Digital Scrapbooking Business - Going Beyond the Screen

A digital scrapbooking business certainly has a number of advantages over traditional scrapbooking in terms of ease of start-up and range of potential customers. After all, once you've got a site set up to spread the word about your work, and a few digital scrapbook samples to show, you could be pulling in clients from anywhere in the world!

What's more, you can send the same scrapbook to any number of people for the same cost a sending it to one. So for example every guest at a wedding could have a copy of the digital wedding scrapbook. Something that would be extremely time consuming and hugely expensive to do traditionally.

But is the digital scrapbook, whether viewed on screen or printed out, a bit lacking in depth? Is there a certain lack of texture? Is it missing something when you pick it up?

If you, or clients of your digital scrapbooking business, feel that this is the case then the solution is what's become known as hybrid scrapbooking and, as you might guess, it's a combination of the two styles.

How far you want to take the mix is up to you but hybrid scrapbooking gives you the opportunity to use the best of both worlds.

Elements which are best handled by a computer - like things which are repetitive, or journalling (adding the text) are quicker and in many cases neater when produced on your computer. Likewise photos if you have to produce a number of scrapbooks.

Personal keepsakes like ribbons or other materials can be added once the digital element is printed out.

A cover for your scrapbook could be made using expensive textured paper or card, stamped or otherwise embellished to make it feel special but the inside pages could be created digitally and therefore much more cheaply.

So when you're thinking of ways to promote your digital scrapbooking business try thinking "outside the box" sometimes - or perhaps that should be "beyond the screen"!

You'll find lots more free professional information and a wealth of scrapbook resources at Digital Scrapbooking Business where you can also download a valuable free report from well known scrapbooking teacher Dawn Stegall. If you're thinking about making money from scrapbooking you don't want to ignore help like this!

How to Make a Disney Scrapbook Album

Coming home from a Disney vacation doesn't have to be the end of your trip. Vacation memories can last forever in a Disney scrapbook album.

You have to preserve your vacation memories in order for them to live on. You'll always want to remember hugging Mickey Mouse and eating ice cream on Main Street USA. Your Disney scrapbooking album will be your guide to your own memories. Making an album requires taking many pictures while on vacation.

Be sure to snap shots of all of your fun activities. Try taking more candid shots than posed shots as that's where the true magic lies. Upon returning home, get all your pictures together by printing them out or having your film developed. You can then choose a theme for your Disney scrapbook album or do a random layout.

Spend time focusing on what each page should look like, and then go for it. It's totally your call, so have fun. One important thing to note here is that your Disney scrapbook album won't design itself.

You have to set aside time to work on your album, and the sooner you sit down to scrap after returning from vacation, the better as your memories will still be fresh. Once you have the designs and layout ideas you want to use, then start putting the pieces together.

Be sure to journal, or write a bit, about each picture so that youll remember exactly what was happening when the picture was taken. Soon, you'll have a finished Disney scrapbook album. What a perfect souvenir! Your finished album will delight your family and friends as they re-live your vacation. Your Disney scrapbook album will allow your memories to live forever.

Learn more about making a Disney scrapbook album.

Different Types Of Scrapbooking

Overall, there are many methods of scrapbooking that a person can utilize to document their memories. Each depends upon how creative or organized the scrapbook maker wants to be. It really doesn’t matter if you are creative or ‘artsy’, anyone can create a scrapbook of memories. Each scrapbook is reflective of the personality of the person who created it.

1. Standard Scrapbooking – Creating pages and placing them in a scrapbook album with page protectors. Scrapbooks used to only come in two sizes 8x10 and 12x12. Check out your local scrapbook store to see the many different sizes of scrapbooks available now.

2. Book-making Scrapbooking – Using a binding system, creating covers and pages with cardboard and embellishing the pages with paper, ribbons, stickers, pictures and other keepsakes. The binding can be done using a three ring binder, binding rings, ribbons, brackets, staples or spiral binders. Really the options for binding are only limited by the creativity of the scrapbooker.

3. Digital Scrapbooking – Creating pages online using digital images and software rather than purchasing individual embellishments. Many people use these to create pages to upload to their blogs or to print and place in a book. Many software packages are also compatible with online websites like Shutterfly.com and Snapfish.com and allow you to upload your pages and create a printed book of your creations.

4. Creating Picture Books Online – There are many different websites that allow you to use their templates to create a picture book of memories. You upload your pictures to their website, paste them into the prepared templates available based on the number of pictures you would like on the page and then add text to your page to personalize. There are many different photo and self-publishing websites available that offer this service.

5. Blogging or Scrapblogging – There are many people who utilize web logs to maintain a journal or to document the happenings of their family. These blogs are highly personalized. Starting out you can use a standardized template, but once you are comfortable with the services provided, you can upload your own creation to make your blog more personal.

6. Creating presentations – Using presentation software to create personal presentations on the computer is very easy. You can use templates included with the software or go online and find more individualized templates for creating presentations. The nice thing about using presentation software is you can add videos, and you can add sound and transitions between your pages. You can even automate a presentation to scroll through the entire presentation ‘hands-free’ once the file is accessed. When choosing a presentation software, be sure to choose one that creates presentations that don’t require those viewing to necessarily own the software you used to create it.

7. Picture slide shows – There are websites online that allow you upload your pictures and organize them into slide shows. Many of these sites provide the service free of charge and provide links so that you can post your slide shows to your blog or even to post them on social networking websites.

See the links I have provided here on my web page to find your local store, and also to find online web sites that allow you to scrapbook online.

Taken From Examiner.com

Mother's Day Brings On ... A Scrapbook Of Memories

By ANNIE CHARNLEY EVELAND of the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin

Our mother, Frances Elizabeth “Libby” Graves McTaggart, was born in the midst of the Great Depression. Mom died March 12, ironically amid another serious recession. She was 78.

Her illness with ovarian cancer and death in a seven-day span surprised the daylights out of my three brothers and me.

The cancer probably developed for a year, her doctors said, but none of us knew about it until the very end. It took time to digest.

It was weeks before I could write her obituary. Brother Will and I spent about 16 hours the weekend after she died sorting through her papers to find out the state of her affairs and glean information for an obit.

A bio I had requested my parents and grandparents fill out 25 years ago turned out to be my best resource.

I discovered several things in the excavation.

It’s been an archaeological dig of sorts. Deconstructing Mom, brother Scott called it. The unorganized layers led back through news clippings, photos and letters.

I learned there’s meaning in every photo we take but some of her very old, unidentified photos have lost their significance because we don’t recognize the faces or places. Conversely, identified and dated photos give us a history, a connection to our roots and continuity.

In addition to her contributions to urban planning, the national, state and district political scenes and the Washington state Department of Transportation, Mom also had a creative influence on her children.

She was an exceedingly skilled sketch artist. We all coveted her paintings, especially a watercolor of neighbor Miss Cooey’s cherry tree Mom made while looking out the window, seated at our dining room table.

She sewed a lot. She made red and green fabric banners for Christmas that said Bonne Annee and Noel and stuffed cloth character dolls of Santa, Mrs. Claus and Santa’s elves for my brothers and me.

One Christmas she made an Old West town of shops out of hand-painted cardboard boxes. They bore our gifts and had shop signs such as: Scotty’s Dry Goods, Annie’s Millinery, Billy’s Barber Shop and Bobby’s Feed Store.

She was a whiz with papier-m…ch/. As den mother in the space-struck early 1960s for Scott’s Cub Scout troop members, she helped them construct a puppet theater with a scrolling painted backdrop for scene changes and a riveting story line for the Martian and scout puppets.

I pined for a child-sized kitchen in which to play so she marched off to the lumber store, purchased the materials and whipped up me-sized cabinets, a refrigerator, a stove with knobs that turned and a sink with a little faucet. It was awesome.

She let our imaginations run wild in the backyard. We camped as pioneers in a cavernous, smelly, old canvas tent and built tree forts in the cherry and apple trees.

My particular favorite was digging to China. I was determined to bring back Chinese gowns, fans, tea sets and dishes after being fueled by the discovery of a broken crockery chip in our excavation behind the garage.

She might not have said it, but she probably thought, “Here’s the shovel. Knock yourselves out.”

She could and did frustrate us with a standard line that applied in almost every circumstance when she didn’t want to say no: “We’ll see, dear,” she’d soothe. That ended many a discussion.

Once we got past the teenage angst, the chafing against apron strings, the yearning for independence, the impermeable facade, Mom’s best attributes stand out.

Sorting through her possessions, I came across a collection of correspondence.

Among those missives was a Mother’s Day card I sent that reads: “Sally Johnson: Worst Mom Ever.”

As she runs past two bewildered children, the mother waves scissors over her head as she cries, “Wheeeee!! Running with scissors is fun!! Well, goodbye kids!! I’m meeting a stranger for candy, then jumping off a bridge with my friends.”

Mom and I both guffawed over that card.

“I wanted to make sure you know how much it’s meant to me to have you as my Mom,” I wrote her in a letter that accompanied that card in 2007.

All the laughter we had growing up, imbued me with a good sense of humor, I told her. Because of the environment in which we were raised, I have an appreciation for music, books, the theater, science, history, research and writing.

Mom’s role modeling in those early years made me a reasonably well-rounded person who cares about her children and family and has regard for others.

Because of the ethics and values Mom imparted, I care about my home, my work, the state, nation and world and being responsible.

I am inquisitive because I saw that in Mom. I can love others because I was loved at home.

Most importantly, I don’t run with scissors, take candy from strangers or jump off the Aurora Bridge (in Seattle where we grew up) just because everyone else does.

And Mom can rest easy because I especially don’t leave home with anything but clean underwear.

I carry her in my heart every day.

Taken From Union-Bulletin.com

What I Do: Creative Coach For Scrapbook Enthusiasts

By JILL CARLSON
For the State Journal

jillcarlson1957@gmail.com

Name: Shirley Merker

Occupation: Scrapbooking teacher for Stampin’ Up, Sun Prairie

Web site: www.sjsinks.stampinup.net

Years on the job: five

I’m a creative coach and offer fresh project ideas and encouragement to my customers who want to make scrapbook pages, greeting cards or gift items.

Helping someone create that perfect project for a special occasion is the best feeling in the world. Creating cards, scrapbook pages and gift items is about more than just stamps and ink; it’s about sharing a part of yourself with the people you love.

I started scrapbooking 12 years ago and my first project was a scrapbook calendar for my grandma with pages of family photos and fun memories.

There are three types of stamping events: the club, the in-home workshop and the class. At each event, I teach and share rubber-stamping tips and techniques so that guests can go home and create additional projects.

I keep events under two hours so that guests can stamp, shop, crop and then get back to their lives. I provide a little quality time where husbands, children, pets and cell phones are not allowed.

The club meets four times in six months. The club members create three scrapbook pages per meeting and I provide the samples and precut materials. The in-home workshop is held at the hostess’ home.

I provide two free make-n-takes and the hostess provides light refreshments. The goal of the in-home workshop is to expose new stampers to this hobby, teach a fun technique and educate guests on what Stampin’ Up has to offer.

Classes are usually held at my home and the guests create a set number of cards or scrapbook pages for a fee. I provide samples of the projects and the supplies to create them. New stampers are helped out by the more experienced stampers and we all go home with some nice projects and a smile on our face.

I teach that projects look better with two coordinating colors and neutral colored paper selections along with using non-paper embellishments like ribbon, eyelets, brads or pearls.

What I Do invites people to tell in their own words what they do to earn a living. The column runs every Tuesday. To suggest someone to feature, contact Jill Carlson at jillcarlson1957@gmail.com.

Taken From Madison.com

Scrapbooking Table - How You Can Benefit From It

Scrapbooking is one among the hobbies which has brought the entire United States in frenzy. From mere putting the ribbons and cutting of pictures, the scrapbooking craze has gone to cover more sophisticated depth.

People now buy blank and readily made scrapbooks to start with their hobby. They pick good decorations and stickers from the nearby craft store and follow up the craze. Most of them come up with great looking scrapbooks in this manner.

One would then think about snapshots and pictures to be used along with the scraps to enhance every page for the story.

Great care is often taken when the hobbyist selects the materials which would be required. For example, acid free materials are used in the structuring of a scrapbook so that the memories and stories in the scrapbook would remain safe and intact throughout the time.

After all the materials related to scrapbooking is accumulated including the binder, scrapbook paper, stickers and other embellishments along with pictures and snapshots for enhancing every page, the hobbyist would begin with his creative touch for the desired scrapbook.

In the project of scrapbooking, seldom do people realize the importance of having a craft or a scrapbooking table. One could of course have any surface for that matter; however, you would have a neat output when you make use of a scrapbooking table as you start.

You would have a dedicated set for your television, a table for your computer and so on. It would be a good idea to have a table dedicated to your hobby of scrapbooking so that every work devoted to scrapbooking could be done on its dedicated table.

A scrapbooking table would have the right ergonomics designed for every movement of scrapbooking. This attribute would make the scrapbooking table different from a regular one, ensuring comfort while you work.

A scrapbooking table would have divisions so that all the scrapbooking knick knacks could be stored in a single place making sure they don't get lost or damaged. These tables would have provisions to have lamps fitted, so that the hobbyist could have better vision towards the work at night.

A visible benefit of a scrapbooking table is that you would not be disturbed by anything else as the table is meant for the purpose. For example, if you use the dining table for your work, you may have to put your stuff aside to make room for dishes and the like.

Similarly, if you plan to work on the floor, you would have to ensure room for the passersby. Such disheveling of things would be constant unless you have your very own dedicated table for scrapbooking.

It is never difficult to get hold of a scrapbooking table and that is the best part. They are always available in general craft stores. Scrapbooking tables are often multifaceted helping you to use them for multiple forms of crafts.

Whatsoever is the case, a scrapbooking table would definitely benefit your project to be worked upon. All scrapbooking work is linked to memories and is valuable. They would no doubt need a table to work up on ensuring that the hobbyist is comfortable every time he starts.

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From Hobby to Multibillion Dollar Industry

Scrapbooking Hobby. The scrapbooking business has come a long way since people started making scrapbooks as a hobby in their homes. No one could have guessed how big the scrapbooking industry would become over the years. The annual sales of the scrapbooking business have turned this favorite homegrown pastime into a thriving multi-billion dollar industry.

To date, there are numerous companies that are dedicated to the craft of scrapbooking. In most cases, some scrapbooking businesses even offer an extensive line of scrapbooking materials. Scrappers, short for scrapbooking enthusiasts, can easily get any type of material or equipment they need from a variety of resources.

Scrappers have their choice of paper, cardstock, embellishments, stickers along with stamps and stamp pads. In addition, beginners in the scrapbooking industry can get their first taste of the business from scrapbooking kits that contain step-by-step instructions on how to get started. Enthusiasts have their choice of special scrapbooking paper as offered by various companies like Daisy D’s, Design Originals and Hot off the Press Paper Pizzazz.

Scrapbooking paper is available in plain or patterned styles. The assortment of colors and designs will surely render any scrapper speechless with excitement. Embellishments for scrapbooking are another top seller in the business. Many scrapbooking companies like Adornaments, Brads Scrapbooking and Bo Bunny Press offer a wide variety of embellishments that are designed to make scrapbooking fun and interesting.

Tools have become big business in the scrapbooking industry but these can be quite expensive. Fortunately, scrappers can get the right tools they need from any number of companies where the values range from the reasonably priced to the most expensive. A scrapper would need to have several types of tools such as cutters, scorers, scissors, punches, paper trimmers and perforators for creating their masterpieces.

Paper Shapers Corner offers punch tools with intricate designs while Cutterpede and Cutterbee offer a variety of cutters and straight edge trimmers for the perfect crop. Fiskars® is a recognized brand name in the scrapbooking business. Fiskars® offers everything from mini-craft scissors, decorative blades and rotary cutters.

The Latest Trends in the Scrapbooking Business

The Craft and Hobby Association Trade Show featured the latest trends to hit the scrapbooking business in 2006. These include the newest embellishments for chipboard as well as fashion paper colors. The colors of these papers are inspired by the latest colors used in the fashion industry. In addition, the show also showed how the scrapbooking business has invaded the home décor industry by presenting various ideas on how to display scrapbooking projects at home.

by Scrapbooking Is Now My Business