I got the new issue of CREATING KEEPSAKES at Target last Friday. I’ve flipped through it and like it a lot. It is pretty thin and I’m getting so worried that even CK will go the way of the dodo bird….extinct. All of these magazines shutting down is just depressing me to no end (read my past posts about HERE, HERE, and HERE).
Speaking of shutting down, I got this sad e-mail from the only LSS left in my area (I will quote part of it directly from their newsletter):
================ As many of you know, (store name) has been severely impacted by the poor economy in the past year. We have always relied heavily on the year round tourism … and with the high gas prices beginning late last spring followed by the economic crash in the fall we haven’t had that support for over a year now. While we have strived not only to keep our doors open, but have continued to bring in new product during this difficult time, sales continue to drop. Things have gone from bad to worse.
We have always been hopeful that we could survive this tough economic time, but we realize that we cannot keep going at the current pace. If sales do not pick up over the summer, we will be forced to close our doors in the fall. We promised our customers we would not just close our doors quietly so we feel we must be honest with you about our situation.
================
I feel so sorry, well, for myself of course, but mostly for these 2 sweet ladies who’ve done nothing but run a wonderful store for several years, only to have their dream possibly crushed by this awful economy. They did include a coupon for $5 off any $25 purchase that you can print and use as many times as you like (one per visit) between now and the end of August. I hope that will motivate shoppers to come to their rescue, although I know scrapbooking typically slows down in the summer as we all get busy with outdoor activities and kids being out of school. I will pray (and shop) and hope they can pull it out. This is our last “local” store…we used to have 7 within an hour of me. If this store closes, my closest store will be about 2 hours away. I wish I had millions of dollars and could help these stores stay afloat until better times.
I know many of you have lost most or all of your LSSs in recent times and it’s crushing, isn’t it?
– Shopping report: At my Target, they have the cute summer lines from KI Memories and Making Memories both on sale. They weren’t huge discounts but, like, $3.99 items down to $3.19, etc.
The KI line is called ‘Juicy Summer’ and here is a sample, the chipboard:
[ picture goes here ]
Oh wait, I can’t give you a sample because their website doesn’t let you copy/paste pictures. Oh darn for them. Coulda’ had free advertising from a blog that does some pretty good numbers. Ah well…
The Making Memories line is called, oh I can’t remember, something summery. I looked for it on their blog which is down, and on their website which doesn’t list it. I even posted the question at 2peas ‘cuz I’m sure someone over there knows, but it’s 12:20 am on the West Coast, so I think all the Peas are snug in their beds. When I figure it out, I’ll plug it in here, LOL!
ETA 5/1/09: A nice Pea helped me out. She said it’s MM Spring Fling that’s on sale, and her Target also had MM Just Chillin’ (regular price, I think). I would show you some photos but the MM site doesn’t allow copying either….
At Michaels, I got some shizzlets for my AMR Scrap Pal. I am overdue in sending her any little gifties so she’ll be getting a surprise in the mail soon (don’t worry, I don’t think she reads my blog, LOL). I also got 19 stampalicious surprises for the ladies who are in my JOURNALING SPOT SWAP at AMR. I was so happy my swap filled up quickly, well before the deadline. Just a little way to tell them all thank you for participating. Such nice, fun ladies over there. The last thing I was looking for was some of those $1 packs of cute Thank You cards – now that I work from home, I want to write a little note to each of my “in office” co-workers since I won’t see them every day anymore – but all the $1 bins were gone. Gone, I tell ya! Bunch of clean and clear floor space near the front of the store. Let’s see, what holiday is coming next? Hmmm…. Mother’s Day, Memorial Day, Graduation Day? Anyway, no notecards for me….farkle!
– The June issue of CK is out. My sweet online friend MIchelle aka Shelle’s2girls has a tip published in this issue. I looked for the mag at Target and Mike’s but they didn’t have it yet. Farkle again!
– I finished reading the scrapbooking novel, “A Page Out of LIfe’ about a week ago. I owe you a REVIEW, don’t I? Now I’m reading, actually am almost done with, “Frill Kill” which is a scrapbooking mystery by Laura Childs. Think I’m done with scrappy books for a while, LOL. I’ve already started on “The Pact” by JODI PICOULT; it’s my third time reading it ‘cuz I love her stuff so much. Now if Jodi Picoult would just write a scrapbooking novel, that would be THE perfect book!
– Last and most importantly: Stacey at AMR is organizing an online auction to raise money for one of her message board members who is going through something horrible right now. Please check out Stacey’s BLOG and the MESSAGE BOARD to see if you can help. If you’re more the shopping type, put June 13/14 on your calendar and come BUY an auction item or two towards this wonderful project. Bidding will start at $2 and, given the mad wicked talent I have seen from the ladies on the AMR board, you will find some amazing items to bid on. Please go check it out :) {{Love ya, Miss Destiny!}}
Okay, I’m gonna’ have to go off on a little rant here because this really bothers me. I’ve seen this over the years and kept my mouth shut but here we go….this mutha’ is ON now!
I’ve been reading through a special issue from SIMPLE SCRAPBOOKS called “Scrapbook Play with Photos”….
….and, not to pick on just them because I see it everywhere but this is just the most recent example. I’m not even through the entire issue yet and I’ve already found several typos in the magazine text, and typos on layouts. {Just so you know, I’m purposely not mentioning the name of the article writer or person who created the layouts, as my intention isn’t to embarrass any one person and, actually, I lay the blame at the foot of the magazine editors anyway}.
Page 11 – A soccer team layout – which is totally rockin’, by the way – with a glaring typo in the layout title, “We are the CHAMPOINS.” I read through the entire page, assuming there was some explanation for the mistake but there was none. I mean, really, how do you MISS that before the magazine goes to publication? It’s hugely noticeable from the second you look at the page.
Page 14 – A cute little boy with curly hair layout called “That Hair!” with journaling that includes, “End the end, we aren’t sure.”
Page 24 – In the text to explain how to “dress up a picture with a transparency sheet,” it says, “…it will subtle detail and design interest….”
And I’ve only read through page 44 of a 99-page issue!
Okay, I know I’m picky. When I was a program analyst for 9 years, I used to proudly say, “I put the ANAL in ANALyst.” I was an English major and I used to edit fellow students’ thesis papers and Senior Projects for fun. I’m a transcriptionist who gets tiny joy from fixing all the little errors doctors make when they dictate. Okay, yeah, yeah, I’m WAY pickier with this stuff than your average bear. I get it.
But are all these typos and mistakes acceptable? For me, when I see errors like this in a professionally published magazine, I loose truckloads of respect for all involved. I mean, if I were a scrapper lucky enough to get my work chosen for publication, you can bet your bippy I’d be proofing my title and journaling within an inch of their lives. And then I’d have every person I know proof it, too. Yet time and time again, I see published layouts that have misspellings, missing letters or words, or other mistakes in the journaling or title. I do remember a couple times – I think it was discussed on the CKMB so this must’ve happened to layouts that were published in one of their mags – that it wasn’t the scrappers fault; one time a layout was published with something turned the wrong way and another time an embellie had fallen down to the bottom of a layout during shipping and the magazine photographed it that way….much to the dismay of the scrapper, who saw her beautiful layout misrepresented to a huge audience. Okay, THAT kind of thing, I don’t blame the scrapper for. Maybe the sweet lady who made the “CHAMPOINS” layout assembled it correctly, then the letters fell off in shipping, and the magazine staff reassembled it incorrectly. Any way you slice it, the magazine is responsible for making such a huge mistake.
As for all the typos in articles, features, and such, I just don’t get it. I see them all the time in the scrapbooking magazines, and I’m not just talking about in recent months when magazines are cutting staff or their hours due to economic hard times. This has all been happening since the “rich heyday” when they all had full staffs. Honestly, I don’t pretend to know how FUH-REAKIN’ hard it must be to put out a monthly magazine. I know there are so many details upon details to be completed perfectly. I can see how a “their” that shoulda’ been a “there” could be missed on occasion. However, I’ve always been really stumped by the fact that SO many little errors, typos, and imperfections find their way into scrapbook magazines. I also read “People” and “Us” on a regular basis and very rarely catch typos or mistakes in those magazines. Funnily enough, they often print their own “corrections” in the next issue and I’ll scratch my head, going, “Hmmm, I missed that.” Guess I don’t know the names of all the celebrities’ kids as well as I thought, huh? It’s not really the same thing anyway, because it’s not typos they’re usually correcting, just incorrect information like saying it was Goldie Hawn in a photo caption when it was really Kate Hudson, LOL.
On a side note, don’t even THINK of pointing all all the typos and mistakes in this blog, for the following reasons: 1. I am not read by millions, 2. I am a staff of one, 3. I’m usually working on 3 hours of sleep and no coffee, 4. Sometimes I put them in just for fun and to see if you’re paying attention, and most importantly, 5. I am not paid. At the jobs where I’m actually paid, I work my tail off to make sure there are never typos. But here on the blog, see, it’s a whole different ball a’ wax…
So, what do you think? Do you notice all the mistakes in the scrapbooking magazines? Does it bug you? Why do you think it happens? I’d be really interested to know your thoughts.
I think a lot of you, if you still subscribe, were getting those great cheap deals on subscriptions (I hope). I’ve been buying newstand for quite awhile, just because I’m impatient, but I’m glad I’m not out any money. I think we all knew even the main, longstanding scrapbook mags wouldn’t be around for much longer. But it’s hard to see this precursor to complete failure in black and white (or whatever color a blog is, LOL).
Make sure to read the comments on that first article. Someone makes a great point about CK’s supremely sucky customer service of the last couple years. I’ve heard endless stories of customers charged double for monthly kits, items not sent, subscriptions not fulfilled, prizes not sent…not to mention CK’s message board transition that most of us “old timers” hated and caused many of us to leave.
Yes, the sad news is true: Simple Scrapbooks magazine is coming to an end. This is one time when I hate it that I’m RIGHT. First, the end of the digital scrapbooking mag and now this. If you don’t have time to read the articles and blog posts about this, here are the finer points:
~ Last Simple Scrapbooks issue will be May/June 2009
~ Economic decision, lack of advertising to keep both CK and SS afloat
~ SS will be somewhat folded into CK, whether as a separate section or ideas throughout is unknown at this time
~ Some of our favorite people will be included, like Cathy Z., Stacy, etc.
~ If you have any of your Simple subscription remaining after the May/June 09 issue, your subscription will be transferred and/or added to your CK subscription
Here is what the Simple gals are saying (click on their name to see their blog post about the issue):
The official ANNOUNCEMENT by Lin Sorenson, VP/Editorial Director, CK Media
Like many of you, I am very sad about this. I’ve read every single issue of Simple Scrapbooks magazine since I discovered it years ago. I loved all of the practical, common sense approaches, and ideas it gave this busy mom who tries to sneak in some scrapbooking on the side. The “personalities” it brought to my life, most notably Cathy Zielske and Stacy Julian, are very special to me and I hope we truly do see lots of them in CK. I hope they continue to blog about scrapbooking as they do now, so we can see their projects and what they’re up to. The “simple” style gives balance to the embellishment-crazy style on the other end of the spectrum and I, for one, will really miss seeing it in it’s own magazine. Best of luck and my prayers to all you Simple ladies as you transition to the new stage in your lives!
I’m very happy to correct my statement in THIS post where I said there didn’t seem to be any more QVC Scrapbooking shows scheduled for 2008. Yay, I was wrong-o! As I browsed the January CK, I saw a cardstock insert advertising their show on 12-31-08 at midnight EST. So, see, I was almost right, LOL! The ad shows some Shutterfly goodies and a free calendar that I’m personally not interested in, but here’s the LINK if ya are.
While I was over nosing around at QVC.com, I found THIS link to a message board discussion about whether David Venable will be co-hosting with LISA BEARNSON on the 12/31 show. HERE is a link to the QVC program schedule for December 31, including the following times for “Creating Keepsakes Paper Crafting”:
12am to 1am
3am to 4am
3pm to 4pm
*These times are EST; please adjust for your time zone. They give a pretty generic description but all these slots say they are Lisa Bearnson, so coolio. The only mention I could find on LIsa’s blog was from her 12/9/08 entry: “P.S.S. I’m getting ready for a big QVC day on December 31st. Shutterfly and Creating Keepsakes have teamed up for some amazing projects. Stay tuned again for more information on these products.” By the way, if you want a handy reminder of these shows, you can go to their Program Guide and follow the instructions to have reminders sent to your e-mail. Yeah, they got our back.
This is from the “Look Who’s Scrapbooking” QVC blog:
“Scrapbooking in 2009
Dec 22, 2008
Hello Scrappers!
We know you’re getting ready for the holidays and looking forward to the New Year. It’s the perfect time to get organized…and buy more scrapbook supplies! So be sure to tune in on December 31 for three hours of Creating Keepsakes and an exciting Today’s Special Value® item. There’s plenty more to come in 2009 — new trends, brands, and one-hour designer shows. We’ll have some new exciting launches, too, so make sure you check our program guides and the website for more details. And be sure to share your thoughts on our message boards as well! Tell us what new finds you’re loving in the market so we can scope it out at the upcoming CHA tradeshow in February 2009.
Sincerely,
QVC Buyers”
Since I’m on the West Coast, I’ll probably watch all the shows live but I’m gonna’ set up my Tivo now just in case. I hope they have some good stuff and not just all the Shutterfly biz. I’m sorry, but to me, “photobooking” is not “scrapbooking” and I think it’s bad for the industry. But that’s just me, LOL!…Do you plan to watch?
I saw this magazine/book but couldn’t afford to buy it (without a COUPON, LoL!), so I came home to my sweet MacBook so I could drool over it online. While I blog about the art OF scrapbooking, I don’t consider myself an artful blogger. I assume that term refers to those of you who share your wonderful creative and crafty talents on your blogs. I know there are many of you, and thought you’d want to check out this publication. So HERE is a link to their webpage. I found some other mentions of it HERE, HERE, and HERE. And HERE is a sneak peek of the current issue, Winter 2009. I’m sure you want to know how much this puppy costs, right? There are some past issues @ AMAZON. For new issues, looks like it’s about $15 per issue, with 4 issues published per year, and a 1-year subscription for $60. Now, I’ll admit I was just an English major, but if I’m doing the math correctly {462 minus the value of pie divided by the median, then the mean…} that’s still $15 per issue, and not a cost savings like when you subscribe to most magazines. What the hell, subscribe anyway. The shipping is free to the U.S. and you don’t have to get out of your jammies and schlep to Michaels to pick it up….where you CAN’T USE YOUR COUPON ANYWAY. But I’m not bitter….
Hey, if you’ve seen Artful Blogging, give us a quick review. Is it worth the dough?
A nice lady named Beth contacted me recently. She wanted to share information with me and my readers about a new product, and a CONTEST. {Guess she could tell we’re a little Scrapbook Obsessed ’round here…}. I copied this from the link she provided:
“Your scrapbook could be featured in our next ad!
To help introduce the NEW DYMO® Caption Maker, we’re giving one lucky scrapbooker a chance to have their artwork featured in a future DYMO® Caption Maker magazine ad. Use unique and inspiring personalized captions, borders, and fonts on your next scrapbook, submit it and you could WIN! Winning has never been more fun! Get started today and you could be the talk of the town when your scrapbook is featured in your favorite scrapbooking magazine. Be sure to check back and vote among the 5 scrapbook finalists.”
Here is some 4-1-1 about the DYMO Caption Maker that Beth shared in her e-mail:
“The new DYMO Caption Maker is an easy to use embossing tool that enables creative captioning, journaling and bordering through a variety of symbols, letters and fonts. It includes three interchangeable wheels – one for lowercase, one for uppercase and one with a script font.”
And here is a photo of this new scrapbooking/cardmaking tool…I’m digging the pink!
THE DEADLINE IS 12/31/08 SO GET ON IT, GIRLFRIEND!!
All the details are HERE. Good luck and let me know if you win! Would be pretty stylin’ to see your layout in a magazine ad….
Yes, I’m at it uh-GEN! I’m doing a major reorganization of my scrap area. And I’m serious this time. I even moved furniture and stuff. On the one hand, it’s driving me crazy because I vowed I would not engage in any way, shape, or form of scrapbooking (or papercrafting or card making or whatever you try to call it other than scrapbooking…) until my room was 100% organized. Well, make that 90% organized because I think I’ll be dead and buried before my photos are in labeled, chronological boxes. So I haven’t been able to scrap a dang thing in, like, weeks. On the other hand, it feels really good to make the progress I’ve been making and envisioning how nice it will be when it’s all done.
Thought I would post some sneak peek photos so you don’t think I’m fulll of sCRAP…{Sorry, the photos are dark…it’s 10:30 p.m. here…hope you can see them okay}
MY CRICUT IS FINALLY OUT ON MY DESK WHERE I’LL USE IT MORE, AND THE SPINNING STORAGE THINGEE FROM TARGET IS PERFECT TO HOLD MY CARTRIDGES AND STUFF…
FINALLY HAVE THOSE GINGERBREAD JARS ALL FILLED UP WITH GOODIES…HERE’S MY JOURNALING CARDS (CAN YOU TELL I HAVE A FETISH?)…
JUST A PEEK AT MY CRANKIN’ STEREO, STORE IN STYLE 1/2 DRAWER, AND PRIZED POSSESSION…MY BAZZILL COLLECTION….
PRETTY IDEA BOOKS ALL IN A ROW…
UGH…ANOTHER PILE TO FILE….
FLAT RATE BOXES FULL OF PAST ISSUES OF CK, MM, SS, AND SB ETC. ABOUT TO BE SENT TO AMR FRIENDS….
OH YEAH, THAT’S WHAT MY WORK SPACE LOOKS LIKE! I HAD FORGOTTEN…
MY POOR CLIP IT UP, ALL DISMANTLED BECAUSE I’M SELLING IT (details are HERE)…
THIS IS ONE OF THOSE CUTE STACKABLE ORGANIZERS FROM COSTCO. WHEN I WAS SELLING SCRAPBOOK SUPPLIES AT MY CROPS, ALL 3 LEVELS WERE PACKED WITH EMBELLIES, RIBBONS, TOOLS, ETC. OH DARN, WHATEVER I DIDN’T SELL AT MY LAST CROP, I HAD TO KEEP. YIPPEE, IT’S ALL EMPTIED OUT AND NOW A PART OF MY EVER LOVIN’ PERSONAL STASH…
So I’m making progress, slowly but surely. Oh, I should’ve posted a pic of the boxful of trash I’ve purged! (Lots :) See, I really am organizing…am I doing good so far?
It’s by VIRGINIA NEBEL and it’s in her wonderful TUTORIAL on how to go ‘around the corner’ with your favorite tool, the Threading Water punch by Fiskars. This and other great scrapbooking information can be found HERE on the Scrapbook and Cards Today magazine blog. If you’re not already familiar, Scrapbooking and Cards today is a super cool Canadian magazine which is distributed at a few select locations in the States. For instance, where I live in California, there are 3 stores that carry it (unfortunately, none of them are very close to me). HERE is the directory of where it’s sold. Or you can subscribe HERE for just the cost of shipping, which is currently listed as $27.95 for your first 4 issues. And you can even download it for free HERE. It’s quite different to read a magazine while sitting at the computer, but groovy all the same :) I find both the magazine and the blog to be full of great ideas and, while I’m still terribly loyal to CK, SS, et al., this magazine is a nice addition too. Let me know how you like it, and whether you found the Threading Water tutorial helpful ;)
Here’s my all time favorite. It was left today on a year-old POST about the whole Kristina Contes controversy.
“you’re a loser to care so much about something so minimal in our world today. get a life. ”
From obsess on Kristina Contes: In the LA Times #
I guess there are a lot of us ‘losers’ out there, because my Kristina Contes posts are still often among the Top 10 most clicked on (that’s out of 338 total posts so far on my blog). Shame on us for caring so much! We need to get a life. I mean it. Off with you! Go get a life right now!
I was lucky enough to have the day off due to a State holiday…Columbus Day. Since I now work M-F 8 to 5, it was nice to have a weekday for errands. Went to get some labs done, met with our financial guy, met with the school principal, etc. Of course, I needed some retail therapy after all that! Got my 2 new scrap mags at Barnes & Noble…
I heard the November issue of Scrapbooks Etc is out but I haven’t been able to find it yet. Anyway, I’ve skimmed through the CK so far and it looks REALLY good! I’m so happy to see that BRENDA ARNALL is back with some EASY PATTERNS. This time, she incorporates some of those fun journaling stamps…of which I have more than plenty, and other great journaling ideas. HERE are the free downloads from the article (as of 10-13-08, they aren’t working but it says to keep trying back). LIZZY K talks about where you can turn your blog into a book, which is something I’d already planned to do, so I was happy to find a $10 discount code for CK readers! My girl NOEL is featured in an article on kids Thanksgiving projects. And there’s a fun scrap space featured that is geared towards having your friends in to scrap with you. I’m such a sucker for those Scrap Space features. I could read an entire book with nothing but ‘real people’ scrap spaces, couldn’t you?
After B&N was the craft store I sometimes call my LSS…cuz they are pretty cool and get some recent stuff, unlike Mike’s. I got a few sheets of Bazzill, and this paper from Little Yellow Bicycle’s ‘Frightful’ collection. It’s meant to be Halloween paper, but I’m just going to use it on some boy pages. I think it’ll look great with a bright shade of blue or teal.
I only have around 25 sets of acrylic stamps and obviously need more, so I also got these (They were $25, but only $15 with my coupon):
Won’t they be fun to color in with marker or colored pencil?? I swear, half of the appeal of scrapbooking is that I can play and doodle and be artsy-craftsy like when I was a kid. So please don’t pee in my Wheaties and tell me I didn’t need these stamps, k? They are part of my regression therapy, part of my ‘live like there’s no tomorrow’, part of my ‘recapturing my youth.’ You support that, don’t you?
Lastly, I went to Mike’s and used a 50% off coupon to get another Jetmax 3-drawer cube (remember, I’m STOCKING UP). I threw in 2 sheets of Bazzill ‘cuz I’ve heard at some stores they’re including Bazzill in the 4 for $1 sale (which applies to 59 cent sheets and Bazzill is 69 cents, but some are doing it anyway). Well, the butthuggers at the Mike’s I went to charged me full price for them so I’m glad I only grabbed two.
Okay, fess up, what scrappy goods have you bought lately? And whatya think of the latest CK?
Just got my copy in the mail and it’s noticeably “skinny.” Wow, only 90 pages including both covers. I’m sure you’ve noticed how thin CK has been in recent months and Scrapbooks Etc, although thicker than the others if i remember right, is still not as fat as it used to be. I don’t imagine these scrap mags will be in business much longer at this rate. How can they maintain subscribers with that many pages; how can they maintain profits with that few ads? We’ll be sad to see them go, but it will be {at least partly} our own fault, I’m afraid…I know many of us now get our scrap-fill (page ideas, articles, etc.) from the internet, but it just won’t be the same without magazines. You can’t lie on a lounger, the couch or in bed with your computer (well, we laptop-ers can but yuck, uncomfortable and impractical). And the pics in a magazine are much more fun and easy to look at than those on a screen. I for one will truly miss the scrapbook magazines when they’re gone and, at only 90 pages this issue, Memory Makers appears to be sliding on out…
What are your thoughts about this issue, or scrapbooking magazines in general, these days?
Read all about it HERE and HERE. I’m THISCLOSE to stomping my feet, storming off to my room, and slamming the door. When I get myself together, I’ll wish her well…but for now, I’m pouting…
Yep, for all the ups and downs and critiques of Creating Keepsakes magazine, it’s still my favorite and the one I most look forward to each month. This month held a special treat…upon opening to the first page, you’ll see an add for Marcella by K at Target. The ad shows off MbyK’s new line called “Lemon Drop.”
{I’m leaving a space here for a picture of the Lemon Drop line, which I can’t find online quite yet. If anyone sees this line anywhere, please direct me towards it. The pic in the ad makes it look very cool!}
And the best part is a Target coupon for $2 off a “Marcella by K scrapbook album.” It’s good through 7-10-08 but hop to shoppin’ now while you’re thinking about it! Besides, raise your hand if you think any of these cute Lemon Drop albums will even be left on the shelves by 7-10-08…yeah, I don’t think so either.
ETA 4/19/08: Went by my Tarjay lastnight and no sign of any Lemon Drop goodness. I will persist!
Since we’re talking coupons, also check out CK May 2008, page 31 for this from ADDICTED TO SCRAPBOOKING.COM: “Order now and receive a FREE GIFT of your choice, with any purchase of $25 or more. Enter promo code: SBAMPCK. Offer good through 5/20/08. Search ‘free gifts’ to choose yours!”
Check out page 34 for some free downloads for recipe card templates. Okay, well that’s as far as I got in my new issue of CK lastnight before falling asleep. If I find more goodies, I’ll be sure to share them with y’alls…Have a great super day!
Please see THIS POST (or just look right below this post) for the news that broke yesterday. Just wanted to direct you again to STACY’s BLOG, as she has now posted about these events. And also back to the SIMPLE SCRAPBOOKS blog, as their editor, Jennafer Martin, left a nice post today (again, undated, and there is no direct link…so if you click my link, it will take you to the blog but not directly to the post…grrr…). There are also links to blogs with “Stacy” posts, and they announced the winner to the daily contest from yesterday.
From the Simple Scrapbooks BLOG today (? … I guess…it’s not dated…)
++++++++++++++++
Oh the Places You’ll Go! Well, we can’t keep Stacy to ourselves anymore! She’s got so many exciting new opportunities coming her way (on top of a schedule only Superwoman herself could manage) that she’s decided she needs to lighten her load here at Simple Scrapbooks magazine. Stacy is a true entrepreneur, a big-picture thinker (pun intended!), a creative machine, and a scrapbook ambassador. And it’s only going to get bigger and better from here. We are so happy for Stacy–she’s following her heart, and we have no doubt that great things will come out of this move. We can’t wait to see what she comes up with next!
While Stacy will be less involved in the day-to-day runnings of the magazine, we will insist on publishing her projects whenever possible. And her original vision will continue to guide this magazine, as it has from day one. Stacy will always love Simple, and Simple will always love Stacy. We’re certainly going to be keeping tabs on her, and looking for opportunities to grow and evolve the scrapbook industry together!
You can look forward to your regular dose of Stacy in the next FOUR upcoming issues: May/June, July/August, September/October, and our Mini Albums in an Evening special issue, on sale in July. In the meantime, please join us in celebrating Stacy as we kick off the first-ever Stacy Julian Appreciation Week! Want to join in the festivities? Here’s what you do:
1. Call. We’ve set up a special toll-free number that you can call for the next 30 days and leave Stacy a voicemail! How cool is that? Call 1-888-HUG-STACY to share your thoughts. (note: that cool vanity number won’t be live until Monday AFTERNOON. In them meantime, you can leave your message at 877-809-8041.)
2. Comment. Leave a comment on THIS blog to let Stacy know how much her work has meant to you. We’ll pick one random commenter EVERY DAY this week to win a copy of Stacy’s new book, Photo Freedom. {NOTE: Leave a comment on the SIMPLE SCRAPBOOKS blog, NOT Scrapbook Obsession. I’m sure Stacey does not read my blog, nor will I be handing out books for free, LOL!}
3. Browse. Check out what Stacy has to say on her blog, and please leave her some happy mail there as well. Then visit Wendy’s blog and Cathy’s blog for more Stacy tributes (one done in video form!).
4. Check Back. We’ve got guest bloggers showing up all week long, so check back every day for news and updates. (Our Editor in Chief Jennafer Martin is on deck for tomorrow.)
A Note from Angie to Stacy:
Stacy, this is my favorite picture of you. It reminds me what a cheerleader you’ve always been to me personally and to the readers we all care so much about. I really mean this: I scrapbook today because your philosophy rescued me. I was overwhelmed by my pictures. I felt behind. I had given up. But your Simple Scrapbooks vision got me back in the game. And for that I will always be grateful. Thank you for the inspiration, the motivation, and the SmartCookies you brought to our meeting last week. Also, thank you for publicly admitting that you are a nose picker, which inspired me to come out of the closet with my nose picking ways. Booger Busters unite! (Not sure if you wanted it to be THIS public, but there it is.) [Um, yes Angie, that was way TMI!]
p.s. We’re also sending Stacy a different present every day this week. Once I know she has received today’s present, I’ll let you know what it was!
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The post above says to keep checking blogs from Stacey, Wendy and Cathy so here are the links if you’re interested.
Nothing on Stacy Julian’s BLOG yet but I’ll keep checking.
CONGRATS to Stacy Julian! It sounds like we’ll still be seeing her in the scrapbook world, just extending beyond SIMPLE SCRAPBOOKS magazine. I’m assuming the BIG PICTURE SCRAPBOOKING andBOOK WRITING PROJECTS are going so well, that’s where we’ll find her. But with Stacey, you never know. I hear she has boundless amounts of energy so perhaps we’ll see her in other places as well. I look forward to seeing what Stacy has in store for us.
I hope you enjoy participating in the contest on the SS blog, and that you leave a note of appreciation for Stacey somewhere. I think she deserves to know how much she means to all us scrappers.
SCRAP ETC has done it again! I love that site. Go check out their cool videos from CHA 2008 and see lot of new scrapbook products. I can’t link directly to the post, but it’s called CHA 2008 REVIEW and here are separate links for each video of that’s easier for ya’:
JENNI BOWLIN (She’s the one Stacey/AMR owner said was just so down-to-earth and considered a newbie in the industry, even though she’s a goddess to all of us cuz her products rock so dang hard!).
And a cool video of CHATTIN’ WITH ELIZABETH ~ that would be Elizabeth Kartchner, CK Scrapbooker of the Year. She’s adorable, and very talented!
Thanks to ScrappySam from AMR MESSAGE BOARD for the link! Tell me what you think of the videos, your favorite products, etc. :)
