CM Life

Celebrating National Scrapbook Day

One of the most exciting times of the year is our National Scrapbook Day Celebration! In 1995, when Creative Memories began the tradition of having ONE day dedicated to album making, we had discovered the immense power of gathering together with a shared goal; album completion. Since we created that first declaration 17 years ago, we have modified the event to make it even more effective.

Regardless of all the evolutions that have taken place, the most important detail is still the same…great things happen when people get together to share in the activity of album making.  

I want to share comments that have recently been shared with me by Creative Memories own Genevieve Skory:
“Rhonda, I brought my two daughters to my local scrapbooking workshop and each of them worked faithfully on their album. Our 17-year old daughter, Gabriella, filled a Quick Album and our 11-year old daughter, Eden, completed eight traditional pages. As their mother, I was so blessed to see the encouragement and kind suggestions other people shared with my girls. They both left the event with pride and joy. In fact, the next day, they were on Skype with their older brother, who was traveling overseas, sharing their albums with him. Later that day they were on the couch, showing their father what they had created. We have officially become a family of scrapbookers! We believe in the value of this mission and the importance of scrapbooking workshops.”

Eden Scrapbooking

 

Gabriella scrapbooking

 

The girls sharing with Dad

And this story that was emailed to me demonstrates again the power of album making and the value of passing it on to our children:
"Hi Rhonda…I am having a really “proud happy mama moment” and feel like sharing this with the world because it means so much to me. This melts my heart on so many levels. Here is my 5 year old Cami, scrapbooking with me, the “Creative Memories Way.” For so many years I’ve deeply cherished the hours upon hours I put into making these albums and the joy they bring to me and to everyone who looks at them. But now, to have Cami enjoy the same thing, and to be so intent and careful and creative and so loving as she makes her pages and thinks about what to write in her, “ABC’s of Love” book. It’s just priceless.  Nothing like a child following your footsteps…. It’s awesome. Thank you!!"
- Michele Miller

Michele and her daughter Cami

Aren’t those stories great?? You too have pictures and stories that belong in albums so I hope you will join us during our nine-day National Scrapbook Day Celebration, April 27th – May 5th, 2012. Just think of what could happen during this time; more children could grasp the tradition of album making; parents can complete albums of love and affirmation for their loved ones; faith stories can get documented and shared; and the list goes on.

What a powerful opportunity we have! Come to an event yourself but even better, bring a friend or two. With your help, we can reach our goal this year which is to have 25,000 projects started!! (Wouldn’t it be great if those projects were completed as well)!!   

My thanks for your personal passion for our mission and commitment to completing albums. Hope to see you soon at an event near you!

Congratulations to our Pin & Win Winners!

We would like to thank everyone who entered the
Creative Memories Pin & Win contest.

Congratulations to our winners!

Diane H. - This & That Cricut Cartridge
Debra W. - Custom Album Product Credit
Stacy G. - Nancy O'Dell Recipe Quick Kit
Randi D. - Sleek White Everyday Display & Welcome to our Home Display Accents
Wendy W. - Border Maker System & Double Heart Cartridge

 

 

We're awesome. The judges said so.

We’re pretty proud of our product development and creative services groups right now -- the illustrators, graphic designers, writers, developers, marketers, trainers...who put together most of our advertising, marketing and product designs.* That’s because this past Friday night there were a whopping 11 awards given out to Creative Memories' work at this year’s local ADDY Awards show.

What’s an ADDY Award, you ask? The ADDY Awards are a creative awards competition sponsored by the American Advertising Federation (AAF). In fact, it’s the advertising industry’s largest and most representative competition -- attracting over 50,000 entries each year in local ADDY competitions.

Local winners from clubs like our AAF-Central Minnesota chapter will now travel on to district-level competition. Winners there compete at the national level for a National ADDY Award. (Wish us luck!)

ADDY Awards are given in a bunch of different categories, from brochures and catalogs to magazine and television to websites and packaging. Awards can also be given for “elements of advertising” such as logos, photography and illustration.

This year, between entries submitted by our internal team and those submitted by our fantastic friends at Adventure, here’s the list of awards we brought home:

• Best of Copywriting -- Fall/Winter 2011 Photo Solutions Catalog and
• Gold ADDY -- Fall/Winter 2011 Photo Solutions Catalog

 

• Gold ADDY -- Dear Santa Simply Said Book • Gold ADDY -- Reminisce Travel Additions (illustration campaign)
• Silver ADDY -- Spring/Summer 2011 Product Catalog
• Silver ADDY -- Getting Started Guide

 

• Silver ADDY -- Just Between Friends Simply Said Book
• Silver ADDY -- Logo Depot Business Gifts (t-shirt, tumbler, datebook/stationery, nail file)
• Silver ADDY -- Holidazzle Collection (illustration campaign)

 

• Silver ADDY -- Reflections (illustration campaign)
• Silver ADDY -- Spring and Summer Reflections (illustration campaign) *Now, don’t get me wrong, we’re just as proud of everybody else around here. We all bleed CM blue. These are just the people lucky enough to have something to shout about this week!

 

“It didn’t feel like 25 years…'til today”

Ah, Valentine’s Day. Love is truly in the air as passion and romance fight off winter’s chill here in Minnesota. And so, on this magical day where Cupid holds sway and hearts and minds turn toward love’s true embrace, we’re all 25x excited.

Actually, we’re 25x excited throughout 2012 because it’s our 25th anniversary year. But today we’ve found an even more exciting 25th anniversary to celebrate. It’s our own beloved Pam Cesnik and her long-suffering husband, Luke.

Today is their 25th wedding anniversary. (Congrats, Pam and Luke! Let’s make that clear up front.) And, as you can imagine with a Valentine’s anniversary, these two have a history of pushing the envelope beyond mere flowers and chocolates. In the past (on their 19th and 23rd anniversaries), Luke has decided it’s “cute” to embarrass Pam with a tuxedoed barber shop quartet sent to her place of work. Mission accomplished. She's been mortified.

But revenge, as they say, is a dish best served cold. And (see earlier comments regarding February in Minnesota) today seemed a good day for payback.

So Pam, much like the black widow spider, lured her unwitting mate into a trap. Some "complicated insurance interaction matters" demanded a face-to-face meeting for both Pam and Luke with Creative Memories' crack HR squad. Sorry, hon, there's no way around it.

Luke arrived, completely unsuspecting, and the trap was sprung. And if the look on his face in this photo is any indication, he celebrated his 25th anniversary with a moment in the spotlight that must have felt 25 years long!

We didn't let Pam off too easy, though, by finding a chair for her to join her sweetie for the second serenade!

In the end, Luke came out ahead with this awesome Photo Panel from Pam. Ahhhh!

Here's to 25 years of great memories...and 25 more to come!

Beeing productive

It's Friday here in St. Cloud, but the pace is anything but casual. We're scrambling like a highly motivated, carefully choreographed little hive of album-making bees.

What's the rush? It's the effects of January's Celebration Sale –– where everything was 25 percent off. There were some screamin' deals to be had, and you guys snapped up plenty of them. Well shopped, my friends.

But it's Feb. 10 and thousands of you still don't have your albums yet. So we're out here, buzzing around, busting our stingers to get these albums assembled, out the door and on their merry way toward your photos. Because there's only one group of people who get more frustrated than you about your order moving slowly. And that's the people in our manufacturing facility.

So today a whole swarm of us from the Product Development and Marketing groups are out on the floor, doing what we can to help out.

For right now, that mostly meant assembling coverholders and straps.

"Yeah, we've had folks pitching in from the offices all week," explains Workflow Coordinator Rob Loehrer.

"Last week, too. There are still somewhere over 10,000 albums left to put together –– so we're in our final push. We'll be here all day and then we have a crew of our people coming in tomorrow as well."

Yep, it's fast-paced work. And there's a lot of it to do. But it's certainly not quiet or lonely. (Eve's here.)

Looking forward to shipping your album soon!

An experience of a lifetime

On Oct. 27, I received the most exciting phone call EVER! After 33 years of struggling with, wrestling with and treating my hair as if it was my arch nemesis, I was told that I was one of three finalists for the Dove_® Make Friends With Your Hair Contest.

So, if you read the blog post below, you know all the details. And thanks to Dove Hair and their amazing team and celebrity hair stylist, Mark Townsend, and his equally amazing assistant, Luke Chamberlain, I had the experience of a lifetime. I’m happy to report that I have FINALLY made friends with my hair!

Dove spoiled me during my stay in New York. When I arrived at my hotel room, there was a gift pack full of great Dove products, treats and fun New York City souvenirs waiting for me. Then I met Mark on Tuesday for a haircut, which only took about an hour. He told me that when he first saw my entry video, he said, “That girl thins her hair out too much!” He told me to NEVER thin my hair out again. When curly hair is thinned, he explained, the curl doesn’t know where to go and just ends up frizzy.

On Tuesday night, Dove took the three finalists to a delicious dinner. It was fun to sit down and talk to everyone involved in the contest from the Dove Hair employees to the public relations and production agencies. It's crazy to see how many people are involved in putting on a contest like this. 

Wednesday I was back in Mark’s chair again having my hair styled for the shooting of a potential Dove TV ad – the ad, if I’m chosen the winner, will appear on TV. Dove provided my clothes and jewelry for the taping. I was surprised at the end of the day to hear I got to keep the clothes and jewelry!

During my unforgettable trip, I discovered some interesting similarities between Dove and Creative Memories. Dove is committed to building positive self-esteem in girls just as Creative Memories Hope in Action is committed to creating albums to help raise confident, happy and secure kids. While Creative Memories is committed to preserving memories as they happened, Dove preserves beauty in who you are. I will forever be a Dove loyalist, just as I will always be a Creative Memories loyalist. Both are companies that have missions that make a difference.

Oh, and all of that pampering … I felt like I was on one of those fabulous Creative Memories incentive trips! 

So, you may be wondering why the heck you're voting if I've already been to New York. Well, keep voting at Make Friends with Your Hair (one vote per day until Monday, Nov. 28), because I'm still in the running to have my transformation aired on national television! I want to send out a HUGE THANK YOU to all of you for your support and sweet messages. This is truly an unforgettable experience – one I'll be documenting in my StoryBook:).

Mandy Wolvert

 

Vote today (and tomorrow) for a Creative Memories shining star!

It’s not every day that a friend and co-worker becomes a contest finalist and wins a trip to New York, a hair transformation with celebrity stylist Mark Townsend, and a chance to star in a Dove_® TV ad. But that’s exactly what’s happening to our dear Mandy Wolvert, a sales activation specialist here at Creative Memories.

Mandy’s trip to New York and hair transformation are happening this week. And just that part would be great. But – with help from all of us – there can be so much more. It’s a contest. Mandy’s one of three finalists and she needs your vote. 

The three finalists’ entry videos are posted on dove.us (The Dove_® Make Friends with Your Hair Contest) and you can vote for Mandy, once each day, through Nov. 28. So go vote right now before you even bother reading the rest of this post. We’ll wait. (You may win some free products when you vote. My friend Liz just voted and won a free bath robe and Dove product. What fun!) 

Bad hair daze
Mandy’s a sweetheart. We all love her. But – and we mean this in the nicest possible way – she’s got some crazy hair. (Now, to some of us, that’s one of her most endearing qualities.) So when Mandy first told us she was a finalist for a spot in a shampoo commercial, we all responded with lots of enthusiastic (but slightly confused) congratulations. “Too funny, everyone,” she quipped. “I’m a finalist because of my BAD hair.”

Actually, Mandy, it wasn’t just your hair that made the difference. According to the contest’s official rules, finalists were picked based on likability and personality (50 percent); creativity and originality (30 percent); and eloquence and articulation (20 percent). Looking at the judging criteria, you were born to be a winner!

Dreamy adventure
Before Mandy left for New York, she told us this trip was a dream come true. “Some girls dream of a fairytale wedding,” Mandy said. “My dream has been to have my hair done by a celebrity hairstylist.”

And it wasn’t just any stylist that did Mandy’s hair. It was the talented and experienced Mark Townsend, who works on hair for folks like Reese Witherspoon and Penelope Cruz (not to drop names). Now he gets to add Mandy Wolvert to his portfolio. And we can’t wait to hear all about it!

Mandy’s story is one for the books – Creative Memories StoryBooks, that is. We’re excited to see all her pictures from the trip, and we’re excited to see the album or StoryBook she ends up creating (which MIGHT look a little something like what we’ve started for her below). But mostly we’re excited that, in all this year’s Wolvert family holiday photos, Mandy’s going to see the beautiful woman we’ve always seen!

 

 

 

 

 

The Albums That Survived F5

My name is Martha Cochenour. I just wanted to share my story about your albums. 

When my son was a senior, I did a senior memory book for him and a friend did a memory book for his football. My son is now 27 and has kept those books with him at all times.

In May 2011, a F5 tornado hit Joplin, MO. The area where he lived is where the tornado became F5 and it went right over his 3rd floor apartment. Jacob ran down from the 3rd floor to the first, with nothing but his clothes. Afterwards, there was nothing left of his apartment but thankfully he was okay!

 
When he and my husband went in search of things over the next 2 days, he found his 2 albums from Creative Memories. The albums covers were soggy and have mud on them but they were otherwise intact. The pages were fine!

Album Cover (front):

Album Cover (back):

Album Page:

I just wanted your company to know that your albums can withstand an F5 tornado. Thank you. I love working with my consultant, Diann Voeller, and always have been proud of my books and your products that make them so.
 
Martha Cochenour
Creative Memories Customer

Clear as mud

The other day, while looking at photos on Facebook, I spotted several photos of three of my co-workers and some of their friends dressed in pink and black dance outfits, including tutus, and covered in mud. "What are those three up to now?" I wondered.

What I discovered was, while I was warring with household dust balls, Amy, Carrie and Mandy were participating in the Warrior Dash — a mud-crawling, fire-leaping, extreme 5K run — in Hastings, Minnesota. Warriors were asked to come in costume and, for their entry fee, they were given a Warrior Dash shirt, medal and very cool helmet (I so want one!). There were more than 10,000 people competing that sunny Saturday in July.

It really didn't surprise me that they were part of this competition. These three women, creative forces at Creative Memories, are always up to something unique, challenging and fun. However, when I heard how difficult this run was, I — an older, slower co-worker — was surprised that all three of them considered it a "fun" run. Really? Fun?

"Fun, fun,fun!" Mandy described the mud-filled day. "I would have never thought that a grueling 5K obstacle course that included climbing over walls and jumping over fire would be so rewarding and best of all...FUN." (Nor would I, Mandy!)

"Best. 5K. Ever. From scaling walls to swimming through the mud... I'd do it all over again in a heartbeat," Carrie recalled her slip-and-slide run. (I'm beat just thinking about it, Carrie!)

Amy summed it all up, "The experience was all-around amazing and crossing the finish line felt like a great accomplishment. Fire, water, walls and mud pits! Can't stop us!!" (Sense of accomplishment — now that's something I can understand — that is, without the fire, walls and mud pits.)

Yep, now it's all clear as mud — they were competing in a mud run. And, when it comes to a challenge, there's no stopping Amy, Carrie and Mandy. Not mud. Not fire. Not walls. Not those prickly tutus. And, at the end of the day, they generously donated their sneakers to be refurbished and distributed to people in third world countries. Way to go, warriors!

While looking at all their muddy warrior photos, I decided to have some fun of my own. Working at Creative Memories, I had everything I needed to put them on display in unusual and fun ways. Here are some Page Prints, 2012 Calendar pages, 4xD Book Card cover and pages, and a Wall Print for your mud-run viewing pleasure.

Page Prints

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2012 Calendar pages

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wall Print

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4xD Book Card cover and back

Three pages from 10-page 4xD Book Card

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now that you've seen a few of my choices, which one would you use to display those warrior photos?

Practice What You Preach? No problem here!

Spring is here, and that means National Scrapbook Day Workshops are popping up in community centers, church basements, and homes all around us. Creative Memories started National Scrapbook Day seventeen years ago as a celebration of photos and memories, so we decided to practice what we preach and hold an event here at the office.

It was day filled with cropping, catching up, and trying out the latest products at the Make n’Take tables. And as we shared the projects we’re working on, I noticed a common thread; that giving or receiving a completed album or photo project is a very special gift.

Amanda, (who has made over 20 digital StoryBooks!) was working on an album of her childhood, which she plans to give to her parents. Amanda says the album is important because, “It helps keep the past right at our fingertips.” Here’s one page of the book, created using the Reminisce Digital Power Palette.  

 

 
Annie was putting the finishing touches on a Celebrate album for her grandmother, who is battling ALS and other health complications. “I sent letters and journaling boxes to friends and family, asking each to share a photo and a birthday greeting, memory or funny story. Grandma just celebrated her 80^th birthday and I brought the album to her party, which she loved! Now that I’ve added a few more pages and the photos from her party, I’m excited to give the album to her.”

 

See more photos from the day on our Facebook Page, then tell us what projects you’re working on this National Scrapbook Day!