Blowing Up Your Idea of Scrapbooking

I typically steer away from Pinterest scrapbooking pages because most of them look like this:

While beautiful, this is not my idea of memory preservation. This elaborate style might be okay for some folks, but in my opinion this misplaced stereotype of what "scrapbooking" might mean is what has brought the whole industry to a standstill. Can you imagine what a 20-something with a Smartphone full of photos and a Facebook account would think of this? How about a busy Mom such as myself with about 200 photos a week downloaded from her digital camera?  It's no wonder the scrapbooking world gets lumped in with crafty pursuits such as quilting.

At the end of the day, it's about the heart, not the art. I do think these pages are beautiful, but I also know the amount of time that went commemorating one photo. A few embellishments here and there is okay, but Creative Memories taught me the importance of simple pages, completed albums - isn't that what everyone wants and needs at the end of the day? 

The 3 dimensional effects are not good for your album itself and most importantly, there is NO JOURNALING. Telling the story is the most important thing of all - photos mean nothing without a story, and in this digital age we take too many photos to put one photo on a page. The artsy folks may hang me for saying this, but ain't nobody got time for that! Keep it simple and scrapbooking can be something EVERYONE can enjoy!

A Favorite Tradition - My Holiday Open House!

For 13 years I have hosted a holiday Open House on the Sunday before Thanksgiving as a way to thank my loyal friends and customers for their support all year. It's always been fun to set up the house with all the latest albums and album supplies from Creative Memories (or Ahni and Zoe) and this year it was especially fun to add a digital table! I have always put completed projects on display (including digital Storybooks, calendars, etc...) but I have never actually had a laptop - I am typing on it now thanks to the profits I have made this year and I am grateful for the fact that now Artisan (formerly Storybook Creator) can be licensed for two computers! Now I can scrap and work anywhere in the house or even on the go on business trips or retreats! I have been very happy so far with my Dell 17.5 inch Envy - I would highly recommend a 17.5 inch screen for your work with Historian and Aritsan (should you go the laptop route!) 

Fran's Tips for Celebrating Life!

• A. Remove your pictures from your camera or phone weekly by uploading them into your computer, preferably using a photo organizing/editing software such as Panstoria's Historian (hint - you don't have to use the default photo software that came with your camera!)
• B. For extra security upload the photos to a photo developing website such as Shutterfly to prevent the loss of photos in case of a catastrophic event
• C. Look for great deals to order your photos - Shutterfly frequently offers discount plans, free shipping, etc...
• D. Make a commitment of time to DO something with your photos while the memories are fresh in your brain. That may include telling a quick story using the journaling function in Historian, taking an afternoon to put your developed photos into an album, or creating digital pages/albums using scrapbooking software such as Panstoria's Artisan
• E. Share your creations with those you love - it lets them know how much you appreciate them and how important they are to you in your life
• F. Repeat!

CM is back!! So excited to be able to offer traditional scrapbooks and Fast2Fabulous albums once more - thankful for our investor and his vision for our company. For so many years Creative Memories has been the only album I would ever choose for my precious photos and I am relieved and overjoyed that this will continue. Please go check out my website to see what old and new favorites the new CM has to offer

http://www.creativememories.com/user/fransmitherman