A Very Merry Giveaway!

It's giveaway time! It's been too long since my last giveaway, so I'm making this a festive one!

One lucky reader will receive the following gifts that were present at my Open House in the notorious gift buffet:

2 Christmas tree frame ornaments
2 sheets of Winter Wonderland stickers

To enter, post a comment here with your favorite "creative" gift idea you've ever given or received. To be "creative," it doesn't necessarily have to be hand-made, but should be well thought out or different than something you could simply buy at the store.

Ready...set... GO!

And the winner is....

Last week, I posted a series of recaps from my trip to the Creative Memories Showcase in Anaheim, CA. Each day, readers were encouraged to comment to win a brand new, not-yet-released product.



And the winner is....

Jamers said:

Ya know, I think those Power Palette things could be what encourage me to finish projects because I'd have a whole set of matching stuff all ready to go and wouldn't have to dig through my piles deciding what to use!

August 8, 2009 2:53 AM

Congratulations to Jamers! She'll receive the ABC Stickers from the new Black and White Power Palette. Thanks to everyone who read last week (and endured an embarrassing show of amateur photography).

What's next?

This Saturday, I'm hosting the last in my series of Summer Socials. We're having an Album Share, so bring your completed albums over, sit in my backyard with a margarita and some fruit salad, and check out what my other CM customers have been working on all year!

Not on the Evite yet? Email me at Marianne241@gmail.com for all the details!

Showcase Recap #5

It's the final day of my Showcase Recaps, and I have one of the biggest product releases to show you today! There is a new Power Palette coming out that is sure to make a lot of people happy. In case you're unfamiliar, Power Palettes have everything you need to complete an entire album: solid and decorative paper, stickers, ABC stickers, journal boxes, photo mats, and embellishments. You can buy each component individually, or everything together as a set.

At Showcase, we found out that every Power Palette will now include letter stickers:


And embellishments:


The letter stickers and embellishments will coordinate with the Power Palette they're paired with. For example, the two photos above pair with the Delight Power Palette, which is light and summery.

The newest in Power Palettes is....

Black and White!

The paper is classy and, being black and white, will go well with any and all of your pictures.


Your layouts will look elegant- I love how this sample uses black and white photos to give the entire page a black and white contrast.



The letter stickers are fantastic- in different sizes and designs, there's something to be used on every layout. This set of black and white stickers are my giveaway for the week! Have you been entering every day?


And, of course, the Black and White Power Palette is available in digital format for all of you digital scrapbookers. The great thing about digital? You never run out of stickers. :)

Did you catch the giveaway up there? I'm giving away a set of the brand-new ABC stickers from the Black and White Power Palette! These aren't being released until Sept. 1st, but one of my readers will get one when I draw a name this Monday!

So go ahead- if you haven't already, leave a comment on every Showcase blog post (Monday through Friday's posts of this week). Every comment you leave equals one entry. I will draw names at 8:30am on Monday, so come back to see if you've won!

Showcase Recap #4

It's Thursday, which means there are two days left to bring you the greatest new products for the Creative Memories fall release, straight from our Showcase event last weekend!

I promised to bring you the newest in Digital Scrapbooking today, and I'm thrilled to tell you about:

StoryBook Creator Plus 3.0

This fantastic software has been updated with some fantastic new features, including:


1. New predesigned pages for your digital albums or page prints (shown in both photos above- 12x12 photos that can be printed and framed or inserted directly into your traditional albums).

2. New album cover options in 7x5 and 11x8.5 digital albums.

3. Tons of new digital content- can be purchased on discs or instantly downloaded from my website.

4. New Christmas card designs through the CM Photo Center.


5. Calendars (Yay!!) that are perforated so that at the end of the year- or each month- you can tear off the 12x12 page and insert it into your album. I'm excited about this one, and I'm going to order these as Christmas gifts! These are also orderd through the CM Photo Center.

Are you using StoryBook Creator Plus yet? For those of you who already have it in 2.0, you can upgrade in September and October for $9.95! If you're not using this software yet, let me tell you why it's superior to the typical digital scrapbooking programs you'll find online.

- There are no limits to the modifying and designing that you can do. You can start with a blank page and add your own background paper, photo boxes and embellishments in any theme you'd like! If that's too intimidating for you, there are predesigned pages that allow you to simply place your photos on the pages, maybe add a title or a story on the page, and be done with it!

- The 3.0 version includes text wrapping and the ability to insert text into shapes (such as a heart), or making it follow a customized line (such as a wavy line or zigzag).

- Your digital content includes background paper, diecuts, stickers, stamps, journal boxes, borders and matting, letter stickers, vellum accents and more! And yes, I'm still talking about digital content... all you do is drag and drop these elements onto the page from a sidebar- it's simple, and it's exactly like regular scrapbooking, but without the mess!

- An awesome new feature of 3.0 is the ability to instantly upload your digital pages to Facebook to show off your project to your friends. I'll be doing this myself soon...

So tell me... does Shutterfly let you do all that?

Don't forget to leave your comment here to be entered in Monday's giveaway. I will be introducing the final line of products tomorrow, including the newest in Power Palettes, and the item that will be given away next week! If you're just joining the blog today, go back to the posts from Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday's posts, leave a comment there, and you'll have 3 more entries!

Showcase Recap #3

It's Day 3 of my Showcase Recaps, and I have more new products to show you!

This one is going to be VERY popular in the coming months. Creative Memories has developed a completely new line of storage solutions....

The Memory Mate Daisy Totes

These totes follow the black and white theme that you'll be seeing more of this fall, and the insides are lined in pink- this will make it easier to find your tools and supplies without them getting lost in the black hole that is the bottom of most bags. :)

I know it's hard to tell what each of those pieces are, so you'll have to check out the new catalog after August 15th to see each one individually! Some of the old stand-by pieces are still around, like the Project Tote and the Rolling Tote. But there are also some new additions, like a Weekender Bag, a Tools Tote, and several others!



Next up, we have some new products to support the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Creative Memories and the Make-A-Wish Foundation began a partnership about a year ago, and our "Wishes and Dreams" line of products support this foundation through sales, publicity, and fundraising events (if that piques your interest, you'll want to stay tuned for some upcoming information on my Croptoberfest event this fall....).

At Showcase, CM unveiled the newest products in this line, and here is an overview...


... and a closer look at the display accents that can be used in your albums or on any of our display products for the home:


But the most exciting product in this line is the new Stardust Maker. This punch is the first one in the CM catalog that can punch borders for you!

Again, my apologies for the poor quality in my photos. Taking pictures of a jumbo screen is not the ideal way to market products, but I just couldn't wait for the catalog to come out to show you!

That's it for today, but tomorrow I will unveil the newest in our Digital Products!

And again, don't forget to comment on each of my Showcase Recap posts this week. On Friday, I'm going to unveil a great new line of products, and I'll be giving away one component on Monday! Every day that you leave a comment this week is one entry for you to win, so stop by again tomorrow and Friday (and don't forget to visit Monday and Tuesday's posts if you haven't done so)!

Showcase Recap #2

OK, so I know that I promised yesterday to bring you the latest in CM products that are being launched this fall.

Today, I bring you my FAVORITE new product for fall... because who says you should save the best for last?? It's all about instant gratification with me!

I give you.......

... the new 12-inch Rotary Trimmer!

It includes an extendable ruler (to 12 inches), a replaceable blade, and and a built-in grid. The changes from the old trimmer include a lighter shade of blue for easier viewing of the measurement numbers, and numbers going length-wise down the side so you can measure in both directions when cropping. It also comes with a mat strip that can be rotated in 4 directions and then changed once the blade has worn it out. Also, the single blade has been replaced by a rotary (circular) blade that will give a straighter, more perfect cut.

An optional addition to the new rotary trimmer is a set of 3 different blades. The decorative blade (left) will give you a wavy cut, the perforating blade (middle) will give you a perforation for easily creating removeable parts, and the scoring blade (right) is perfect for creating a fold in greeting cards.


All blades (including the straight blade that comes with the trimmer) come in a plastic cartridge for easy storage. Additionally, since the blades can be stored in their cartridges, it provides you with a flat storage option for your trimmer.


This card was made using all four blades. The paper was trimmed to size with the straight blade. You can see the wavy line down the middle, and the fold was created with the scoring blade. Finally, there is a removable portion of the card that can be torn off to save as an event reminder (see next photo).


What do you think? Leave a comment to let me know what you like/don't like about this new product, and as soon as I can get my hands on one, you can try it out at my next workshop!

Don't forget: each day this week, leave a comment on my Showcase Recap posts and you'll be entered in my giveaway that will take place Monday! The number of days that you comment equal the number of entries, so come back each day to see what I'm debuting!

Showcase Recap #1

The annual Creative Memories Showcase has come to a close, and my head is spinning with information on new products, workshop themes, and customer appreciation ideas!


This week, I'll be sharing my photos from the event and providing you with the very latest in traditional and digital scrapbooking, including new products for the fall and my upcoming events. Bookmark my blog and come back every day to see what I'm unveiling each day- I'll have a new post up at 8:30 each morning!

Disclaimer: please excuse the poor quality of some of the photos- I took a lot of shots of the jumbo screen during presentations and the light in the ballroom was low, so the digital shots throughout the weekend were rushed and not always set up perfectly. But I'll try to post the best ones I have!

So let's get started with an overview of the weekend in Anaheim...

Our hosts were Eve Miller and Karen Grosz, of the home office in St. Cloud, Minnesota. Eve is adorable and Karen is hilarious, so the two of them kept us highly entertained throughout the Showcase... especially when the teleprompter went wacky (on more than one occasion)...


The Creative Memories Mission (quoted in the above photo) was ever present at the event.

We got to see an exclusive interview with Nancy O'Dell (host of Access Hollywood) on her addiction to scrapbooking. She had special shelves built in her house for over 100 of her scrapbooks, including 8 pregnancy albums (yes, eight... of JUST her pregnancy!). This is someone who understands what we do and why we do it.

I got to hang out with a lot of my CM friends-at the sessions....

at dinner.....

and throughout the weekend....

... and did I mention that the Hilton has AMAZING food? As a vegetarian, I was treated to special dishes that were heavenly. But I think everyone agreed that the desserts were absolutely the highlight.

Come back tomorrow, when I will unveil the first NEW product release for fall 2009!

Bonus: I will be giving away a new product next Monday that I received at the Showcase this weekend. For every post this week that you leave a comment on, I will enter your name once in the drawing! So when you visit the blog each day, leave a comment- anything you feel like saying- and you're entered! Each person can comment once per day, Monday through Friday this week, for a total of 5 possible entries!

And the winners are....

I laughed when I saw who the #5 visitor was. Noey is not only a Nestie and a friend of mine, but she is already a two-time raffle winner at my workshops. Some people are just lucky that way!



#7 is Jamers, a fellow purple lover! I know you'll like this page kit!



And Stef, I'm so happy to see that even with my extra publicity, you still won your Petal Passion gift. :) See? Nothing to worry about!

Jamers and Stef, you can email me your address at Marianne241@gmail.com and I'll stick your gift in the mail. Noey, I'll hang on to yours and give it to you at our next crop!

Congrats to the winners and thanks to all who commented. I'll have a new giveaway every month, so come back soon!

It's Giveaway Day!

Today's the day for my Blogwarming Giveaway! Three readers who comment on my Welcome post from Wednesday will receive this Petal Passion page kit.



I'll be randomly selecting three comments tonight at 10:00pm (PST), so check back tomorrow morning to see if you've won! And if you haven't entered yet, leave me a comment by clicking right.... here!

Well, hello!

Welcome to Purple Passion, my newest blog that will be all about scrapbooking! As a Creative Memories Consultant and avid scrapbooker of the last 8 years, I am always looking for people to talk shop with! This blog will feature a number of different types of posts, including some regular features:

- Page of the Week (sample layouts for your inspiration)
- Tuesday's Cool Tools (new or classic tools that a scrapbooker can't live without)
- Layouts and Finished Projects (my own work that I'll shamelessly show off)
- Upcoming Workshop Announcements
- Giveaways!

Just below this post you'll find the different ways to contact me (which will always be available off to the right, labeled "contact"). Below that, I've moved over all of my posts from my previous blog... my "starter blog," if you will. :) In those, you'll be able to browse old Pages of the Week, check out some workshops and events that I've held in the last year, and pick up some tips on organization.

So who's here? Please comment on this post to let me know that you've found it! Then bookmark, subscribe in your feed reader (Google Reader is my favorite), and tell your friends! And for my housewarming (blogwarming?) giveaway, three visitors who comment on this post will receive this Petal Passion page kit!




The winners will be announced on Monday, June 29th.

Happy Scrapping!