"It is not enough to fight. It is the spirit that we bring to the fight that decides the issue. It is morale that wins the victory."
-- George Marshall

by Jami Petersen

It's intimidating for retailers to take the plunge into the sea of digital expansion. The many choices for software, printers, kiosks, etc. can be a confusing and expensive investment. Guest writer, Ginger John, has some suggestions for getting your feet wet first.

Jami Petersen
newsletters@a-z.com

Tragic Magic

Tragic Magic

The next Scrapbooking mystery takes readers back to New Orleans, where there are spookies, foodies—and crafty killers. Carmela, owner of Memory Mine scrapbook shop, and her best friend have a big project converting an old mansion into an unforgettable haunted house. But when Carmela’s client turns up dead, she finds herself in some deep gumbo again. Discover more Tragic Magic including recipes and scrapbooking tips.

Click here to learn more about this scrapbooking mystery...

Press Releases

News you can use about the latest media coverage of hot trends, noteworthy events and dynamic industry leaders. Learn more about the current headlines in arts and crafts by clicking on the title of each article segment.
 

 

Christmas Sleigh, a brand new collection from GCD Studios, gives a fun twist on a traditional Christmas style, by using bright greens and reds while being layered on white! It's perfect for those Christmas morning with loved ones or baking photos. It's packed with texture and specialty papers, making it easy to craft with.

Jill Braff Appointed President and CEO of Scrapblog. Scrapblog, the leading service for creating and sharing multimedia scrapbooks online, announced that it has appointed Jill Braff to head the company as President and CEO. Carlos Garcia, who founded Scrapblog and served as CEO for the past 3 years, will transition to focus on partnerships and will continue to be an active board member. Braff, who most recently led worldwide publishing efforts including licensing, marketing and sales as SVP of global publishing at Glu Mobile, assumes her role as President and CEO effective immediately.

Scrapbook Adhesives by 3L™

SCRAPBOOK ADHESIVES BY 3L™ offers you a new opportunity to gain more sales!

They now have launched an online store powered by Shopatron! This move also bolsters the commitment SCRAPBOOK ADHESIVES BY 3L™ has to their fulfillment partners by driving sales through independent retail stores. The addition of in-store pickup available for brick-and-mortar stores will create ancillary sales of complementary products when customers arrive to pick up their orders.

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by Ginger John, Glitz Design

Digital scrapbooking started as a small niche in the market, but has blossomed (some might say, exploded) into a major faction in the scrapbooking industry. And it’s growing larger every day. As a retailer, getting your foot in the “digital” door can be daunting, but at this point, it’s flat out necessary. So if you still find yourself nervous when you think about incorporating the digital into your scrapbook store just keep it simple; pick one of these ideas to get you started!

1) Cater to the digital scrapper. Consider adding a kiosk where digi-scrappers can come and print off their pages or a workshop with computers and large format printers they can utilize for their digital projects.
2) Offer digital scrapping classes and or digital/hybrid classes! Find a great digital scrapper that can come and teach a class at your store. The easiest way to get going is with a beginners' how-to-get-started class.
3) Carry digital products in your store. Pick a few and make sure their good; easy to use and including plenty of digital files for their money. Most digital CD’s sell for around $25-30 – merchandise your digital CD’s next to coordinating embellishments like Glitz Frosting and recommend those embellishments for hybrid scrapping.
4) Offer a "Make 20 cards in one hour" class! Get a digital card making CD and use the ready-made card files. Prior to the class, print off enough copies for the scrappers attending and they can spend the class time embellishing their digital creations! Rhinestones, inked edges, rounded corners…you know the drill.

There’s no question that digital scrapbooking is a major movement; numerous workshops and classes are being offered at industry conventions, major industry magazines are making additions to their editorial schedules to accommodate all the interest and scrappers are out there looking for digital projects and products! So don’t miss the opportunity to sell to digital customers. Make sure you’ve got something to offer when they come looking in your direction!

Ginger John is one of the Glitz Girls that own Glitz Design. With her partners, Erin DeSpain and Laura Funk, she relishes every new opportunity to offer products that make scrapping and crafting more fun and more viable to the busy, busy scrappers that can’t live without it! For more information on the digital or traditional products currently available from Glitz Design get in touch by email: ginger@glitzitnow.com or visit the Glitz Design website at www.glitzitnow.com!    

The Memory Tradeshow

The Memory Tradeshow is the premiere market for scrapbooking and related products, family history and digital imaging.

It is the most important gathering of this industry regionally, and it’s attracting executives from all sectors: manufacturers, retailers, distributors, suppliers, sales reps, designers and press. The show’s goal is to provide the highest ROI show within the industry with a greater focus on the business of the memory industry, education and best business practices.

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 “the place” for digital scrapbookers and crafters to interact, learn and share ideas

Wacom® announces an exciting new refresh of Pen Scrappers, www.PenScrappers.com, the Web site dedicated to expanding the art of digital scrapbooking and growing the community through fun monthly contests put on by Pen Scrappers’ dynamic panel of leading scrapbooking experts. In addition, the site features exciting new elements such as a learning center where visitors can discover new scrapbooking and craft techniques to improve their own skills.

Twelve Experts, One Goal: Making Digital Scrapbooking Fun
Ten of the original dozen digital scrapbooking experts return to the third season of PenScrappers.com as panelists. New to this year’s panel are Margie Lundy, CEO of Digital Scrapbook Place, Inc. and Lori Barnhurst of Little Dreamer Designs. All twelve panelists look forward to sharing their expertise and knowledge with visitors to the site.

Live this November and running until the end of October 2010, PenScrappers.com offers a themed month-long contest, chosen and hosted by one of the twelve panelists each month. The featured expert will provide a downloadable kit that contestants must use (at least one element from) in each of their scrapbook layout entries in order to be eligible to win. Winners are picked via popular vote by clicking on the voting tab next to the selected entry. Each month’s winner will receive a spectacular prize package. The November 2009 winner will take home a Bamboo™ Craft Pen and Touch tablet, a Digital Scrapbook Artist™ CD from Serif™ and a digital copy of Scraps of Fun embellishments from Digital Scrapbook Place, Inc.

Learning Center, Goodies, What’s Scrappenin’ and More
Panelist and community input from past years have helped PenScrappers.com evolve into much more than a contest site. For example, the all-new Learning Center is an ideal destination for visitors of the site looking to improve their skills. The panel of Pen Scrappers experts will regularly upload rich media content focusing on digital scrapbooking and card making techniques to pass their knowledge on to others. In addition, the Learning Center will feature tutorials from software and hardware partners seeking to share application ideas and industry-specific products with the scrapbooking audience.

Exciting software downloads pertaining to digital scrapbooking, as well as opportunities to participate in charitable programs like Operation Write Home, are all available by clicking on the Goodies tab.

The site also features a location for users to subscribe to the What’s Scrappenin’ monthly e-newsletter for up-to-date information on the Pen Scrappers site and insider information on new products and events. For those that would like to follow Pen Scrappers over social media networks, links to Facebook and Twitter are available on the site.

About Wacom and Bamboo Craft for Digital Scrapbooking
Founded in 1983, Wacom’s vision to bring people and technology closer together through natural interface technologies has made it the world’s leading manufacturer of pen tablets, interactive pen displays and digital interface solutions. The advanced technology of Wacom’s new Bamboo Craft, offering pen and touch input and included software, is ideally suited for today’s scrapbooker and crafter. Bamboo Craft users will enjoy using the pen to retouch and edit photos as well as create and embellish designs. Users can conveniently employ Multi-Touch input to zoom-in on or rotate an image. When ready to add a handwritten note or signature, simply pick up the pen and let it flow. Bamboo Craft ($129 USD) ships with an amazing array of software and valuable items, including Adobe® Photoshop® Elements, Corel® Painter™ Essentials, Nik® filters, 26 digital scrapbooking lessons from renowned designer Jane Conner-ziser, a free scrapbooking album from Shutterfly®, digital craft embellishments, a coupon from Digital Scrapbook University for a free online class, a free one-year subscription to the popular magazine, Scrapbooking and Beyond® and a gift certificate from the e-store at CafePress®.