From CTMH to CM: A Maker’s Honest Review of Creative Memories Advisor Plan

If you’re a current or former Close To My Heart Maker looking for scrapbooking products, you may have some questions about the similarities and differences between CTMH and the new Creative Memories (“CM”). We’re here to help answer them in this three-article series with a former CTMH Maker, Brenda Rose, who is now a CM Advisor.

This is the third and final article in the series, picking up the conversation between Alison Dutton (CEO) and Brenda as they talk about Creative Memories events and the Advisor plan.

If you missed them, you’ll want to catch up with the first two articles in the series:
From CTMH to CM: A Maker’s Honest Review of Creative Memories Collections
From CTMH to CM: A Maker’s Honest Review of Creative Memories Tools

This recap reflects the conversation; it has been condensed for readability.

Alison: As we have been chatting about decorative collections and tools, you told us what it’s been like to share these with your customers for the first time so they can make beautiful pages with memories they love. And I know memory-keeping is your passion, too.

Let’s talk about what growing at Creative Memories has looked like for you with your customers and team members…

Brenda: Memory-keeping is a huge passion of mine, and I feel very blessed that it is also my full-time job. My team and my customers mean the world to me and carry that same passion for telling their stories through photos and paper. I want to provide the workshops they need, and that’s what is making this an easier transition to Creative Memories. There is so much paper (and ephemera!) to choose from and with new specials twice a month, I am never at a loss for what to create! My National Scrapbook Day (NSD) crop was a good indicator of what my customers want. They have placed a lot of faith in me and they truly embraced Creative Memories product that weekend.

Not only do I want my business to flourish, but I want every single person on my team to have that same experience. They have also placed a lot of faith in me to lead them to the right product. Every day, I am thankful that they chose to follow me into what is unknown for so many. I am so happy to already see so many of them shining! They have so much happiness in making pages and teaching others. We all feel like we are in the right place!

Alison: Before we get more details on your NSD crop, I know that you have a few ways that you work with your customers. For instance, I know you assemble product kits that are based on your scrapbooking style. How similar or different is your process with customers since you started using Creative Memories product?

Brenda: I do design kits for my customers and it’s a very different process now. I used to have product shipped directly to me and I would need to divide up packages of paper and embellishments before shipping it to them. Because Creative Memories product offers the same exceptional quality at a more affordable price, customers can order their own product from my website and pick up their other needs at the same time. If I order the product for them, I simply have it shipped directly to them. It has freed up much more creative time for me, and that means more workshops!

Alison: Okay, let’s chat about in-person events, as we’ve mentioned you recently had your first National Scrapbook Day event as a CM Advisor. My favorite thing about CM is that we bring people together to scrapbook and I have to brag that Advisors host over 15,000 events each year. It’s always fun to scrapbook but it’s the best to scrapbook with friends.

I can’t wait to hear about your National Scrapbook Day event!

Brenda: It is the BEST to scrapbook with friends. I love my crops and retreats for the very same reason! I had my NSD three-day retreat the first weekend of May. It was my first event as a CM Advisor so I was thrilled to introduce my customers to new product! I designed a six-page workshop using the NSD bundle so they had my guide and the Project Recipes. This provided many ideas for scrapbooking their photos. I held two classes — the NSD Card Kit and the NSD Paper Album. Having the retreat at a hotel allowed me to utilize the lobby as necessary for people and it also allowed my croppers to invite friends. I had 15 people take each class. I had 23 people stay all weekend and met some of their friends along the way. I was really happy with the way everything flowed, the games we played, the artwork my customers made and the fact that they just had so much fun! People loved the new product, which brought great sales and I have three new team members because of that event. It’s super fun to see everyone’s enthusiasm for Creative Memories.

Alison: I love seeing the photos of this event so much! It sounds like you were able to get your first Creative Memories event up and running quickly. How are you feeling about Croptoberfest, which kicks off for our Advisors in early August? 

Brenda: I’m already excited about Croptoberfest, too! Creative Memories truly excels in assisting us with every detail, from delightful decorations and custom water bottle wrappers to eye-catching signage and coordinating event products. I’ll certainly be making use of all these resources for my own Croptoberfest event. Naturally, I’ll be incorporating new games and creating fresh workshops to make sure there is plenty of excitement and fun for everyone attending!

Alison: You are obviously a community builder virtually and in person and I love that about you; it shines through. You’ve also mentioned that you had great sales and I want to congratulate you on the fact that you have reached Level 5 now. That means you’ve already sold over $15,000 in Creative Memories products — congrats to you and your hard work!

Brenda: Well, thank you, Alison! It’s not me, though, because I couldn’t do any of this without my customers truly enjoying what they are seeing in the new Creative Memories. I am so grateful for them every day! I can build a large variety of workshops and that variety allows people to get their photos on paper and their stories told.

Alison: I’m glad that you mention your team. As you of course know, we have a transition offer for former CTMH Makers that is available until July 31, 2024. You have had 31 Team Members already join you here at Creative Memories and I have seen your team sharing and getting a lot of love and encouragement from CM Advisors in our Facebook Groups.

We and they know it is not easy to have to restart a business. It’s a huge effort and we commend you for figuring out how the new CM works for you, your customers and team members.

We have the best and most welcoming community of scrapbookers. I and members of the team travel to Advisor events throughout the year, and for anyone reading our conversation, they can find nearby events and a CM community across the United States, Canada and Australia.

Alison: As we bring our conversation series to a close, I want to thank you, Brenda, for your time and openness. As a Founder at Close To My Heart, you built an amazing business. You are an entrepreneur and a success because of your own hard work. We are grateful you brought your passion for community and creativity to share with us as a Creative Memories Advisor.

Brenda: As I was making my decision as to what to do, my heart kept coming back to Creative Memories.  After talking with you and Diane Lampert, I knew that my transition could be seamless and that my customers would not be affected. It is most important to me that people preserve their memories and I didn’t want to leave a gap where they would not have quality product to use. I also wanted a place for my team where they could learn, grow, teach and have fun! I feel very much like that is happening for them at Creative Memories.

Alison: I agree completely that we’re here to make scrapbooking fun — from creativity to community, it’s about enjoying crafting, scrapbooking and getting your photos on the page in whatever way makes you happy. Thank you so much for these conversations, Brenda, it has been a pleasure.

Brenda: Thank you for inviting me, Alison. It has been an honor to speak with you.

We’re always happy to welcome everyone to a Creative Memories event near you.

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Get to Know the New Creative Memories

The most important thing to know about Creative Memories is that we make scrapbooking fun and we prioritize scrapbooking together — whether that is in-person or in a virtual community. Our Advisor community of 20,000+ Advisors across the United States, Canada, Australia and Japan host over 15,000+ in-person events each year. You can search your zip code on this page (CA | AU) to find an event and an Advisor near you.

As a Creative Memories Advisor, we allow you to sell for multiple brands — the freedom to be an entrepreneur — and we do not have order minimums. Our plan is simple: the more you sell, the more you earn. You can learn more about the details and join as an Advisor on this page (CA | AU). Currently, we have a special transition offer for former Close To My Heart Makers. Contact Coach@CreativeMemories.com to learn all the details from our team or view it here (CA | AU).

In addition to scrapbooking with friends, at the end of the day we value… scrapbooking. Whether you use one photo or multiple photos on a page, whether you use punches and/or stamps, everyone is welcome in our Creative Memories community. What brings us together is a passion for getting our family memories into albums. If you share this passion, we invite you to join our Virtual Crop Group where we refresh the group each month with sketches and inspiration. This group is open to all scrapbookers — CM customers, Advisors and anyone looking for scrapbooking inspiration. Join the fun with 40,000 other scrapbookers here. (The only reason you need to apply to join is so that we can leave scammers out!)