NEW Digital Artwork for October!

New Collections have Arrived!

Looking for some NEW ARTWORK for your digital pages?!  Well Forever Panstoria has come to the rescue and brought out over 90 new kits this month!  There is something for everyone!  I have chosen a few of my favourites to share with you. 

Please click the links on my blog to order your Panstoria Artwork, Software and Products so that your order is associated with my affiliate account, otherwise the sale will go directly to the Panstoria Home Office.  Thank you!!!!

Click Here to Order NEW Kits

Interested in creating photo books and gifts, create an account with Panstoria that will be linked with me.  Click here to Create Account


Here are some of my favourites:

The World is Mine

Monster Mash

Harvest Medley

Faringdon Scrapbooking Kit

Do You Remember When

Click Here for Creative Memories Paper Scrapbooking Products

Click HERE to upgrade / order Digital Scrapbooking Software: Artisan

Click HERE to check out all the Digital Artwork Panstoria has to offer.

Click HERE to upgrade / order Photo Management Software: Historian

I would love to hear which ones are your favourite!  Please let me know if you need help with anything!
~~Beth

GOOD NEWS!!!

There's been a big development in our world of digital scrapbooking this week and I wanted to give you a summary.

Artisan 5 - there is a new version of Artisan available - this is the first major upgrade in several years. It has new features that makes our digital scrapbooking even more fun - and fast. It is being offered at special prices until Oct. 4.. Take a little bit to figure out the best option for you. I've broken it down in to a few categories:

1. You have Artisan 4 - UPGRADE to Artisan 5 at the sale price of US $23.96 (regular $29.95). Click here, select Buy Now and scroll to the bottom of the page to find the UPGRADE choice. When checking out, add the discount code CELEBRATE for the 20% discount.

2. You have Storybook Creator - go straight to Artisan 5.To purchase, click here, select Buy Now, then add Artisan 5 to your cart (if you are new to the website, you will need to set up an account. Be sure to review the computer Operating System requirements to confirm your computer fits) When checking out, add the discount code CELEBRATE for the 20% discount - you will get the sale price of US$47.96 (regular $59.95).

Note: Artisan can be used on TWO computers - that's a useful difference from SBC.

A few more things to consider:

• all art kits purchased for SBC will transfer in to Artisan. You do not lose your investment.
• projects started in SBC can be opened and saved as an Artisan project so you can finish them (yeah, I got a few of those!)
• when we changed from SBC to Artisan 4, it was a seamless transition. Pretty much looked the same. Artisan 5 looks to have some big improvements and from the discussion I see on Facebook, we will need to play around to learn a few new things. My plan - I am going to purchase it now at the sale price and install it later in the week. I am 4 pages away from finishing a book so I will do that and order it, then get in to the new-ness of 5.
• Pixels2Pages is our go-to training resource. They have excellent information about moving from SBC to Artisan 4 so go here if you have questions - click on resources. You do not need to be a member to see these instructions. I do recommend their training and membership - I rely heavily on P2P for training, ideas and support. Click here to look at their membership and course options. (note: they will be rolling out new training on Artisan 5 and I'll be there learning, too.)
• I am an affiliate with Forever, Panstoria and Pixels2Pages. When you click on the links I provide and purchase a product/service, I earn a small commission (which does not add to your cost). When you click on links provided by other people or businesses, they earn the commission. We are required to tell you this.
• I'm seeing all of this NEW-ness for the first time, just as you are. I'll be sharing my perspective in future blogs and Crops so I hope you'll join me as we create books and gifts and memories for those we love.

Artisan 5 Is Here!

Artisan 5 will change the way you scrapbook! Take a look at some of its great new features and improvements.

 

 

Trust us, you'll want to upgrade right now!

 

• It's so much faster. Pages and filters respond instantly. You can move and resize elements in a snap!
• Edit shapes after they've been created!
• A wide-range of stroke options for drawing lines and shapes on the page (from simple lines to amazing artistic patterns!)
• Elements can now have a mixture of photos, text, shapes, strokes and effects in a single element. Your only limit is your imagination!
• No more annoying pop-ups at the top of the page!
• Improved two-page editing! Switch between pages without needing to save!
• All new font manager! You can create categories and groups to organize as many fonts as you like. Quickly find the font you're looking for among thousands!
• Our improved content manager allows you to browse and organize content more easily!
• Members who already use Artisan 4 can buy Artisan 5 for $30 OFF the normal retail price. Just be sure to select the upgrade version of the software when you head over to our website. Don't wait a second longer! This deal won't last forever! 

 

Background (for the curious). When Creative Memories closed in 2013, the stewardship of the two software programs (Storybook Creator and Memory Manager) returned to the company that developed and owned  the software, Panstoria. Panstoria continued to update the software in their original names: Artisan and Historian. In the past year, Panstoria was bought by a company named Forever - I am new to Forever and I have signed up as an Ambassador.  Forever's main product is permanent, secure cloud storage for your photos - it is a unique product with key differences from the many "free" options you may see on the internet. This email is not about the cloud storage so I won't go in to detail about it here, however, my point is that it is encouraging to see Forever create this umbrella of digital memory-keeping services and products.  

 

 

Click Here for Creative Memories Paper Scrapbooking Products

Click HERE to upgrade / order Digital Scrapbooking Software: Artisan

Click HERE to check out all the Digital Artwork Panstoria has to offer.

Click HERE to upgrade / order Photo Management Software: Historian

Thanks for your time - please let me know how you're doing! Beth

Update on my 21 day Challenge!

I am so happy I took on this challenge to complete a scrapbook page a day for 21 days!  I have 15 days done!  I am behind by a day, but on one of my early days I did an extra page so I am on track!!!!  Yay!!!!

 

I will get 2 pages done today on Day 17 to get caught up officially.  Going away on the long weekend set me back, but I am determined to stay on track!  I really don't think I will stop after my 21 days.  I am loving going back through old photos and capturing those memories on pages and also I am purging photos that I should have deleted a long time ago.  I don't need 5 photos of the same thing.

 Pick the best and delete the rest!!! 

Here are my pages I have done to date: 

 

As you can see I am not up to date on my photos and I am working on past years, but it feels good to get somewhat caught up.  I am printing the pages as well!  Getting them done is half the work and then ordering them is the other important step.  I love the feeling of filling my scrapbook albums for my family to enjoy looking at their photos.

 

  I print my digital pages as calendars at Heritage Makers

and then tear them apart and put them directly in albums.  12 x 18  Calendars are also available from Panstoria Print Shop and I am an affiliate for them so I would love it if you supported me by using the code here on my blog to link your orders to me.  I always appreciate your support!

 

If you ever need any help with any of your digital needs don't hesitate to contact me for assistance.  Love to share ideas with you! 

 

I hope this has inspired you to get your photos off of your computer and into albums! 

 

Happy Scrapping,

Beth

WHO'S UP FOR A CHALLENGE???

I just had a lovely chat with a friend who was a CM consultant back in 2013 and has rejoined CM.

She shared something she does everyday and I am going to set that goal as well!!!  

IN AM INSPIRED!!!! 
 

She does a digital scrapbook page everyday!

Who wants to join this challenge with me??? What a great way to wind down your day!  To join this challenge it can be digital or traditional.  I take tons of photos so I always have a backlog!  I am still not finished my Disney Trip from 2013! This will be a great way to get this done. 

If you wish to join please go to my facebook page comment with "I'M IN!".
 
The challenge starts tomorrow (Monday, August 24)! Let's try this for 21 days because it takes 21 days to form a habit and see how it goes.  All you need to do is post a photo of your digital or traditional page in an album I will create tomorrow! I can't wait to see all of our fantastic pages! There may even be a prize at the end!

Please feel free to share and invite your friends! 

Happy Scrapping! 
Beth

Jack of all... Master of none!

Let me give you a history lesson on me...

I was a loyal Creative Memories Consultant for 13 years from 2000 to 2013 and when CM went out of business in 2013 I was sad to see them go.  Scrapbooking and photography have been passions of mine for a long, long time.  But a girl has to make a living so I was searching for something else.

Enter Park Lane Jewellery in August 2013 and I was a Division Manager from August 2013 until December 2014.  I was disappointed to give this business up as I was really excited for the ground floor opportunity that was offered to me.  If you know me, you know I LOVE bling!!!  That wasn't the problem, I could sell the jewellery, it was the timing in my life. 

Enter Type 1 Diabetes in December 2013 to our 7 year old son Grant.  I tried to work my business consistently, but it was difficult with two busy teenagers and Grant needing to be taxied to all of their activities with a husband who travels.   As you know, a jewellery business is mostly evening work and that was difficult for me, as I needed to be home with Grant at bedtime for his bedtime needles.  I work a home based business for my children, but my Park Lane business was taking me outside the home rather than keeping me home.   It was much different from my CM business where my clients came to me. 

After CM was gone I still was holding my Spring and Fall Retreats for digital and traditional scrapbookers.  I was still doing both type of scrapbooking and needing a source for my digital printing. 
Enter Heritage Makers in November 2013 and I wasn't focusing on this as an income as Park Lane was my main focus.  I continued to create digital layouts and print them through Heritage Makers and share their products and my website with my former digital clients.

Soon after I joined HM, Rhonda Anderson introduced her traditional scrapbooking supplies under the name "Our Memories for Life".  The products are very similar to the "old" Creative Memories products.

Heritage Makers falls under the umbrella company of Youngevity which is a parent company for a wide range of products from digital and traditional scrapbooking to essential oils, fashion, mineral make-up and skin care, health products, jewellery and many more.    So by joining Heritage Makers I have access to all of these products to buy and sell to you! 

Many of you probably didn't know that I am a distributor for all of those companies.  I invite you visit my website for all of these products.  You can shop with me by setting up a FREE account or you can be a distributor as well for a lifetime fee of only $25!!!!    I love doing shopping from the comfort of my home at wholesale prices and you can too!!!

Have fun looking around by clicking on Shop with me to see a full list of the companies with over 1500 products and if you have questions please let me know!!! 

Enter Beth Thomander Photography in August 2014 and I am loving providing photography services for families! 

Enter Creative Memories again in June 2015!!!! 

So in summary here are the business that I am involved in:
Beth Thomander Photography
Creative Memories
Heritage Makers
Youngevity

So Jack of all...master of none!  I will certainly try to help you fulfill any of your needs! 

Warmly,
Beth

#iamthetype

I haven't shared this on here so I thought it was time to help raise awareness... On Dec. 9th 2013, Grant was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes at age 7.  It was a shock to our family as there is no family history of Type 1.  It has been a lifestyle change for everyone in our house because life does centre a bit more around Grant than it did before.  I am so proud of how Lauren and Ben took on the role of caregivers for Grant when Todd and I were not around.  There was a lot to learn from, recognizing lows and highs, to counting carbs, giving needles, checking blood sugar, checking for ketones and I am sure there are more little things I am missing.

Getting his glucometer ready to check his blood sugar which he does about 6 - 12 times a day depending on his activities

 

Checking his blood sugar level
                                      

 

                                                          Happy with a good reading!

 The most common question people ask me is, how did you know to take him to the doctor?  The first sign for me was his water bottle was empty when he came home from school and I asked him about it and he said yes he drank it all and even refilled it at the water fountain.  One night that week before he was diagnosed I heard him up to pee in the night and I asked if he wanted to sleep with me because Daddy was away.  I had a hidden agenda because I wanted to see how many times he was getting up.  Well the news wasn't good, he got up 4 more times that night!  The tell tale sign for me was when he went to hockey on Saturday he couldn't make it through the hour of ice time without coming off to go to the bathroom. 
 
I took him to the walk-in clinic and he peed in a cup and I heard the diagnosis I didn't want to hear, but knew in my heart that I had known all that week, but was in denial.  The guilt then set in that I didn't take him sooner, but I wasn't ready to hear those words.  I knew it meant a lifetime of finger pokes, needles, checkups, highs and lows, living our life on a stricter schedule.  Thankfully, we still caught it early even though I waited those couple of days.  They credited me to bringing him so quick because no damage was done.  The doctors and nurses didn't know the turmoil that was going on in my head. 
 
Well life before Type 1 is a distant memory after a year and a half of living with it in our family.  I credit that all to Grant who is an amazing boy!  Days that he should complain, he doesn't!  Testing before hockey, before lunch, at birthday parties are all teaching moments for him.  He is proud of who he is and uses those moments to share with new and old friends what he has to do everyday to stay healthy. 

                                            

Getting his needle ready for his insulin injection

 

His thigh is one of the sites we use for his insulin injection

I am the strong and independent type!

 

I will share more of what life is like living with T1D periodically.  It is always changing for Grant as he grows.  I scrapbooked a couple pages on Grant's journey with T1D so he will know when he grows up how courageous he was at age 7 when faced with this life changing illness.

 

#iamthetype who will love and care for Grant

#controlfreak

 

 

 

Warmly,

Beth (and Grant's Mommy) 

Simple Pleasure Designs by Jennifer Fehr - Get to know her!

I have loved getting back into designing again!  Thank you to Jennifer Fehr who invited me to design on her Creative Design Team for Simple Pleasure Designs!  I am loving her designs and creations!  I am inspired to create!

Created with Real Life Grunged FREE Mini Kit

Jennifer is being featured on Real Life Scrapped and she has a beautiful mini kit as a FREE gift!  Real Life Grunge is a sweet little kit with 38 pieces and she also has a Fan Freebie.  And to add to all of this sweetness she is offering a SALE of 30% off her entire site! Pop over to Real Life Scrapped to get your 30% off coupon!  

Check out Jennifer's story and her designs!  I love seeing what she is going to create next and I love that I can call her my friend!  

Here is the preview for Real Life Grunged, you know you want it!  

You can see more pages created by Jennifer's Design Team on her facebook page - Simple Pleasure Designs by Jennifer Fehr.

I can't wait to see what you have designed with her kit so please visit my facebook page Making Memories, Capturing Moments - Beth Thomander and start posting your pages!  

Enjoy!!! 

Disney First and Last!!!

Disney First and Last!!!

Not my first and last time to Disney but I completed my cover and my first and last pages in my Disney album!  

When I think about my Disney Album from our 2013 Vacation I get overwhelmed!!!  I took soooo many photos!!!!  This weekend I cropped with the Pixels2Pages Vacation Crop and I got inspired to get some pages completed!!!  I am loving the Magical Moments kit from Simple Pleasure Designs by Jennifer Fehr.   There are so many sweet elements inspired by Disney and the papers are gorgeous!!!  

If you are looking for some unique Disney content look no further!  Her designs are like none other!  They are fun and whimsical for a Disney theme!  

I love the poka-dot paper for the front cover and my black and white photo pops off of the cover.   

Opening page using Serendipity Squares Template from Pixels2Pages  which was doubled with the Serendipity Squares Challenge.  I love Jennifer's designs for the squares I made from her papers and embellishments from Magical Moments!  

My closing page using the Photo Blend Background Challenge from Pixels2Pages and Paper from Magical Moments in the Waltograph font.  

Back cover is simple and fun and I always add my name to the back of the book so people will know I created the book!  

I am far from done but this is a start and getting started sometimes is the hardest task!  I have a few pages done in-between these pages, but still lots of memories to capture!   

I will add some more pages here as I complete them!  In the meantime you can check them out on my facebook page Making Memories, Capturing Moments - Beth Thomander by liking my page.  

Thanks for dropping by!  

Big Sunglasses!

"The bigger her sunglasses are, the more manicures she requires and the more complicated her brunch order is going to be."

I saw this quote on a friends facebook timeline and it describes Lauren perfectly!  I just knew I had to do a layout with this quote and I remembered I just took a photo of her with her Christian Dior sunglasses that cover half of her face!

 Well Lauren has only gone for manicures a couple of times, but she doesn't have to as she can do an awesome job herself!

This manicure and pedicure I have to give credit to Sandy at All 4 U Esthetics!  She did an awesome job!

As for her brunch order, well her ice cappuccino order is complicated enough!  Medium caramel ice cap made with chocolate milk instead of cream because they fill it more when they use chocolate milk and you might as well put in a large cup so it doesn't overflow and can you ask that girl to make it because she does it better and can you put some whip cream on top and do you really have to charge me the extra! Well I might have exaggerated that a bit but she is pretty particular about her ice cap!!!

I designed this page with Simple Pleasure Designs by Jennifer Fehr using her new kit Vintage {Sugar}!  I LOVE all of the sweet elements in this kit!  Can't wait for it to be released so you can all enjoy it as well!  COMING SOON!

You can shop now in Jennifer's store to pick some of her other beautiful designs!  I love her Disney inspired Magical Moments kit.  I will post some pages soon featuring this kit!

Simple Pleasure Designs   link for your shopping pleasure and to browse her wonderful gallery!

Have fun!!!

Designing Again!!!

I am so excited to share that I have started designing again!  My friend Jennifer Fehr from Simple Pleasure Designs asked me to join her Design Team to create digital pages. Well I jumped at the opportunity!  I love designing and it inspired me to work more on my own pages.  It doesn't just inspire me to work on my pages, it does something for my entire being to be creative.  I had no idea how much I missed designing until I started again.  Thank you Jennifer!!!

Jennifer has an elegant style in her designs and they are a pleasure to work with!  I am sharing my first frame cluster that I designed for her freebie collection.  The link is here for you to enjoy downloading the freebie for your own collection.  The Vintage Inspired Collection is beautiful and so much fun to use to create pages!  Check out Jennifer's designs also on her Simple Pleasure Facebook page 

Here is the page I completed with the frame cluster:

Get your free frame cluster here:  Vintage Inspired Freebie #3

ENJOY!!!