Digital Sale and New Updates at Forever!

Greetings to all of my digital friends! I have a lot of exciting news for you today, not the least of which is a 25% off sale on Historian (formerly Creative Memories' Memory Manager) that goes on until Tuesday, October 27th! If you go to the banner on the right hand side of my blog and click on the "Purchase Historian" banner you can use the code GetHistorian to knock 25% off of the price. Sweet deal!

You can also use the code GetArtisan to save $20 on Artisan 5 (formerly Storybook Creator.) This code lasts until October 31st so don't let it pass you by! You may have to do separate transactions to take advantage of both codes.

I have made so many wonderful projects (12X12 hardbound storybooks, 12X12 and 8X8 page prints, invitations, softbound books, greeting cards, etc...) in this software program that I find it to be as indispensable as Historian (my secret to keeping my 90,000 photos accessible and in order!) They go together like peanut butter and jelly!

 For those of you who already own the new versions of the software, did you know that yesterday they came out with great FREE updates for Historian, Artisan 4 and Artisan 5? You should be able to launch them from your software's start page - let me know if you need help. 

Please know that as of December 31, 2013 Storybook and Memory Manager have not been supported or updated so with every Windows upgrade (or with the possibility of your own computer running into trouble) you run the risk of losing what you have. I would strongly advise you to upgrade to the new Historian and Artisan software programs. Last summer I did it myself and was so pleased that I was able to do both seamlessly without losing my artwork, my photo descriptions or my folders!  If you have never owned either Historian or Artisan, now is a great time to get them!

Update on Forever

So now that we've gotten through the most important sale info, I hope you will stick around for another minute to learn about Forever. When Creative Memories filed for bankruptcy and came back as a leaner, simpler company, they decided not to pursue digital. Panstoria (the designer of Creative Memories' Storybook Creator and Memory Manager)  introduced an affiliate program for people like me who still wanted to support their folks who loved digital. Not long after that, Panstoria was purchased by Forever, the world's first permanent online cloud storage platform for your memories. 

I went to their conference in September and was blown away by their Forever Guarantee Fund and the insurance-like nature of their product. With three servers and full encryption, backed by an endowment, Forever is guaranteeing the availability of your photos (and soon videos and documents such as wills birth certificates, etc...) in the cloud forever with COMPLETE PRIVACY. You pay upfront or in installments and unlike Shutterfly, Facebook, DropBox, Google, and Flicker, there is no threat of your account being wiped out if you go "inactive" or them selling your info and shrinking your resolution. 

So now my best and favorite memories are in my Forever account - you can get your first 3 gigs for free (about 1000 photos) so I would encourage you to go to Forever.com to setup your account. If you want to add more storage or try out their other offerings I am now a Forever Ambassador so just enter my name when doing your transaction (I also have links right here on this blog under "My Favorite Things.") Thank you as always for your support of my small business so I can keep us all updated and up to speed.  

Forever is also offering an online project program (Forever Projects), media digitization (videos, scanned photographs and scrapbooks, etc...) and of course Historian and Storybook.  If you want to be an Ambassador yourself you have until October 31st to do so without buying a $149 starter kit (message me for details.) I am proud and excited to be a part of this company and sleep better at night knowing that I will have my best memories safe from fire, floods, computer crashes, EHD crashes, or websites such as Shutterfly or Facebook selling my information and shrinking the resolution of my images (not to mention wiping everything out to make room on their server should I not buy anything from them.) Forever is the future - please check them out! There are links to my Forever site under "My Favorite Things" -thanks as always for your support

Comment below if you need help with anything and as always keep scrappin'! Fran

Fran Smitherman, CM Advisor and Forever Ambassador

Helping people get their photos in order, in albums and permanently preserved since 2002! Whether you prefer traditional or digital albums or you simply want the security of knowing your memories have a permanent home in the cloud, I have solutions for you. 

Fitting Scrapbooking into the Nooks and Crannies of Your Life!

Ahhhh, spring break 2015 - days at the theme parks, meeting characters, riding rides and eating food that I didn't have to cook, this was the life. Sadly it's coming to an end, but our memories will last forever because this Momma is determined to tell these stories before the finer details slip away as life returns to normal. These are blessed and special times for our family, and anyone who knows me won't be surprised that I took 1,036 photos on this trip. And guess what? I am not sweating it because I was actually able to organize and edit my photos AND scrap my vacation while I was ON vacation - how about that? With Panstoria's Historian I was able to take all the photos off of my camera at the end of each day so I could feel good that in the event of a "camera catastrophe" they were in more than one location. I took it one more level and actually started my vacation scrapbook by using my Artisan software to begin my 12X12 hardback book! No wifi at our timeshare? No problem! You don't have to be online to create your project (but you do have to be online to download the software or to upload your book to the Panstoria Print Shop  - that's why I recommend buying it and your artwork before you head out of town.)

A little downtime while the boys are sleeping - what better time to start our scrapbook?

It is so fun watching your photos quickly transform into pages that will eventually be turned into  a beautiful, well-crafted hardbound book that your family can enjoy for all time. You can design the front and back cover of the book and your album can be up to 99 pages long - I love the 12X12 size, but there are smaller options as well. Your art collection of papers, embellishments and fonts can be used over and over again and best of all,none of this takes up any more space in your house or your luggage than your computer itself! 

We all take pictures to capture the most wonderful times in our lives - the places we've seen, the people we love, the meals we have enjoyed. We proudly display them on Facebook, we might even organize them in folders on our computers, if we're really good we take the time to upload them to a photo website. Unfortunately in our digital world, getting them developed is something we are no longer forced to do - those rolls of film aren't piling up like they used to, reminding us to take a trip to the drugstore to see what photos are waiting for us. Nowadays, maybe folks think they'll eventually get around to it, but they don't have time now to put those photos in albums and tell the great stories that go along with them. My message  - if it's important to you, make the time (even if it's in the nooks and crannies of your life! :) Step off Facebook for 30 minutes (gasp!) Let the laundry or the dishes wait til tomorrow (eek!) Say no to that additional committee meeting! We can all do it! :)

I have been reading The Fringe Hours: Making Time for You by Jessica Turner because I want to find ways to help others find (or make) the time they need for themselves and for their photos.I know that I am no superwoman, but I feel in my heart that my family, my home, my health and my career are in good shape, and somehow I find the time to make scrapbooks because I WANT to. Jessica writes that we OWE it to ourselves to find downtime, to let the laundry wait a day, to say no to an obligation that stresses you out, and to unleash the creative part of ourself that we all have to nurture to become a whole person. Maybe scrapbooking isn't it for you, but if it is, you owe it to yourself to make the time. These memories aren't going to get any fresher.

Scrapbooking does not have to be time consuming but it does need to be done in a quality fashion with the best tools. Digital scrapbooking with Panstoria's Artisan is perfect for people who don't want the adhesives, the papers and the cutting tools - watch how this story is starting to develop within a matter of minutes...

Can't wait to wrap this project up and to add my new album to my collection of digital scrapbooks-what book do you want to work on? 

As always, feel free to reach out to me at flafla@bellsouth.net if you have any questions about my digital or traditional scrapbooks, my workshops, my retreats, or anything Panstoria or CM Group has to offer! Click on the banners on this blog to learn more about them - I receive a small commission for any purchases made through these links so I thank you in advance for your support! Thanks for reading and keep scrappin'!

Fran Smitherman, CM Advisor and Panstoria Affiliate

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

After years of telling stories through my beloved Creative Memories photo albums and digital storybooks, I felt it was time to create a blog to help people navigate the tumultuous world we "scrapbookers" are in at the present time! I am a passionate CM advisor (going on 13 years!) because I love the high quality albums and album making supplies that Creative Memories has always been known for, and I am also crazy about Ahni and Zoe's Fast2Fabulous lines of simple--to-complete  predesigned albums. I also have a passion for digital photo organization and storytelling love my digital albums, so I am now a Panstoria affiliate as well! As you may or may not know, Panstoria is the company that developed Creative Memories' fantastic Memory Manager and Storybook software. After December 31, 2013 users of those programs (if installed before that time) still have the ability to use them so long as their computers work, but they no longer have any technical support. At some point everyone will need to purchase Panstoria's software - the transition is seamless and all of your vaults and artwork can be preserved. By purchasing Artisan (Storybook) and Historian (Memory Manager) software from Panstoria we are ensuring that our digital art and books can be preserved over time with technical support and a print shop.