No February KOTM

We're sorry to announce that we are postponing the next release of Kit of the Month because we are still in the midst of correcting the fulfillment issues of Project 365. We want to make sure that everything is back to normal before embarking on another kit, so we won’t be offering a KOTM during the month of February.

Stay tuned to this blog and the Kit of the Month site for more information as it becomes available (and maybe even sneak peeks of the next kit!).

Thank you for your understanding.

The KOTM Team

photo tip: go vertical!

Today's tip is from Kerri Bradford. Here's what she has to say:

I’m doing my Project 365 based on a week at a time. This means I can have a photo for every day of the week or if there’s an important event, such as the example I’m sharing in my tip today, I can do that whole event on the two-page spread for that week.

The important event I wanted to capture this last week was my son receiving his LDS mission call. I wanted to include this photo of just him reading the letter informing him of where he was going to serve (which is Washington DC, French speaking), but it was a vertical photo.

No worries. It can work...vertically even!

Here’s what I chose to do. I used Photoshop (or you can use Elements or another photo editing software) to crop the photo size to 6" x 8". Then, I cropped and saved a copy of the top half of the photo as a 6" x 4" and did the same for the bottom half . . . giving me two separate photos that can combine to make one, as shown in the layout example here.

Imagine these photos are contained in the four photo pockets from the kit. Please forgive me for doing this as an example instead of using live product, I’m on “backorder” too. ;) But you get the idea. You’re not limited to strictly 6" x 4" photos. Mix it up, have some fun, and throw in a little variety!

photo tip: get YOU in the photo

Before sharing the photo tip for today, we wanted to answer your questions about seeing more Project 365 pages here on the KOTM blog. Well, that’s a tricky one since we didn’t get hardly any samples in-house due to the sell-out. It’s not that we don’t want to share, it’s that we only had a couple kits to spread around as opposed to what we’ve been able to do in the past. So as the couple artists that have them make their pages available to us, we’ll for sure be sharing them here!

Also, many of you are asking questions about whether or not you actually have a kit, whether credit/debit cards have been credited/charged, etc. Unfortunately, there’s nothing our team can do as far as checking orders for your customer service questions. The most direct route in finding an answer regarding your order is to call or e-mail the fulfillment partner (see contact info two posts below)...and we realize that hasn’t been easy either. There are CK Media people working fervently on trying to correct the customer service and quality assurance issues (empty boxes???) for both past orders as well as hopefully eliminating any future problems.

As for creating a full digital version of Project 365, it is something we are still thinking about, but nothing has been determined at this point. We have had a free partial download available for a couple weeks though. You can find out more about it in this post here.

So now let's continue on with sharing Project 365 tips and ideas here on the blog. Here’s one from Loni Stevens:

Okay, so I know this isn't the first time you've heard this, and I'm sure it won't be the last, but I think it's worth mentioning one more time, at least from me.

Make sure to include photos of YOU in this project!

Don't be afraid to ask someone else to take charge of the camera so you can be in the picture. Or, if nobody else is around, set up the tripod or place your camera onto something stable and use the self-timer, or do the good ol' outstretched arm method! That always works. Whatever it takes to get yourself from behind the camera, right? Another fun gadget I ran across recently through my friend Viv that I thought was pretty cool is the XShot. You attach your camera to a pole, one person holds on to it, and extends the camera far enough out so several people can be included in the shot. If you happen to get the pole in the photo, you can always crop it out like I've shown below.

Whatever your method, make sure to get yourself in the photo! :)

BEFORE

AFTER

And here's the XShot in action (photo from the XShot website)

photo tip: include text on your photo

Use your photo editing software to include pertinent details on your photo. Not only does it provide the obvious information, but it adds a whole other graphic element to the photo. This is also a great option for those of you doing your own version of Project 365.


You could also try typing your journaling along one side of the photo by either typing directly over the image itself or by creating a small rectangle box along the side to type your text over. If you are using Photoshop or Elements, make sure you create the rectangle box in a separate layer so you can change the Opacity (found on your Layers palette) to give it a translucent appearance, if desired.


[tip by kerri bradford]

we are here

We are reading your questions and concerns, however, nothing has changed over the past couple weeks.

1. We are still checking into whether or not we can do a reprint. There’s so much more involved in the process than just “reprinting it.” There are no immediate plans, but that can change in the future. We just don’t know yet.

2. Any customer service issues still need to be handled by our fulfillment partner:
E-mail: CreatingKeepsakesCS@Holdenmss.com
Domestic calls: 800.453.1173
International calls: 720.374.3628
[Phone line hours are 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. MST, M-F]

3. We are monitoring this board and making sure that concerns, especially regarding the fulfillment side, are being forwarded on to those that need to know.

4. Still continue to check out Becky’s blog for all her ideas and tips using Project 365. Since this is her kit and she had begun promotion on it before the KOTM blog was in place, we wanted her to continue to be that source of inspiration and information on 365. We’ll still continue to share tips or pages, however, we thought it best to keep most of the information in one spot vs. going back and forth...with this kit, in particular.

Please know that we are here and we are listening.

project 365 photo tip

Did your Inauguration invitation get lost in the mail? Didn't get that front row VIP seat next to Magic Johnson, Dustin Hoffman and Oprah for the perfect photo op of this momentous occasion? Forgot to even take a picture of the television? Try looking on the internet for images from the day to use for your "Tuesday photo." There are many great photos out there!

This photo was just way too cute!

a couple more pages from maggie holmes

Here's a little more of 365 from Maggie Holmes. Maggie's approach for 365 is on the life of her kids, what they do, and how they will change throughout the entire year. A fun perspective for sure! And, on top of it all, Maggie is an amazing photographer!

Thanks for creating these wonderful pages Maggie!

We want to help you do Project 365!

The KOTM team has been working with Becky Higgins to create a solution for those who want to participate in Project 365. Our solution? We're providing a handful of the Project 365 components in downloadable files! Now you, your friend, your mom, your daughter...whoever... can join the 365 fun right now.

Here's what Becky has to say:

Click here for the downloadable file.

When you click on that link, you'll notice that a file is immediately downloading onto your computer. When you open the folder (called "Project 365"), you will notice a folder of JPGs and a folder with a PDF in it. There are some title page (and ending page) cards, some "week of" cards, some journaling cards, and a couple designer cards (to use as a background when you have smaller memorabilia on some days, instead of a photo). This certainly isn't everything from the kit, but it is definitely enough to help you do Project 365. You'll need to get some 4" x 6" divided page protectors, a 12" x 12" binder, and you're good to go. See the post just below this one for resources.

I realize that everyone has different levels of being tech-saavy, so I'll explain this as clearly as possible so as to not scare anyone away. : )

[ PDF ]

When you open the PDF, you'll notice 7 pages for you to print. For best results, print on a color laser jet printer. Don't have one? Try your local copy shop. When you go to print, the most important thing is to notice that you have the option to change the scale of what you're printing. It's probably set on some default setting right now, like "fit to page" or "shrink to printable area" or something along those lines. You don't want any of these. CLICK ON "NONE". Then print, cut, and use! Of course you'll only need one print-out of the title blocks. Since you'll want several of the "week of" cards and the journaling blocks, just print those specific pages however many times you want. Once you cut everything to the appropriate size (4" x 6"), these will slip right into any 4" x 6" photo album or page protectors (see previous post for people's recommendations on where to find these).

[ JPG ]

For those of you who are a little bit more digital-saavy, and you have some photo-editing software (such as Adobe Photoshop), you're going to love these JPGs. First of all you can print the title cards just as they are. You'll have photo-quality cards and you'll be saving your own ink (printer ink is expensive!). As for the "week of" and journaling cards, simply open the file you want to use in Photoshop, add your text (whatever font & size you want), save it as a JPG, and print it just as you would print any other picture that's a JPG!

Where to print? Most photo-printing services (such as Shutterfly, Snapfish, Scrapbook Pictures, and Costco) will mail your prints right to you. Here's one of the journaling cards, so you can see what to expect, and then a sample of journaling that I did on one of the JPGs:



So you would print this out and then stick it in one of the 4" x 6" slots on the same page as those 2 days' worth of photos. Make sense? Plus -- you could also just print out the JPG journaling blocks as photos, and use a photo-safe pen to handwrite your journaling (instead of typing it in Photoshop).

If you have questions about these downloads, please leave a comment here. If you have alternative suggestions for Project 365, please leave them in the Comments of the LAST post [on Becky's blog here] so that those looking for ideas will see yours there.

If you want to read Becky's complete post on this, you can do so here.

One other note. Because this KOTM blog is new and Becky had done so much preparatory work before Project 365 was even released, we wanted the KOTM blog to be a supplement to all the wonderful things Becky had to say and contribute--she truly is an inspiration! While the KOTM team will continue to share ideas on all the kits here, we thought it best to keep the bulk of the Project 365 information in one place--Becky's blog.

Please note: This is not a "digital" version. You can use it digitally or you can print them directly onto cardstock and use them that way.

e-mail address for concerns

Here is the e-mail address for Bill Worner, our Senior Manager over Fulfillment and Distribution: wworner@ckmedia.com. He will address the concerns you've had with Project 365. Please note, for inquiries regarding your orders, please still continue to contact Customer Service.

update

Dear KOTM Customer,

With all the e-mail notifications, many of you have been calling or e-mailing to inquire as to whether or not you are receiving a kit, which has caused an influx of phone calls, and especially e-mails, with our Customer Service department. Generally, the Customer Service department receives a handful of e-mails a day and yesterday they received 1000 e-mails. Suffice it to say, those will take some extra time to go through. The wait time for phone calls is also longer as a result of the influx. However, many of your questions will be answered when you receive your shipping notice with a tracking number—letting you know that yes, your order really did get processed and a kit (or kits) is on its way. Some of you have already started getting these e-mails.

There will be those of you who will remain on a Preorder (possibly worded as "Backorder") status as we await the arrival of the remaining kits in the warehouse within about 4 or 5 weeks. You will then receive a shipping confirmation e-mail with a tracking number. If you did not receive a shipping notice this week, you will be one of those receiving the kit within 4-6 weeks. Your debit/credit card will not be charged until that time. If you did not receive a shipping notice this week and you would like peace of mind in knowing that you are on this Preorder, please call Customer Service on Monday.

We are still looking into what happened with international order/phone line, however, we do know that some international orders were placed.

We are also setting up a special e-mail address shortly so you can address your concerns to management.

We are still looking into whether or not we can do an additional order of Project 365. There are many factors into producing kits that we have to take into consideration.

We are continually trying to work through all these questions and concerns you have. Many of your questions will be answered as you get your final order confirmation e-mail with tracking number. Getting answers do take time. We will continually update this blog when know for sure what the answers are.

We, as the KOTM Team, are making all efforts to ensure the problems that occurred on January 1 are rectified. We apologize for the inconvenience it has caused you.

Sincerely,
The KOTM Team

FAQs

We've been working hard to make sure we get as many of your questions both correctly answered and resolved. We understand this has been terribly frustrating and we appreciate your patience as we work through this. As evidence by the message boards, we can see that many of you have received a new e-mail this weekend with your ordering information. If your information (quantity, shipping, etc.) is correct, no further action is needed. If there is a discrepancy, here is the contact information:

E-mail: CreatingKeepsakesCS@Holdenmss.com
Domestic calls: 800.453.1173
International calls: 720.374.3628
[Phone line hours are 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. MST, M-F]

Here are some answers to a few of the frequently asked questions. Check back here as we know more. Again, we want to make sure that the information we share is accurate. Please be patient as we obtain answers to some of your questions.

Question: Why is there inconsistent information being shared?
Answer: Fullfillment/Customer Service is outsourced to a third party. There was poor communication between CK Media and the Outsourced Company. The lines of communication are being straightened out. Launching on a holiday complicated matters.

Question: I’m curious, how many kits were produced?
Answer: The production quantity was set in October 2008. Conventional Wisdom indicated the economy was softening/slowing, so we were cautious with the order quantity and 4,000 kits were produced. With perfect hindsight it is obvious we underestimated demand, however, in October 2008 this was not so obvious.

Question: Why were there so few of these kits made in the first place? How did you guys not predict that the demand would be thousands more than you made?
Answer: Estimating order quantities is part science, part art. The order quantity for this kit was established in October 2008. We predicted the order quantity would be higher than usual, but tried to balance that with forecasts of a softening macro economy. We did our best, but in hindsight, we were too conservative.

Question: Why can’t you guys just make more kits? There is clearly the demand for it.
Answer: The KOTM kits are produced in China and typically have a 120-day production cycle. For this kit, demand exceeded supply and we are aware that this has caused frustration and disappointment for our customers. We will be contacting our manufacturer in China to discuss options and timing for a possible reprinting. In all manufacturing processes there is a complex interconnection/interdependency along the production chain. Raw materials need to be ordered, production occurs, finished products need to be shipped to the US, they must pass through customs and then be transported to our fulfillment center.

update

We just wanted to let you know that we are working on all these questions and concerns. We want to be sure the information we share is accurate, so please be patient with us as we await some answers. We sincerely apologize for the frustrations and the inconsistencies you have dealt with over the past couple days.

The KOTM Team

update

3:20 p.m. MST

Dear Kit of the Month customers,
Due to our production process and the way the KOTM program works, we order kits according to what we project our requests will be. We are always working a few months in advance. While we knew this kit would be popular, we were simply overwhelmed by the demand for Project 365. All this interest even caused the website to crash today. Now, as you see, we have sold out in just a few short hours—a new record. We are just as excited as you are about this amazing concept and we want you to be able to save your year’s worth of memories with this wonderful kit. We hear your demands and are making all efforts to have a game plan in place to order more soon.

Please know that the frustrations you’ve expressed—especially today—do not fall on deaf ears. We do hear them as we try to improve the process each time.

Please be patient and stay tuned to Becky’s blog and the KOTM blog for additional information as soon as it becomes available.

Thank you,
The KOTM Team

===========
11:10 a.m. MST
Again, we apologize for your frustration with ordering this kit. It's frustrating on our "little KOTM development team" end as well to see this happen.

Here are answers to a couple questions:

Why is there a $0.00 total?
You won't be charged until the kit ships, so it says $0 until that changes.

Can I order online from Canada?
Yes.

We will continue to keep you updated as we know more information.

===========
10:00 a.m. MST
It appears the ordering site is working, but it may still work slowly due to high demand. Good news is, there are kits still available.

ordering concerns

It sounds like some of you have been able to order the kit while some have not been able to get onto the site. No matter what amount of preparation time we put into making the kit process run smoothly, we can't always depend on the technology to be cooperative. It is possible that the amount of people trying to get on all at the same time has affected the website, including the CKMB even. More than likely the kit is still available, it probably hasn't sold out already, so don't give up trying.

Please be patient with us as we work on the purchasing issue that appears to be happening this morning. We do have people working on it right now, so hopefully you'll soon all be able to purchase the kit without any further issues. We apologize for this inconvenience.

We will keep you updated as we know more.

today's the big day!

A message from Becky:
Hello to you! It's great to see you checking out the brand-spankin'-new KOTM blog. Check here for all the latest information regarding any and all kits we offer through the Kit of the Month program. This will be the place to come.

Today is an exciting day! I'm thrilled that so many of you are interested in and excited about Project 365. Some of you may have already begun your project (you don't need the kit to get started). While you wait for your kit to arrive shortly, just be taking a picture or saving a piece of memorabilia each & every day. You can even jot down a few notes if that helps you remember details for when you receive your kit and need to catch up on those little journaling blocks.

I want you to have so much fun with the process of Project 365! Stay in tune with my blog (www.beckyhiggins.com/blog) for additional ideas.
A message from the KOTM team:
First off, everyone's enthusiasm for this kit has made this project that much more exciting! I think we will all be able to support each other in our quest for creating this time capsule of our lives. We'll keep each other on track for sure!

We'd also like to address some questions you've had here on this blog. But first, we'd like to let you know that Becky Higgins has also included a big Q&A on her blog here and we've added a link to it on the side of this blog as well.

"How much is shipping?"
Unfortunately, shipping always depends on where it's being shipped to, so that's something we can't say. That goes for international too.

"Will you be shipping internationally?"
Yes. However, because the online store cannot take international orders at this time, we have this phone number available so you can place your order: 720-374-3628.

"I can't leave a comment for Becky's contest."
From the looks of things, Blogger was probably very busy that afternoon. Some people did say they received the error, but the post saved anyway. Check for your name in the Comments of her blog and/or try leaving a comment again. If you're still unable to leave a comment, we'll be sure to get you entered.

Once again, we love hearing your expressions of enthusiasm over this concept! Becky is definitely the queen of organization and this kit is a result of that. Be sure to check both Becky's blog and the KOTM blog regularly for many ideas and tips & tricks.

Have a Happy New Year!