Prime Time For Prima

Creative Team designer, Dianedi impresses us with brilliant scrapbooking layouts using products from Prima's latest releases.

"Losing Your First Tooth"

"Love To Sing"

Visit our Creative Team reveal section for more details on what you can do with all of Prima's product lines including "Little Boo" and "Peaches".

Check Out Digi's Year In Review!

I'm amazed at how quickly this year flew by! So much has happened here at ACOT both on the business and personal sides of everyone here. Some good. Some not so good, but we made it! Another year older and hopefully wiser!

Our Digital Creative Team spent some time reviewing 2008 in digital scrapbooking layout form. As usual, the projects are incredible! Here are some examples:

"Seasons I Love You Most Of All" by Guest CT Kami

"2008 Year In Review" by mayertk:

"Another Year Has Gone By" by dianagirly:

View all of the Digital Creative Team's Year in Review projects HERE! Thanks for another fantastic year!

In Case You Didn't Know...

Shop early for the best selection! There are really some unbelievable deals right now! We're making room for even more items that will be arriving soon. Take advantage of our limited space problem and grab a steal of a deal!

Click HERE for complete details and limitations.

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays!

We know this is a spectacularly busy time of year for most of you! We wanted to take a moment to share with you how important you all are to us and how much you are appreciated! We wish you and yours a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Kristin has written a special note to all of you! Please be sure to check it out on our Resources page!

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays from everyone at ACOT!

Last Minute Gifts!!!

A Cherry on Top: World's Best Online Scrapbooking Shoppe www.acherryontop.com

Receive a FREE $5 Gift Card with the purchase of a $50 or more Gift Card when you use this Promo Code: GIFTCARD. (Valid 12/20/08-12/31/08)

Grab your scrapbook buddy a last minute stocking stuffer or buy yourself something for all the hard work you've done for the holidays! After all, you've earned it!

There's also still time to get that perfect present delivered by Christmas! Simply place your order by Noon on December 23rd and select UPS Overnight Delivery.

Write a comment...

no hablan Inglés? (Don't Speak English?)

We've updated ACherryOnTop.com to offer "Google® Translate"!!!

Google® Translate gives international customers the option of displaying our entire website in your own language! We know there are several online translators out there, but we decided to make it even easier for you to view our site!

If you didn't know you could speak Spanish or German or French and you're already a Message Board member, simply go to the Message board and locate Google® Translate (bottom right of your screen). Select a language from the drop down list and "Ta-Dahhhh" you're speaking another language!

I knew you were brilliant!

This feature works throughout our entire site. Shopping. Resources. Gallery. You name it!

Have fun trying it out! Who knows, maybe you'll pick up a new language!

Featured Digi Designer Amy Teets!

Amy Teets of Amy Teets Designs is our Featured Digital Designer for the month of December! Please take some time before the month is over to check out her fantastic products and layout ideas in the gallery.

"My Love...baby" by dianagirly:


25 Days (Holiday Book) by mayerkt:

Amy Teets has been a long time designer at ACherryOnTop.com! Her sparkling personality shows through her work. She has something for everyone to inspire or to add that final touch to that project.

A Cherry On Top has so many talented Creative Team and Message Board Members! We hope you are all participating in the gallery on the board. I believe our community is one of the best on the net! Thanks to you all for sharing your talents with us!

Expanding!!!

We are knocking down walls in the warehouse to make more room for more product in the New Year! We are continuing to think of ways to become more efficient and more productive for our customers.



The new room will provide a great office area, more floor space for new product and our local customers will see even more items at close out and clearance products to purchase!



See those racks near the front? Soon they and many others will be stocked with fantastic values! The clearance area will help us make room for new product even faster!


If you do get to stop by, I'll probably be sitting somewhere here. Brandon still has some wiring and networking to do, but we're almost there! Moving our offices to this area will open up a lot of floor space in the warehouse and shipping.

We are so excited about this expansion and looking forward to seeing what the next year brings! In January 2009, we will be viewing and buying all of the newest goodies at CHA Winter. More space equals more room for new products and who doesn't love new, right?!?!

We'll keep you posted on the ins and outs of the expansion!

Pink Paislee Altered Tins, Gift Cards and More!

Tristann has been a member of our Creative Team since pretty much the beginning! She has always been one of our bright stars, but she completely blew us all away with today's Creative Team reveal! She was inspired by Pink Paislee's Tinsel Town Collection. There are so many beautiful projects you can complete with this line. The possibilities are seriously endless.

Just look at this gorgeous altered gift tin:

Or how about this house warming candle:

Want more information on how you can create projects like these? Tristann has listed all of the details about the items used along with other ideas for the Pink Paislee line in our Resources section.

Don't forget to post your thoughts about this reveal or any of the other fantastic articles submitted by our members.

Do You Digi?

Digital layouts are one of the hottest trends in scrapbooking right now. And with more and more websites dedicated to digital or adding digital sections, I don’t think this is a trend that we’ll see fading anytime in the future. But there is a bit of mystery surrounding digital layouts. When you ask people about digital scrapping, many are like “What is digital?” or “I wouldn’t even know where to begin.” Hopefully, this will give a little background into the digital process, what’s needed to get started, and what digital can offer to your scrapbooking experience.

Read more about "The Digital Decision" in an article by Lyndsay Jorday-Hegwald HERE!

Already a seasoned digital scrapper? Be sure to check out our Digital and Hybrid Tutorials where designers like Kristianne (MamaK321) can show you how to take every day doodles like this:

And turn them into fantastic digital layouts like this:

Need something to jump start your MOJO??? Our Creative Team offers monthly challenges to get those juices flowing! Check our out Contests and Challenges section for both digital and paper scrapbooking!

ACOT Classes

A Cherry On Top offers a wide variety of online Crop Classes, Tutorials and Creative Team Reveals to teach new techniques and to inspire! There is something available for every level of scrapbooking. Here are just a few samples of some of the recent editions:

Katarria's Kaiser Accordian Frames:

LoveMyBella's Photo Blocks:

LoveMyBella was inspired by Basic Grey's Wassail line.

No matter what your level or line preference, ACOT is full of resources to inspire!

Orders Are Shipping!!!

pretty sure that's Michelle hiding back there! HAHA!

The Thanksgiving/Black Friday/Cyber Monday Sale was a blast! Having everything on sale was a popular idea. Imagine that???

Our shipping department is hard at work making sure your orders are securely packaged and shipped as quickly as humanly possible! Believe it or not, yes...we still use humans. :) The robots weren't too spiffy at picking single sheets of cardstock and they kept knocking over the coffee pot. They had to go!

Some deliveries might be shipping a day or two later than what you're used to. We want you to know we haven't forgotten you! Hey...maybe you can spot your package somewhere in these piles:

<---- Is that your order? Is it that big one over there? Some of these orders were incredibly heavy! You guys are making the UPS® dudes work extra hard.

But just think of all of the money that was saved? Talk about savvy shoppers! If you did select UPS® ground or expedited delivery options, you will be able to

track your package right to your front door! Forget to order something during the sale? Don't worry. There's still time to receive it in time for Christmas! If you have any questions, please feel free to contact our Customer Support Department.

Santa Keeps On Delivering!

This is one view of what's currently being received in our warehouse!

Normally during the month of December, we're planning fun "end of the year" things like counting inventory. But I guess Santa has other ideas because shipments of new products keep arriving on a daily basis! Honestly! There is no end in sight.

Just take a look at a sampling of what Santa brought just today!

Becky and Michelle in Receivings will be busy for a while making sure all of the new products are online quickly! I don't know. I think they may need an elf or two to help dig them out of there! Any volunteers??? LOL! We might be able to offer compensation in the form of all you can handle "Oohs" and "Ahhhs" as well as bragging rights that you saw it first! Doesn't that sound like a great deal!?!?!?!

I guess that means we'll have to keep making room for the brand new stuff which most likely means fabulous things for our wonderful online and local customers! We'll be sure to keep you informed. :)

I probably should go back into the warehouse to make sure they're doing OK...and maybe provide some type of sustenance. HA!

Until next time...

Preparing For A Terrific Thanksgiving

The turkey is thawing. The desserts are baking...ok...the desserts are purchased, but I'm thankful for the market that provided the terrific selection! No cobbler, but apple pie alamode will do just fine don't you think?

At ACOT, we're busy finalizing details for the upcoming after Thanksgiving Day Sale! It'll be an unprecedented event! Nope. I'm not spilling any of the details. However, I can recommend updating your wishlist and share it with your friends and family. Then tell them to check out ACherryOnTop.com this weekend.

Not sure how to share your wishlist? Click HERE for more details!

Once you're done updating your Wishlist and making it public, take a little time to check out our Gallery and maybe share some comments about a layout or a particular method you haven't yet tried.

All of us at ACOT want you to know how thankful we are for each and everyone of you. You make our site among the best on the net! We could not do what we do without you.

What's Your Tradition?

We were doing a little chatting at ACOT the other day about family holiday traditions. Some of us have very "traditional" family gatherings while others just would prefer to sit in front of a television with a big cup of hot, spicy soup and crunchy wontons.

Most of my family members live far away from me. We are incredibly close, but scheduling visits sometimes requires way too much ingenuity and brain matter. So, what will I be doing? Believe it or not...I LOVE to cook Thanksgiving dinner. My house will be filled with friends, family, some acquaintances or people I'll meet for the very first time.

Honestly, I NEVER know who will show up at my door for dinner and I love that! My friends know if they're somewhere they don't want to be that they are always welcome. Some years that might mean there are only 5 or 6 of us. Some years that might mean standing room only. The strange thing is, there always seems to be enough food to go around. I blame it on my mom. She was always cooking for someone or sharing what she had. Thanks mom. :)

So, I want to know what some of your traditions are! Or maybe your tradition is not to have a tradition. What's that one dish that HAS to be served? How many plates of food does it take until uncle Joe just passes completely out? Who has an earth moving recipe for peach cobbler? Seriously...who has it? I need one ASAP! LOL!

Thanks for sharing!

Did I Blink and Miss Thanksgiving?

Or Christmas for that matter? I was looking at some of the new stuff Becky has been receiving into the warehouse lately. Guess what the themes are?

Hmm...??? Give up?

Here's a hint:

Yep. That's right. Valentine's Day and EASTER!!! I mean I love "love" and Springtime as much as the next guy, but wow! My kids are still eating their Halloween candy for goodness sake!

I miss the days of old when holidays were acknowledged and celebrated in chronological order. You remember, right? Glimpses of Halloween were seen in late September/early October. Christmas decorations were put up the day after Thanksgiving instead of appearing on store shelves in August...and Valentine's Day came AFTER New Years!

I'm confused enough when it comes to the every day things I have to get done. I don't need any more help! Believe me. If this keeps up, I just might "forget" to go to the grocery store for all of the Thanksgiving fixins next week and skip right to St. Patrick's Day. Muah! Kiss me I'm Irish! (If I remember right, there's no cooking on St. Paddy's Day, is there? ;)

However...the papers are rather gorgeous along with the coordinating products.

The colors are lovely and bright and sort of a refreshing change from the autumn and winter colors...........

I think they're sucking me in. LOL!

November Crop Success!

I have to admit, I did a lot of lurking during this particular crop. The contests, the games the challenges...it was all a ton of fun! We had 16 fantastic crop classes with themes varying from home decor to Christmas ornaments.

Want to know how to create a mini album using only one sheet of cardstock for the inner pages? Need a perfect gift idea for that animal lover in your life? Our Creative Team and Designers are there to help inspire.

If you did miss any of the details of a particular class or just want to play a little catch up, you can view all of our November Crop Classes right on our site.

Today Kristin told me there were over 19,000 total post during the three day crop! Nineteen THOUSAND! Can you believe that? Hats off to all of the organizers and participants for making the November crop one of the most successful and exciting crops ever!

In Online Crop Amazement...

Or maybe it's jealousy. I'm sitting here sipping on a lovely coffee while listening to something slow and mellow. The kids are out and about at various activities and I'm here. Trying to figure out where I'll find the motivation to get off of the couch and do something productive. So far...not so good. LOL!

I decide to check out what's going on at the Online Crop. It's like 9am on a Saturday morning. There shouldn't be anything happening right?

Wow! Was I absolutely wrong! The ladies there are amazing and talented and AWAKE! How in the world do you do it? I have always been amazed at how creatives can see paper and embellishments and shiny things and create something like this in a matter of minutes...

by 1luckymama for Fast Scrap #4

Our Message Board members are inspirational! You guys make me proud! :) Keep up the fantastic work. Who knows, maybe you will encourage this non-creative to try something new!

Local Customers Come Shop ACOT!!!

That's right! I'm NOT talking about shopping online or by phone or even local order pick up. I'm talking about physically touching all those sparkly papers, little blings and gorgeous stickers you love and have to have!



The best part is all of the products are at unbelievably reduced prices. We've opened up a clearance/close-out sale area to our local customers. You'll be able to find overstocked and one of a kind products cheap!





We will be constantly adding items to the racks and marking down prices as new products come in.
These items are not available online. So, if you're in the Saginaw, Michigan area or are planning a vacation to this fabulous mecca (OK...I might be exaggerating a tad), then be sure to stop by! You'll be so happy you did and your wallet will thank you for it.



All local clearance sales are final. To help keep the prices low, checks and credit cards are not accepted for local clearance/close-out purchases.

Warehouse location: 2216 Midland Road~Saginaw, Michigan 48603

Ever Feel Like Punching Something?

LOL!



Don't worry. I'm not freaking out or anything. We've just been having all kinds of fun preparing for our Top Secret Class Kit for the upcoming CSI themed online Crop!


If you haven't already, you might want to pick up this kit before it's too late! Visit our Online Crop info page for more details!








The dates for the crop are November 14th-November 16th! All kinds of fun activities are planned to encourage and inspire. As always, our Creative Team will be sprinkling out Bonus Points just for being there! Don't know what an online crop is? Visit our Online Crop FAQ page for more information.



We'll "see" you there!

Our Newest Delivery!!!

Meet Nehemiah Matthew Charles born 11/05/08 weighing 9lbs. 11oz. 22" long!

Just look at that face! Tech Guru, Brandon, and wife, Veronica are doing well. Nehemiah has 2 older brothers to pick on and wrestle. We're so excited! Help us welcome the newest addition to our ACOT family! Congratulations Brandon!

Add Our MySpace Page!

Be among the first to add our ACherryOnTop.com MySpace page to your friend's list! Right now, Tom is feeling pretty lonely over there. We need more friends! Send us a friend request and we'll enter you into a $20 ACOT gift card give away*!!! Be sure to send a message along with your friend request and include your real name and address (or Message Board screen name). Pay careful attention when submitting your information. We cannot be held accountable if you spell your own name or screen name incorrectly or you don't know where you live. :) We also cannot be held accountable for bad internet connections causing mail misdirection or messages that were not received.

Hurry! The time to enter ends 11/15/08. Winner to be announced on or before midnight EST 11/21/08. Prize awarded to be subject to local rules and regulations. Entry void where prohibited.

Be sure to tell your friends!!! If your friend mentions your name (again...correctly spelled lol), you'll receive another entry! (To answer your question, there is no limit to how many friends you can invite! The more the merrier!) Friend's MySpace page must be established and verifiable. All entries deemed suspicious will be disqualified.

http://www.myspace.com/acotscrapbook

*Not open to ACOT employees. Gift card not redeemable for cash. Void where prohibited. Winner will be notified via email and may be announced on the ACOT Message Board as well as through MySpace Bulletins. Winner may have option of receiving a gift card through the mail or an electronic claim code sent via email.

Our Spectacular Community

I remember when we first launched our Message Board and Gallery. What a beautiful fiasco that was! If you were apart of the relaunching of the new board and think "fck-first run" was bad...you have NO IDEA! LOL! But we love growing pains. Now we have a stellar community filled with bright, insightfully creative souls.

Haven't experienced the joy of playing online BINGO? Have no idea whatsoever how an ONLINE CROP is pulled off? Need some awe-inspiring layout ideas?


Then you MUST check out our ACOT Community. Who knows, you just might find your NBOF (new best online friend)!






Layouts of the Week (10.27.08):



"Emily" by ScrapHappy828 from the Paper Gallery:














Boo! By NicoleD from the Digital Gallery:

The Team

Yes. I completely realize this is last year's Christmas pic, but do you have any idea how difficult it is to get everyone to hold still long enough to take a pic around here?

Maybe I'll get lucky and get a new one this year, but don't hold your breath. For a company focused on perserving priceless memories, we're all a bit camera shy. I'll work on that.

From left to right:

Kristin (THE BOSS), me, Becky (the product genius), Brandon (the guru), Cathy (color coordinator extraordinaire), Marilyn (the super-packer), Mary (the perfect-packer) and Michelle (our wonderful warehouse coordinator)

I have to admit, we have a pretty terrific team here! I'm proud to call them all my co-workers. Together we work as a well oiled machine to get orders out as quickly and perfectly as possible. Without the team, there would be no ACOT! To learn a bit more about us, visit our ABOUT US page. Hmm...isn't that convenient?

A Bloggin' We Will Go....

So, I'm talking with Kristin (aka: THE BOSS) about my personal blog and other various time wasters...I mean investments...I tend to enjoy and somehow get volunteered to begin an ACherryOnTop.com blog! For those unfamiliar with A Cherry On Top (also fondly referred to as ACOT), be sure to check us out! If your priorities include family, scrapbooking and chatting on message boards all day with people you've never met then ACOT is the place to be!

Now, I don't plan on using this blog to divulge my deepest darkest secrets. I have another blog for that! LOL! However, I do plan on sharing some of the behind the scene stories of ACOT (and possibly divulging some of my co-workers deep, dark secrets on slow topic days)! HAHAHA! Don't you just love power??? I'll also spotlight some of the happenings of ACOT, maybe share some of your layouts and who knows...I might occasionally offer a special promo or two for subscribers!

Looking forward to shining a spotlight on the world of ACOT and getting to know more about you!

Comments are always welcome!