Scrapbook & Cards Today Blog

Our 10th birthday celebration kick off in Utah - Part 2

 Happy Saturday friends! I'm thrilled you joined me today for Part 2 of my Utah tour recap. I encourage you to get comfortable! If you didn't read the blog yesterday, you can catch up on Part 1 here (and there's a giveaway too!)  I was in Utah for almost a week kicking off our 10th birthday celebration and what a week it was. My mother-in-law would have loved that with each stop I made, I came bearing treats for our friends and their teams. We worked with Bubble & Brown bakery and each morning boxes of sweet treats were delivered to the hotel to take with me. And they were loved by all! While you can't quite see it, we used the Heidi Swapp Minc to make our celebration cards look extra good and shiny! Thanks Heidi!

On Tuesday morning I woke to a stunning sunrise over the mountains and knew it was going to be a great day. I took pictures along the way at each stop I made this week but with an iPhone so please don't mind the fact they're not perfect. I wanted to capture the memory in a quick and easy way.

My first stop Tuesday was to see our friends at Stampin' Up! which is a place I have heard so much about and always wanted to see. I met Rachel who you will see below who took me on a tour of the Visitor's Centre which is like a beautiful timeline of the company mixed with adorable little rooms showcasing their beautiful products and design team. I could have stayed here for so long looking at all the amazing artwork. Rachel then took me on a tour of the warehouse which was nothing less than extraordinary. Although the picture does not do it justice, the conveyor belts and tracking systems ensure orders are packed with minimal error. Clean, amazing and efficient! Love technology.  Here is the tour...  

 

 

This is Rachel Jensen...love her a lot!

Next stop on Tuesday was to meet with our sweet friends at BoBunny! BoBunny has always been an important partner to SCT. So long ago when I was starting the magazine and introduced myself to Jan, the owner of BoBunny, she immediately sat down with me and wanted to know everything about the magazine. Jan was one of the first advertisers and would always email me a little note when she received the magazine in the office telling me how much she loved it. It meant a lot in those early days. Below is a picture of the team of amazing people I get to work with at BoBunny. Matthew (Jan's son), Laurel, Jeri and Carley. Great team. We also got a sneak peek in the office but with new products all around I was limited for pictures. All I can say is there are great things coming out and I was thrilled they shared a little sneak peek! 

 That's a lot of love for SCT they said!

Tuesday evening was dinner with some friends at the Cheesecake Factory in City Creek which is in beautiful downtown Salt Lake and preparation for our final day in Utah! And for one of the first time's ever...I actually ordered some cheesecake! Like I said yesterday, I really did eat my way through Utah!

Wednesday was a very full day of meetings. My first stop was to meet with Jill Broadbent at Close To My Heart. A very sweet and knowledgeable friend that has been with Close To My Heart for 12 years and loves it so much. She is also adorable and could be my twin with her cardigan. We share a love for them! We chatted about many things and what's in store for 2016! Good things!

 Next I head to meet with our friends at Echo Park and as you can see from the picture, these are some fun friends.  A selfie shenanigan just had to happen! Jennifer, Andrea, Nathanael, Madison and I had many laughs together that afternoon and I was so sorry to go. Before I did they shared with me some of the amazing things coming in 2016 and believe me when I say, you're going to LOVE what they have in store for you! I may have squealed a little. After 10 years in the business, I still get very excited when I see the level of innovation in the industry.   

Our final stop in our Utah tour was with our friends from American Crafts. Megan, our Editor-in-Chief, and I were treated to a grand tour of their beautiful offices by none other than Rebecca Cross of Pink Paislee and Marketing Director Grant Madsen. With over 200 employees and two floors of an office building the tour was amazing! We met people from all areas of the company and even had an opportunity to meet the CEO, Sarah DeVoll. A lovely lady with a clear vision for this great company.  

 

 Here we take a walk past the actual product designers and the art department. This room had a great vibe and great energy. Happy people! We wish we could have shown you more but we sure would not want to spoil what you'll be seeing on store shelves soon!

This next picture below while it gives you an idea of their showroom, it certainly does not show it all! There were 8 aisles that were easily 25 feet long of products on both sides. In fact, here's a little tidbit, American Crafts and their brands have over 14 thousand active products available. An amazing number! We walked through each aisle admiring the design, the innovation and clearly a very smart team. I wanted one of just about everything new we saw. I may have even been a little speechless at times! And who knows me to be that?

But here is how nice our friends at American Crafts are, this below is what was waiting to greet us when we arrived along with a beautiful card. Thank you American Crafts for all the love and support for SCT! 

Thank you to Stampin' Up!, BoBunny, Close To My Heart, Echo Park and American Crafts for two incredible days. We were welcomed like family at each place and thanked for all that we do here at SCT. A great feeling. It was also mentioned many, many times how much they appreciate YOU, our readers. They are always amazed at how engaged and appreciative you are and I just smiled and said "yes, our readers are pretty awesome!"  

I did have the chance to hang out with one special little lady at Cafe Rio. This is Megan's daughter Maggie who is an absolute doll.  I brought her a Cinderella backpack and a Cinderella art set to which she said "thank you nice lady!" as she skipped and danced. Made me laugh all week thinking about it!

One of the other highlights of the trip was the tour of Temple Square in the heart of Salt Lake City with my friends from Doodlebug. John Bishop played tour guide and did an awesome job of that! 

 And I just had to go back to get a picture at night. It truly looks like Cinderella's castle! So majestic.

During our visit to Temple Square on Sunday, John wanted to show us the Tabernacle and when we walked in, the Mormon Tabernacle Choir was rehearsing. They sounded beautiful and I got to check off a bucket list item while I sat mesmerized! Such a great surprise. As an aside, when I was at Stampin' Up! that following Tuesday I actually met Spencer one of the choir members. A small world!

There you have it friends! My time in Utah was a fun mix of business and pleasure...and eating! It's always nice when your business partners are your friends. I could not think of a better way to kick off what will be another great year than celebrating with some of those companies that help make it possible.

Of course I brought home many things in my suitcase for you so I have goody box number two to giveaway today to one lucky reader.  If you think you might like to welcome this box in to your home, be sure to leave me a comment below and let me know what product you just can't live without these days! Fun! Leave your comment by Thursday, November 5th! We have lots of winners to announce on Friday!

Have a great rest of your weekend and thanks for joining me today!

~  Catherine Tachdjian, Publisher, Scrapbook & Cards Today magazine

Our 10th birthday celebration kick off in Utah - Part 1

Happy Friday friends! Thank you for joining us today as we recap Part 1 of our week in Utah where we celebrated our 10^th birthday kick off! We could not think of a better place to start than with our industry partners and we saw many over the week! I have so much to share with you about this great week so  grab a cup of something wonderful (you know me, it’s a non-fat, no foam latte!), put your feet up (you totally have permission!) relax and know that at the end of this long post, there is something wonderful! No tricks, just treats here! And please excuse the iPhone photos. Quick and easy here :)

The trip started the moment I left the airport. If you’ve never been to Utah its 360 degrees of mountains and it’s pretty spectacular. Right down the road is the Doodlebug Design office so you know that’s where I headed.  There is no way you could miss the building as it’s a pretty building with Doodlebug green across the outside. As I stepped into the office, here is what greeted me, Cynthea, the owner and a beautiful sign!

How incredibly thoughtful! There was also a delicious lunch waiting from Zuppa's (the gourmet grilled cheese was the best!) which we had in their cute kitchen with 50’s style tables and chairs.  Of course the chairs were all different Doodlebug colours! The offices themselves are full of colour, artwork, pretty furniture and the nicest people ever. 

I was given a full tour of the building and warehouse and what was so prevalent was not only the clever design of the building but the beautiful light from the floor to ceiling windows. Each office is a Doodlebug colour and the showroom was so pretty!  I also was given a sneak peek of some new designs the included some cute icons I fell in love with. Here is a picture and while I could not show you exactly what’s headed your way, how pretty is this space?  Wouldn’t you love to craft here?  I know I sure would!

I was also treated to a weekend tour of Utah with Cynthea and Tonya. On Saturday morning they picked me up at 9:00 am sharp and shared some of their favourite boutiques with me. I loved spending time in a store called Dear Lizzie. I just had to share a picture from there as we ate the best sugar cookie EVER in their little cafe on the other side of this showroom.

Next we headed to other boutiques at Thanksgiving Point and then off to Witch Fest at Gardner’s Village.  This reminded me of a pioneer village with many cute boutiques. I especially loved a quilt shop called Pine & Needle where Cynthea found a Christmas quilt on display with Doodlebug’s new holiday collection! To see that hard work both in the design of the fabric and then the hours to quilt it was a great moment.

On Sunday they whisked me off to show me Park City and a drive through the canyons. It was another fun day of sightseeing and visiting great shops. Imagine my surprise when I picked up a great coat only to realize it was $18,500! And...I quickly put it down. The air was crisp, clean and it was a perfect day to be outdoors.  Here’s a little selfie on main street Park City. 

We ended the day with a great Greek dinner at Aristo's in Salt Lake City and I think we all slept well after a weekend of fun.

Monday morning it was back to business with our first stop to see our friends at My Mind’s Eye. This group is as genuine as it comes and I loved getting a tour of their offices.  You can see the inspiring chalk art design and little displays set up around the office. We chatted for quite awhile about what they have coming up behind the scenes and in usual My Mind’s Eye fashion, it’s pretty fabulous!   

 

We’ve worked with this group a long time and it was great to meet their designers and of course with their group, there is always lots of laughter!

Next it was off to visit Jodi, Jared and Lisa and Fancy Pants Designs.  Jodi treated me to lunch at El Matador, a small Mexican restaurant in Ogden where they serve their salsa warm with cheese. Different and oh so delicious! Not to mention the best Chile Verde ever. Did I mention I ate my way through Utah? The treadmill is calling!

I also picked the best day to visit the Fancy Pants office as they were unpacking their new lines!!! Look what came home in my suitcase! And since you know I’m the sharing kind, this is for you! 

We talked industry trends, upcoming ideas and the classes Jodi will be teaching at Crop & Create Calgary. We can’t wait to welcome her back again! 

Last stop of the day was Simple Stories and what a welcome I had there!  But before we could even hug I had to admire their new offices and of course was snapping pictures to share with you!

Marketing Director, Layle then led me to the boardroom where they had their brand new Carpe Diem Planners all laid out. They are BEAUTIFUL! A stunning array of and so many different accessories to decorate and help you keep track of things! Of course I may or may not have brought one home in my suitcase for a lucky reader!  More on that later.

Layle (in the middle) and Amber, owner of Simple Stories to the right, whisked me off to a great dinner at a local Ogden, Utah restaurant called Roosters! Great food especially the "Naughty Fries" which were TO DIE FOR! And worth an extra bit of exercise right?

And the nice part, this was sitting in their showroom which they assure me was not done because I was visiting, they just love it :)

Thank you Doodlebug, My Mind's Eye, Fancy Pants and Simple Stories for letting us in to your world for a bit! That's a wrap on the first part of the week.  Join me tomorrow as I have Part II which includes our visit to American Crafts, Echo Park, Bo Bunny and more!

And as I mentioned above, if you've stayed with me and read until the end, I have a surprise for you! Well two actually!  I have a sweet box of goodies from my trip that needs a home! Would you like that home to be yours? Leave a comment below by Thursday, November 5th! 

Hope you enjoyed a behind the scenes peek! Join me tomorrow!

~  Catherine Tachdjian, Publisher, Scrapbook & Cards Today magazine 

 

Let's kick off our 10 year celebration with a giveaway!

Good morning SCT friends! First let me just say a very humble "thank you" for all your comments on our post from last Friday. I've read each and every one of them and your kind wishes were so heartfelt and thoughtful.  Thank you from the bottom of my heart for loving us as much as we do you!  To know that SCT is an inspiring part of your lives inspires our incredible team to continue to do great work. We have a lot in store for you over the next year!

Second, today is the official day that SCT turns 10 and I could not be more thrilled to be in Utah this week to celebrate with so many our industry partners, friends and Megan, our Editor-in-Chief too!  I have a lot to share with you all about this week and I promise to get all the pictures and stories written on the plane ride home on Thursday to share with you on Friday. Just wait until I tell you about Doodlebug's colourful office, or the chalk art in the My Mind's Eye office or the unbelievable building and warehouse at Stampin' Up!  Imagine conveyor belts and an automated system that was like a mini Amazon! I can also tell you about the amazing food if you like.  Yes, I may have eaten my way through Utah! Oh and did I mention I've been picking up some goodies for you along the way?  Never doubt that I'm always thinking of you!

Today we thought a great way to celebrate our start is to give away a one year subscription to SCT magazine and a little treat from me, from Utah! For an opportunity to win just tell me where you're from. Easy! Be sure to leave your comment by Thursday, November 5!  Good luck!

Have a wonderful day! Today I'm off to meet our friends at Close To My Heart, Echo Park and wrapping up this great trip with our friends at American Crafts! Can't wait to share!

~  Catherine 

A special week is coming up!

Good morning SCT friends! If you have an extra few minutes spend it with me as it’s your very happy Publisher here today. Why so happy you ask? Well as I write this I am on a plane to Utah to kick off a very special week. On October 28^th SCT will mark its official 10^th birthday.  TEN YEARS! Take a walk back in time with me. 

October 28, 2005 started as a regular day of getting kids off to school, our daughter was in grade 3 and our son had just started grade 1 (and man was I missing him!)  I volunteered weekly, I had a small business and usually contemplated what would be on the dinner table that evening.  October 28, 2005 was just a regular day in the Tachdjian house. However, 12 hours later that would change. After putting the kids to bed my husband and I shared a late dinner. I was excitedly telling him about a card class I wanted to take at my local scrapbook store, Cherished Scrapbook that weekend. My husband asked a few questions about the printed piece the store information was printed on (he is in the print industry and notices everything!) and suggested ways the piece could be improved. We talked back and forth about the challenges of the local scrapbook store to carry on the day-to-day business in a retail setting, educate the customer and stay on top of industry trends. What I didn’t know was that it was a conversation that would change many things. What started out with him suggesting that evening that I consider designing a “newsletter template” to help retailers deliver their store/class/product information with their customers resulted in the launch of the first issue of Scrapbook & Cards Today five months later. It was 64 pages.  Four days after that dinner conversation a business plan was prepared, the SCT website was up and nine days after that an incorporated company was founded.  Were there challenges, uphill climbs, fear, lost sleep and tears? Oh yes there were yet every time I turned a corner and the fear crept in there was a helping hand. And my business mentor’s words “be guided by your own internal measures” rang in my ears. With the help of so many we released the first issue to a regional audience in Ontario, Canada in March, 2006. What we did not expect was to be internationally read two days later.  The power of the web and the connectivity it provides still astounds me.

Many have asked how SCT came to be. Did we expect 10 years later to be thriving in a publishing world that is diverse, challenging and full of changes? Did we know 10 years later we would be read in over 120 countries? No, we didn’t know to set goals that high. What a wonderful time it’s been discovering how high we can reach. Through the kindness of many, including all of YOU, our industry partners and the amazingly talented designers in this industry we are blessed to work with, SCT has become a favourite to many and to that we say the best is yet to come. We also say thank you with a very grateful heart.

I have contemplated for some time on how to celebrate this milestone and I knew in my heart I wanted to head to Utah to visit with several of our wonderful industry partners that believed in the vision we had for SCT so many years ago. These companies invested in us when they had so many other choices and I am very grateful to them and for them  This next week I will visit with American Crafts, Pink Paislee, WeR Memory Keepers, Doodlebug Design, Simple Stories, BoBunny, Echo Park, My Mind’s Eye, Fancy Pants, Stampin’ Up!, and Close to My Heart. I will visit with our Editor-in-Chief Megan Hoeppener and meet many friends I’ve made through these years.  What else will I do? Well, what all memory keepers do...take pictures! I want to take you on a behind the scenes tour and share with you the great people behind these companies, share some photos of what their day-to-day looks like and share some of the stories from the week. Is there something specific you might like to know? Leave it in the comments below and I’ll try to find out!  Of course, I’m also going to pack a few things in my suitcase to bring back for you so if you would like the opportunity to have a little happy mail, leave a comment below too!

Our role as media in the papercrafting industry is to deliver quality content at the right time on multiple platforms. Through print, digital and social media we strive to provide that for you and always hope we hit the mark.  Over this next year we are going to celebrate all that is great in our industry – our designers, our advertising partners, the stores that carry our magazine, our event attendees and YOU, our reader.  We have many things up our sleeve to do just that so be sure to watch over the next year as we sprinkle the year with a whole lot of fun here on the blog, in the magazine, on Facebook, on Instagram, on Pinterest and on YouTube.

Thanks for reading today. Thanks for your continued support for all that we do. The blog is always a place I get to connect with you in a special way. And I love that.  Have a wonderful weekend!

~  Catherine Tachdjian, Publisher, Scrapbook & Cards Today Inc. 

 

Design Team Wednesday with Sheri Reguly!

Hello! It’s Sheri Reguly here with a Design Team Wednesday layout to share with you! Everyone has their preferred layout size, mine happens to be 12”x12”. Every once in a while though, I find it’s nice to mix things up and create a double page spread or a layout on a smaller scale, such as 8 1/2”x11. I even have an 8”x8” album that I occasionally add a layout to. 

The page that I have to share with you today was created for just that purpose. A large die cut title, a single autumn themed photo, and odds and ends that I happened to have sitting on my desk were combined into this quick and easy page design.

Supplies: Cardstock: Bazzill Basics; Patterned Paper: Pink Paislee: Wooden Veneer Accent: Pink Fresh Studio; Leaf Transparency: Crate Paper; Enamel Dots:My Mind’s Eye

Mixing up sizes is one of my favorite ways to get out of a creative stump! Give it a try!

~ Sheri Reguly

 

Halloween Boo Banner with Aly Dosdall!

Hey there SCT friends! It’s Aly Dosdall, and I’m so happy to be back here again—I love visiting with you and the SCT crew. This is one of my very favourite online places to hangout. =)

Halloween is fast approaching, so I thought it would be fun to share a festive Halloween décor idea with you today using some of my favourite new tools and products from We R Memory Keepers. To create this Boo Banner I used my Fuse tool, some pieces from the new FUSEables collection, as well as some items from the new DIY Party collection. Take a peek at what I made!

I pulled a few banner shapes from the new FUSEables banner kit to make my own creation. The kit includes some banner shapes made from the unique plastic FUSEables paper, and some made from clear plastic sheets for making shaker pockets. It also includes FUSEables paper with letters for the banner, and some embellishments. All of the plastic items can be fused together, as well fused to each other, using the Photo Sleeve Fuse tool. No need for regular adhesive!

To fill my banner shaker pocket, I used some gold sequins that come with the banner kit, and then I included some custom confetti I made using the new DIY Party Confetti Punch, as well as the Bat and Moon Punch Die.

The cardstock I used is part of the DIY Party collection, and coordinates perfectly with the other papers in the collection.

Once I filled my shaker pocket, I sealed the pocket shut with my Fuse tool, and then sealed a FUSEables letter “B” from the banner kit on top. I shifted the letter upward about 3/8” and trimmed off the excess to allow more of the fun shaker confetti at the bottom to show through.

Then I embellished my shaker pocket with a cardstock strip of custom-made ¼” fringe. The Fringe and Score Board is designed to cut fringe spaced at either 1” or ½”, but if you if you line up the tracks on the board in between the ½” fringe after cutting it, you can create ¼” custom fringe. Designer tip: the board works best when you slide the blades away from you rather than towards you.

Next, I fused some plastic fringe accents to the top of the other two FUSEables banner shapes with my Fuse tool to embellish them.

Then I created two rosettes to act as letter “O’s” making the word “BOO” on my banner. I used my Fringe and Score Board to make them. The board includes both a fringe blade and a score blade, each with a switch that allows 1” and ½” measurements. There’s a storage compartment at the top of the board to hold the blade you’re not using, and it’s easy to switch them out. Convenient, right?

If you’ve ever made rosettes before, you know how much time this board will save you! Being able to score (or cut) five lines at a time is nothing short of awesome!

I added moon and bat dies to my finished rosettes to embellish them, and then used adhesive dots to attach them to my two remaining banner shapes.

Finally, I threaded some festive ribbon through the premade holes in the banner shapes for hanging. I love how this project turned out!

Thanks for letting me join you today. I hope you’ve been inspired to do some seasonal crafting—this is such a fun time of year for creating and celebrating! And, I hope you get a chance to check out some of the fab new products from We R Memory Keepers. Be sure to stop by and say hi on my blog or Facebook page. Happy fall crafting friends!

~Aly