One of the things I try to do with this blog is make note of milestones that happen in our industry … and I missed a big one. So I’m going to post about it now, a few weeks late (sorry).
On 05-17-13, the many loyal members of Club CK were treated to this message from Creating Keepsakes:
Club CK Forum Participants,
We at Creating Keepsakes are grateful for the readers that are part of Club CK; for the creativity you share, the enthusiasm you have for the hobby, and your dedication to preserving your memories and improving the craft. As we move our focus towards online initiatives, we are evaluating all aspects of our business.
In looking at Club CK and the areas it offers our readers we feel the focus should be on creativity and idea sharing, which is evident by the number of layouts shared daily in the galleries. To make better use of our resources and provide the best online and print offerings we can, we are opting to discontinue the forum portion of Club CK as of June 15, 2013.
In this digital age, the internet is full of forums, many have existed for years and have fully developed communities and we hope that you will find one that meets your needs. Below are a few that we think would be a great place to start your search for an online forum:
Two Peas in a Bucket
Splitcoaststampers.com
Scrapbook.com
ScrapJazzWe are excited about the future and the media options we are planning for you, our readers. We look forward to seeing you around the Creating Keepsakes community.
Stacy Croninger
Digital Managing Editor
This post generated (to date) a heartbreaking 17-page thread of disbelief, confusion, gratitude, suggestions, and most of all sadness :( For as long as the link works, HERE is where you can see it.
I’m writing this post on 07-07-13 and the board is still online. There are occasional posts but it seems most members have moved on to other scrapbook message boards. There’s a board called “scrappin-peeps” that was created and will be hosted by former Club CK members. You can join HERE.
Club CK was not the first message board from Creating Keepsakes. The original board, which I joined back in the early 2000’s, was called CKMB (guess what that stood for? lol). I was very active on there, met a lot of wonderful online friends, and have such good memories. I’m still in touch with several of the ladies I met there.
Then there was another CK board called Scrap and Paper-something (?) but I’m not going to find it or link it because people have had problems there (being able to see other members’accounts, I think). But it also ‘closed’ and apparently only the gallery remains.
Then Club CK came along. If I remember right, it was part of the plan for scrapbookers to pay a monthly fee to be part of the Club, have access to a special board, and exclusive content. (Am I remembering that right? Someone correct me if I’m not). I never paid for anything but continued to post at Club CK although the magic was kinda’ gone for me after being put through 2 board switches. And by that time I’d become much more active on Two Peas as well.
So as we shut the door on Club CK, here were my stats: Joined 02-04-10 and had 112 posts.
Forum Statistics
61,706 users have contributed to 367,089 threads and 716,398 posts (as of 07-07-13 at 5pm PST).
All this sadness may seems strange but unless you’ve been an active member of a scrapbooking board for a long time, maybe it’s hard to understand. I think many avid scrapbookers don’t have people IRL who will put up with us talking about it 24/7, look at pages with praise, share shopping deals, celebrate our victories in life and hug us through the sad times, discuss books, current events, or whatever – all with a happy, positive attitude and genuine care. That’s what CKMB and Club CK were to me and I hope you were able to be part of that, too.
We’ll miss you, Club CK …
PS: I would love to hear from you about your experience at CKMB and Club CK. Feel free to mourn, celebrate, complain about the closure … whatever is in your heart. Please know that I get it and totally sympathize :(
