Angie Pedersen's Scrapbooking Industry News

Scrapbook Answers' Girls Weekend

From the Scrapbook Answers Girls' Weekend homepage:

You work hard. Every day. We work hard. Every day. We all need a little R&R. Some quality down time and a whole lot of scrapbooking time too!

This is not your average scrapbooking weekend ... oh no, we're going for a true girls' weekend full of socializing and relaxing! We just happen to be doing a lot of scrappin' the entire time.

So, what makes this retreat different? You will:

   

• Relax and enjoy a weekend devoted to the joy of scrapbooking with friends    
• Benefit from hands-on instruction from your favorite Scrapbook Answers editors and nationally known instructors
  
• Attend up to four classes a day, stretching your scrapbooking skills and completing masterpieces!
   
• Experience the luxury of smaller classes: better-quality instruction and more one-on-one time with instructors
• Have a chance to compete in the Fastest Crop in Arizona speed-cropping contest
   
• Enjoy the fabulous Arizona Biltmore and lots of fun activities: Movie Dive Ins at the pool, discounted spa treatments, and more
   
• Have plenty of time to relax! (We know we're repeating ourselves with the word "relax," but why go away for the weekend if you need a weekend to recover?)

The Scrapbook Answers Girls' Weekend is what a scrapbooking retreat should be. So grab your crop bag and your girlfriends, and let's have some scrappin' good fun!

Classes will be taught by Emily Falconbridge, Ana Cabrera, Renee Foss, Kim Kwan and Lindsay Teague.

The event will take place August 10-13, 2006 in Phoenix, Arizona.

Fujifilm Launches SpongeBob SquarePants and Dora the Explorer QuickSnap Cameras

Popular TV Characters Appeal to Kids and Their Moms Using One-Time-Use Cameras

Valhalla, NY, April 25, 2006 - Fuji Photo Film U.S.A., Inc. announces new Fujifilm QuickSnap SpongeBob SquarePants and Dora the Explorer One-Time-Use Cameras. The popular Nickelodeon TV characters are sure to appeal to youngsters and their moms, the largest segments of One-Time-Use Camera users.

"QuickSnaps have always appealed to moms with kids because of their ease-of-use, ready availability, affordability and go-anywhere capability," said Jolene Wiley, Director of Marketing, One-Time-Use Cameras, Fuji Photo Film U.S.A., Inc. "And, research indicates that as much as 30% of One-Time-Use Cameras are used by young people. Bringing the popularity of SpongeBob SquarePants and Dora the Explorer to our QuickSnap lineup is sure to appeal to these important user groups."

SpongeBob SquarePants has consistently been one of the top rated kids' shows on television, with nearly 57.8 million viewers tuning into the show each month. SpongeBob's eternal optimism and fun-loving personality have made the show the most watched on Nickelodeon among Total Viewers ages two and up (Source: Nielsen Cume Data - July 2005).

Dora the Explorer is beloved by pre-schoolers world-wide and has consistently been one of the top rated shows on commercial TV with 22 million viewers per month. The show is an interactive play-along, bi-lingual, animated adventure series starring Dora, a seven-year-old Latina heroine, whose adventures take place in an imaginative, tropical world filled with jungles, beaches and rainforests.

"Our license agreement with Nickelodeon to create our QuickSnap SpongeBob SquarePants and Dora the Explorer models will bring excitement and incremental business to the category for our retailers, who can then offer these new fun and creative products to their customers," added Wiley.

SpongeBob SquarePants and Dora the Explorer will each have their own model of the QuickSnap Flash 800 X-TRA, preloaded with Fujicolor Superia X-TRA 800 film and sporting a powerful, quick flash system and fine-tuned lens for clear, brilliant color pictures, indoors or out.

Taking full advantage of SpongeBob SquarePant's aquatic theme, there will also be a SpongeBob version of the QuickSnap Waterproof 800 model, an all-weather One-Time-Use Camera that is waterproof to a depth of 35 feet.

The new QuickSnap SpongeBob SquarePants and Dora the Explorer models will be available beginning in May 2006.

SOURCE: Fujifilm Press Center

3M Super 77™ "Can Do" Contest

ST. PAUL, Minn., March 13, 2006 — Do friends refer to you as the next domestic diva with your creative home decorating and crafting projects? Or, maybe you’re a do-it-yourself guru who enjoys tackling various home improvement and repair jobs. Whatever the project, hobby or job may be, if you have a “can do” attitude, a creative mind and love to use 3M Super 77 adhesive, then it’s time to roll up your sleeves and submit your best customized project idea into the Super 77 “Can Do” Contest.

3M, the maker of Super 77 multipurpose adhesive, is searching for creative, practical and ingenious custom-made projects that use spray adhesive to “keep it all together.” Whether you devised a creative home repair, created the classiest home décor items or just enjoy crafting beautiful homemade gifts, 3M wants to know how Super 77 spray adhesive saves time and helps you create “can do” projects with professional-looking results. Entries can be submitted into one of four categories:

• Home Improvement and Repair (e.g. construction, carpentry, drywall construction)
• Crafting and Decorating (e.g. framing, window treatments, scrapbooking, card making, journal or album covers, ornaments, decoupage, floral arrangements)
• Sports and Hobbies (e.g. indoor putting greens, models, model landscapes, game tables)
• Miscellaneous/Other (anything not outlined above where 3M Super 77 adhesive is appropriately used)

If your project is “super” enough to make the cut, then you could win the grand prize of $7,700 plus one case of 3M Super 77 adhesive. Four first place finalists (one per category) will be chosen to receive a monetary prize of $770 in addition to a case of Super 77 multipurpose adhesive. Projects will be judged on creativity, completeness and demonstrated use of Super 77. Evan Farmer, host of TLC’s hit show While You Were Out, will select the overall grand-prize winner.

Additionally, passionate spray adhesive product users can log onto www.3MSuper77.com and join the Super 77 Fan Club. An online resource, the club will give members instant access to tips, techniques and projects that incorporate Super 77, as well as learn about new promotions for the product. Fan club members will also receive a quarterly newsletter with project ideas from Evan Farmer, plus be eligible to receive an invitation to online chat forums with Farmer.

If your customized project idea expresses a “can do” attitude and thought process, then submit the following:

• The name of your project.
• Step-by-step instructions on “how to” complete the project.
• Classification of the project category (e.g. framed photo collage would be considered a “Crafting and Decorating” project).
• Digital (jpeg) or photo quality prints to accompany the project. Include no more than five images, including one image with the completed, final project.
• Your name, home address, city, state, zip code, daytime telephone number, e-mail address (if available) and a statement that you are age 18 or over.

Entries must be postmarked by September 29, 2006 and can be submitted by mail or online:

3M Super 77 “Can Do” Contest
c/o E-Group, Inc.
901 North 3rd Street, Suite 195
Minneapolis, MN 55401.

For a complete set of contest rules, to submit an entry or to learn more about Super 77, visit
www.3MSuper77.com/CanDo.

SOURCE: 3M Newsroom

Memory Makers to Fulfill PaperKuts Subscriptions

Via Amy Edwards' SBB blog:

Memory Makers magazine recently sent out postcards announcing that it has agreed to fulfill the issues remaining on Paperkuts subscriptions.  Subscribers don't have to do anything -- a MM subscription will be automatically extended by the number of issue remaining on a Paperkuts order.

If subscribers do not wish to extend a MM subscription, they need to notify MM in writing at:

Paperkuts
PO Box 420235
Palm Coast, FL 32142-0235

and they will receive a refund for the issues remaining in their subscription.

Editor's Note: I need to verify if this offer is good only for current subscribers to Memory Makers, or if former Paperkuts subscribers can receive a new subscription to MM.  If anyone knows, please leave a comment.

Intriguing Development Announces iRemember Scrapbooking Contest

Lexington, MO (PRWEB) April 23, 2006 -- Intriguing Development, Inc. today announced the iRemember™ Scrapbooking Contest.

Your scrapbook layout could be used and admired by thousands of people! Intriguing Development is looking for outstanding layouts to convert into templates for future versions of the company's iRemember Digital Scrapbooking software for Mac OS X. You could win cool scrapbooking prizes and have your page featured in a future iRemember ad in MacAddict magazine.

The top three layouts will be on public display May 20th at the MacGathering™/SoHo Tech Show™ in Hollywood CA. Show attendees will vote for the grand prizewinner. Local entrants are encouraged to attend the award presentation to be hosted by Jerry Mathers* of the popular 50's sitcom Leave it to Beaver.

The grand prizewinner will win (1) $100 gift certificate from macscrapbook.com; (2) a Sharpics D-Flector model DF-180. The other two finalists will each receive a $25 gift certificate from macscrapbook.com.

Enter Today! Entries must be received no later than 6pm, May 19th. See the official rules at: macscrapbook.com/contest/rules.html.

About iRemember
iRemember is a page layout application that turns digital photos into memories by preserving them in stunning personalized scrapbooks. Simply drag and drop pictures from iPhoto or Finder into an iRemember template, then crop, resize, rotate and add shadow effects. iRemember includes clip art, templates, borders, backgrounds, and a clip art browser - everything needed to create scrapbook pages!

About the MacGathering™ and SoHo Tech Show™
The MacGathering, now in its third year, is produced by Macintosh author/consultant Deborah Shadovitz. The event brings vendors and users together, provides excellent seminars and provides networking and entertainment as well. This year the show adds the SoHo Tech Show™ as a new focus. This small/home office aspect was created to help people become familiar with computer technology so they can make cost-effective informed purchases for their small business. You can learn more about the event at MacGathering.com and about Deborah Shadovitz at Shadovitz.com.

SOURCE: PRWeb

BetterPhoto.com Releases New Photographing Kids DVD

DVD Provides Expert Advice and Easy Tips and Tricks for Family Photography.

REDMOND, Washington (PRWEB) April 17, 2006 –- BetterPhoto.com™, the worldwide leader in online photography education, today announced that President Jim Miotke's latest DVD, Photographing Kids is now available via betterphoto.com. Digital photography has become ubiquitous, and most new digital camera owners want to know one thing: how to take better photos of their family. This fun and informative DVD provides photographers with the tips and tools needed to do just that.

Jim Miotke, author of the BetterPhoto Guide to Digital Photography, shows viewers in his easy and approachable way how to master light, exposure, and composition; how to get wonderful expressions, every time; how to capture winning photos of kids at sport; and much more.
Plus, the DVD includes special bonus features, including a look into the famous KidCapers Studio and an interview with owner Vik Orenstein, plus a fun and informative segment on scrapbooking. This $24.95 DVD is available now from betterphoto.com.

BetterPhoto brings together over 50,000 active members for learning, fun, and community. The site offers over 60 courses on photography and Photoshop, taught by scores of published, professional photographers including Tony Sweet, Brenda Tharp, Jim Zuckerman, Outdoor Photographer editor Rob Sheppard, and Shutterbug editor George Schaub. The monthly BetterPhoto.com contest, considered the best on the web, brings in over 25,000 entries monthly, and awards winners in 10 categories.

About BetterPhoto.com
BetterPhoto.com is the worldwide leader in online photography education, offering an approachable resource for photographers who want to improve their skills, share their photos, and learn more about the art and technique of photography. Headquartered in Redmond, WA, BetterPhoto.com is a fun, approachable community, offering online photography courses led by highly respected and published professional photographers, who act as mentors. BetterPhoto also offers a range of gallery and web hosting options that are easy to use and powerfully customizable, and offers a rich community experience and the best photo contests on the web. The site is celebrating its 10th anniversary throughout 2006.

Technorati tags: photography, scrapbooking, digital photography

Tonya Doughty to Design for Prima Marketing

Via Tonya Doughty (aka GauchoGirl)'s blog, i've got something to say:

A little while ago I was thrilled to have been asked by Prima Marketing to do some scrapbook product design for them. We started working together and what is coming from this collaboration is 4 complete lines featuring luscious, ornamental, distressed, floral cardstocks and rub-ons and die-cuts and alphas and ribbons and yes, flowers... They will be available a little later this year, I'll let you know when as soon as I know.

See Tonya's Prima Gallery here.

ScrapBiz Business Members Celebrate National Scrapbooking Day

ScrapBiz - a small business incubator specific to the Scrapbook industry - sponsors Sweet Memories - the First Annual National Scrapbook Day Event.

(PRWEB) April 12, 2006 -- Weight-conscious Scrappers may want to ditch the calorie counters the first week in May as ScrapBiz Members celebrate both “National Scrapbook Day” and “Eat Dessert First Week”. Independent Scrapbook businesses who are part of the ScrapBiz Business network will be sponsoring a variety of activities during the 1st Annual “Sweet Memories Event”

“Sweet Memories” is sponsored by Seattle-based ScrapBiz, which offers independent scrapbook businesses a variety of consulting, training and support services.

Once the domain of sentimental grandmothers equipped with Elmer’s Glue, family snapshots and blank albums, scrapbooking has become one of America’s hottest hobbies. Nationwide, scrapbooking has grown from a $1.5 billion industry in 2001 to more than $2.5 billion and growing, according to the Craft and Hobby Association (CHA).

“This celebration may seem like light news (except for the desserts),” says ScrapBiz founder Kim Guymon, “but ‘Sweet Memories’ highlights the importance of preserving our memories. Our members and their customers are helping to preserve and interpret family histories in ways that are more appealing to the younger generation. Every scrapper is an individual History Channel.”

For more information about the “Sweet Memories Event” or ScrapBiz, visit www.ScrapBiz.com.

SOURCE: PRWeb

Close to My Heart Releases New Idea Book for Summer

Idea Book features new Scrapbook Kits, exclusive Baby Ensemble and Alphabet Solos stamp sets

PLEASANT GROVE, UT – April 10, 2006 – Close To My Heart, the scrapbooking innovator and industry-leading direct sales company has released its summer Idea Book to its Independent Consultants and customers.

The summer Idea Book includes a variety of new products for the season. The Idea Book features seven new My Reflections™ Scrapbooking Kits, two new My Reflections Collection™ kits, two new My Child’s Reflections kits, two new My Originals™ Card Kits and over 60 new My Acrylix™ stamp sets. These products help scrapbookers and card makers in the United States and Canada create their scrapbooks and cards faster, simpler and easier.

• My Reflections™ Scrapbooking Kits include themed 12” x 12” layout pages and are designed to accommodate varying skill levels to ensure the albums can be as simple or sophisticated as time and creative interests allow.
• My Reflections Collection™ kits provide an all-inclusive scrapbook kit, complete with papers, accents, and instructions to create highly artistic pages.
• My Child’s Reflections™ kits are designed especially for children, to help them scrapbook in a fast, easy, attractive format that ensures successful results.
• My Originals™ Card Kits feature preprinted card bases and My Stickease™ artwork to make creating handmade cards quick and easy.

In addition, Close To My Heart is releasing a highly anticipated baby ensembles featuring limited-edition 12” x 12” albums, coordinating My Reflections ™ Paper Packets, stickers and stamps. The albums, featuring pink or blue embossed stripes, coordinates with the Sugar & Spice for a girl or Snips & Snails papers for a boy and accents creating a complete package for capturing precious first memories.

With over two decades in stamping, Close To My Heart has revolutionized the industry with its innovative My Acrylix™ stamps. The clear, decorative stamps are easy to use and store, offering complete creative control and artistic precision on every project. The new stamps include Alphabet Solos; each set includes an oversized lowercase letter helping highlight the first letter of a title and a variety of descriptive words starting with the letter. Other new sets include beach, Independence Day and other season-specific themes, as well as versatile, universal designs for any time of year. 

Close To My Heart is also continuing its focus on philanthropy and children through its partnership with Operation Kids™, a nonprofit organization that supports a variety of children’s charities dedicated to ensuring a better life for children throughout the world.

Close To My Heart® is an industry leader in innovative scrapbooking and stamping products, including the My Acrylix™ line of clear stamps, My Reflections™ Scrapbooking Kits, and several top-selling how-to programs, including the newest scrapbook layout volume, Cherish, available now. Headquartered in Pleasant Grove, Utah, the company distributes its products at Home Gatherings through thousands of Independent Consultants across the U.S. and Canada. For more information about the Idea Book, ordering exclusive Close To My Heart products or becoming a Consultant, go to www.closetomyheart.com.

Call for Submissions: Letters to My Mother

Adams Media, Inc., publishers of A Cup of Comfort and The Rocking Chair series, is compiling a second anthology of stories, written as letters, for a new book titled Letters to My Mother, to be published in late 2006. Letters to My Mother follows on the heels of the highly anticipated anthology Letters to My Teacher which was published in April 2006. Like its predecessor, Letters to My Mother will contain true stories written by people of all ages—who celebrate the valuable lessons learned from the mothers in our lives. They are letters that demonstrate how great an impact our mothers have had on our lives, as they worked tirelessly to help us in our journey toward becoming better people.

Optimistic, heartfelt, and often humorous, these letters might have such themes as:

You Are My Inspiration

• A young woman learns years later of the quiet struggle her mother endured while fighting a terminal illness.

You Made Me Who I Am Today

• A professional career woman and single mother learns to balance her stressful existence when she discovers her mother’s secrets for daily survival.

You Never Gave Up On Me

• Courtesy of dear ol’ Mom, a troubled young man realizes what it is to have a mother’s love when he survives a brutal accident.

You’re Always In My Heart

• An unfocused young girl is inspired by her mother and overcomes a painful lifelong shyness, all due to a very special hand-sewn dress.

It’s Never Too Late To Say Thank You

• A mother with five children and years of pent-up attitude makes peace with her mother, and in doing so, makes life better for herself and her family.

They're looking for concise, heartfelt letters that express what you learned from your mother, be it a specific incident, milestone, or an ongoing process that has enabled you to grow personally or professionally.

Letters should have a clear beginning, middle, and end, and be approximately 500-750 words. Contributors whose letters are included in the book will receive a payment of $10. The author whose letter is chosen as the most inspirational will receive $100. The best letter submitted by a child will receive $50. Of much greater value, our contributors will receive national writing exposure with a major publisher, a complimentary copy of the book, and bragging rights.