Angie Pedersen's Scrapbooking Industry News

Design Team Call: FxFoto

Via Susan White's blog, Scrappin' without Scraps:

The makers of FxFoto Creative, a full featured photo editing and layout program, are seeking digital scrapbooking kits for their next edition.  Kits should be useful for a wide variety of digital crafting projects, and can address a variety of events that users might want to scrap: Baby, Boy, Girl, Holiday, School, Masculine, Wedding/Love, Heritage and kits for each of the four seasons.

Designers whose kits are chosen will receive:

• A yearly license fee
• credit within FxFoto - each folder has the kit name and your credits
• Credit and links on the partners page of the FxFoto website
• credit whenever possible when your kit is used for tutorials, booth examples, demos etc
• assurance that each kit is marked for home and personal use only

Submission requirements:

• the kits must be 300 dpi
• the kits do not need to be exclusive - you may continue to sell them
• you must own the copyright and sign a two year agreement
• files must be jpeg or png ( no psd file please)
• kits must be available to use to create projects for promotional purposes (i.e. ads and booth displays)

Deadline for submissions is March 15. 2007.  See Susan's blog for submission instructions.

Lettering Delights Releases Free Alphabet to Promote American Heart Association's go Red Campaign

Heart Disease is the number one killer of women. To support awareness of heart disease and the Go Red Campaign, Lettering Delights is offering its Power Red alphabet for free download. The color red is a symbol of the Go Red Campaign and has become linked with the ability women have to develop better health and live longer lives.

Orem, Utah (PRWEB) February 21, 2007 -- To support awareness of heart disease among women, Lettering Delights is offering its Power Red alphabet for free download. The alphabet can be used to create fliers, signs, newsletters, cards, scrapbook pages and so on.

Our customer base is largely made up of women and we want them all to be safe
Heart Disease is the number one killer of women, even though most women do not consider it a health threat. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) kills 480,000 women a year. The American Heart Association is empowering women with information in order to combat heart disease.

The color red is a symbol of the Go Red Campaign and has become linked with the ability women have to develop better health and live longer lives.

"Our customer base is largely made up of women and we want them all to be safe," said Mark Seastrand, CEO of Lettering Delights. "We encourage our own employees to participate in the Go Red Campaign and get in control of their own health."

To download the Power Red alphabet, visit www.LetteringDelights.com.

The high resolution alphabet is available for Windows and Macintosh. Visitors can also download the Creative Delights Companion software program, which makes it easy to use the alphabet for those who are not proficient in graphic design programs.

For more information about heart disease and how to support the Go Red Campaign, Lettering Delights encourages individuals to visit the American Heart Association at http://americanheart.org.

About Lettering Delights
Lettering Delights offers thousands of creative products at a great value. The huge selection includes scrapbooking fonts, colorful alphabets, printable designs and the free Creative Delights Companion software program.

Flixee Announces Creative Craft Video Contest

Flixee, a subdivision of Picaboo, is hosting a "2 Minute Creative Craft Contest."  Join in on the fun and video tape a 2 minute or less video of your most creative craft and you could possibly win an amazing assortment of craft supplies. The contest runs from February 20th to March 17th. The winner will be decided by people rating the videos and will be announced on March 18, 2007. Prize ships to the United States and Canada only.

Check out this video for more contest details.

New Scrapbooking Fiction to Launch: Prints Charming

Via an interview on GoDeKalb.com, a heads up on a new scrapbooking fiction book due out in early March: Prints Charming by Rebeca Seitz.

Picking up the pieces of her life after a divorce from her cheating husband, Jane Sandburg's living large with the help of her scrapbooking friends. Her wedding scrapbook tossed in storage and forgotten, life looks promising again as the hunk across the breezeway shows interest and Jane convinces the girls to open a business networking scrapbooking women. Yet just when Jane's romance with Jake blossoms and the business starts taking off, her ex comes back begging forgiveness and assuring her that he'll never hurt her again. What's a girl to do but grab her old wedding album and head to the scrapping table with her friends? Whether it'll be revived or recycled remains to be seen!

Prints Charming includes age- and race- diverse characters. Four women who are bound together by their love of scrapbooking live life out over the scrapping table.

Digital Scrapbooking Magazine Website Now Live

The website for CKMedia's Digital Scrapbooking Magazine is now live, featuring articles, tutorials (for both digi and hybrid), a readers' gallery, submission guidelines, and current project calls.

You can still subscribe online - subscription rate is now $14.99/year (6 issues).  If you have already subscribed, associate editor Molly Newman says that "our estimate for subscriber delivery dates is around February 21 or 22."

Craft & Hobby Statistics

The Craft & Hobby Association (CHA) reported today that 7,457 buyers attended the Winter show in Anaheim last month. That’s up from 7,070 in Las Vegas last year. Total attendance this year was 16,364 compared to 14,599 last year. There were 959 exhibitors this year compared to 1,035 last year. A change in registration systems this year allows CHA to report actual attendance rather than total number of registrants as in the past. This year more than 8,300 tickets were sold to educational program; last year approximately 10,500 tickets were sold.

The 2006 Craft & Hobby Association Attitude & Usage Study, released at the January trade show, reveals that the U.S. craft and hobby industry achieved $30.2 billion in annual retail sales, with 57 percent of U.S. households (62 million) participating in crafts last year. Annual average spending per household is $476.

Top-selling categories, in order, were scrapbooking/memory crafts, home décor/painting/accessorizing/finishing, art & drawing, other painting & finishing, floral arranging, beading/bead crafts, card making, woodworking, crocheting, and apparel/fashion sewing.

SOURCE: Craftrends News Headlines

In related news, audio from the seminars offered at CHA 2007 is now available for purchase. Individual session recordings are $12.50 each.  Complete Packages are $95 (MP3) or $295 (Audio CD).

DiScTalkRadio Changes Subscription Policies

As of February 1, DiScTalkRadio has opened up all radio/podcast shows for FREE LISTENING. All shows -- from their archives through to future shows, will be available for registered users to listen to at no cost. (Registration is free)

As a registered Listener, you'll have free access to DiScTalk Radio shows and interviews, featuring popular scrapbooking designers, site owners, industry leaders, creative companies and more.  Past show guests include Katie Pertiet, Gina Miller, Shabby Princess, and CD Muckosky.

Registered listeners can also become a Friend of DSTR at a newly reduced subscription rate.  Each month, Friends will have access to exclusive digital kits designed by the guest of The Featured Designer Hour, chances to win custom layouts created by the current Inside the Scrapper's Playhouse artist, as well as coupons, specials, and drawings from other show guests.

PCPhotomag.com Gets Update

New site launch goes live today

LOS ANGELES, Calif., February 15, 2007--PCPhoto Magazine, your #1 guide to better digital photography, announces the redesign of its Website, PCPhotomag.com. The new site retains the magazine's core recurring features, such as Next, a showcase of the newest digital imaging products, and introduces fresh, Web-only content, such as photography instruction and user forums. It also continues offering old Web favorites such as Win This!, where one can enter to win monthly equipment giveaways.

The site has a new, easy-to-navigate format, which makes exploring the site much more user-friendly. Flash and the latest blogging technology are also integrated throughout the site. Plus, readers can show off their photo skills along with other PCPhoto readers by submitting to the new "Your Best Shots" gallery.

"We're very proud of our new Website," says Editor Wes Pitts. "Several talented designers and developers have worked hard to make it both visually appealing and easy to navigate. We hope our readers will enjoy everything the new site has to offer."

PCPhoto provides modern photo enthusiasts with photography news, tips and prizes. This year, the magazine celebrates its 10th birthday. The March/April 2007 issue, featuring the ultimate guide to D-SLR cameras, will be available on newsstands February 20th.

Genealogy and Family History Radio Show Launched

Via the Family History Help and Product Review blog:

ProGenealogists, Inc. and Genealogy Today announced the launch "Family Roots Radio," a weekly hour-long radio show will begin airing each Thursday at 1pm Pacific (4pm Eastern) beginning February 8, 2007.

Hosted by well-known genealogical author, speaker and researcher, Kory L. Meyerink, the show will feature a wide range of "how-to" elements designed to assist all people interested in family history, from the novice to the professional. In addition to answering general questions from listeners, spotlighting important family history news and providing research tips from professionals, the show will include guests from among the most prominent genealogists today. The show will also explore effective ways to use software and the Internet in the pursuit of family history, including spotlighting data-rich websites. In addition, an "interactive" feature will walk listeners through the use of important sites, while they are listening to the broadcast.

"Family Roots Radio" will be broadcast on the popular VoiceAmerica Channel, accessible by anyone having an Internet connection with audio capabilities. The addition of an interactive website and downloadable archives of past shows will provide many more listener options than available via traditional radio broadcasts.

Diva Craft Lounge 100th Show

San Diego, California - February 13, 2007 Thomas Muehlbauer, Producer for Creating Keepsakes® - Diva Craft Lounge Radio Show announced today that: On Valentines Day, February 14, 2007 the weekly show, hosted by Scrapbook Diva®, Danielle Forsgren and co-host Rayme Royale will reach a milestone with its 100th show.

The 100th show will feature lots of listener (Live or Archive) giveaways including a $500 Purple Cows Gift Basket.  Listen LIVE Wednesday 12-1PM Pacific.  Listeners are encouraged to call-in during the live show to help celebrate: Live Show Phone-in Toll Free: 1-866-613-1612 Intl: 001-858-268-3068

Program guests for the 100th show are Tiffany Tillman who entered the Creating Keepsakes Hall of Fame in 2006 and Emily Adams, Education Director for Imagination Project.

According to Danielle Forsgren, creator of the show: “I can't believe that it is our 100th show! We have been fortunate to interview some really great celebrities and manufacturers in the crafting industry. That's what our listeners tell us they want and we hope to continue giving everyone an insiders look at the industry. This coming year, because of our expanded listener base, I have been able to line up more of the Industry's top names to be on the show.”

Diva Craft Lounge Radio Is Now the 5th "Most Listened to Show" on World Talk Radio

Diva Craft Lounge Radio has been a one-hour weekly “must listen” for crafter's since it premiered in first quarter 2005. It is a fast paced hour packed with fun and reports from around the crafting world. Throughout the show Scrapbook Diva® - Danielle Forsgren and The Duke of Crafts - Rayme Royale interact with their special guests from the “Who's Who” of the crafting industry while receiving remote reports from their Diva's on the Road.

“Although we have a lot of laughs on the show The Diva Craft Lounge is more than putting the fun back into crafting,” says co-host Rayme, “the Diva Craft Lounge is dedicated to empowering all women to “Dare to be Bold, Different and Always Kind!”

About Diva Craft Lounge Radio Show: The one hour Diva Craft Lounge is broadcast live, every Wednesday at 12 PM Pacific Time on WorldTalkRadio.com. The show provides toll-free call-in opportunities for the listeners and is archived after the live broadcast for on-demand listening or Pod Casting which is the preference of most listeners.