Angie Pedersen's Scrapbooking Industry News

PaperCrafts Magazine Announces Staff Changes

Paper Crafts Magazine recently announced that editor-in-chief Stacy Croninger has stepped down from that role to pursue a career with CK Media’s events team. After four plus years at the helm of Paper Crafts, she will move into her new role as Senior Events Manager of the Creating Keepsakes Conventions.

Under Croninger's leadership, Paper Crafts magazine has grown to be the leading publication dedicated to paper crafting in the industry. Croninger has represented Paper Crafts in the media, at CK Media events, at various paper crafting celebrations overseas, and on the ever-popular QVC.  The consummate paper crafting enthusiast, Croninger has brought to the magazine a love for the craft, a professional dedication to spreading the word, and a keen understanding of the hobby.

PaperCrafts also announced that Jennifer Schaerer will assume the role of editor-in-chief for the magazine.  Schaerer has a diverse background in journalism and publishing, combined with experience in marketing including consumer research, design development and execution, product management, and branding.

Schaerer is a "self-confessed paper fanatic who admits that there were a few years in her life in which she dictated that Christmas gifts be wrapped in a certain color scheme".  She proclaims a passion for stationery and paper crafted home décor. Her most memorable paper crafted project is a huge 4’ x 6’ corkboard that she made when she was 16, demonstrating that she has found a creative outlet in paper crafting starting at a young age.

CK Announces New Scrapbooker of the Year

BLUFFDALE, UTAH (August 6, 2008) – Creating Keepsakes magazine announced Mandy Douglass of Page, Arizona as the 2008 “Scrapbooker of the Year” at the Creating Keepsakes University education seminar in Provo, August 6th. Douglass was awarded $10,000 in cash, as well as thousands in sponsorship prizes from Creating Keepsakes, Sizzix, and Wausau Paper.

Additionally, Douglass is invited to appear in the Creating Keepsakes, Sizzix, and Wausau Paper booths during upcoming tradeshows and will sign a two-year agreement to represent Creating Keepsakes at upcoming events.

As the third “Scrapbooker of the Year” contest, Creating Keepsakes received hundreds of scrapbook entries. Five finalists were chosen and received an all-expenses paid trip to the awards reception and the Creating Keepsakes University education seminar, August 6 – 9.

 “We were delighted by the beautiful entries we received for the contest this year and it was extremely difficult to narrow them down to just five,” commented Lisa Bearnson, founding editor of Creating Keepsakes magazine and a leading spokesperson for the scrapbooking industry. “All five finalists are exceptionally talented scrapbookers—they wowed us with their amazing pages and unique article ideas. We celebrated their superb work and outstanding talent at the awards reception.

To enter the “Scrapbooker of the Year” contest, scrapbookers submitted a portfolio of their 20 best scrapbook layouts and prepared an article outline on a scrapbooking topic relevant to Creating Keepsakes readers. 

Founder Lisa Bearnson, editor-in-chief Brian Tippetts, creative editor, Britney Mellen, and managing editor Brittany Beattie were among those who selected the top five finalists by judging the contestants on their scrapbook pages, as well as specified personal interviews. Finalists were selected based on showing enthusiasm for the hobby, being able to inspire other scrapbookers, and presenting a unique viewpoint to the industry.
 
About Creating Keepsakes
Creating Keepsakes magazine is America’s leading scrapbook magazine, providing a wide variety of scrapbook page ideas and styles for intermediate to advanced scrapbookers who are passionate about their hobby. The magazine is published 13 times a year, has a readership of approximately half a million and is available at scrapbook specialty stores, Barnes & Noble, Wal-Mart, Michael’s and Hobby Lobby stores, as well as craft retailers nationwide. For more information about Creating Keepsakes, visit www.creatingkeepsakes.com.

Craftrends to Cease Print Publication

Via Scrapbook Update, the news that trade magazine Craftrends will cease its print publication, effective August 1st.

In the July/August 2008 issue, in his Editor's Insight column, editor Bill Gardner wrote:

Beginning August 1, Craftrends magazine will be replaced by Craftrends E-News, the monthly e-mail newsletter we’ve been distributing since February 1. This issue is the last print edition of Craftrends. Economic times have finally caught up with us. As you may know, Craftrends is solely supported by advertising revenue.  And, unfortunately, there has been a tremendous downturn in that over the last couple of years. That, along with rising postage and paper costs, have forced us to close the book on a magazine that’s been published since 1982, and one I’ve been proud to be a part of since 1991.

...we’ll be in touch 12 times a year instead of six times as we were with the magazine. We’ll still bring you ideas on how to improve your business, as well as book and product reviews and commentary. And, we plan to make significant improvements on our Web site to complement the newsletter. And for vendors who want to get the word out to buyers, we do offer advertising opportunities in the newsletter and on our Web site.

The newsletter is currently being to sent to "everyone on our mailing list for whom we had an e-mail address as of February 1, along with those who have signed up for it since." Back issues of the newsletter are available on the Craftrends website.  Newsletter subscription instructions are included at the bottom of each newsletter.

F+W Publications Revises Name

CINCINNATI—July 15, 2008—F+W Publications, Inc. the leading enthusiast content provider and marketer of magazines, books, conferences, and interactive media properties has announced effective immediately it has changed its name to F+W Media, Inc.

The new name better reflects the Company's mission to deliver to passionate consumers the content, community, and data they desire—regardless of platform.

"Over the last 95 years, the F+W name has been synonymous with quality publishing, but 'Publications' no longer adequately describes who we are as a Company," said David Nussbaum, Chairman and CEO. "Today our mission is to offer the highest quality content in a wide variety of formats – from print to digital to video – to our passionate enthusiast communities. We provide compelling content, engaging communities and most importantly consumer satisfaction."

Through the launch of digital books, online purchasing channels, ebook selections, community sites, and more, the Company is on track to dramatically grow its eMedia revenues while maintaining the core business.

F+W Media is moving forward with a key strategy to digitize its catalog of book titles and magazine archives. By end of year, the Company expects to have more than 1,000 products digitized. In 2009 and beyond, new products will be digitized upon release.

"These digital products present limitless opportunities for customization by consumers, and for sale across multiple markets, including the Kindle," added Nussbaum.

To start, the products will be made available for sale online, through the Company's popular Web sites, like MyCraftivity.com a leading community site for crafters.

The site is unique in that it represents a shift from being a single magazine or book-based Web site, to a category and community-focused one. F+W Media will also re-introduce to the marketplace the new Everything.com in 2008. Everything.com, the current home of the popular series Everything Series, will grow to encompass the full breadth of the Company's offerings to create one of the most content-rich sites on the Internet. The product has the potential to grow into a business to rival those of About.com and HowTo.com.

The Company also creates original online video and television programming. Original programming for Web-based delivery includes several weekly radio programs in the collectibles area, podcasts, and how-to video for consumers as seen on ArtistsNetwork.tv or PopularWoodworking.com.

"F+W Media is a vital part of the larger enthusiast Community – we connect passionate, likeminded groups of people to share an ongoing exchange of information, ideas, and inspiration," Nussbaum added. "We are a Media company with enormous potential for future growth through excellence and innovation—our new name simply reflects that."

SOURCE: Wooden Horse and F+W Media

[Editor's Note: F+W Media is the publisher of Memory Makers magazine, Memory Makers books, The Scrapbook Club, and Scrapbook Retailer trade magazine, as well as FamilyTree Magazine and Writer's Digest.]

CKMedia New Website Look(s) Launch Tuesday

Announced recently on Digital Scrapbooking Magazine Associate Editor Molly Newman's Blog:

We've been tapping our fingers and biting our tongues... and now the Digital Scrapbooking team is thrilled to announce that our brand-new, guaranteed-awesome website will be open for business this Tuesday, July 8, 2008.

Along with our partner magazines Creating Keepsakes, Simple Scrapbooks and Paper Crafts, we're launching a new, bigger and better site where you can learn from others, share your own work and enjoy the excitement and energy of a rapidly growing community. Post your own layouts for feedback and praise... share your thoughts via your own personal blog... build new friendships by establishing in and participating in your own groups. Get immediate notification when we're looking for new submissions or launching a new contest. Plus, enjoy up-to-the-minute access to expert advice, ideas and special features from Digital Scrapbooking magazine. This beta release will get better and more useful every day as you and thousands of other readers join us to build a new DigitalScrapbooking.com.

Come join the fun--we can't wait to see you there. Check it out Tuesday at DigitalScrapbooking.com.

Please note that the site will be a beta version and could still have kinks, errors, or missing information. Corrections to any problems will be made and it will be fully functioning as soon as possible.

The website launch news was also announced on DSM's Facebook Group page.

Creating Keepsakes to Launch New Community Website

NEW YORK, June 6 /PRNewswire/ -- Bond Art Science, an information architecture and user experience firm, has partnered with premier craft publisher CK Media to develop a destination website for the scrapbooking market.

CK Media, the publisher of leading craft titles Creating Keepsakes, Simple Scrapbooks, Paper Crafts, and Digital Scrapbooking, sought to develop a new publishing system to manage the digital presence for all of their titles. They also wanted to create an experience that would be engaging to readers who want to contribute and participate online, and appealing to advertisers and promotional partners who want to reach their audience. Bond Art Science developed both the back-end technical architecture and front-end design, and the Joomla-based content management system developed is one of the most customized Joomla installations on the web.

"Scrapbookers are incredibly passionate about their hobby," said Karen McGrane, Senior Partner at Bond Art Science. "We wanted to build a site that would empower them to share, contribute and connect online, in a way that was true to the spirit of the avid scrapbooking community."

"It was critical that what we delivered enhanced their business from all sides," added Evan Orensten, Managing Partner at Bond. "We developed a digital strategy that not only supported each title, but also created a comprehensive community site for all scrapbookers."

"We needed a firm that could translate both our business goals and the needs of our readers into a sustainable system that we can manage and grow internally," said CK Media CEO & President Dave O'Neil. "Bond built us a great system to manage our titles online as well as creating a tailored resource for our demanding audience."

Creatingkeepsakes.com (http://www.Creatingkeepsakes.com) was released into private beta last week, and will be available publicly this summer. CKMedia will be launching new sites to serve their quilting and sewing titles (Quilter's Newsletter, McCall's Quilting, Quiltmaker, McCall's Quick Quilts, Quilter's Home, Sew News and Creative Machine Embroidery) in the near future.

About CK Media
CK Media consists of a diverse mix of traditional magazine publishing, online and digital media, multiple consumer and trade events, merchandising as well as domestic and international product licensing. CK Media's foundation is built on eleven leading consumer magazine titles with a combined circulation of 1.2 million, and a trade publication. CK Media's consumer magazines are household names and market leaders providing content and community resources for scrapbooking, paper crafting, quilting and sewing. The publications are Creating Keepsakes, Simple Scrapbooks, PaperCrafts, Digital Scrapbooking, Quilter's Newsletter, McCall's Quilting, Quiltmaker, McCall's Quick Quilts, Quilter's Home, Sew News and Creative Machine Embroidery. CK Media's trade publication is Craftrends.

About Bond Art + Science
Bond Art + Science is an information architecture and user experience firm located in New York City. Bond's Experience Design practice helps clients create meaningful bonds between technically complex, information rich digital services and the people who use them. Bond primarily works with clients in financial, media, and retail industries by delivering strategy, design, and development services.  Bond is passionate about helping clients realize the value of digital technology.

SOURCE: The Earth Times and PRNewswire

Simple Scrapbooks Plans NSD Celebrations

May 3 is National Scrapbooking Day! To celebrate, Simple Scrapbooks has partnered with scrapbook retailers across North America to host classes taught by some Simple personalities. Each class will include fun projects, exclusive giveaways, and meet-and-greet time with the teacher.

Simple recognizes the importance of uniting the entire scrapbooking community – from the hobbyists, to the retail store owners, to the media. With this in mind, the team has planned this National Scrapbooking Day promotion as a way of bringing the community together and connecting with others who share a love for scrapbooking.

In the same spirit of connection, Simple has united with 10 different companies (American Crafts, Basic Grey, Cosmo Cricket, EK Success, Fancy Pants Designs, QuicKutz, Scrapbook Adhesive by 3L, Scrapworks, Tinkering Ink, and Big Picture Scrapbooking) for an innovative and exciting scavenger hunt. This grand National Scrapbooking Day giveaway involves more than just putting a name in a drawing. Online users will take a journey from one manufacturer’s site to the next, collecting playful clues along the way that will ultimately make them eligible for a spectacular giveaway! (Prize package made up of products from participating scavenger hunt manufacturers. Contest details will be posted on www.SimpleScrapbooksMag.com the week of April 28.)

Participating National Scrapbooking Day stores across North America:

•    Allentown, PA: Kinnon Keepsakes with Beth Proudfoot
•    Austin, Texas: Ladybug & Co. with Lain Ehmann (an all-day crop)
•    Chantilly, VA: Scrapbooks Plus with Elizabeth Dillow
•    Quakertown, PA: Memory Lane with Linda Barber
•    Roswell, NM: Imagine That Scrapbooks with Wendy Smedley
•    Sandy, UT: Heartfelt Creations with Karen Glenn, Angie Lucas, and Megan Hoeppner
•    West Hartford, CT: Wiggles & Giggles with Celeste Smith
•    Calgary, AB, CAN: The Scrap Yard with Cindy Schow
•    Kelowna, BC, CAN: Memories & More with Cheryl Overton
•    Montreal, QC, CAN: Scrapbook Centrale with Melanie Louette

In addition to the attached information, Cathy Zielske is hosting festivities on the Simple Studio Blog in honor of NSD. Every day this week she’ll be introducing new scrapbooking challenges. Winners will be selected for each challenge, and all of those winners will be announced on the Simple blog on NSD. In addition to this, Cathy will have NSD activity on her blog.

Lastly, Stacy Julian is scheduled to “appear” on the Simple website on NSD to say hi to the scrapbooking community and wish them a very happy day!

Creating Keepsakes Announces 2008 Hall of Fame Winners

Creating Keepsakes Scrapbook Magazine has announced the 2008 Hall of Fame winners on their website.

As we celebrate ten great years of honoring more than 200 talented scrapbookers, Creating Keepsakes is proud to announce this year's winners.

1. Amy Martin
2. Andrea Chamberlain
3. Cindy Tobey
4. Denine Zielinski
5. Irma Peredne
6. Kelly Noel
7. Linda Rodriguez
8. Lisa Habisreutinger
9. Melissa Deakin
10. Suzy Plantamura
    

Two Scrapbooking Magazines Launched

Two new publications have hit the presses:

Scrapbook News & Review was conceived with the following in mind:

• All styles, all genres and mixed media -- from beginner to advanced
• Current trends and techniques to challenge creativity
• Real product reviews by real scrapbookers
• Useful articles and layouts
• A staff from across the globe with different styles and tastes
• A place where all scrapbookers have a real chance of getting published

SNR's goal is "to become a leader in driving change throughout the industry, to never let the ball drop on customer service and to never let a reader walk away from their experience with us thinking ill of SNR or anyone associated with us."

Another new scrapbooking magazine, called "Michigan Scrapbooker", will launch May 5.  It will be a free local resource available in southeastern Michigan.  More details will be posted as they become available.

Creating Keepsakes Staff Change

Seen in the most recent e-newsletter from Wooden Horse Magazines Database:

CREATING KEEPSAKES SCRAPBOOK has lost a special projects senior
Editor, Vanessa Hoy... She will pursue a freelance career.  A replacement has not yet been named...