Forever LIVE in Atlanta, GA in September - I'm SO Excited!

I was thrilled to find out that Forever (the company that acquired Panstoria) was going to be hosting a 3 day event in Atlanta, GA in September of 2015! This is a great opportunity for scrapbookers, photo organizers, photo enthusiasts and anyone interested in capturing their memories and telling stories. All experience levels are welcome - there will be many sessions to choose from (not to mention 18 hours of dedicated traditional or digital cropping time - whoot!) There is a welcome reception on Thursday night, snacks, lunch, speakers and crop time on Friday and Saturday, a gala dinner on Saturday night, and a crop on Sunday that lasts until noon (no rush to check out.) Confirmed special guests include Glen Meakem, Founder and CEO of Forever, Inc, Tory Johnson, best-selling author of The Shift, Mike Carroll and Paul Schweiser, the developers of our beloved Artisan (Storybook Creator) and Historian (Memory Manager) software programs, the Pixies of Pixels2Pages, Nick Kelsh (renowned photographer and author of 9 books) and more. In addition to all of this all attendees will receive  goody bag with $200 worth of free stuff (hello - you had me at goody bag!)


The dates are September 24-27, 2015 and the event will be held at the Grand Hyatt in beautiful Buckhead, GA, near Atlanta. Save 20% on your conference fee if you book before May 31st and if you aren't local to Atlanta there are special block room rates at the Grand Hyatt and the nearby Hyatt Place. All the details are in the link below- shoot me an email at flafla@bellsouth.net if you have any questions and let's do this thing!

http://www.showclix.com/event/ForeverLIVE/tag/fsmitherman

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

Preserving Memories with Digital Storybooks

I designed this Christmas book using my Artisan software and am about to get a book printed by the Panstoria Print Shop - I love traditional scrapbooking but there's something to be said for the speed and artistic touches of digital as well! While Creative Memories no longer supports Storybook Creator and Memory Manager, Panstoria does, so I am now a Panstoria affiliate and I can help you make the switch (or if you have never used them, I can help you start your journey towards customized digital scrapbooks and better photo organization with Artisan and Historian.)

Christmas2014DigitalBook

If you are due to update your Storybook Creator to Artisan and your Memory Manager to Historian, you can download them via the banners on the right side of this blog (note: if you are on your phone, make sure to switch to the "web version" - scroll to the very bottom to find this option on my blog.) 

Importantly, with Panstoria we now have access to updates and support, and I found the transition to both to be seamless when I did it this summer. Let me know when you want to do this and I can help you - shoot me an email at flafla@bellsouth.net if you have any questions or need any help. Artisan is only $39.95 and it is identical to Storybook Creator with at least one added benefit: your license allows it to go on two computers! Historian is also $39.95 and it is identical to Memory Manager. 

Low Pressure Theme Albums

I love theme albums - the topic is finite and you don't have to mentally change gears as often as you do with a regular "chronological" album. Two of my favorite albums that I work on once a year are my Halloween and Christmas albums. We love watching the boys grow up and it's a great way to remember gifts,traditions and costumes and which year they took place in. I plan to work on these books until the boys are 18 and I have figured out how many pages I can do each year to accomplish that (3 sides for the Halloween album, 4 sides for the Christmas album.) Do you have a favorite theme album? Thanks to Shutterfly I already have all of my pictures from 2014 in my hands so it didn't take any time this Christmas break to choose 8-10 favorites for my Halloween book and to place the first pictures in my Christmas book.

The CM Group's traditional 12X12 and 8X8 coversets and refill pages are great for theme albums, and so are the Fast2Fabulous albums! I am starting 2015 grateful for continued access to the safest, best made albums out there - my 2015 workshop and retreat schedule is already set and I would love to help your album projects come to life in any way I can!

 8X8 and 12X12 Creative Memories coversets

 The start page of each album

 This took no time - 2014 in the books!

 Our first Halloween with Christopher!

 Oh my goodness, Andrew was just a baby!

 I like to include our family Christmas card in every annual layout

 Okay, busted! I never journaled last year's! Better do it while I still remember everything

 2014's 4 page spread is off to a good start! The hardest part isn't finishing the pages, the hardest part is narrowing hundreds of Christmas pictures down to the best 20 or so!

My Vow for 2015

Life can be extraordinary - fantastic vacations, special holidays and celebrations such as birthdays and recitals and retirements. Although those events are rare, they are often the focus of our scrapbooking projects, while the day to day routines that make up so much more of our time often get neglected in photo albums. This year, I vow to digitally document the every day stuff that will mean so much to all of us as we get older and look back. There will come a time when we will long for the mundane magic that was 2015, and how blessed we were with each of these tiny slivers of heaven that we called "a day in the life." Favorite ways to wind down after work and school, Mom and Dad dropping in to bring something over, funny things said in the car, the morning rush, even a favorite power tool or a closet reorganization project - all stories deserve to be told.

Here's the beginning of my digital album - can't wait to touch it a little bit every week throughout the year. And no I did NOT design any of those pages - those are predesigned pages from the Panstoria Shop (click on the "Preview Digital Artwork" banner for a link to view and purchase digital content such as this) and the Blueprints were from Pixels2Pages - let me know if you want to learn more about these "speed tool" shortcuts I love!

Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?

Life isn't always perfect and I am in the camp that believes that even in photo albums, you tell it like it is. Child refuses to sing at the holiday program? Tell the story. Birthday surprise goes awry? Tell it like it is. Terrible service threatens to ruin an otherwise perfect vacation? Tell that story! While it wasn't funny at the time, you will laugh about it later, believe me!  Here is my latest (and if I might say so myself, greatest!) digital book, printed at the Panstoria Print Shop. I toned down my true feelings about the lady at the food court at Coronado Springs (at the request of my husband) but the story is still there, the way it happened, no sugar coating at all. Apart from that one incident at the beginning, it was a wonderful trip with wonderful memories, and again, Artisan provided me with a wonderful way to get a trip in a book QUICKLY without cutting, adhering or photo developing! I love digital and I am so thankful for Panstoria's Artisan and Historian software, as well as the Panstoria Print Shop. Click the link below to flip through the entire book for ideas for your own memories:

Disney Fall 2014 Digital Storybook

Start your own journey today to scrap your memories digitally and still have something to hold in your hand for years to come! Check out Artisan (formerly Storybook Creator) to make a book like this of your own. So many wonderful features, not the least of which is the fact that you DO NOT HAVE TO BE ONLINE TO WORK! If you purchase through the banner on this blog please send me an email at flafla@bellsouth.net so I can send you a gift!

Just call me Triple Threat! Enter the Cricut ...

Ahhh, the power of a Cricut! It was a special gift from my Mother-in-Law and at first I had no idea how to do much more than make fonts and single color die cuts! With some help from some awesome ladies at one of my scrapbooking retreats, I got inspired this summer and now I am excited to announce that I am a Cricut affiliate  - just call me Triple Threat :)  Creative Memories for traditional and Fast2Fabulous scrapbooking supplies, Forever for digital organization and scrapbooking and now Cricut for all my folks who want to add just a little something more to their scrapbook pages or homemade cards and art projects. As always, if you are so inclined to purchase through any of my banners here on this blog let me know at flafla@bellsouth.net so I can thank you for your support. Click on the Cricut banner to see what all is new (and what's old - check out the "re-released cartridges under the "Deals" section!) Happy scrapping!

 My first attempt at the Cricut - a sign for the boys' new art room

 Having it accessible and in a well-lit area with an organized workspace makes a big difference - I used to have mine on a rickety table in the supply closet but now it's out and accessible!

 Another early page - fonts only!

 Someone made this for me with their Cricut expression (it is capable of doing 12X12 layouts and is my next planned purchase - either that or the Cricut Explore)

 Nothing wrong with plain pages plus some journaling

Nothing wrong with pictures on nice 12X12 paper

 But man, every once in a while THIS happens!

 My Cricut cuts before I knew what I was doing, haha!

My Cricut figures once I figured out how to layer! Cute, right? This is from the "B is For Boy" cartridge

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!)