Thanks for the Memories...my 20 year anniversary with Creative Memories

 

Last Chance ordering has come and gone...Creative Memories has informed us that all Consultant contracts will end on August 31st. After 20 years, I will no longer be a Creative Memories Consultant. And after September 23, there will no longer be Creative Memories, the company.

 

I've been cleaning out my office and reflecting on the amazing times of being a Creative Memories leader....What a ride!!!  From the very first start of my dream in 1993:

 

I was married and working in Portland when I stumbled across an article in Virtue magazine about "Shoebox to Showcase" aka Creative Memories! I used my birthday money to purchase a wedding album and soon after decided I wanted to do this as a business so that when I started having babies I could work from home. (4 babies and 20 years later I would say that it worked out quite well for me!)

 

I've been rembering all of the fun Workshops and at-large Events we put on through the years:

 

Helping customers complete albums. Helping precious mommies who were battling cancer complete memory books for their children....helping moms of struggling teenagers connect through completing scrapbooks...helping grandmothers remember long ago events to leave a legacy...

helping men, women and children...of all ages celebrate and preserve their memories

 

 

Hosting themed Workshops in my home and my little girls would always entertain with special songs or just being little Hostesses. They learned a lot about serving others and talking to 'grown-ups' through my home business:

 

Grateful for Customers and Consultants who have become dear friends....

 

Remembering all of the Meetings, Regional Conventions and National Conventions
 

receiving On Stage Awards, and Recognition:

 

 

 

Promoting to Senior Consultant, Unit Leader, Senior Unit Leader and Director:

 

Earning the coveted "Director's Chair"

 



 Earning all-expense-paid Incentive Trips:

  

 

Serving on the Recognition Committee and Page Design Committees. Receiving the Regional Spirit of Success Award. Speaking to over 4,000 Consultants at National Convention, hitting over $1,000,000 (one million dollars!) in annual team sales!

 

all of these are Memories I hold and treasure in my heart....

 

 

I will still scrapbook.

 

 

I will still use the Creative Memories supplies that I love and stocked up on (until I run out).

 

 

I will still enjoy our albums and the memories....

I will still believe in

Simple Pages, Completed Albums:

 

 

 

I will cherish the memories in my heart and take with me the gifts and lessons I have learned in the past 20 years as an entrepreneur with Creative Memories. A new chapter in my life is starting with my new Thirty-One business. It is humbling to start at the ground floor in my mid 40's but with God's strength I can build a business again or as I jokingly tell my husband, "I am building my Empire!"

 

Thanks for the memories.....thank you to all my loyal customers, to my team and to my friends, and to all of you who read my scrapbooking blog. I will keep this blog and share my own scrapbooking updates with you here but I will no longer have a link to my Creative Memories business as of August 31.

Happy Scrappin',

 

Donna Lyn ...

 

 

Creative Memories Last Chance Extension

Hmmm...just when you thought it was your Last Chance...it's now REALLY your Last Chance. :)  http://www.mycmsite.com/dwatson

Creative Memories Last Chance

http://www.mycmsite/dwatson

Creative Memories last 7 days...

If you have Creative Memories albums, please make sure you have enough pages and page protectors to finish your project(s). I would order by this Friday to avoid the MAD rush. http://www.mycmsite.com/dwatson 

Creative Memories Final Days...

 

Click here to see a list of Last Chance Order products  http://www.mycmsite.com/sites/dwatson

is Creative Memories closing?

Customer FAQ's

July 12, 2013 at 1:03pm

Last updated July 10, 2013

In an effort to help answer some frequently asked questions from our customers, we've started a list of responses. Check back often for updates!

1. I placed an order in June, and haven’t received it yet. When will I get it?

Please be assured that we’re working on it, and you will receive your products. As you may imagine, the news that we’re transitioning out of this business in order to create a fresh start has generated an enormous amount of orders. Our manufacturing and distribution teams are working overtime to fulfill orders from June and the first week in July. For some products, we’re waiting to receive raw materials that are on their way. We’ll ship your order as soon as all of your products are manufactured.

Our Customer Service team is also working overtime, and is still overwhelmed by the current volume of calls and emails. They send their apologies; they just don’t have enough people to answer all of them. So we appreciate your patience, and respectfully ask that you refer to your order status for any updates. You will receive a ship confirmation when your order leaves our warehouse.

2. I have some albums I’d like imprinted using Persona. How long will that service be available?

Persona Imprinting is currently accepting* Covers, Spines and Coversets, and will do so through August 9, 2013.

Please allow sufficient shipping time with the carrier of your choice (such as UPS or FedEx) so your shipment is received at the Creative Memories Home Office on or before August 9. Product shipments that arrive on or after August 10 will not be processed and will be returned without personalization.

Once your items to imprint are received, we will begin processing them as soon as possible, keeping in mind each cover and/or spine is individually handled. Usually we ask that you allow up to two weeks of in-house processing time. However, lately we’ve been seeing extremely high order volumes, so it’s likely to be a longer-than-usual processing time.
If you’re placing an order through your Consultant (Persona Pre-Purchase), those orders will need to be placed no later than July 19, 2013.

*Important, please visit the Persona Imprinting web site http://persona.creativememories.com, Design an Album > Step 1 – Describe your album, to check if your Album/Coverset is accepted for Persona Imprinting.

3. I’m planning to place a Last Chance Order for Pages, Protectors and a few Coversets. When can I expect to get it?

It will help to understand the process. July 8-31 is the timeframe for the Last Chance order period. During this time we’ll take pre-orders, then in August we’ll place a final order for materials and begin manufacturing them so you have as many as you need. This may take a month or more, but this approach will guarantee you get the quantities of Last Chance products you order. So you may want to take a look at your needs for current and future projects and plan accordingly to take advantage of the Last Chance timeframe, understanding it could be September or later that they arrive to your home.

4. Why aren’t you offering scrapbooking products moving forward? Scrapbookers aren’t interested in quick and easy solutions.

We have done extensive strategic analysis and market research to determine how best Creative Memories can exist as a strong, stable direct selling business. The results of this work, combined with the financial requirements of our bankruptcy, have led us to not offer these products moving forward. We know that today’s time-starved moms want to enjoy their photos and connect with their families. And to do that, they need simple, easy and quick solutions. Our hope is that our scrapbooking customers can find products to fit their needs in the new company, though we understand we may not be able to meet all of them.

5. Why are you not including Side Loading Sleeves, PicFolio Pages and
replacement blades in the Last Chance Order period?

We wish we could, but those products have not been available from our suppliers.

 

scrapbook progress update: washington d.c. album

Got my credenza organized; got my new paper tower organized;

no more excuses...Time To Scrap!

all of those pages I did Power Layouts with are stored in my Power Layouts Box

I did decide to split the trip up into 2 separate albums:

1 for Washington, D.C.

1 for New York

 

I've been blogging about our Spring Break trip over on my musings blog

http://www.adashfromdonnalyn.blogspot.com

Under the label "dashing here and there"

 

Since I'm blogging about the trip, I can use the blog postings as I'm scrapbooking

That will cut down on the journaling time as I can just copy what I've already typed on my blog. At this stage I'm using:

 

 Creative Memories Blank Spargo Refill Pages

 (why, oh why, are my blank pages being discontinued? sniff...)

Creative Memories Photo Mounting Paper

Ali Edwards Story Cards (for journaling boxes)

Creative Memories Tape Runner

Creative Memories 12-inch Trimmer and Personal Trimmer and Scissors

I kind of like to get all the photos and paper mounted in first,

then go back to embellish and journal.

 

And my favorite part, slipping the Page Protectors on!

What are you currently working on?

 

Creative Memories Plan for Digital

The following was posted on Creative Memories Go Digital Fan Page on Facebook:  

Plan for digital.

July 11, 2013 at 6:38am

What is the future of StoryBook Creator and Memory Manager
Software?  And what is the overall plan for digital?


All along, Creative Memories has contracted with a company called Panstoria, who developed and owns the rights to StoryBook Creator and Memory Manager. So even though Creative Memories is transitioning out of the software, and the new company will not sell the software in the future, that doesn’t mean that StoryBook Creator and Memory Manager will not exist or be supported. We’re currently working with Panstoria and other digital vendors to define what the future looks like for the digital business.

We’re working hard to find an answer that supports digital customers, enables a great consumer experience, and is more pleasing than shutting it down. We’re taking a strong stand to find a way for the digital business to continue, so current and future digital customers can be supported. The best case scenario is that we can find a backer for the digital business so existing software customers can order products uninterrupted through a different interface. Those conversations are in process, and we expect to have more to share with you in a month or so.
 
The new company simply can’t bring digital forward in its current condition. The new company will include digital; it will just be starting with a new foundation.

(see Letter from Creative Memories if this is the first you've heard of the bankruptcy)

Creative Memories LAST CHANCE

 

This is it. Believe it or not. July 8-31, Creative Memories promises to fill orders on the above products. They will take orders and then order enough supplies to fulfill the orders. They say it could take up to 90 days to fill the orders depending on the volume of orders they receive.

 

It is hard for me to believe that this is the same company that was started 26 years ago by a Montana homemaker who called Webway and let the phone ring and ring and ring because she was so distraught they were discontinuing her favorite pages. She, of all people, should know how we feel about no more blank refills. I can't imagine her not keeping a traditional core product that thousands of customers use and love. But that is what seems to be happening.

 

It is hard for me to tell you what to order when I don't know what is coming. They suggest purchasing what you need to complete your current projects. I think that is good advice. Then if/when they do launch a new product we can see how that will work with our upcoming projects. Personally, I stocked up on blank refill pages, page protectors and adhesive just because I would rather have what I need. But I certainly didn't stock up for decades of scrapbooking...just a few years worth.

 

Some Consultants are very excited about the change and optimistically looking forward with great anticipation. I hope they are right. I've just seen too much behind the scenes (behind the curtain?) to feel very optimistic right now. I guess in a perfect world where I was CEO of CM, I would offer:

 

3 sizes of Album Covers in classic colors

blank refill pages

page protectors

personal trimmer and 12-inch trimmer

adhesive - photo tape, photo splits, tape runner

fade-proof, smudge-proof pens

title stickers

colorful card stock in a variety of colors

 

But I'm not the CEO...just the Consultant who is celebrating her 20th Anniversary with CM and looking at the end of scrapbooking as she knew it for so long.

 

Forgive me while I grieve just a bit...

 

 

 

 

Letter from Creative Memories

 

June 28, 2013

Thank you, thank you.



All of us at the Home Office are so grateful for your support and encouragement as we transition out of the current Creative Memories business in order to create a bright new future business (which we’re excited to share more about soon).

For now, you may be wondering about the present, and what’s happening with the products you love. Exiting a business is a complicated undertaking, and we’re learning it’s a little bit messy. Here’s what we thought you’d like to know on a few key subjects:
Products on your Consultant’s web site (creativememories.com/.ca):

While Supplies Last Products
Most of the Traditional product line is now while supplies last. So if there’s a product you’ve had your eye on, you may want to get it right away. Any products marked WSL that sell out won’t be restocked.
New Products
We know it seems odd to offer brand new products when you’re exiting a business, but we had exciting product in the works at the time of our bankruptcy filing in April and we wanted to get it to market to share with you. (Stop by the St. Cloud office sometime, and our developers would be happy to make you a coffee and explain more about it.) So there are some really lovely new products for Kids, Celebrate products and more that are all Limited Edition - and are also while supplies last.
"Ooh…that’s back?" Products
As you may imagine, we need to start the new business with clean shelves, so you’ll find products like former limited editions and tools that were offered in earlier campaigns. They’re still totally relevant and cute (and yep, are also all while supplies last).
Last Chance Order Products
You’ll see some products on the site that have a "Temporarily Unavailable" note on them, like Refill Pages, Page Protectors, and some Coversets. These are currently oversold, but we have a fix for that. July 8-31 we’ll open up a "Last Chance" order period. What that means is that we’ll take pre-orders, order the materials and manufacture them so you have as many as you need. This may take a while, but we will guarantee you get the quantities you order. So you may want to take a look at your needs for current and future projects and plan accordingly to take advantage of the Last Chance timeframe. www.creativememories.com | 6401 8th Avenue South | St. Cloud, MN 56301 | 800.468.9335




Rewards Club

Concluding Aug. 21
Rewards Club Members are awesome, wonderful people, and we were quite fond of the Rewards Club program. It just doesn’t fit the future business we’re designing very well. So we expect the Rewards Club to end on or around August 21, 2013. Rewards Club Credits can be used until that date.
Membership Fees
Using the August 21 end date, we’ve prorated the remaining value of all Rewards Club Members’ membership fees (based on $39 rate) and on June 26, we applied that amount of Club Credit to each Member’s account.
Digital

Sorry for the ambiguity
Remember up above where we said that this is a messy process? Well, this is one great example. We’re working very, very hard to find a way to continue digital for all of our passionate digital customers in North America. And those conversations and negotiations are taking place as we speak. So for now, please be patient, and ignore any rumors. As we work this through, we will absolutely share more.
Product Certificates

Coupons, Codes and Certificates…oh my!
Over the years we’ve offered a variety of Coupon Codes or Product Certificates…like Coupon Code CDs, Host Rewards, Product Credits, Product Certificates and more. Like Rewards Club Credits, those will also have an end date of August 21, 2013.

As things change and as we get more information, we’ll be sure to share. Thank you for being the best customers in the entire world and for supporting your Creative Memories Consultant. We appreciate your kindness and faith very much.
The Creative Memories Home Office Team

Creative Memories Digital Update 6/28/13

For those of you who use Creative Memories software, here is an important update from the lovely ladies of Pixels2Pages:

Regarding Creative Memories Digital
from Jan at Pixels2Pages

June 25, 2013

By now you may have heard the buzz about Creative Memories with regard to their branded digital software, StoryBook Creator and Memory Manager. In case you have not, this was posted on the Creative Memories Home Office Facebook page yesterday (24 June 2013):

“At this point, we can confirm that our digital software will not be a part of our business moving forward. We will not be supporting the software or printing past August. There may be options for getting software support elsewhere, but nothing has been confirmed or finalized.”

We realize this may cause you to have more questions than answers, and we want to do our best to keep you in the loop with regard to the future of StoryBook Creator and Memory Manager.  We will not be engaging in speculation here or on our Facebook page, and we encourage you to honor our position.  As with many things involving legal issues, there are things that simply cannot be said until permissions have been granted. Creative Memories has given their permission for us to share this information:

“Q. What is the future of StoryBook Creator and Memory Manager Software? And what is the overall plan for digital?

A. All along, Creative Memories has contracted with a company called Panstoria, who developed and owns the rights to StoryBook Creator and Memory Manager. So even though Creative Memories is transitioning out of the software, and the new company (Jan’s note: new company = whatever CM becomes) will not sell the software in the future, that doesn’t mean that StoryBook Creator and Memory Manager will not exist or be supported. We’re currently working with Panstoria and other digital vendors to define what the future looks like for the digital business.

We’re working hard to find an answer that supports digital customers, enables a great consumer experience, and is more pleasing than shutting it down. We’re taking a strong stand to find a way for the digital business to continue, so current and future digital customers can be supported. The best-case scenario is that we can find a backer for the digital business so existing software customers can order products uninterrupted through a different interface. Those conversations are in process, and we expect to have more to share with you in a month or so.

The new company simply can’t bring digital forward in its current condition. The new company will include digital; it will just be starting with a new foundation.”

While this doesn’t answer every question, I hope it will allay some of your fears. We want you to know pixels2Pages is (and has been) working diligently to be a part of the digital solution. It is our intent to continue training on digital scrapbooking software. We appreciate your support and concern during this time of uncertainty!

Because we want to comply with our license agreement with Creative Memories, we ask that you refrain from using pixels2Pages.net or our pixels2Pages Facebook page as a forum for sharing information about other companies.  As posted above, Creative Memories is looking for solutions to offer you, and we will let you know when there is concrete information to share.

We understand that you may have many more questions about what might happen or what you will need to do; for now, other than making sure everything is backed up, the answer is finish up projects that you want to print at Creative Memories.  They will be honoring product credits through 21 August 2013, so get those books done – and don’t wait until the last minute!"