Hello scrapbook friends! I am coming to you this weekend from beautiful Laguna Beach, California, where my siblings and I are gathered with my parents in a borrowed beach house to celebrate my mother’s 80th birthday. It’s been a fun weekend so far and we’ve taken enough photos to fill a scrapbook already!

We have some great new products launching on Monday at noon - some new organizers and a beautiful product collection, plus the first Secret Box of 2023!

Happy Album Circle

We had a great turnout for our in-person Happy Album kickoff last Tuesday, and I know a lot of you are ready to go on Wednesday night for the virtual group! It’s not too late to join - this is just the “setup” week and we won’t be starting on our January photos till the first weekend of February. I will be recording part of the virtual kickoff to help you get started so even if you aren’t able to join us for that you can still join the group. (I do think you’ll want to attend as many of the monthly sessions as you can because the hardest part of this project is making time to work on it monthly so it’s not overwhelming!)

Details and registration info on the Happy Album 2023 page.

I have found that my Happy Album has been a great way for me to scrapbook now NOW! I love having the chance to print out some of my most recent photos and get them in an album to enjoy even though in my “regular” scrapbooking I’m years behind. I know a few people that are ONLY doing the Happy Album for their chronological scrapbook - which means they are CAUGHT UP! How magical does that sound??

Event listing

More info and registration links on my website but here are the dates for the next few weeks.

Tuesday, January 16: ZOOM crop (10:00 am - noon)*
Tuesday, January 17: Project Recipe Class (6-8 pm)
Wednesday, January 18: Day Crop (9:00 am - 2:30 pm)

Friday, January 20 (noon - 9 pm) and/or Saturday, January 21 (10 am to 6 pm): January Jammies Crop - wear your PJs (if you like) and we’ll have breakfast for dinner - my husband is coming to cook waffles for us Friday night!
NOTE: we have several new people registered for this one and I am anticipating it will fill up! So if you are on the fence please decide soon!

Wednesday, February 1: Day Crop (9:00 am - 2:30 pm)
Friday, February 3 (noon - 9 pm) and/or Saturday, February 4 (10 am to 6 pm): weekend crop

*Zoom crops happen every Tuesday morning whether I am able to attend or not - several of the girls go on without me!

Cue the Queue!

Have you been frustrated on new product launch days because the website gets bogged down? CM has tried multiple ways to solve the problem without success, and so finally they are listening to those of us who suggested a queue system. I have used these on other websites and while I still prefer being able to just log in and order, it’s nice to know I have a “place in line” and about how long my wait will be!

The queue will open at 11:30 CT - half an hour prior to the launch. During that time nobody will be able to get in to the site, and at noon the system will randomly assign anyone in the queue to their spot in line. If you have to wait, the screen will give you an anticipated wait time. The IT team at CM will be actively monitoring the site traffic to determine how many people can be online at the same time, and once traffic numbers drop within a couple of hours the queue will be turned off.

Once your spot opens up, you have ten minutes to log on so don’t walk away from your device for too long! Once you’re done, either log out or close your browser window so that the system can let someone else in.

I was able to be part of a test group for this system and I think it will make things less stressful. As always, if you don’t need your items immediately, if you wait till after about 2 pm to order none of this will apply to you anyway!!

If you have more questions they might be answered here: Queue FAQs

Secret Box #1

The first Secret Box of 2023 will be available for purchase starting Monday at noon Central, with a LIVE box opening just before the start of the February 10 Virtual Crop. Immediately after the box opening, Noreen Smith from the CM Home Office will be doing a live tutorial using the products from inside the box! These are exclusive products that will not be available for sale otherwise, so if you don’t mind a surprise, the Secret Box is a fun thing to get!

(I know lots of you don’t wait till the “official” opening to see what’s inside - that’s fine, but please don’t spoil it for others who are waiting!)

If you want more info or a general idea of what’s in the box, check out this website (scroll down to the very bottom to see some hints about what you will receive): Secret Box FAQs

New Organizers!

Hooray! January is a great time to get organizing, and CM is releasing some new organizers you can add to your arsenal!

The Large Pod is a product that only CM Advisors (we were called Consultants back then) could purchase to organize and transport products to events. Now it’s going to be available to everyone! It’s slightly smaller than the current Paper Tote, but it has a flat lid so it’s stackable. (Note that it is slightly too short to accommodate the Power Project Folders but will fit albums and page refills perfectly!)

The Pod Organizer Inserts are open on the top and will fit inside the Large Pod - or by themselves on an Ikea Kallax shelf! I’m going to use these to organize my product collections by theme, so that all my Christmas stuff will be together, all my travel stuff, etc. Another Advisor said that since you can put two of these in one Pod, we should call them Peas, and I love that. Please anticipate me calling them Peas. :)

The Small Flex Pod is a zip-top case that will be perfect for storing all the little things we need while scrapbooking - scissors, tape runners, foam squares and more!

Finally, if you’ve ever felt like the Power Project Folders are just too bulky for what you need, the Power Simple Sleeves are a great new addition to our product line. These are basically plastic folders that are open on two sides which you can store cardstock or Designer paper in.

Serenity Collection

The Serenity collection will transport you to tranquility with its Zen vibes inspired by mindful moments of self-care. This collection’s elements of petal mosaic, tiles, eucalyptus, comforting textures and uplifting titles make it perfect for everything from photos of spa days and yoga retreats to rejuvenating at a resort or beach, sleepy staycations and relaxing everyday moments at home.

The collection includes:
12x12 Pebble Gray Album Cover with white/blue/metallic blue foiled design
Designer Paper Pack
Fast2Fab inspired Paper Pack (hooray! I love these!)
Variety Mat Pack
Stickers
Laser Borders

Ancient Key BMC
Square Tile Punch (which will layer with the Square Punch)

Love it all? Going with CM’s new plan for 2023, if you want to purchase all the items in the collection (except the Album Cover) you can get it as a Buy-it-All Bundle. If you purchase the bundle within the first ten days after launch you’ll save 10%!

Thank you!

That’s it! Hope you are all off to a good scrapbooky start to the year - I’ve enjoyed seeing those of you participating in my Jumpstart January challenge and those who’ve commented on my YouTube videos! I know that not everyone is in the scrapbooking groove right now, but I’m glad you’re keeping up with me anyway, and when you’re ready to jump back in, I’ll be here to help you!

Happy Scrapbooking!
Nicole Soh

www.NicolesScrapbooks.com
www.CreativeMemories.com/user/nicolesoh