Angie Pedersen's Scrapbooking Industry News

Imprinting Options Launches New Album Line

Express Yourself and Your Memories with New Albums Now Available from Imprinting Options

Unique new product line allows local retailers and imprinters to provide custom albums to both digital and traditional scrapbook customers.

Jupiter, Florida – August 21, 2008 – Imprinting Options, a manufacturer known for its scrapbook customization tools, has developed a unique album product line for scrapbookers and photo crafters of all levels, whether traditional paper crafters, or modern memory keepers.  Five collections of albums, all made in the U.S.A., offer more than 20 color choices and a variety of cover textures.  The line is called Album Options.

"We developed this new product line especially for our foil imprinters," explains founder Pamela Valenti.  "With these new albums, our retailers and imprinters will be able to explore new markets while offering more options to their customers. Each album collection has been specifically tested to imprint with our foils and dies, which means our imprinters can feel confident offering these albums to their customers."

Each of the five collections offers its own look and feel:

• The Choice Collection – covered with traditional Book Cloth, these albums have classic appeal.


• The Select Collection – covered with rich non-woven materials with subtle textures, and available in ten rich colors, these albums impart quality and durable performance.


• The Expressive Collection – covered in elegant metallic materials, and available in nine luxurious colors, these albums define luxury and style.


• The Leather Collection – covered in genuine leather in five classic colors, these albums offer a distinctive look guaranteed to impress.


• The Custom Digital Collection (pictured above) – each cover is as unique as a photograph.  These albums feature distinctive covers made quickly and easily with templates, or from digital files designed by the tech-savvy user.  This collection allows retailers to offer digital-friendly products, without being digital scrapbookers themselves.

The Album Options® line is made with materials hand-selected to represent class, durability and extravagance at an affordable price. Available in 12x12 and 8x8 sizes, each post bound album includes 10 archival-quality pages, available in either traditional top-loading pages, or six-up 4x6 photo album style pocket pages.  The removable slip-in library spines easily accommodate more pages as the album expands.   Stain and water resistant materials offer superior hot foil stamping performance.

The Album Options® line is available at wholesale pricing to approved retailers in the photo, scrapbook, and imprinting market.  Retailers interested in becoming an approved retail site, and/or being listed in Imprinting Options' Online Retail Directory should visit the company website at http://www.imprintingoptions.com for more information.

About Album Options®
Album Options® is a unique line of scrapbooks / photo albums for scrapbookers and historians.  Album Option® prides itself in manufacturing high quality, innovative albums in the USA at a reasonable price. 

Triscape Releases FxFoto6

New FxFoto 6 Creates Advanced Slide Shows

Award-winning photo editing and digital scrapbooking software offers over dozens of improvements including powerful new options for creating and saving photos, layouts and slide shows in a variety of formats.

Windham, NH - August 12, 2008 -- Triscape has released the latest version of their popular photo editing, layout and slide show software, FxFoto 6.  This major upgrade provides a spectrum of new features and improvements, including powerful new slide show authoring.

FxFoto 6 makes it easier to create and arrange large slide shows with a variety of animated transition effects.  Fifteen new "wipe-style" transitions provide more creative options.  Borderless slides emphasize photos by eliminating white space.  FxFoto 6 also simplifies recording narration or selecting music for long slide shows.  It can now rearrange slides with drag and drop and can combine or break up slide shows.  FxFoto Media Edition can save slide shows and photo layouts in a number of new formats including Flash (SWF), MPEG, MP4, AVI, WMF and PDF.  Users can create multimedia shows for YouTube® and portable devices such as the Apple iPod®, plus Flash shows for the web.

Also new is an innovative Undo Brush that can selectively remove edits and effects.  The Undo Brush can blend original and modified areas with partial transparency.  FxFoto 6 now prints photos or layouts directly from left pane folders, making easier to organize and print scrapbooks or other multi-page creations.  New batch operations allow resizing a number of photos in one step and can flatten complex layouts into a single image for additional editing.  For digital scrapbooking enthusiasts, FxFoto Creative and Media Editions now offer a variety of free designer kits for download.

FxFoto's unique interface makes it easy to edit images and create multi-image layouts without sacrificing power.  With over 1.6 million downloads since 2003, FxFoto has become one of the most popular photo software solutions.  The download offers powerful free photo editing without the time limitations found in most trial software.  It can organize, edit and save photo files in JPEG and other popular formats and includes professional tools such as a Clone Brush.  The free edition now allows users to try most advanced tools and effects and create multi-photo collage layouts and slide shows, features that are fully enabled with a purchased registration.  Plus the free Standard Edition can now save photo text and frame annotations for future editing.

Availability
FxFoto 6 is available from the Triscape Inc. web site at http://www.FxFoto.com.

About Triscape
Triscape, Inc. was founded in 1997 and is located in Windham, New Hampshire, 35 miles north of Boston. The company is privately held and specializes in graphics software.

CHA Summer 2008: Digital Scrapbooking for Retailers - Digi Degree Program

Scrapbook Retailers, Don’t Dread Digital!  New Book Empowers Storeowners to Welcome Digital Scrapbookers into Stores and Classrooms

Digital Scrapbooking for Retailers provides the first and only turnkey digital/hybrid scrapbooking sales solution for retailers – including a certification program.

Fountain Valley, CA – July 14, 2008 -- Author and instructor Patty Debowski has been talking to scrapbooking store owners – she knows they are concerned about what digital scrapbooking will mean for their stores.  Will today’s easy-to-use graphic editing programs turn digital camera owners into digital scrapbookers?  Will their traditional paper and embellishment stock be able to attract the new tech-oriented crowd?  Will they be able to communicate in “geek-speak”?  Debowski has not only listened to their worries; she has created a solution.  Her new book, Digital Scrapbooking for Retailers, Volume 1: Digi-Degree Program is the first digital/hybrid scrapbooking book written specifically for the retail store owner. It provides precisely the information retailers need to become a resource for their local digital scrapbooking community.

“The book has everything a retailer needs to know about setting up digital/hybrid classes in their stores,” explains Debowski.  “After teaching digital scrapbooking for a couple of years, I've encountered just about everything!”

Digital Scrapbooking for Retailers: Digi-Degree Program allows local stores to teach digital/hybrid scrapbooking classes to their customers with confidence.  Retailers and instructors don't have to come up with their own program – they can use the same field-tested system that Debowski has already successfully used in her own classes utilizing her first book Digital & Hybrid Scrapbooking & Card-Making with Photoshop Elements.  Her guide provides five digital scrapbooking lesson plans using Photoshop Elements.  Because the lesson plans include step-by-step instructions, they can be taught by someone with only basic computer skills.  “I’ve included tips to make the teacher look brilliant, even if they’re just a beginner,” says Debowski.

One unique feature of Debowski’s new retailer program is the Digi Degree “certification” option. Local store instructors teach the classes based on Debowski’s content.  At the end of the five sessions, students can receive the “Digi-Degree Program Certificate”, which can be personalized with individual store names.  “There is a huge demand for these classes,” says Debowski.  “I can't believe how many people actually want to get their certificate at the end.  90% of people that start these hands-on classes finish the series of five, most in the same weekend.”

Low cost marketing tips and product sales ideas are included throughout the lesson plans. The scrapbooking instructor can use the lesson plan as lecture content, while also subtly encouraging students to buy additional product (whether traditional, digital or electronic stock).

Debowski’s system offers five class lesson plans that lead to Digi-Degree “certification”:

• Organizing Your Digital Scrapbook Supplies and Photos (Windows Only - Mac users substitute a class on installing and using Brushes)   
• Laying the Groundwork – working with photo, embellishments, text, and layers
• Making a Basic Digital Page from scratch
• Speed Scrapping with Templates
• Basic Hybrid Page – Custom backgrounds and shapes, applying filters, and using text paths

*As a special bonus, a free sixth class is available for wholesale purchases made by August 1, 2008.

Also included in Digital Scrapbooking for Retailers-Volume 1: Digi-Degree Program:

• Sample images of completed class projects to use in marketing and promotions
• Class descriptions in Microsoft Word format for quick additions to a website or newsletter
• Advice on effective class scheduling
• Class preparation and presentation tips
• How to smoothly address digital scrapbooking challenges and common mistakes

Retailers interested in more information on Digital Scrapbooking for Retailers, Volume 1: Digi-Degree Program can visit Debowski in the Creative Imaginations Digital Corner in Booth 1849 during the Craft & Hobby Association trade show in Chicago, July 18-20, 2008, or online at www.RetailerDigiHelp.com.

Debowski is available for in-store staff training to help retailers set up digital classes and programs.   She also offers product discounts for bulk orders.  Find wholesale information here: www.RetailerDigiHelp.com

TheDigitalScrapbookTeacher.com offers an affiliate program, enabling affiliates to earn a commission for every product sold without stocking any product.  Find more information at http://www.thedigitalscrapbookteacher.com/Affiliate/scrapbook.html

New Mrs. Grossman's "Take the Cake"

Outrageous creations from CHARM CITY CAKES inspire tasty sticker collection from MRS. GROSSMAN’S

PETALUMA, CA. June 2008 - Mrs. Grossman’s, the oldest and largest decorative sticker company in the country, and Charm City Cakes, the Baltimore bakery that turned cake decorating into a hit show, have teamed up to launch Mrs. Grossman’s Charm City Cake Sticker Collection.

The unique line of stickers was inspired by the imaginative custom cake creations of bakery owner and celebrity chef, Duff Goldman. Star of Food Network’s hit reality show, Ace of Cakes. Goldman and his like-minded design team, are legendary for their colorful, made to order cakes which have included everything from classic, one-of-a-kind wedding and birthday creations to a massive, edible Hogwart’s castle for the premiere of Warner Bros, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

“I think these stickers really capture the spirit, fun and diversity of Charm City Cakes,” says Chef Goldman, whose baking tools include everything from blowtorches to power saws.  Andrea Grossman, president and founder of Mrs. Grossman’s agrees, saying, “we think this collection is a good mix of elegance and wackiness and will appeal to everyone from fans of the show to home bakers and craft enthusiasts.”

Goldman selected twelve of his favorite cake designs to be illustrated and represented in Mrs. Grossman’s new collection. Each one of the distinctive decorated cake stickers are surrounded by a variety of coordinating decorative embellishments. Ideal for decorating everything from cards, envelopes and gift bags to recipe binders and scrapbook pages, each package includes a bonus - Duff’s favorite recipe for French Buttercream.

Each 4” x 5” package features one sticker sheet – suggested retail $1.99. For more information go to mrsgrossmans.com. Mrs. Grossman’s Charm City Cake Sticker Collection will launch at the CHA (Craft Hobby Association) trade show at the Donald Stephens Convention Center in Chicago, July 18 – 20.

About Mrs. Grossman’s
Mrs. Grossman’s pioneered the decorative sticker industry in 1979 and is considered the leader in the field. Recognized worldwide for the quality and variety of their designs, Mrs.Grossman’s stickers are legendary for inspiring and promoting creativity at every age level. Beginning with a single red heart, the company currently offers more than 700 different stickers and sticker-related products.

Environmentally and socially responsible, Mrs. Grossman’s hires and celebrates the skills of developmentally challenged adults, encourages employees to bring their dogs to work and has won the prestigious 2006 and 2007 Pacific Gas & Electric award for outstanding strides in energy conservation. Offering the only Sticker Factory Tour in the country, Mrs. Grossman’s prints more than 15,000 miles of stickers each year, enough to circle half the globe.

Claudine Hellmuth Studio Product Line Announced

Announced recently on Claudine Hellmuth's MyCraftivity blog, as well as her Blogspot blog: Claudine Hellmuth Studio product line announced.

I am super excited to announce that I am going to have a product line with Ranger Industries.

The line will be called Claudine Hellmuth Studio and will be unveiled this summer at the CHA Summer Show in Chicago! That's all I can reveal at this point so I'll have to keep you in suspense a little longer what it is all about.

It is incredibly thrilling to be working side by side with Ranger's chemists to create the products just how I want them to be! I can't wait to share more with you as it gets closer to the CHA Summer Show!

CHA Winter 2008 Product Releases

Via the Scrap-A-Latte Message Board, a list of links to manufacturers' product releases for the Craft & Hobby Association (CHA) trade show, recently wrapped up in Anaheim, CA.

• Maya Road
• Crate Paper (click the links at the bottom)
• Coredinations
• KI Memories: Bloom, Lace Cardstock, La Di Dah Courtyard, KI Idea Planner
  
• Love, Elsie (by KI Memories)
• Diecuts with a View
• Rendezvous-at-CHA.com (takes a while to load)
• Tim Holtz by Cropper Hopper/Advantus
• Magistical Memories
• Creative Imaginations (PDF)
• Heidi Swapp
• Scribble Scrabble
• 7 Gypsies (PDF)
• Piggy Tales
• Karen Russell Narratives - Rub-On Swatchbooks, Antique Cream Collection, and Bloom Collection
• Karen Russell stamps for FontWerks
• Cosmo Cricket
• video tour of Imaginisce booth
• video tour of Basic Grey booth
• video tour of new storage products from Creative Options by Plano
• (see all CreativexPress's video tours starting here)
• American Crafts

See also LifetimeMoments' comprehensive listing of product releases (in alphabetical order by manufacturer)

Melissa Frances Launches "Thankful" Line of Products

The Winter 2007 Craft & Hobby Association trade show (aka CHA) marked a life changing period for Melissa Frances.  During last year’s show, Melissa was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer.  Upon returning home, she immediately underwent surgery and began an aggressive chemo and radiation schedule.  A year later, it is with a full and thankful heart that Melissa returns to an industry that she is so proud to be a part of.

Her battle with cancer inspired her to design products aimed at all women who have something to be thankful for.  The line is appropriately named “Thankful”, and a portion of the proceeds will be donated to Melissa’s chosen breast cancer charity.  Whether it’s a life threatening disease like breast cancer, or one of the many other challenges women face and conquer each day, we all have something to be “Thankful” for.

Senior Creative Director Carolyn Peeler writes on her blog:

Stay tuned for product previews….in the meantime, please be sure that you’re signed up to receive the Melissa Frances newsletter as there will be a special message from Melissa in the upcoming issue.

Far Flung Craft to Debut Asian Inspired Scrapbook Papers

Far Flung Craft officially launches its new sophisticated line of culturally inspired papers at the Winter CHA Trade Show in Anaheim

Singapore- January 28, 2008— For the first time, a Singapore company will be launching collections of patterned paper and matching embellishments at the Craft and Hobby Association (CHA) trade show.  Far Flung Craft owners, Kristy Harris and Faye Forster are excited to be producing papers that are true to the cultures and communities of Asia.  The women, having lived, worked and crafted as ex-patriots in Asia, noticed a lack of scrapbook and paper craft supplies with an Asian theme. Either the papers were limited in production, weren’t readily available world wide, or were not appropriate for use with some Asian cultures. Kristy and Faye were determined to solve the problem by producing their own line of papers and embellishments.

Far Flung Craft’s mission is to provide luxurious papers, embellishments and one of a kind items for use in paper crafting.  The company’s first two paper lines are Batik and Bollywood.  The Batik line of paper features traditional batik patterns and colors from Indonesia and Malaysia.  The Bollywood collection is bright and vivid and is inspired by the Indian movie industry and the wonderful silk fabrics seen throughout India.  Both lines feature 6 initial designs, all double sided printed on heavy (180 GSM/65 lb) acid free/lignin free cardstock.  The lines will also feature limited edition paper kits with coordinated fibers and ribbons and special edition Googaw Charms.

Far Flung Craft also continues to sell its successful line of Googaw Charms and Asian inspired Frou-Frou fabrics.  Far Flung Craft will be exhibiting in Booth 304 at the CHA 2008 Winter trade show in Anaheim California February 10-13, 2008.

For more information and downloadable catalogs please visit www.farflungcraft.com.

Unibind "Goes Green" with Environmentally-Friendly Photobooks

First to Offer Green PhotoBooks Made from Natural & Recycled Materials

Alpharetta, GA, January 22, 2008 — Peleman Industries, Inc., manufacturer of the award-winning Unibind PhotoBook Creator and high-quality binding and lamination line of products, announced today that it is the first company to introduce environmentally-friendly Unibind "Green" PhotoBooks made from natural and recycled materials. The Unibind Green PhotoBooks will debut at the 2008 Photo Marketing Association (PMA) Convention, held next week, January 31- February 2, 2008 in Las Vegas. The Green PhotoBooks are manufactured with a natural cover comprised of 100 percent cotton-flax, made from natural and recycled materials.

35% of Unibind’s Products are Made with Recycled Materials

The environmentally-friendly PhotoBook is one of several initiatives by Unibind to make its operations as safe as possible for the environment. "Guido Peleman Founder of Peleman Industries Worldwide’s (my father) mission was always to be ‘green,’" said Brigitte Peleman-Vantieghem, CEO of Unibind North America. "An example is our commitment to environmental ethics. Thirty-five percent of our products sold are made with recycled materials, and all of our office building’s roofs in Belgium are being solar-paneled. In addition, we have implemented recycling programs at both our Belgium and U.S. operations."

"We’re proud to be the first company to offer a ‘green’ photo book. The PhotoBook is one example of Unibind’s determination to make its operations as eco-friendly as possible. 100% natural, the Green PhotoBook offers the same high-quality binding capability of the Unibind professional line of books," said Rusty Redecker, Vice President of Photo for Unibind North America.

For more information, see www.peleman.com.

About Unibind

Unibind is the North American arm of Peleman Industries, a privately-held manufacturer of binding, laminating and presentation products founded in 1939. With its worldwide headquarters in Puurs, Belgium, the company opened its U.S. corporate office in Alpharetta, Ga., in 1999. Today, Unibind products are distributed on six continents in more than 100 countries. For more information, visit www.unibind.com.

About Peleman Industries

Peleman Industries Inc, a privately-held manufacturer of binding, laminating and presentation products founded in 1939. With its worldwide headquarters in Puurs, Belgium, the company opened its U.S. corporate office in Alpharetta, GA., in 1999. Today, Unibind products are distributed on six continents in more than 100 countries. For more information, visit www.unibind.com.

New Idea Book Inspires Crafters to Celebrate Cultural Influences & Heritage

ETHNIC SCRAPBOOKING, by Lisa Sanford, provides resources for scrapbookers to make cultural connections to their memories and daily lives.

BOWIE, MARYLAND – December 27, 2007 – Visit any scrapbooking store or website, and you'll find plenty of resources – ideas for scrapbooking about first steps, birthdays, holidays, and travel experiences.  But if you want to include meaningful commentary about your cultural heritage and experiences, you may be looking for ideas for quite a while.  Until now -- award-winning scrapbooker, designer, and instructor Lisa Sanford has released Ethnic Scrapbooking, an idea book geared toward providing meaningful inspiration to scrapbookers of all skill levels.

When Sanford's sister returned from a trip to Africa, she handed Lisa a stack of over 2000 photos and asked her to scrapbook them with "cultural flair".  An avid scrapbooker with over 70 albums in her library, Sanford was up to the challenge, but quickly realized that the travel scrapbooking products wouldn't convey the sense of culture she wanted to capture.  How do you depict the attitudes and ways of living of a people?  Their customs, their traditions, and their values?  Sanford couldn't find those answers, so she created her own.  The result: Ethnic Scrapbooking, Sanford's 116-page book released this month.

ETHNIC SCRAPBOOKING is the first multi-culturally inspired book that offers specific ways to include examples of culture and ethnicity on a scrapbook page. With over 100 full-color images, and ideas from over 40 countries and cultures, this heartfelt book will inspire a wide audience, no matter their race, nationality or ethnicity.  Sanford's ideas encourage the reader to live a lifestyle of cultural awareness and preservation.  Memory keepers of all skill levels will be able to add new cultural perspective to their projects with ideas on topics such as:

• Adding memorabilia to scrapbooking projects, like postage stamps from specific countries of family origin
  
• Documenting family namesakes
• Detailing ethnic holiday celebrations
  
• Including ethnic-inspired prints as backgrounds
  
• Identifying traditional family recipes, and researching their cultural origins

Each chapter shows readers how to make cultural connections with their photographs, memories and daily activities.  ETHNIC SCRAPBOOKING describes the process of creating unique layouts and memory albums with cultural flair using all types of scrapbooking supplies and tools.  The book features Lisa’s guiding philosophies on ethnic scrapbooking, offering a fresh new perspective on cultural nuances and traditions.  ETHNIC SCRAPBOOKING is a rich source of innovative ideas for preserving memories, and an invaluable addition to any family photo historian’s library.

About the Author:
Lisa Sanford is a speaker, passionate paper craft instructor, product designer and award winning scrapbook artist. Her inspiring ideas have appeared in multiple publications, including a contribution to Chicken Soup for the Scrapbooker’s Soul, and a guest spot on "DIY TV Scrapbooking". She is a contributing editor for ScrapsofColor.com, an informational website for African American scrapbookers. 

Sanford and her husband live with their five children, one grandson, and multiple pets in Washington, D.C.  Visit www.ethnicscrapbooking.com for more information and cultural scrapbooking ideas.