I’ve been your candle gal for many years (since 1996!) and that will never change. But in 1998-1999 when I was first introduced to Creative Memories, I fell in love with their mission of preserving memories. Not being particularly crafty, I went to a scrapbooking ‘class’ begrudgingly, not at all expecting to buy anything. Back then CM consultants held classes, and those attending were to bring five or six photos relating to one theme. I took photos of my Mom who had recently passed away.  I left with a beautiful page of photos of Mom (not to mention a new scrapbook, empty pages and a ton of other supplies. 😏) and I fell in love with the whole idea. The interesting part is that while I’m not particularly creative, I FELT creative because I was taught just how easy it is to create a beautiful page. Over the next few years I scrapbooked quite a bit, almost always using Creative Memories products. As I continued to scrapbook more photos of my Mom, something unexpected happened. Creating those pages actually helped me through the grieving process. I think that was when I really ‘got it.’ The importance of preserving memories. Your photos are the stories of your life. They should be preserved in such a way that future generations will get to know you regardless of whether or not you lived during the same era. We’re all connected. And it’s through those photos that we begin to feel that connection. ❤️

Fast forward to the mid-2000’s as the digital age was fully upon us, and eventually CM closed. However, in 2014, they reopened with a different business model. In 2017 I signed on as a Creative Memories Advisor. (I haven’t promoted it a lot but mainly used it for my own projects as well as those of a few close scrapbooking friends.)  I was pleasantly surprised that scrapbooking is still extremely popular (I was under the misguided impression that it had gone the way of cursive writing and telephone books – if you know, you know) and CM caters to both traditional AND digital scrapbookers. (In fact, we also print photos now too.)

The company is thriving – in fact, January 2024 was their highest sales month ever – and I still 100% believe in their mission of preserving memories. “We believe life is beautiful and moments with family and friends are worth sharing, remembering and cherishing.”

One final thought – if you’re looking for someone to help with fancy page layouts and lots of embellishments, I’m probably not your girl. I’m very simple (in life and in scrapbooking 😂), I believe ‘done is better than perfect, and I like fast, easy, simple pages. But I’m always happy to help you find the perfect tools for your projects!

I’d love it if you’d hit the Contact button at the top of the page and share your thoughts with me.  And feel free to tap the Creative Memories button if you’d like to see the latest! (You’ll find it on the “Links” page.)

Warmly,

Terri P.