Giveaway | Suzi Blu for Stampavie

Artist Suzi Blu is having an exciting 2012! In January at CHA Winter 2012, she released a new line of clear stamps with Stampavie that feature her signature hand drawn female figures, uplifting sayings and quirky style.

She also has a new book out this month, titled Mixed-Media Girls with Suzi Blu: Drawing, Painting, and Fanciful Adornments from Start to Finish. The 128-page book comes with a DVD that features instruction by Suzi on techniques in the book. (This, perhaps, is the future of publishing in this industry – books not just as books but as complete multi-media packages.)

Art journaling is a building trend in the industry and Suzi’s designs are emblematic of that community’s influence in all areas of papercrafting. Would you like to try some of Suzi’s stamps for your art journaling, scrapbooking, card making, or other mixed media project? You can win some right here thanks to Scrapbook Update sponsor Stampavie! [Read more...]

Paperclipping Roundtable #113: It Makes You Brave

Angie Lucas and Karen Grunberg joined the panel this week to talk about tackling the fear of a blank page.

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The Panel

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Noteworthy | 5.11.2012

Wow, it’s been a big week for news this week, huh? Of course (in case you missed it), there was the announcement of the impending closure Scrapbooks Etc. magazine. But there was also a lot of good news in the industry this week – product announcements, events happening, and exciting web content to see!

Studio Calico announced a new line this week called “Hey Day”:


The line also includes a huge assortment of embellishments – including mistable Thickers and shapes, wood veneer shapes, and an assortment of Thickers, diecuts and other stickers. There’s also new Mr. Huey’s mists and a template. You can check out the whole collection on the Studio Calico blog. I have to admit – I usually despise anything orange (or tangerine) but this collection has such beautiful color combinations and patterns that I cannot wait to try it out. Way to go Studio Calico  - you’ve made an orange out of me! [Read more...]

The Long Slow Death of Print Publishing

Once again, the industry has heard the news of the doors slamming shut at another one of its print publications. Only this time, the dying publication is the most-read title in the industry: Scrapbooks Etc.

As one scrapbook magazine after another has closed its doors the past few years (Memory Trends, Simple Scrapbooks, Digital Scrapbooking, Memory Makers, and now Scrapbooks Etc), it is tempting to declare that scrapbooking is dying. Why else would the industry be littered with the shredded remains of revered publications?

The answer is simple. Yes, it’s inescapable that something is dying. But that something isn’t scrapbooking. It’s something larger: the printed word on paper.

Scrapbooking is certainly undergoing a decline after a few years at an unsustainable high as a fad, but not one so catastrophic that it would cause the industry’s leading magazine to pull the plug on its publication.

Instead, the culprit is the internet, and the iPad, and the Kindle, and the Nook, and the numerous electronic methods of publishing and viewing content that have exploded in the past five years. They’ve changed everything from the business model of delivering content, to the consumer’s expectation of that content. [Read more...]

Meredith Corp. Announces Scrapbooks Etc Magazine to Cease Publication [Updated]

Meredith Corporation announced today that Scrapbooks Etc magazine will be ceasing publication after its August 2012 issue. The move has shocked industry observers, as the magazine’s circulation numbers have been the strongest in the industry over the past several years, based partially on its leveraging of strong newstand placement.

The announcement was made via a post by editor Michelle Rubin to the magazine’s blog. The blog posting said the closing decision by Meredith was made because “due to the longer term business forecast for the franchise and the industry, the corporation has chosen to cease publishing within this marketplace.”

The final issue of Scrapbooks Etc, August 2012, will go on sale June 19th and be available through August 14th. The magazine’s website will continue to offer content through that time period in support of the print issue.

There is no word from Meredith at this time regarding the fate of unfulfilled issues on subscriptions, but it is standard industry practice in magazine publishing that a publisher will either sell the subscriptions to a rival magazine title to be filled, or fill the remaining issues of subscriptions with another title from their own portfolio. [Read more...]