Angie Pedersen's Scrapbooking Industry News

Epson Launches Digital Scrapbooking DVD Series

“Digital Scrapbooking Tips with Epson®” Two-Volume DVD Series Demonstrates Computer Tips and Techniques to Elevate Digital Scrapbooking to New Levels

LONG BEACH, Calif., July 31, 2007 – Epson America Inc. today announced the debut of its “Digital Scrapbooking Tips with Epson” DVD series, providing scrapbooking enthusiasts with demonstrations of creative computer tips and techniques for enhancing digital photos and scrapbook layouts. Hosted by Barbara Kotsos, senior marketing manager and digital scrapbooking guru at Epson, the two-volume DVD series is a compilation of segments from the popular “Scrapbook Memories” television show on the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). Each volume features one season’s worth of 13 short segments providing inspiration, instructions and ready-to-create projects for consumers to turn their home computers into easy-to-use scrapbooking tools.

“With this DVD series, we are continuing our ongoing commitment to educating the scrapbook community about new digital technology tools and techniques that can be applied to scrapbook layouts easily at home,” Kotsos said. “We have received an overwhelmingly positive response to the segments since they began airing on PBS over the past six years, so we are pleased to provide the segments from two recent seasons in a handy two-volume series for consumers to use as an at-home reference guide and inspiration to embrace digital technology as a valuable scrapbooking tool.”

About half of the segments feature Kotsos demonstrating how to perform specific techniques using Adobe® Photoshop® Elements tools, including computer screen shots of each technique, allowing viewers to easily follow along at home, as well as samples of completed scrapbook pages and projects that use each illustrated technique. The DVD contains PDF files that contain complete step-by-step instructions for how to accomplish each technique shown.  Consumers can insert the DVD into their PC DVD-ROM drive to access the PDF files and print them for future reference.  In addition, some of the segments demonstrate how to create fun scrapbook pages using templates available for free from the Epson CreativeZone Web site  (www.EpsonCreativeZone.com).

Other topics covered in the series include:

• Combining Digital with Traditional – Highlights how to combine both digital and traditional scrapbooking techniques to create easy and unique layouts, including sample scrapbook pages created digitally and then enhanced with traditional supplies and embellishments to make the pages multi-dimensional.
• Making Dreamy Photo Effects – Demonstrates how to give any photo a soft, dreamy effect using Adobe Photoshop Elements; the technique gives images a professional look and makes them the focal point of any scrapbook page.
• Sport-Themed Pages – Displays fun and creative 12”x12” scrapbook pages using ready-to-print sports-themed pattern pages and elements from the Epson CreativeZone Web site; scrapbookers simply add photos and text to personalize the layouts or create their own layouts with the color-coordinated pages.
• Creating Digital Torn Edges – Demonstrates an easy technique in Adobe Photoshop Elements to mimic a torn page effect in scrapbook layouts in just a few quick steps, without any tearing or scissors involved.

Pricing and Availability

Each volume in the “Digital Scrapbooking Tips with Epson” DVD Series is available for $10.99 on the Epson Store Web site in the digital photography section (www.epsonstore.com). More information on Epson and its products is available by calling 1-800-GO-EPSON (1-800-463-7766) or visiting the Epson Web site at www.epson.com. Consumers can get more creative inspiration for scrapbooking and craft projects by visiting www.EpsonCreativeZone.com as well as signing up for the Creative Croppers Club newsletter for the latest Epson CreativeZone project updates, scrapbook articles and upcoming scrapbook events.

These DVDs are part of Epson’s larger initiative to provide educational materials to creative consumers. Those looking for even more step-by-step instructions on other digital scrapbooking techniques can also find a new 2007-08 series of digital scrapbooking reference guides available for sale on the Epson Web site. These guides answer the questions most often asked in classes taught by Epson’s expert digital scrapbooking trainers and offer their personal insight and expertise. 

About Epson

Epson offers an extensive array of award-winning image capture and image output products for the consumer, business, photography, and graphic arts markets. The company is also a leading supplier of value-added point-of-sale (POS) printers and transactions terminals for the retail market. Founded in 1975, Epson America, Inc. is the U.S. affiliate of Japan-based Seiko Epson Corporation, a global manufacturer and supplier of high-quality technology products that meet customer demands for increased functionality, compactness, systems integration and energy efficiency. Epson America, Inc. is headquartered in Long Beach, Calif.

Memorytrends Offers Registration Promotions

Craftrends and Memorytrends magazines have announced two promotions for those of you planning to attend (or considering attending) the MemoryTrends Conference & Expo, September 18-20, 2007 at the Sands Expo & Convention Center in Las Vegas.

• Retailers who register by August 31st will be automatically entered into a drawing to win lunch with Lisa Bearnson, Ali Edwards, or Becky Higgins and four peers.  The lunch will take place during the Memorytrends show.
  
  • Only retailers who register by August 31st are eligible to win.
  • Each celebrity will host five winners for lunch.
  • Winners will be notified by e-mail by September 5th.
  • One Winner per store.

• Sign up by Friday, August 3rd to take advantage  of one of the following FREE registration offerings, courtesy of Provo Craft:
  • Exhibits Only registration ($25 value) OR
  • one (1) Individual Conference Session ($35 value)

Click here to register for MemoryTrends.

Click here to read "Memorytrends Myths Busted!", regarding myths/rumors about the co-location of the Photo Marketing Association (PMA) show and the MemoryTrends show.

Tumblebeasts Releases New Wild West, Summer, & Holiday Products

Personalize your scrapbook layouts and craft projects using stickers, papers and embellishments with Tumblebeasts' professional and classic hand-drawn look.

Albuquerque NM (July 19, 2007) Tumblebeasts Stickers LLC, a sticker and paper manufacturer known for their classic hand-drawn designs, recently released additions to its coordinated paper, poetry and embellishment lines to coincide with the Craft & Hobby Association trade show, July 2007.

Tumblebeasts offers scrapbooking cardstock stickers, ribbons, stickers with clear backing, coordinating papers, sticky backed resin embellishments and Carol Murray original poetry on cardstock stickers. All are designed to illustrate memories and accent the photographs and other memorabilia on scrapbook pages and to personalize greeting cards and specially crafted gifts.

Tumblebeasts™ best-selling Wild West line has been augmented with new stickers and papers and expanded to include horses and English riding designs. Its trademark Animal Antics line features papers, titles, poetry stickers, resin shapes, ribbons, alphabets and stickers with an animal illustration for every letter of the alphabet.

In addition to the new summer fun collection, additions can be found to Tumblebeasts holiday products including bright, fun papers and cardstock titles covering Halloween, Birthday, Christmas, Thanksgiving, Graduation and Easter. Elegant Christmas papers have been added as well.

Tumblebeasts offers unique high quality sticker sheets, coordinated papers and embellishments with a classic hand-drawn look for scrapbookers and crafters who want their scrapbook pages and craft items to be both personal and elegant.

Two Scrapbooking Magazines Mentioned in Freelance Newsletter

Two items of note seen recently in the July 29th issue of the Wooden Horse Publishing e-newsletter (and featured on the home page):

SCRAPBOOK DIMENSIONS covers "the long-standing traditions of paper scrapbooking with the ease and appeal of its ever-growing digital counterpart."  Topics include tutorials, project ideas, product and software reviews, and image galleries.  Cindy Wyckoff is editor-in-chief of this bi-monthly magazine from EAM Publishing, which debuted in January.  Distribution is by subscription and on select newsstands...

ARTFUL BLOGGING offers perspectives on artists and writers who share their creative work through online journals, galleries, and blogs.  Topics range from profiles and etiquette, to technology information sources and how to get started.  The quarterly magazine debuts in August and is published by Stampington & Company...

Editor's Notes:

A bit more on Artful Blogging: "Our newest 144 page special publication spotlights some of the exceptional artists’ blogs currently online: Michelle Ward, Belinda Schneider, Misty Mawn, Nina Bagley, Claudine Hellmuth, Celine Navarro and 35 others! This superb publication provides Blogging Etiquette, Blogger’s Must-Haves and How to Get Started on your own blog spot!"  The magazine will be published four times a year (January, April, July & October), and will retail for $14.95 a copy.

Wooden Horse Publishing provides information about US and Canadian consumer and trade magazines so "professionals and enthusiasts can select publications that fit their purposes" (i.e. freelance writing gigs, as well as advertising and PR interests).

You can subscribe to their newsletter here.

Creative Imaginations to Launch Creative Cafe

Posted recently to the Creative Imaginations Blog: Creative Café: Looks Like a Candy Store, Feels Like a Community.

A new concept from Creative Imaginations, Creative Café inspires customers to “live a creative lifestyle.”

Creative Café, in collaboration with AccuCut, Hampton Art, and Bazzill Basics Paper, is more than crafting supplies—it’s a way to foster an inspired, creative community. With this new concept, customers will be able to saddle up to an “art bar” stocked with candy store-like bins of coordinating items including bulk tags, buttons, felt, and chipboard, ribbon, rub-ons, stickers, papers, cards, chipboard, stamps and dies. And best of all, customers can work on their projects right there, interacting with other creative-minded crafters—meeting up with friends and making new ones in the process.

...Creative Café is the brainchild of Creative Imaginations’ two best-selling artists, Danelle Johnson and Alison Wong. This entirely new concept is a unique blend of Danelle’s cutting edge design and passion for education and events, with Alison’s nine years of retail store experience, design and marketing.

See pictures on the CI blog.

GCTR to Finance EK Success' Acquisition of Dimensions & Wilton

Reported recently in the Memorytrends Magazine e-newsletter:

TheDeal.com reports the following: GTCR Golder Rauner LLC is sponsoring a $1 billion recapitalization of its scrapbook company, EK Success Ltd., to finance the add-on acquisitions for two other craft companies, Wilton Industries Inc. and Dimensions Co., according to a source.

Scrapbook company EK Success is buying Wilton for more than $700 million, the source said. Woodridge, Ill.-based Wilton generates about $300 million in revenue selling spatulas, icing and sprinkles under the Wilton brand. It also sells teakettles and house wares under the Copco brand, private label picture frames under the Weston Gallery brand, and the scrapbook business Just Jinger. Additionally, EK Success paid more than $100 million for Reading, Pa., arts and crafts company Dimensions. The combined company will take the Wilton Industries name.

GTCR bought EK Success in December 2005 for about $200 million. The company has a joint venture with Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc. producing paper products under the domestic diva's name. Stewart plans to extend the license to Wilton Industries.

Editor's Note: Dimensions Crafts currently owns the Dimensions brand of products, as well as those under the Inkadinkado and K&Company brands. There has been no official confirmation of the inclusion or exclusion of these brands in the new Wilton Industries.

Call for Scrapbooking Submissions: I Love Elvis Papercrafting Contest

EK Success celebrates Elvis' 30 year anniversary with the I Love Elvis Papercrafting Contest! Show your love for The King by creating a rockin' Elvis project and you could win an awesome trip for two to Graceland!

Enter by sending a papercrafting project of your choice (card, home decor, etc) or one scrapbook page (8x8" or larger).

Entries will be accepted from August 1 through September 14, 2007.

EK Success & Elvis Presley Enterprises will choose 10 Finalists from all projects received.

• Entries will be judged on the basis of the following criteria: projects reflection of the Elvis theme (40%), creativity and originality (40%) and execution (20%).
• All entries, regardless of type (papercrafting or scrapbook page project) will be judged together and finalists will be chosen.
• Winners will be notified by phone by October 5, 2007

One Grand Prize winner will receive a 3 day / 2 night trip for two to Memphis including Graceland and its attractions, dinner and Elvis licensed products and $250 (MSRP) of EK Success products.

Nine Finalists will receive Elvis licensed product and $100 (MSRP) of EK Success products.

Shutterfly Launches Summer Memories Campaign

REDWOOD CITY, Calif., Jul 18, 2007 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Shutterfly, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFLY), an Internet-based social expression and personal publishing service, today kicked off its Summer Memories Campaign, to reward and inspire customers, and to celebrate its industry-leading milestones, including:

• 1.5  billion photos uploaded to Shutterfly.com
• 500  million prints sold

Dedicated to helping people share life's joy, this summer Shutterfly will give away a total of 5 million prints to customers who have helped make Shutterfly the industry leader in social expression and personal publishing. Shutterfly will randomly select 25 daily winners from its customer base and reward them with 1,000 free prints each, to use themselves or to share with family and friends. In addition to the daily winners, 3 grand-prize winners will receive 10,000 prints each.

"Shutterfly is celebrating our 8th birthday by giving customers fun and creative ways to enjoy summertime with our Summer Memories campaign. After taking your family on vacation, hosting your kids' talent show or just making home-made ice cream, you can trust Shutterfly to deliver the highest quality products and outstanding service, while you preserve your most prized possessions - your memories," said Jeff Housenbold, CEO and president of Shutterfly.

SummerMemories.com
Whether it's a simple picnic in the park or a more ambitious project like the neighborhood block party, every event becomes a story and an opportunity to tell "how I spent my summer vacation." To help customers create, capture and share their summer stories, Shutterfly has launched SummerMemories.com, to inspire consumers in the Shutterfly community to tell their family stories. This marks the first time Shutterfly has showcased Photo Books authored by its own customers. New stories are continuously added to showcase the breadth of inspirational ideas from the Shutterfly community. See these creative summer-themed books at: http://www.summermemories.com.

Summer Memories visitors can also take an interactive quiz to help fill their summer calendar with fun-filled family activities. After answering a short series of light-hearted questions, quiz takers are matched to one of four personality styles: Epicurean, Social Butterfly, Traveler and Creative Spirit. This informs the types of fun family-oriented ideas and events that readers should consider this summer, along with helpful planning tips and additional online resources. Read all of Shutterfly's ideas for summer fun at: http://www.shutterfly.com/summermemories/ideas/shutterfly_ideas.pdf.

Since its launch in 1999, Shutterfly has become a leading trusted brand among families nationwide for sharing photos and creating keepsakes that celebrate special occasions and everyday moments. Shutterfly has steadily built long-lasting, trusted relationship with customers through its customer-centric policies and easy-to-use features that help people store their photos and easily create beautiful greeting-cards, calendars, photo books and other photo-based merchandise.

About Shutterfly
Founded in 1999, Shutterfly, Inc. is an Internet-based social expression and personal publishing service. Shutterfly provides high quality products and world class services that make it easy, convenient and fun for consumers to preserve their digital photos in a creative and thoughtful manner. Shutterfly's flagship product is its award-winning Photo Book line, which helps consumers celebrate memories and tell their stories in professionally bound coffee table books. The Company has more than 1.5 billion images stored in its digital archive. More information about Shutterfly (NASDAQ:SFLY) is available at www.shutterfly.com. Shutterfly and Shutterfly.com are trademarks of Shutterfly, Inc.

SOURCE: Shutterfly, Inc.

New Crafting Cafe: CraftyBuddy.com

Seen recently in Craftrends News Headlines:

CraftBuddy.com is a new crafting “cafe” where crafters can enter their personal crafting profiles, and that will include a menu of craft categories; a directory of members, crafting businesses, products, and outlets; a classified section; message boards; blogs; and customized personal Web pages. It's designed to be a social network for all types of crafters to share tips, advice, techniques, and product information. For details, e-mail info/at/craftbuddy.com.

Editor's Note: the site is not yet live, but you can sign up to receive updates.

Scrapbooking.com Adds New Business Staff Writer

As recently announced on her blog, Vera Raposo has been invited by Scrapbooking.com & The A-Z Media Group "to be a guest writer for manufacturers, wholesale suppliers, and retail business owners".

Raposo reports that her writing will first appear in the Scrapbooking.com Business Newsletter on August 8th, 2007.

"It is my desire to help the scrapbook industry move to new levels with online business and I look forward to bringing things that business owners can take action on and apply to their business right away."