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New offerings from the trade magazine CNA:
Shutterfly Brings Digital Scrapbooks to Life With New Printing Solution
ANAHEIM, Calif. --(Business Wire)-- Jan. 29, 2007 Shutterfly, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFLY), an Internet-based social expression and personal publishing service, announced today at the 2007 Craft and Hobby Association (CHA) Winter Convention and Trade Show, a new printing solution that enables digital scrapbookers to easily upload layouts into high quality Photo Books and print them with full bleed or die cut window covers. Shutterfly also announced the formation of its Digital Scrapbooking Advisory Team, which will provide inspiration and guidance as Shutterfly continues to address the needs of the rapidly growing scrapbooking audience.
"Our Digital Scrapbooking Printing Solution is the first step in fulfilling our scrapbooking customers' desire to transfer their stories from a digital to physical format," said Jeffrey Housenbold, President & CEO of Shutterfly. "Scrapbooking has grown from a hobbyist's trend to an everyday experience, and our customers' interest in scrapbooking has grown accordingly. We are excited that our customers will use these new features to showcase their personal stories in unique ways. We are also delighted to announce the creation of our Digital Scrapbooking Advisory Team who will share their passion and expertise with us, ensuring that we continue to offer products and services that will benefit consumers."
The Shutterfly Digital Scrapbooking Printing Solution will provide digital scrapbookers with a premium quality printing solution at an exceptional value. Only available at Shutterfly, customers simply upload their digital layouts and drag and drop them into a blank Photo Book. Consistent with Shutterfly's commitment to delivering the clearest, simplest experience possible, Shutterfly offers step-by-step instructions, detailed upload specifications, design templates and related guidelines to assist in every aspect of the upload and printing process.
"Until now, digital scrapbookers have had to rely on their own resourcefulness to bring their digital creations into the physical realm," said Katie Pertiet, a member of the Shutterfly Digital Scrapbooking Advisory Team. "We were thrilled to learn that Shutterfly was interested in working with us to solve that problem. We look forward to creating additional enhancements that will help digital scrapbookers of all levels share their stories in new and exciting ways."
With four book formats, Shutterfly's Digital Scrapbooking Printing Solution allows customers to fill the entire length and width of each page with their jpg images. The two square-book formats, 12x12 Memory Books and 8x8 Story Books, feature personalized photo-covers; while the two rectangle-book formats, 8.5x11 Classic Books and the 5x7 Casual Books, come with cloth, suede or leather cover choices, all of which include a die-cut window to reveal the title page. Shutterfly's Digital Scrapbooking Printing Solution is accessible via the Internet and is compatible with both Windows and Mac - no software download is required.
Digital Scrapbooking Advisory Team
Shutterfly invited leading digital scrappers from the United States and Canada to join its new Digital Scrapbooking Advisory Team. The inaugural members of the team include: Amy Edwards, Ann Hetzel Gunkel, Anna Aspnes, Carol Abram, Heather Ann Melzer, Jen Wilson, Kate Teague, Katie Pertiet, Maya, Ronna Penner, Savannah Brentnall and Sunni Rafuse. Selected for expertise in scrapbooking, the team will work collaboratively with Shutterfly to create, introduce, and communicate Shutterfly solutions that will help to innovate and grow the overall scrapbooking market. Additionally, Shutterfly will feature members of the Advisory team and showcase their work in a new scrapbooking community section at http://www.shutterfly.com/digitalscrapbooking.
About Shutterfly
Founded in 1999, Shutterfly, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFLY) (http://www.shutterfly.com) is an Internet-based social expression and personal publishing service. Shutterfly provides a range of products and services that make it easy, convenient and fun for consumers to upload, edit, enhance, organize, find, share, create, print and preserve their digital photos in a creative and thoughtful manner. Shutterfly and Shutterfly.com are trademarks of Shutterfly, Inc.
Via the Digital Scrapbooking Community News blog, a heads up on some new software "created by digi scrappers for digi scrappers": Digital ScrapRoom, the "only organizing software created specifically for digital scrappers". Some of the features include:
User Guides with screenshots are available for download at the website: PC and Mac.
The company website includes a Forum, an Affiliate Program, and a blog.
New Book by Tasra Dawson Named Creative Excellence Awards Finalist
January 22, 2007 – Santa Rosa, California – Craftrends Magazine announced the 15th annual Awards of Creative Excellence Finalists in their January issue on newsstands now. Tasra Dawson’s new release, Real Women Scrap: Create the Life and Layouts You’ve Always Wanted has been named a Finalist in the Papercrafts Book category. Each year Craftrends Magazine recognizes books for market innovation, value for money, and creative excellence. Entries are judged on seven points: Overall Quality/Ease of Use, Meets Consumer Need, Originality/Innovation, Attractiveness, Clarity of Instructions, Retail Support, and Advertising/Marketing. Real Women Scrap officially released Jan. 2007 by Dare Dreamer Press.
Winners will be announced at a Gala Event at the annual Craft and Hobby Association (CHA) Winter Trade Show in Anaheim, January 2007, as well as in the April issue of Craftrends. CHA draws nearly 20,000 exhibitors and attendees from 46 nations, including some of the biggest names in scrapbook magazines like Memory Makers, Creating Keepsakes, Better Homes and Gardens Scrapbooks, and manufacturers like Basic Grey, Bazzill, Chatterbox, and Xyron.
Dare Dreamer Press will be exhibiting Real Women Scrap in conjunction with UHU, the U.S. distributor for Germany's UHU brand of premium glues and adhesives, preferred by professional artisans, crafters and everyday people (CHA Booth #3983). Dawson will be present to sign books and spread the message of real women, real stories, and real scrapbooking.
Tasra Dawson is an award-winning author, speaker, and scrapbook artist based in Northern California. Real Women Scrap is the first book of its kind to share more than just tips and techniques—it offers new insight into the way women lead their lives. The book also includes stories of real women whose lives have been transformed through the lessons learned from the scrapbook page. Real women’s stories are followed by practical strategies intended to cultivate hope and produce change. From layout ideas to candid advice, Tasra Dawson provides a whole different perspective on the scrapbooking world.
About Real Women Scrap: Real Women Scrap offers busy women ways to keep life simple by transforming her love for scrapbooking into a metaphor of how to live life to the fullest. Each chapter offers scrap lessons, real stories, and life lessons. Packed full of useful information, constructive solutions, and inspiring stories. Real Women Scrap is the book women cannot afford to leave on the bookshelves.
About Tasra Dawson: As an entrepreneur, wife, and mother, Tasra understands the demands on time and energy faced by career women and busy moms and is passionate about transforming layouts and lives through creativity. A former consultant for a popular scrapbook company, “Diva Idol” contest winner, and an artist with more than a decade of scrapbook experience, Tasra Dawson brings personal and professional insight to the craft. Today a full-time freelance author and speaker, Tasra has multiple publications to her credit, including articles, stories and a national column.
SOURCE: Lessons from the Scrapbook Page
Scrapbook Store Partners to Create Colorful New Line of Products
Springfield, IL – January 27, 2007 -- Papercrafting manufacturer dude designs announces the launch of its first paper line. Backed with over four years experience in scrapbook retail, co-founders Missy Jennings and Kendra Pamenter have developed a line of archivally-safe paper products that will help scrapbookers make their pages more colorful, while capturing the perfect mood for their stories. The company has entered the scrapbook market with four lines of paper: Bunny Trail, Dude-lings, Little Dudes, and Tomboy @ Heart.
Each paper line features a variety of basic patterns, incorporating stripes, dots and circles, flowers, and text. And color -- plenty of bold color choices -- electric blue, bright yellow, black, fuchsia, tangerine, and white.
Why Color?
"The need to do something more in the scrapbook world had been floating around in my head for quite a while, and finally gelled for me," says Jennings. "I thought long and hard and asked myself what I felt would appeal to the average scrapbooker, and I kept coming back to the same thing... it all starts with color."
Just as scrapbookers begin working on a layout by choosing papers based on the colors in their photos, the papers developed by dude designs also start with color. "That's the first thing we consider when we begin working on a new collection," says Pamenter. "Color is a powerful medium; it can create and evoke a mood or theme much like music can. As scrapbookers, you pick papers and products because of color. As designers, we start our creative process with color. Basically, we want our papers to become crafters' 'go to' papers when creating, the kinds of colors and designs that seem to work again and again for all kinds of projects."
Why "dude"?
Jennings and Pamenter have been close friends since meeting at Pamenter's scrapbook store in 2002. The word 'dude' has naturally worked its way into their daily conversations. "We use the word 'dude' in so many ways, with so many different meanings, just by varying the tone of voice," explains Jennings. "Naming our company dude designs just seemed right. One word, many uses. We realized the same concept can be applied to our papers. That's exciting to us."
About dude designs
dude designs is the creative and business endeavor of two best friends who share a love of the scrapbook hobby and industry. The company produces boldly colored papercrafting products designed to be basic and simple, papers that "just…work for you." For more information and to view a project gallery, visit http://www.dudedesignsonline.com/.
Riverside, California store chosen for its friendly and helpful customer service
Longmont, Colo - January 26, 2007 -- Scrapbooking Roads, a unique travel guide directory book and resource website, has named Auntie Amy's Positive Impressions as the January 2007 winner of the Favorite Store of the Month program, as voted by visitors to www.ScrapbookingRoads.com. As the current Favorite Store of the Month, Auntie Amy's is featured in the Scrapbooking Roads e-newsletter and website.
Auntie Amy's Positive Impressions, located in Riverside, California features a discounted Stamp of the Month, hands-on product and technique demonstrations, and an on-line store. As a manufacturer of several rubber stamp lines, Auntie Amy's exhibits at many retail scrapbook and stamp conventions across the country. The store staff is known for its friendly and enthusiastic customer service.
"Auntie Amy's is a very friendly shop," comments Phyllis, a ScrapbookingRoads.com site visitor. "They are always eager to do a demo for you and explain the steps very clearly. Auntie Amy's is the only shop that I have been to, where they'll ask you if you've seen the latest item out and show it to you!"
"We work hard to provide excellent customer service," says Amy Wright, owner of Auntie Amy's, "so it means a lot to us that our store was chosen for that reason. We constantly strive to bring our customers new ideas, techniques and tools, ensuring they have plenty of ideas from which to choose. We appreciate how Scrapbooking Roads gives stores a chance to express their uniqueness as well as make us easy to find with local and interactive maps. Being in the heart of the Inland Empire, we're a great 'road trip' from Los Angeles, Orange County, San Diego or Las Vegas."
Auntie Amy's Positive Impressions opened in 1997 and offers 1600 square feet for your scrapbooking enjoyment. For more information about Auntie Amy's, including the store's "Travel Tipz" (personal recommendations of favorite eateries and nearby attractions), visit www.ScrapbookingRoads.com.
For their selection as January's Favorite Store of the Month, Auntie Amy's will receive a gift basket from Magic Mesh with samples of the Dottie Anne Collection.
Scrapbooking patrons interested in voting for their favorite scrapbook store are encouraged to visit www.ScrapbookingRoads.com and click on "Vote for Your Favorite Store."
About Scrapbooking Roads
Scrapbooking Roads is a unique travel guide directory book and website that features the unique personality of Scrapbook Stores, Consultants and Resources. The site includes interactive maps to help you easily locate area stores. "Special Offers" from retailers are also available online. Site visitors can subscribe to the newsletter and "Update Club" to receive store listing updates. For more information, please visit www.ScrapbookingRoads.com.
About Scrapbooking Roads' Favorite Store of the Month Program
Visitors to www.ScrapbookingRoads.com may nominate their favorite local scrapbooking store via a web-based entry form. Each month Scrapbooking Roads selects a Favorite Scrapbook Store based on votes that have been received. The winning store receives various scrapbook related products from sponsoring manufacturers, and is highlighted in the Scrapbooking Roads e-newsletter and website.
Scrapbooking Collection Available at Retail Spring 2007
KANSAS CITY, MO—K&Company, one of the nation’s largest manufacturers of scrapbooking albums, papers and embellishments, will roll out its officially-licensed collection of Girl Scouts scrapbooking products to retail buyers at the Craft & Hobby Association’s winter convention and tradeshow held January 28-31, 2007 in Anaheim, Calif. Over 20,000 visitors from around the world are expected to attend the craft event.
In 2006, K&Company and Girl Scouts of the USA reached a licensing agreement for a comprehensive scrapbooking collection, which showcases the leadership development organization’s internationally recognized logos, colors and mottos.
“We wanted our Girl Scout collection to speak to today’s generation of Girl Scouts,” says Kay Stanley, founder and president of K&Company. “But we also wanted the designs to appeal to Girl Scout alumnae who have memories to scrapbook. I think we’ve achieved both.”
For K&Company, the traditional Girl Scout greens and Brownie Girl Scout neutrals take a contemporary turn with vintage-inspired distressed graphic treatments, energetic typography and modern florals. K&Company will apply Girl Scout designs to its array of flat designer papers as well as albums, dimensional stickers, rub-on transfers and clear, domed embellishments. The entire collection will
retail between $2.99 and $39.99. Products will begin retailing in March 2007 in nearly 5,000 retail scrapbook, craft and gift stores.
“This is a much-anticipated release,” says Stanley. “Scrapbookers have been asking for this for years, and we’re excited to finally be able to present it to them.”
"For Girl Scouts past and present, Girl Scout activities create a lifetime of wonderful memories," states Barry Horowitz, vice president and general manager, Girl Scout Merchandise. “We are very pleased that K&Company has developed a quality Girl Scout scrapbook collection
that will preserve these treasured experiences for generations.
ABOUT K&COMPANY: Kay Stanley and Curt Seymour founded K&Company in 1996 with the development of a unique personalized system called Frame-a-Name®. Today, K&Company’s core management team of top industry professionals leads 220 employees and operates out of its seventh location, a creatively designed, refurbished office space, as well as a its state-of-the-art, 300,000-square-foot distribution center, both located in Kansas City, Missouri. Along with Frame-a-Name products, K&Company manufactures albums, scrapbook papers, stickers and collegiate and military gifts available in over 23 countries and in nearly 5,000 independent gift, scrapbook, craft and photo retail stores nationwide. In both 2003 and 2005, K&Company was named to the Inc. 500 list of fastest-growing companies.
ABOUT GIRL SCOUTS: Founded in 1912, Girl Scouts of the USA is the preeminent leadership development organization for girls with 3.7 million girl and adult members worldwide. Girl Scouting is the leading authority on girls’ healthy development, and builds girls of courage, confidence and character, who make the world a better place. The organization serves girls in every corner of the United States, including Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, as well as destinations abroad. For more information on how to join, volunteer, reconnect or donate to Girl Scouts, call (800) GSUSA 4 U [(800) 478-7248] or visit www.girlscouts.org
Ginger Rohlfs has posted her new Gin-X lines for Imagination Project on her Bought, Sold, or Processed... blog. Two new lines:
"As You Wish":
I had been wanting to play with a different direction for a while. I also (as I had mentioned in the IP Blog) wanted to do a line that was centered around a "Book of Me" approach. Something that would inspire a scrapper to fill things out about themselves. What's nice is that the embellishments can be used for other people too. (If you're scrapping your child, etc.) I think the labels are my favorite - probably because I love filling out questions.
See more "As You Wish" images on the Imagination Project blog.
"Get Into My Car"
I wanted that vintage "Garage" looking car line but with more primary colors. For three shows now, I have been trying to figure out how to incorporate primary colors into a line and could never do it. Finally - it clicked. Or, at least in my mind I like to think that it clicked. I LOVE street signs - any way they come and the stickers in the line make me happy! LOVE these!
Ginger also mentioned a new line called Office Supplied:
Emily (Adams) and I collaborated on this effort. It was a meeting of the minds that has really opened me up artistically. I definitely am a more "straight-laced" person when it comes to fonts, etc. Emily likes stuff that's all over the place. What's funny is that we began to see traits of each other as this line was coming together. We thought about items that we would want to use when scrapbooking and that's how it all came to be. Each and every piece was carefully thought out - down to minute details. Here are some rough peeks of Office Supplied. It's a line that's full of fun products that resemble office supplies. After a particularly hectic day, Emily made me the sticker that said "Bang Head Here". I'm sure we've all had days like that. Might as well scrap them.
The IP Blog also has sneak peeks of new stuff from their other designers: Chloe's Closet, Fashionista, Blue Cardigan, and Chartreuse Dream.
Finally, an easy-to-use, digital scrapbooking solution that needs no expensive software and comes with a personal trainer.
Provo, UT (PRWEB) January 18, 2007 -- Heritage Makers, Inc. in partnership with Scrap Girls, today announced the launch of Heritage Studio™, an easy-to-use, web-based, digital scrapbooking solution for creating beautiful hardbound storybooks and greeting cards, without expensive software. Heritage Studio has already been available to Heritage Makers customers since October 2006 and has been used to make thousands of storybooks and greeting cards.
Heritage Studio is offered through home-party consultants who provide customers with one-on-one assistance to complete meaningful projects in the comfort of their own homes.
In addition to easy-to-use software and personal consultants, Heritage Studio users have access to thousands of dollars worth of templates, borders, backgrounds and embellishments from digital scrapbooking leader Scrap Girls.
Heritage Studio users can choose among three different PC or Mac account options:
"Heritage Makers continues to innovate to help customers build lasting legacies of family heritage," said Heritage Makers CEO Christopher Lee. "Our new, online application saves customers from having to buy and learn expensive and complicated digital scrapbooking software. And, thanks to our partnership with Scrap Girls, customers also have thousands of dollars of professionally designed digital scrapbooking materials at their fingertips."
According to Scrap Girls CEO Rozanne Paxman, "Heritage Makers' unique web-based service, coupled with Scrap Girls' rich collection of digital scrapbooking content, plus the thousands of Heritage Consultants around the United States, gives newcomers to digital scrapbooking a perfect solution for getting started in this fun heritage hobby."
About Heritage Makers
Heritage Makers, Inc. is a direct selling, party-plan company focused on helping people create lasting legacies of family heritage through the power of story. With thousands of Heritage Consultants around the United States, Heritage Makers offers a wide range of products and services that help families use technology to tell their stories from the comfort of their own homes.
About Scrap Girls
Scrap Girls is dedicated to offering quality digital scrapbooking products, as well as quality training in how to use these products within popular graphic software interfaces. Scrap Girls also publishes an e-newsletter five times a week, which includes helpful information, ideas and training for digital scrapbookers as well as a continuous supply of freebies for subscribers.
SOURCE: PRWeb
LifetimeMoments.com has posted a lengthy index of manufacturers, offering sneak peeks at products to be launched/unveiled at CHA Winter 2007: INDEX to Manufacturers.
On the list of manufacturers presented:
3 Bugs in a Rug
American Crafts
A 2 Z
All My Memories
BamPop
Cherry Arte
Cosmo Cricket
Daisy D's
Fancy Pants
Flair
Hambly Studios
Imagination Project
Me And My BIG Ideas
Maya Road
Melissa Frances
Mema Designs
Paper Salon
Picture It! scrapbook page frames
Piggy Tales
Pizzazzill
Polar Bear Press
Queen & Co
Ranger
Rusty Pickle
Scenic Route
Scrapworks
Scribble Scrabble
SEI
Technique Tuesday
Urban Lily
Updated to Add: Design Team member Kate has written a show review for the February 11th LM Style newsletter.
