Where have I been?

Wow, it' been like, um, forever since I last posted! I've been around, but things have been keeping me busy (such as my other blog). I did want to post a quick message out here to let you all know that I am still around. I've had to postpone my crops for a little while as all my CM stuff has been packed up as we move some rooms in our house. However, once I get that straightened out, I'll be adding some more casual crops back to the calendar. Then, I'll take some time off in October, November and maybe December when I have baby #2.

In the meantime, my web site is always open and you can always email me with questions. Also, if you order Storybook Creator Plus 3.0 (on its own or part of the Digital Collections) through me and you live in the local area, I will come to your house for a 90 minute tutorial on how to use it....for free!

Oh, and if you are a Disney fan, be sure to check out the new products this month--Creative Memories has released some great Disney themed items for both traditional and digital scrapbooking.

Memory Manager 3.0

Yesterday, my friend Kerry and I were talking about digital scrapbooking--which makes sense since since digital scrapbooking has become my preferred method since my daughter was born and Kerry is quite the digital scrapping queen. (The ironic part of this conversation was that it took place while were working on our traditional scrapbooks. Go figure!) Anyway, the one thing I think Creative Memories does excel in is digital scrapbooking.

I'll probably be posting quite a bit on digital scrapbooking in the future, so I won't do a whole run-down of it here. I will, however, start with the Memory Manager 3.0 software. Why start there? Two reasons:
1 - I've been using it sort of half-heartedly and am working of become more proficient with it myself. (And, I'm typing this while it backs up my pictures).
2 - It's really the "first step" in CM's digital scrapbooking.

Memory Manager 3.0 is actually not a digital scrapbooking program. It's a photo organizing program--which, let's face it, we need to organize our photos before we do anything with them. So, first steps first. I've always had my own system for organizing pictures, which was--well, okay. Not great. However, since our photo volume has exploded in the last 8 months, I figured I'd better step up and start using the "real stuff."

Okay, since I'm not an expert on this, I'm not going to give you all the sales pitch. However, if you'd like the sales pitch, click on over to this video from Creative Memories (and if you are sold on it, you can order it from my website).

I will tell you, though, that I'm working the program! Okay, right now I'm mostly just indexing my pictures. Once I'm caught up (well, since the beginning of 2009 on. I'll work backwards once I have that done), I'll get all artistic on some pics for you all and post them here so you can see the wonders of Memory Manager. Oh, what fun!

Welcome!!!

(stands up): My name is Melinda and I'm a scrapbooker.

There, I said it!

I've been scrapbooking for, gee, several years now. I'm not the most accomplished nor the most creative scrapbooker, but I love it. I find cropping relaxing and love the nostalgia that comes with going through a scrapbook. In fact, I love it so much, I became a Creative Memories consultant.

Yes, there are a number of scrapbooking companies and Creative Memories is just one of them. I'm not here to tell you that CM is the best or the only way to scrapbook. It happens to be the method and brand that I use most frequently (although, I'll admit it, I don't use CM exclusively).

Why did I choose to be come a CM consultant? After many years as a corporate drone, I became a SAHM. As any mom will tell you, once you have kids you start taking A LOT of pictures! Obviously, my scrapbooking needs were going to increase, not decrease! I loved going to crops and I loved to have people over...so why not have my own crops?

I'll be honest. I'm not in this to make money--I became a Creative Memories consultant to share my love of scrapbooking to others. Not only can I help people learn more about scrapbooking, but I can also learn things from other scrapbookers! And, let's face it, it's fun!

So what is this blog for then? Well, a couple things. First of all, it's a place for me to discuss new project ideas and events. It's also a way for me to communicate with my customers (current and future) and a place for others to post their thoughts and ideas. If you read something here you have a reaction to, please post a comment!

I hope that you find this blog informative and entertaining. On the sidebar, there is a list to some great scrapbooking links, including my CM page. If you are in the Hillsboro, Oregon area and would like to join us for a crop or host your own party, please don't hesitate to contact me!