from the Share menu. That’s it.

Better Performance

Skitch 2.0 for Windows Desktop is also noticeably snappier and more stable than previous versions. Give it a try, we think you’ll really enjoy the update. Let us know what you think in the comments below!

Availability

This update is available today from our site. Our Windows Store version should be available in the next few days.

Get Skitch for Windows Desktop »

Get Skitch from iTunes »

Intuitive Text Editor

Adding text to your Skitch images is remarkably fast with our new text editor. Letters appear smoothly on the canvas as you type them, allowing you to see exactly how your text fits with the image.

Adding more annotations to your images or changing your text is now faster too. If you’d like to adjust the size of the text you just typed, tap on it and drag the corner to make it as small or large as you want. To edit text, tap on the text box again and start typing. After you’re done typing, tap anywhere on the canvas to close the keyboard and move on to your next markup. With fewer steps to create text annotations, Skitch’s new text editor makes it even easier to get your point across.

All-Around Improvements

Everything about the new Skitch 2.0.3 performs better, with numerous fixes that make the app noticeably quicker and more stable. We love using the newest Skitch iOS update for fast communication here at Evernote, and we hope you will love it too. Let us know what you think in the comments below!

Get Skitch from iTunes »

Designing Evernote Business:

Launching Evernote Business involved a tremendous amount of work from a large, diverse group of people. We launched the product in a number of languages and across platforms, so we pulled in folks from throughout the company to make using Evernote Business a great experience. Evernote set an ambitious goal to launch the service by the end of 2012, and we all needed to be working together efficiently to pull it off.

Why I used Skitch:

Skitch was an essential part of the process, making it possible to manage the back and forth exchanges we had over product design while keeping us all on the same page. Here’s why it worked so well for us:

It’s fast

Skitch makes grabbing screenshots, annotating them, and sharing them with my team a snap. And because it’s available on every device, I can quickly access my Skitch images even when I’m on the go.

It’s simple

Because Skitch is so intuitive, I can send things to non-designers on the team and they can easily send suggestions back to me. My team doesn’t have to spend time learning how to use complicated tools or writing long emails describing their recommendations – Skitch makes communicating with the group simple and efficient.

It’s clear

Arrows, text, shapes – these all allow me to make my ideas totally clear, which is important when I’m trying to give detailed feedback within the tight product development deadlines we have here at Evernote.

Skitch helped make it happen. Has Skitch helped you to accomplish a big project? Tell us about it in the comments!

Skitch for Wedding Planning

Skitch is great for quickly communicating your ideas with the people who will help you pull it off. Just snap pictures or take screenshots of things you love or want changed, then mark up your images with arrows, shapes, and text to make sure everyone knows exactly what you envision. Share them directly with your fiancé as well as your photographer, cake decorator, florist, or anyone else who will be helping out with your wedding so that everyone is on the same page. Check out the gallery below for ideas on how to use Skitch to make your dream wedding a reality!

Sync your Skitch images. Syncing lets you access them on every device where you have Evernote and edit them on every device you have Skitch. That means you can research hairstyles at home on your computer, then show your hairdresser using your smartphone.

Capture inspiration for invitations with Screen Grab. There are thousands of invitation designs online – use Skitch’s Screen Grab feature to mark up screenshots and point to elements you may want to incorporate in your own invitations.

Capture flower arrangement ideas from your world. If you see a really unique arrangement at a flower shop, at an event, or in a garden, snap a photo of it and point out specifics using Skitch to make them easy to remember later.

Mark up images to customize your dress design. Unless you’re well-versed in fashion or know exactly what you’re looking for, it can be difficult to find the wedding dress of your dreams. Prepare by gathering sample images beforehand from the web or by taking photos of magazines. Then, use Skitch to point out things you’d alter, things you’d keep, or things you can’t stand to help bridal store staff find your perfect dress more quickly.

Plan your decorations and decor. Instead of sending lengthy emails to decorators, use shapes to highlight specific areas where you want decorations placed for just the right effect.

Have you used Skitch to plan a wedding or other big event? Share your story in the comments below!

Get Skitch for Android »

Better, Smarter Tools

In this update, we made all the tools look and work better than ever. We improved content scaling so that your annotations perfectly fit your images and we made the tools more intelligent. Let’s take a look.

Pen Tool

In this update, the Pen tool is faster, smoother, and more responsive. If you’ve been using the Wet Ink setting, which groups pen strokes together so that you can easily move complex shapes, you’ll notice that the pen strokes are now grouped much more quickly.

Move/Pan Tool

The Move/Pan tool also got a clever new behavior to enhance your Skitch experience. It becomes active when you select an object, but then immediately reverts back to the previous tool when you delete, deselect, or swipe your finger elsewhere on the canvas.

Hold and Lock Feature

The Hold and Lock feature is a handy new setting that you can enable to prevent the app from auto-switching tools. This can be really helpful if you use one tool for a number of annotations in a row—for instance, when drawing characters with the Pen tool or when placing arrows or shapes that overlap with one another. To enable it, just tap and hold the tool you would like to lock. When the tool is locked, you’ll see a small padlock appear next to it. Tap on any other tool to unlock it again.

Helpful Additions

We’ve included several improvements that make navigating the app and exploring features more simple.

New Settings Icon

The new Settings icon makes it simple to access the Settings menu right from the home screen, which means fewer taps to adjust the app settings to exactly the way you want them.

Tool Tips

Want to learn how to use Skitch better? The new Tool Tips popups help you discover helpful features you may not have known about. The tips appear on your first launch and when you interact with parts of the app for the first time. You can also access them again later by tapping the Options button in the upper right corner and selecting “Tips”. You’ll be a Skitch pro in no time!

Get Skitch for Android »

And Even More

Skitch for Android has a ton of other improvements, including some important SD card fixes, that make it faster, more stable, and easier to use. We hope you love this new version. It’s available now in the Google Play Store. Let us know what you think!