Just sharing a little photo idea. A self-portrait in the driver seat.

This was my picture for today, taken somewhere between a doctor’s appointment and Costco this afternoon. Yes, I took it myself and yes, Mom, I was safe. I was completely stopped. To get this shot, I held the point and shoot right up by the rear-view mirror and since I could see the picture I was about to take, even at arm’s length (gotta love digital), it was easy to set up the shot and make sure I didn’t see the actual camera in the mirror.

I have a feeling some of you need to include this type of picture as part of your Project 365, as many of you spend a lot of time playing “taxi mom” or commuting to work. Just be sure you’re at a red light when you do it. : ) And let this be a reminder to put yourself IN the pictures once in a while. Don’t always hide behind the camera.

I hate to start on a crappy note, but I want to get this part over-with because there are so many better, cooler, more fun things to focus on right now. But I am a girl of my word, and that’s why I’m bringing this up at all.

International friends: I promised to get to the bottom of something for you, and I did. Simply put, that international phone number that you were given to place your order? There was no one answering those phones on January 1. Due to poor communication between CK and our fulfillment partner, people really did take that day off. The worst part is that the recording indicating that they were on holiday was never turned on.

We, as a KOTM team, cannot express how sorry we are for this mistake. My personal note? I absolutely can’t believe the oversight. I know you can’t believe it either. I am deeply, deeply sorry that many of you waited on hold for nothing. And I regret to tell you that nothing will be done to reimburse you for your phone bill from that day. I tried. Please don’t lay into me on this one, as I really have done all I can. Those concerns would be more appropriately addressed to wworner@ckmedia.com.

I do, however, have something that can help make it up to you. In fact, it will benefit everyone who missed out on the kit. I’ll come back to that in a little bit (just wrapping up the details now).

We have to move on and get past human error. We need to stay focused on the details and abundant blessings that each of us has, every single day. Project 365 is helping us to be more aware of those blessings. Thank you so much for your comments and e-mails, sharing your personal experiences with how Project 365 has been a turning point, a revolution, a liberating and eye-opening experience for you. I love sharing this experience with you.

Since several of you have been sharing links to your personal blogs, where you are tracking your own Project 365, I would like to open the comments on this post, specifically for you to share your links. Anyone and everyone who wants to share, post your link in the Comments of this post at your own free will. For those looking for photo inspiration, check out the blogs and be inspired!

Ahhh. Some of you noticed my mistake from the last post. Good catch. And good question.

That wasn’t photo #7 of my Project 365! Day 7 of the calendar year, yes. But since I started my album on Dec. 28th (again, doing the whole Sunday to Saturday thing) … the washcloth picture was technically photo #10 of my Project 365. Most of you won’t care about that detail, but for those of you figuring out how you want to approach your own 365 organization … well, there you go. I’ll show you a couple full layouts soon. That’ll help with the big picture.

Just had to share today’s picture.

Crew was thoroughly entertained (no, seriously … doesn’t he look so entertained?) looking at black & white pictures in our office while he sat in his Bumbo beside me. For those of you with young babies, you know about the Bumbo, right? Got ours here and love, love, love it. Who knew a 3-month-old could sit up, right?

Oh, and YAY for some of you already receiving your kits in the mail! Thanks for telling me. That is such good news. Man, I love good news these days. : )

I’m a busy blogger these days, so you’ll be hearing from me again soon. We’re still going to get to the whole how-to-do-project-365-without-a-kit thing. I’ll be inviting your input & ideas, so get ready to share.

Hello Wednesday. This is likely going to be my picture for day #7 out of 365. I picked up something new and happy at Target and it just makes me smile.

$2.99 for a fresh batch of washcloths. As seasons change, so do my kitchen rags. It’s my little tradition. With Valentines Day around the corner, these now have a new home on my kitchen counter.

—

I kind of feel the need to re-cap a little bit. I sense that some of you reading this right now are new to my blog. For whatever reason, you happened upon my little corner of the world wide web. And you’re reading about some drama. So for the sake of shedding a little light, and sparing you wasted hours that you could spend “reading all about it”, here’s a summary:

I design scrapbook kits for people who want to scrapbook, but also don’t have the time or desire for all the artistic things that often go hand-in-hand with this hobby. I’ve been part of the Kit of the Month program with Creating Keepsakes, where we have been providing these kits on a monthly basis. It has had its ups & downs, but overall — it’s been a really fun experience for me, personally.

On January 1st, my newest kit, Project 365, went on sale. Things didn’t go well with the launch. Thousands of people didn’t get what they wanted, the web site crashed, customer service was less than stellar, and as a result, so many people (customers as well as those of us within the walls of CK) were in a state of total frustration. It was chaos. Emotions were thrown about, and that’s why the “drama”.

So the past (almost) week has been a little nuts. You have been sharing your thoughts on the matter, we have been working hard behind the scenes to get answers and solutions, and I’ve been doing my best to stay in touch with you throughout it all. Hence the excess posting. (Oftentimes with one hand, while I feed my 3-month-old baby with the other hand.)

That’s pretty much it in a nutshell. I usually post a lot more fun, thoughtful, creative, idea-based entries. Things will be back to “normal” around here soon. I will likely be in touch again, with an update (related to Project 365) before the day is over.

It’s a record day here on my blog. Three posts in one day. How about that. : )

I love, love, love the positive vibes that are coming around again. The sun is peeking through the clouds. I love that so many of you are sticking with Project 365. For those of you who are not sure if you’ll continue with the project because you may not get the kit, I encourage you to still take a picture a day.

There are alternative solutions and ways to keep your 365 pictures. SO many ideas. Sure, my kit absolutely makes it so easy, but it’s not the only way. After all, I did this last year (a LOT of people did this last year and in years past) without a kit of any kind. So just keep snapping and I’m going to specifically address those alternative solutions very soon. That will definitely be a fun blog-reading and blog-posting day. : )

So, seriously … keep snapping those daily pictures and stick with me on this.

And by the way, don’t forget that Project 365 is not necessarily a January – December thing. Sure, it’s a natural fit to fill a full calendar year. But you can also start on another significant day (your birthday, a holiday, the day you start that diet, or whatever type of turning-point-type-of-day comes up). OR … any random day in the year. It doesn’t matter. It’s still a full year of your life (or your family’s life).

Okay. With all this posting, the contact information just may get lost in the shuffle. So as a reminder, if you have questions about your specific order, it looks like the folks at Customer Service are answering questions, looking up accounts, and getting things straightened out. In case anyone needs that contact info:

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]

I am adding another line of communication, should you feel the need to write and express concerns surrounding Project 365. Please remember that a Customer Service representative can help you with your specific order, and this is a means to communicate with management. You can send a note to Mr. Worner at wworner@ckmedia.com. He is, by the way, the Senior Manager of Fulfillment/Distribution.

I don’t want my blog to be a place of gloom. Because there has been a lot of frustration floating around, it’s just a little less cheery here in Becky Blog Land. So while we are all awaiting answers & solutions surrounding Project 365, let me just interject with a slight distraction.

This is yesterday’s picture.

I’m trying to capture real life as it happens. That’s my personal goal with Project 365. And this picture very much represents the reality of our Monday. I didn’t have an ounce of energy to make a wholesome meal for my family. That’s life. You can ALL relate to “pizza night” at your house; I’m sure of that. Plus, my kids loved the pizza … and watching their mom stand on the chair for the sake of a new angle. : )

I am still keeping up with Project 365. And if you are on-board with the concept (kit or no kit), I know that you’re keeping up with taking a picture every day too.

Becky Blog Land will be a happy little corner on the web once again. I promise.

In an effort to prevent anyone from assuming how I spend my time, let me assure you that just because I did not post in the past 24 hours, does not mean I “took a break” from this fiasco. It would be tempting to make that assumption because who wouldn’t want to ignore this!? But I care way too much about what’s going on, and how each of you are affected by this mess.

I assure you that yesterday was one of the most frustrating days I have ever had in my career. I have been loyal to Creating Keepsakes for 12 years. (“Loyal” being the key word here.) I hope you don’t mind me being candid here. I’m not in a happy mood. Without going into detail, you must understand that I am doing everything that I can at this point. Everything. And please know that I’m not alone. There are many hard-working people trying their best to resolve the issues.

I would LOVE to post again today, but unless I have any answers or solutions to present, I’m not sure that’s very productive. In the meantime, there are some questions being answered over at the KOTM blog. It still doesn’t change anything, but I know that getting some response on the issues you’re wondering about, can help. So check it out.

For the record, I am totally fine that you vent and ask questions here. I’m not tickled pink about some rudeness going back and forth between some people. To those of you have been kind enough to express your concern for me during this difficult time, I really appreciate your respect and your loyalty, but rest assured I am not taking any negative comments personally. At all. You are (rightfully) ticked off. I am ticked off. Don’t take it out on each other. It really is counter-productive. I’m listening to you. I’m working hard for you. Direct your comments to me, not to each other.

I want to be candid and honest with you. I’m pretty up-to-date on most of the comments and there are a couple of issues, in particular, that I want to address before I call it a night.

The whole “getting real answers” thing? Well as I’m writing this, it’s still a weekend. People aren’t at work. I hope to make a lot more progress with a new work week. But before I can get any more additional “information”, I can at least vent a little, right?

Issue #1: International customers.

It sounds like a lot of you international customers were on “hold” for way too long (and eventually gave up) trying to place an order, right? You may be wondering if anyone was even there taking calls on the 1st, right? Guess what? I have no idea. There’s honesty for you. I have no idea if someone was there to answer your call or if everyone working at that call center had the day off.

You know what? I work hard doing what I do and I expect the same from others. If there was seriously no one there to take your phone calls, that is inexcusable. Period. I’m so mad about the very thought of that possibility, I’m not sure how to articulate it. I truly feel your frustration.

Remember: I do not know the truth at this point. I do not know if the international phones were being manned on January 1. Maybe those folks really were working that day. I don’t know. I am absolutely going to bat for you on this. I don’t know what we can do about it at this point, but It makes me sick to think of so many of you sitting on the phone for nothing that day. I don’t know what else to say. I am looking for answers just like you.

Personally, good customer service for me is HUGE. That’s what I love about Costco. One of my biggest pet-peeves in life is poor customer service. So again — I get it. I’m not making any excuses for them.

Issue #2: Why did we not make enough kits?

A lot of comments are being made about “how could CK not see this coming?” and if I were a customer, I’d think that very same way. After all, this is awfully reminiscent of my school kit last year that sold out mega fast. How could we not be prepared, right? How could we not produce enough to meet the demand? Why create all the hype only to fail on the delivery?

I get it. I know where you’re coming from. Now let me explain the other side of the story. The school kit wasn’t my last kit. I’ve done a couple others since that one and guess what? Not so successful. They didn’t even come close to selling out. I believe they’re great products (I’m speaking about the Baby kit and the Christmas card kit), but as we are ALL seeing lately … the economy is crap right now. Most of you are really feeling that first-hand. So as we’ve watched the sales go down for the kits we’re producing, I for one don’t blame the consumer for saving their hard-earned money. It’s harder times. We need to be more frugal. I totally get why people aren’t buying the kits.

What I’m saying is, we let the numbers do the talking. Numbers have been down. Period. So when the order for Project 365 was placed months ago …… do you get where I’m going with this? The company didn’t want to over-estimate because we can’t afford to be sitting on too much inventory. Makes sense, right?

So fast-forward to last month when I’m starting to talk about Project 365 on my blog. I notice some increased traffic, I’m hearing that there’s some good buzz about it. Great. Wonderful. I’m excited that it seems like this kit will do better than the last several months’ worth.

Fast-forward to TWO days before the product is released. Two days. That’s when I announced a random drawing to win a free kit and holy cow, did you guys respond! Again — great. Wonderful. I felt so excited that people were excited about this concept and were showing interest in the kit. Starting to wonder if more should have been ordered (which, by the way, is not something that I have a say in). But remember — this is 2 days before it goes on sale. Think we can make a phone call and say “Hey, we’d like a few more thousand of Project 365. And could you overnight those?”

No, of course not. It doesn’t work that way. So then it came. January 1st. I can promise you that there was no celebrating of a quick sell-out. I don’t need to state that it all became a big mess at this point.

I don’t blame those of you who are sorely disappointed in there not being enough kits to go around. But I hope you can understand – at least a little bit – how it could even be possible to underestimate. (PS – Did any of you try to get a Wii at Christmas time?) And while I’m venting, I think some are misled and think that I own this company or have a say in how the company is run.

I am strictly an employee. I am a designer. My job is to design kits. I am not running a business or making any kind of executive decisions or controlling Customer Service. I am changing diapers and car-pooling and wiping noses and serving in my church and meeting work deadlines. And trying my best to balance it all. Just like you. Many of you are working so, so hard and deserve a much better experience in what should be just a simple product order.

I know you want answers about this fiasco. I want answers just as bad as you do. The ball has been dropped. I don’t disagree with that for a second.

It feels like forever since I’ve had something VISUAL on my blog.

Ahhh. That’s better. : ) There was a really cool fog that feel upon Santa Monica, California while we were there visiting a friend last month. That’s what this is.

Okay. Before we head into a new work week (and customer service being available again), I wanted to drop in with as much of an update as I have.

Those of you who were able to place an order (for the Project 365 kit, in case you haven’t been here in a little while) should have received an e-mail from Creating Keepsakes over the weekend. If something is not correct with this most recent confirmation, or if you placed an order but did not receive confirmation, please contact Customer Service:

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]

I know there are so many of you with questions and if I had the time or ability to address them all, I would. I am pleased that Customer Service will be up & running again Monday morning. They have access to your individual orders. I do not. My job is to stay focused on working with our team on a solution for those of you that still really want this kit. It is honestly so much more complicated that anyone may realize. “Just order more!” is a common request. I wish it were that simple. I’ll say it again & again: We are working hard on our end to resolve this.

The good news is that there are many, many of you who will be receiving your Project 365 kit very soon. I am told these will begin shipping on Tuesday.

Here are a couple common questions/concerns. Again, if you have a question about your specific order, please call Customer Service so they can look up your account and help you.

Q: Why are different customers being given different/inconsistent information from Customer Service?
A: Unfortunately, the Creating Keepsakes online store and the customer service teams were experiencing technical difficulties, and were not communicating properly. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience. We are working to bridge the gap between the two servicing units, and will resolve any issues you may have.

Q: Why did I get $0 in my confirmation e-mail?
A: The $0 confirmation means that your order has been placed, but it is considered a pre-order. When you placed your order our system was struggling to manage the traffic influx and errors were made. Your card will not be charged until your order is ready to be ship.

Bit by bit, we are trying to respond to the concerns and questions. I know there are still some issues to be addressed. Please understand that it’s hard to make a lot of progress over a weekend. I’ll continue to stay in touch with more answers and updates this week.

Wow. Day 2 of 365 and what a day yesterday was, right?

Because I know that so many of you are checking back here frequently, in search of answers & solutions, I wanted to drop you a note. I do not have definite answers yet. But I want to ensure you that the issues at hand are being addressed. This is a very high priority to our team and we’re not taking it lightly. The past couple of days have been intense.

We will give you answers as soon as we have them.

And when I asked you to “stay committed to Project 365″ yesterday, I want to explain what I mean by that. Project 365 is an exciting and liberating approach to capturing your life this year. You are obviously interested in the concept or you wouldn’t be checking my blog. So even though we are faced with technical issues in actually obtaining this kit right now, I know that so many of you still value this concept.

Focus on the concept.

To put a practical spin on this, what I mean is … still take a picture every day. Keep a folder on your computer for all of your daily pictures, and if some of your days are going to be memorabilia instead of a photograph, keep those in a physical folder or baggie or wherever you want. The second part of this project is the journaling. Doesn’t have to be much. But go ahead and keep a notebook (or Word document) with your daily notes of journaling that you don’t want to forget. Journaling “in the moment” each day is part of the beauty of this concept.

My point is, even if we don’t yet have the solution for getting the product in your hands, I don’t want you to give up on the project. It will be an incredible record of your life. Your family’s life. Your world. Your values and your habits and your happenings.

In the meantime, please accept my sincere apologies for the headache this is causing some of you. I am deeply saddened and frustrated that this has become a big mess.

We have been incredibly overwhelmed with the demand of Project 365. Okay, that’s an understatement. This is wonderful in one way, and unfortunately frustrating in another way. The large volume of orders and traffic on the ck site all at once has led to technical difficulties, causing our website to crash. At this time, we are sold out of the kits. We ARE working on a game plan to get more ordered and will, of course, keep you posted. It’s too soon to promise anything.

On a more personal note, so many of you are being wonderfully positive and so understanding about the fact that I am doing all I can do on my end. (And don’t forget that there are several others working hard behind the scenes to trouble-shoot right now). I especially appreciate those of you who have a sense of humor with the given situation. I know many of you are going to have a similar picture of the day for Jan. 1 — your computer screen, or you sitting at your computer. : )

I am trying to keep up with your comments and while I can not possibly address everyone’s individual situation, I am aware of the issues, working with the team on a solution, and — on a brighter note — so very pleased with those who have had success placing an order.

You know I will be back in touch with updates. In the meantime, take a deep breath. ENJOY bringing in the New Year. Go be with those you love. Know that we are working hard on our end. And don’t forget to take a picture today (and tomorrow and the next day and the next…).

Stay committed to Project 365. You won’t regret it.

I appreciate your continued patience.

As of this very moment, we are not sold out. Keep trying. It’s working better now, just a little slow for some.

For those of you who have placed your order and your total says $0, that’s because your credit card will not be charged until the product has shipped to you.

Looks like some of you have been successful in placing an order and some of you are still not able to get onto the site. In fact, it’s not even working for me, as I’m trying to place an order as well. Just want you to know that you’re not alone. Our team is working hard to trouble-shoot. The web site just got slammed at 9:00. Thank you for your patience. I will most certainly keep you updated.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Before the kit goes on sale this morning, I’m pleased to announce 3 of you that were randomly chosen to win the Project 365 kit:

1. Shannon in Tigard, OR
2. Brenda in Dennison, IL
3. Chia Yuan Hou in New York, NY

Note to the winners: Out of 3,500 names you ladies must be feeling pretty lucky right now. Yay for you! ; ) You need to e-mail your full shipping address & phone number to vgrothe@ckmedia.com.

As for the rest of you … on your mark, get set, GO ORDER! (9 am MST)