My blog has moved!

 

My blog is moving!

starting 2021, you can find me at

adashofstory.com

I can't wait to see you there!

Creative Memories Pocket Pages

Ohmygoodness I'm soo excited about this new development from Creative Memories! 

They have redesigned the Large Pocket Pages so they are better than ever. Now they have the Jeeping edge on the outside just like all our other Refill Pages. Your albums will have a uniform look. PLUS the new pages come in 8.5x11 and 12x12.

If you digital scrapbook, you can put your 12x12 prints directly into the Pocket Pages.

If you prefer to scrapbook on 12x12 printed Paper, you can put those directly into the Pocket Pages.

If you like to mix and match, you can do that too!

Personally, I love the 8.5x11 size for memorabilia. They fit perfectly into the 12x12 albums!

THREE CHEERS FOR CM!!

(Can you tell I'm excited?)

Here is a quick video and you'll see just how awesome they are:

You can view or order Pocket Pages on my website:

creativememories.com/user/donnalyn

They are also redesigning the Multi-Pocket Pages to have jeeping on the edge too but those aren't ready yet -- those are still wonderful though as I use them in every album and have had no problems.

Enjoy and Happy Scrappin'

DL

Creative Memories Glacier Winter Collection

Even if the weather outside is frightful, your winter layouts and projects can be extra delightful with Creative Memories Glacier winter collection!  Inspired by a winter wonderland filled with cold temps, warm hearts and snow. This collection will work great for:

winter birthdays

winter babies

Christmas

Hanukkah
New Year's
snow days
winter sports such as skiing, snowboarding,

sledding, ice fishing and more...

And don't forget the borders you can make with the new 

Snowman Border Maker Cartridge

and the new Snowflake Trio Punch (3 snowflakes in one punch)

I love the 12x12 Steel Blue Shimmer Glacier Album Cover!!!

And if you need something to transport all this in, here is the new Rolling Bag. It is probably going to sell out soon as this has been a very popular launch!  I ordered one for myself and can't wait to have all my supplies in one place!   You can visit my website to find out the dimensions or to place an order:  creativememories.com/user/donnalyn 

I hope you enjoy the new Glacier Winter Collection!

Happy Scrappin'

DL

Creative Memories Free Shipping Coupon

Creative Memories is celebrating our 3rd "Birthday" (with new owner Caleb) and here's a treat:

Shop my affiliate link this week and receive Free Shipping off when you order $80+ or more.

This applies to our surcharge states like Alaska and Hawaii too!

Here is something new that you might want to order:

CM's Rolling Bag is back and better than ever!

Check out the details on my website:

creativememories.com/user/donnalyn

Happy Scrappin'

DL 

Organize your scrapbooking supplies

It's finally here! A fun, new Creative Memories Crop Caddy to help organize your scrapbooking and craft supplies.

It's super cute and will easily transport from your closet to table to workshop...

You know how much I LOVE pens...well Creative Memories has brought back some favorite colors plus a new Purple pen!  These are Dual-tip so fine tip on one side and bold tip on the other side. They should always be stored horizontally so this cute little Pens & Pouch will ensure you lay them flat while not in use. Creative Memories pens are made in Japan, photo-safe and bleed resistant. If you love pens, you know Japan makes some of the BEST!

For bigger projects and to bring your photo albums to a Workshop or Retreat,

you might use the Creative Memories Product Tote:

I personally don't put 4 albums in my Product Tote, but this is an example of how much it can hold.  I usually bring One Album, Extra Refill Pages, Multi-Pocket Pages, Page Protectors and 2-3 Power Palette Folders filled with Card Stock Paper, Stickers, Mats and Embellishments.  This is what Creative Memories Power Palette Folders look like:

Here is a short video on how to pack a Creative Memories Crop Caddy:

I hope you enjoyed these tips and tools for organizing your scrapbooking supplies. I'm super happy that Creative Memories is bringing back storage solutions! 

Happy Scrappin'

DL

Creative Memories Recipe Album - Preserving Old Recipes

I'm so excited to combine Creative Memories 13x9 Pocket Page Album with the new "Made with Love" paper and sticker Collection!

This heartwarming collection is inspired by food, and was created for photos and stories about cooking, baking and gathering with friends to observe traditions when serving food. It features a Paper Pack, Mat Pack and coordinating Stickers.

Pass family recipes and memories down from generation to generation on a backdrop of Made with Love designer papers.  I just love the modern-vintage cooking themes, colors inspired by fresh fruit and produce, and patterns featuring picnic, home cooking and coffee house elements.

I have a few old recipes passed down from my grandma in her writing that I want to preserve. 

This pocket album will be the perfect place because I won't have to put any adhesive on the recipes. I can just slide them into the photo-safe pockets. 

I'm going to use the new Made with Love mat pack to slide into the pockets as background and also to use for journaling the story/memories behind the recipe. I can't wait to share it with you! How about you? What family recipes would you like to pass down? 

Creative Memories NEW Product Tote

Ohhh this is cute!  Creative Memories new Product Tote.

It measures approximately 16" high and 17" wide (8" deep) and has 3 zippered pockets

Perfect for carrying current projects and supplies to workshops or retreats, or as extra storage for albums, pages, paper or tools. And it's cute too!

I love that the inside is light blue with polka dots -- the light blue color will make it easy for me to retrieve things from inside the bag! I won't need to use my flashlight when looking for that multipurpose tool that has fallen to the bottom.  And it is a cheery color - blue is one of my favorite colors!

Speaking of blue....how would you like a new blue cardstock?

Introducing Eggplant, Gray, Peacock Blue and Beige! Creative Memories 12x12 solid cardstock is acid-free, lignin-free and buffered. Comes in packs of 10 sheets.

You can get more info or order any of these products on my website:  creativememories.com/user/donnalyn

Happy Scrappin'

Decluttering tip: Digitize your Old Home Movies, Slides and Scrapbooks

Ahhh summer...when life pares down to the simple: flip flops and a towel.

Part of my decluttering mission this summer is to digitally transfer my outdated yet precious VHS home movies and slides.  Here is a decluttering tip:

\

This picture shows the comparison after I digitally transferred 3 old home movies onto DVD and Cloud storage. I went from taking 3-1/2 inches of space to just 3/4 inch (and no space at all in Cloud storage) - and this is just the beginning of my collection! 

I'm in the process of getting all my movies, slides & scrapbooks digitized onto DVD and Cloud storage!! I love how uncluttered it feels to throw out my bulky media storage. This is what I do for my clients too  - I help people digitize their media before it deteriorates. 

But more importantly, I love helping people celebrate the family connections made through reliving and sharing memories. We laugh so hard we cry when watching these old movies! My kids never knew their mom was so hip (thank you 80's) and that their grandma looked just like Angie Dickinson (thank you 70's). So many more gems to discover on this heritage hunt! I love my job as a Legacy Maker!  (I'll share a snippet pretty soon!)

Transfer video tapes and slides to DVD

Part of de-cluttering and simplifying my life in 2016 is getting my old VHS and 8mm tapes transferred to DVDs and Cloud Storage. I chose to become a Legacy Maker with Legacy Republic so that I could get the Consultant discount and earn commission on my own order(s). 

This short 4-minute video gives an overview of why I chose Legacy Republic in Santa Clara, California to send my precious memories to. They truly take the care, attention to detail and security seriously. 

One of my recent clients had her wedding and honeymoon videos digitized as a surprise Christmas gift for her husband. She hadn't been able to view them for years. When she received her first batch of digitized videos, she was overwhelmed with emotion. You see, her mother was on those videos (the wedding ones, not the honeymoon!) in living color and vibrant voice. Her mother had passed away recently so having her "back" through these videos is a legacy she can now share with her own children.

That is just one of the unexpected benefits of rescuing our old movies. And another reason I am a Legacy Maker.

Creative Memories Calendar Album!

You all know how much I love planners so you can imagine how super excited I am about the new Calendar grids and Calendar stickers being launched this month from Creative Memories!!! I can't wait to use these for my 2016 Family Scrapbook. 

 These Calendar Grids will also be a fun addition to a bulletin board. You could use the Calendar Grid to track birthdays and special occasions....a prayer journal...and more!

The Calendar Stickers are January-June with another pack launching in the summer for July-December.  The stickers are the perfect size to fit inside the daily boxes on the Grid.

A Year to Remember Stickers 3/pk

A Year to Remember Embellishments (available mid-January)

12 double-sided patterned papers including 6 calendar grid designs are included in the

 Year in Review Paper Pack (not all patterns are shown).

ABC Stickers in Watercolor Green are now available:

ABC Stickers in Navy will be launching mid-January:

These products are making me super excited to keep up with my 2016 Family Album!

I also recently purchased these 14x14 Organizers at Costco which I plan to use one for 2016 photos/memorabilia/supplies:

I'll be sharing more about these very useful Project Boxes in a future post!

Until then,

Happy Scrappin'

Christmas Countdown

I'm so excited! Today I received Email #1 in Cynthia Ewer's Countdown to Christmas and this time I am actually going to do it! 

I love Christmas and I want to enjoy every minute of the holiday festivities - from Thanksgiving through New Year's! For a busy mom of 4, it takes some planning and preparation in order for me to truly enjoy "the reason for the season" and not get suckered into a frenzy of consumerism, stress, and unrealistic expectations.

If you would like to get started on an Organized Christmas too, head on over to Cynthia's blog and sign up for her email assignments. You can also download her free Christmas Calendar/Planner notebook!  Sweet!!

christmas.organizedhome.com/christmas-countdown/home

Xoxoxoxo 

DL 

Home Movie Conversion

I'm excited to announce my business is expanding to include "old" media conversion service! 

Putting these precious "old" memories (1995 is now considered old?!) onto DVD's and, even better, onto Cloud storage where they can be accessed via a home computer or smart phone with endless possibilities for duplication, sharing and enjoyment!

I'm sending my first package off today and I can't wait to receive it back and have a family movie night starring my kids!  I'll share some snippets with you too (don't worry, this is not your 1950's style boring Slide Show...I'll actually be able to share snippets from the DVD via Facebook, email, blog, etc... ).  Eventually I want to transfer all of my old media over but I'm so excited to see how this all works that I decided to send in a few 8mm tapes that I had taken during My Hero's deployment back in 2006.

Being a "single mom" to 4 kiddos during those 9 months was very challenging. I'm not sure I was very good at it. In fact, I think some of the videos might show me pretty exhausted and maybe a bit impatient....but I kind of remember maintaining a sense of humor (at least I hope I did) and it was a precious time for our family as we went through that separation having "daddy" gone. 

The company I am partnering with is called Legacy Republic.  Does that sound like something out of Star Wars?  

"Nap or do not, there is no try."

(That's my cat Buddy, by the way....you can follow him on Instagram @napfordays   

Don't you think he would make a great Legacy Republic mascot?)

So it's definitely not Star Wars affiliated....it's actually a legit company in California (this California girl says Yay!!) with the technology, know how and careful attention to detail that helped me decide to offer this service to my clients.  

I'll keep you posted on how the videos turn out!  

Happy Scrappin' and Memory Keepin'

Donna Lyn 

Creative Memories Advisor 

creativememories.com/user/donnalyn

and Legacy Maker

donnalyn.legacyrepublic.com