This week we received an invitation to keep up with Creative Memories through the following link until the new launch:

http://www.creativememories.com/

Here is what they said - basically, expect the best of CM AND Ahni and Zoe, hooray!

OUR STORY

Creative Memories was born in 1987 with a vision that one day millions of people would celebrate family memories and tell their unique stories in beautiful, high quality albums. The vision was realized as Creative Memories started an industry and its Consultants helped millions connect through their photos.

In 2014 Ahni & Zoe was born, offering a quick, easy approach to album-making. Both scrapbookers and non-scrapbookers found it simpler than ever to complete albums of love, encouragement and friendship.

Now under new management, the new CM launching in October 2014 will offer the best of both Creative Memories and Ahni & Zoe: the original scrapbook albums and pages beloved around the world, and modern, quick-to-complete albums that appeal to today's busy families.

After nearly 30 years, we're proud to continue the tradition and keep making a difference in the way people remember, celebrate, and connect.

One more week to order from Ahni and Zoe by Creative Memorieshttp://www.ahniandzoe.com/fransmitherman - sale prices up to 60%! From August 22nd until about October we will wait for the launch of the new company- I am excited to see what it's going to look like! Caleb (the new owner) has already polled consultants about what we would like to see stay (Fast 2 fabulous albums and a simple approach to album making for me, thank you!) and what old Creative Memories products we would like to see brought back (cloth albums!) The future looks bright

My first 12X12 book arrived from the Panstoria Print Shop this week and I couldn't be happier with the quality! I created it using Storybook Creator (I have since switched over to Panstoria's Artisan - easy peasy download!) I uploaded the book to the print shop on Saturday July 27 and this wonderful package arrived on Monday August 4th, nice turnaround. 60 pages of our recent trip to the beach, scrapped and ready to be remembered forever! Adding it to the collection and looking forward to making my NEXT project in Artisan:)

Clearing Up Bad Info

I am afraid there is some bad information out there so I want to clear it up! Here are the facts:

1.) Ahni and Zoe by Creative Memories is not going out of business  - in fact, we have an outside investor who is opening a manufacturing facility in Saint Cloud with plans to offer both Fast2Fabulous AND old style Creative Memories cloth albums (as well as a few CM favorites.) There is just going to be a transition period between August 22nd and some time in October where we can't order.

2.) The investor plans to do away with the current consultant structure (and no I am not upset.) I have received numerous emails consoling me and while being a Creative Memories/Ahni and Zoe consultant has been a big part of my life for the past 12 years, all I really care about is having access to high quality photo albums - the delivery method is insignificant to me. As soon as I know anything I will let you know - maybe we all become "members" with member numbers and a website like with young Living Essential Oils, or maybe we all order from a big website? Who knows? But the most important thing is they will be in our future.

3.) Panstoria (the digital software and Print shop) has nothing to do with any of this. If you want the Artisan (Storybook Creator) or Historian (Memory Manager) software or the ability to print hardbound books, page prints, etc... you can order them right here on my blog (see links to the right.) I just got my first 12X12 hardbound book from the Panstoria Print Shop yesterday and it looks fantastic.

4.) If you want traditional albums supplies (albums, refill pages, tape runners or tape runner refills, etc...now is the time - ordering is available on my website http://www.ahnianzoe.com/fransmitherman until August 21st. Then we wait

A Big Change for the Traditional Album Side of Things

An outside investor has decided to shut down the Ahni and Zoe business as it is currently structured and to re-open a new business (not a direct sales/party plan model) in the fall. His vision is to keep things simple (which is what I LOVED about Ahni and Zoe) and to offer the Fast 2 Fabulous as well as the old style cloth-covered Creative Memories albums (and possibly a few old favorites as well.)I am grateful to have an outside investor who sees a great future in our products! 

I have been a Creative Memories or Ahni and Zoe consultant for the past 12 years and I can say with perspective that this has been a tumultuous past few years for scrapbookers, with two Creative Memories bankruptcies and an Ahni and Zoe receivership (not to mention countless scrapbooking stores around the country closing down.) The crazy thing is that through it all I've still made album after album and as far as I'm concerned, our future is bright as long as Panstoria Print Shop and some remnant of Creative Memories/Ahni and Zoe remains to make our fabulous photo albums for us! 

Ahni and Zoe orders can be placed on my website from now until August 21st, and then we wait! Fast 2 Fabulous albums, slide in albums, predesigned as well as plain white refill pages (under "Other") and tape runners are necessities we can all use so if this is something you have been thinking of now is the time. Our refill pages fit in the old coversets and our tape runner refills fit in the old tape runners, by the way. Magnetic Displays are also unique items and I am not sure if they will be in the new company's offerings or not, I have enjoyed mine.

Backflips for My New Software

I don't know how to do backflips, but if I did I would have this weekend! I purchased Panstoria's Artisan and Historian software programs and the process couldn't have been simpler! I have used Creative Memories' Memory Manager (photo organization) and Storybook Creator (designs photo books, cards, posters, etc...) software programs for 8 years and I was a little nervous - after all, these are my PHOTOS and my stored artwork and photo books! When I blinked my eyes and everything had "magically" converged into the new program, I almost cried with joy :)

 In this digital world, I couldn't live without Historian - it takes all your pictures (from your camera, phone, computer, wherever) and AUTOMATICALLY puts them in chronological order. You can edit, crop, zoom in, remove red eye, tell stories, rate, and create your own folders to take the chronological organization a step further. It is a lifesaver (and I have 72,000 + photos to prove it - go ahead and ask me where my Halloween pictures from 2008 are, haha!) Same thing goes for Artisan - I love my traditional scrapbooks, but sometimes I want something even faster, and that's when I turn a memorable group of photos into a hardbound book! Can you tell I am over the moon with my software conversion?

 If you would like to do the same, check out the links to purchase on the right of my blog - if you buy through me, you will have access to myself as well as Panstoria for support going forward, as well as updates. I would highly recommend it! :) There is also a Facebook group called Storybook to Artisan conversion that you can join - shoot me an email at flafla@bellsouth.net if you want me to add you to the group.

Ahni and Zoe is a young company in need of financial backing, and I am pleased to announce that a prospective buyer is traveling from Hong Kong to the United States next week to do some final due diligence before making his decision! This is a Canadian gentlemen who has been a long time supporter of Creative Memories and he has already purchased the Ahni and Zoe and Creative Memories names, the Japanese manufacturing facilities, and the consultant lists. All that is left is his decision on the U.S. business so let's all cross our fingers that we will have an answer in the next few weeks! I'm hoping for nothing but the best for the future of this young company - they have the right idea that "scrapbooking" needed to simplify and evolve in order to survive, and the simpler albums and simpler business model were just what the doctor ordered! Can you tell I am excited? :) What does this mean for you? To boost the business in the meantime, the company is offering 25% off on tape runners, tape runner refills, pens, its cutting tool, a few of its Fast 2 Fabulous albums (White Out and Annie Get Your Gumball), and ALL of its slide in albums (Blue, Black, White and Greige.) What a wonderful time to start a new project or to stock up on the basics! Check out the sale on my website starting today Tuesday, July 21st - it lasts until the end of the month and some things will inevitably sell out so it's better to act now!

One of the things I love the most about using the digital scrapbooking software is incorporating purchased art kits into your pages, but many users may not realize that ANYTHING you find on the Internet (or that you can scan!) can become an element once you save it then import it into your "content." One of my favorite things to do is to incorporate logos from places we have visited - in the case of Jimmy Buffett's sister's restaurant, I actually scanned a bag from their gift shop and used it as "paper" for my pages. I clicked on "use as background" and voila, authentic looking Lulu's layouts! Another great example of "free" content is my use of the flags as backgrounds for my Epcot pages -I simply googled "British flag", saved an image on my computer, pulled it into my Content, and there it was for use as a paper or embellishment for as long as I like!

Hardbound digital books, page prints and calendars made over the years using Storybook Creator Plus software (now Artisan) - tell your story YOUR WAY on your computer, enjoy the book for a lifetime!

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.