Scrapbooking

MemoryMixer Lite Announced

2006-07-20T13:56:00.000-07:00

MemoryMixer, a popular digital scrapbooking software, is now available in a "lite" version called MemoryMixer Lite.

The new product has the same popular features as the original MemoryMixer, the only
difference being the quantity of content. MemoryMixer Lite offers less QuickMixes, backgrounds, and embellishments, but allows a Lite user to buy additional content as desired. Thus customers can upgrade to the full version at their own pace.

MemoryMixer Lite allows users to combine digital video, sound, photos, computer graphics and typewritten text into a multimedia experience that brings memories to life. It also incorporates narration capabilities, such as a family member's voice, adding a more personal and meaningful touch. In addition, users can digitally scan memorabilia such as report cards, ticket stubs, or a child's drawing. MemoryMixer has multiple output options that include DVD, CD, beautiful hardbound photobooks and traditional print (professional printing or at-home printing) and uniquely retains its print quality throughout the creative process.

MemoryMixer Lite is the result of Lasting Impressions' partnership with StoryRock, the world's largest provider of digital yearbook technology for schools. StoryRock's digital approach to creating and enjoying yearbooks adds an entirely new dimension to capturing school memories.

MemoryMixer Lite will be available in July 2006 and will be priced at $29.95 for a broad consumer audience. The new product is compatible with either PC or Mac systems.

Photo Album For Your Wrist

2006-07-12T20:42:00.000-07:00

The SMOY Photocuff is a bracelet with windows to hold photos of your friends.

Billed as a "friendship bracelet for the MySpace crowd", it comes in four styles named after neighborhoods in New York City: Brooklyn, Chelsea, and Soho. Each style is available in multiple colors.

Looks like it could also be used to hold notes and answers for tests.

MyPublisher Introduces Restyled Cover Options for Photobooks - Plus New Cover Colors for Summer

2006-07-05T10:52:00.000-07:00

MyPublisher, Inc., a provider of software and value-added printing services for digital photo users, announced today the availability of two new re-designed cover style options -- the Picture Window Cover and the Classic Label Cover.

The company also launched its new seasonal cover color program with the introduction of lime, mango and tangerine linen covers for summer.

The new Picture Window cover design gives MyPublisher's Photobooks a sophisticated look while the removal of the window frame makes for easier stacking and shelving. MyPublisher's Picture Window Cover is a sleek style with a self-contained window displaying the cover photo and title customers choose for their PhotoBook. The window is enclosed on the interior cover with a grey, archival-quality paper. The Classic Label cover displays the cover photo and book title on a high-quality, picture stock label that is adhered to the center of the cover.

The chic summer cover colors -- lime, mango and tangerine -- are a perfect way to encapsulate those sunny, summer memories. Customers can create their PhotoBooks using digital photos taken during summer vacations or a day at the beach then select one of the complementary summer cover colors to add a little flair.

Lisa Lee's Little Love Book

2006-03-23T18:40:00.000-08:00

The newest product available for busy parents and grandparents who want to capture and cherish their baby's first year is the "Little Love Book" series of personal photo journals from The Lisa Lee Company.

"Little Love Book" offers the look of a handmade scrapbook with a simple and unique method to slide photos right into the page designs. The first two photo journals in the series are available now and feature a boy or girl's first year.

Each "Little Love Book" contains 20 hand-designed, original themed pages with die cut windows where pictures simply slip in. Every page is made from a heavy cover stock paper that is safe for both digital and traditional photo prints. The stitched and softly padded leatherette cover also features a window to add a photo.

"Little Love Books" also include acid and lignin-free double-sided adhesive to secure photos and an archival quality pen for journaling alongside the images. It's billed as the perfect shower, Mother's Day, new parent or grandparent gift.

They're currently available in both a boy's and girl's version. More books will be added to the collection in 2006 focusing on love, celebrations, traveling and more.

Twig Offers "eLearning Scrapbook Classes"

2006-03-05T17:55:00.000-08:00

Today, a company called Twig Your Scrapbook eLearning Center, LLC, officially announced its new scrapbook class called "Twig".

Twig actually first went live on January 1, 2006 by launching its website where scrapbookers can take live interactive classes online.

The classes offered fulfill all levels of scrapbooking, from beginner classes to intermediate project based classes.

Angie Long, Twig's Owner and President says it's a challenge just to explain the concept of online interactive classes to scrapbookers.
"This concept is so new that when I explain live, interactive classes to scrappers, they can't seem to grasp it. Fortunately, I can see the future, and I always try to be two steps ahead."
View Twig's class schedule.

The Story Behind StoryTeller's Club

2006-03-05T17:40:00.000-08:00

The Spectrum, a newspaper serving Southern Utah, has an article explaining how StoryTellers Club got started.

If you're not familiar with StoryTellers Club, it's a subscription-based scrapbooking supply service, sending its members scrapbooking supply packs each month with enough materials to complete 8 to 10 pages.

Leslie Johnson, who owns StoryTellers Club didn't expect so much success so fast...
"It grew a lot faster than we thought it would," she said.

The Web site is a huge part of the business' success - members can sign up, post ideas and layouts and chat with other scrapbookers.

"It's become kind of a second business with the Web site," Clay Johnson said. "It's been a great avenue for us to develop a community for our customers."

Last year was their biggest year - they added employees and expanded their office.
Read the full article here.

Marriage Of Family History And Scrapbooking

2006-03-02T06:07:00.000-08:00

Family history and scrapbooking have always been kissing cousins but GenealogyToday.com aims to bring the two together in marriage. If you are into researching or recording your family history and you are a scrapper, you ought to take a look at ScrapbookingToday's offerings. These include a various paper selections for recording family trees, family history themed albums, stickers and other embellishments, as well as a few how-to books.

ScrapbookingToday is a specialized department of the Marketplace at Genealogy Today which highlights products for sharing and preserving your family history, traditions and memories. The site is the work of Illya D'Addezio, a long time genealogy buff and web master. He's also a long-term friend of this site. You can trust Illya to take good care of you, process your order promptly, and generally make sure you are happy with your purchase.

Kim Luty Calls for Diversity in Scrapbooking

2006-03-01T10:54:00.000-08:00

(Via Press Release) - Kim Luty uses scrapbooking to illustrate that it's our differences that make us the same.

"The scrapbooking market has traditionally presented an extremely limited number of products targeting people who are outside what most of us call 'the norm,'" says craft industry professional Kim Luty. A scrapbooking enthusiast as well as a professional, Luty says it was difficult, if not impossible, to "find images of blended families, unmarried adults, single parents, active seniors, people with curbs and the disabled."

Even more troubling, she felt, was the lack of diversity within the product lines. She found scrapbook kits with images that were appropriate for people of color, or for people of one religious background or another, but "They seemed very 'one note' to me," she says.

To Luty, existing scrapbooking products "didn't represent the diversity of people and lifestyles that I see all around me every day." She decided to address the situation and today, with her company Same-Differences, Luty wants to change the world of scrapbooking to look more like her world, "a magnificent tapestry made up of beautiful, but different threads."

Luty's products distinguish themselves from other mainstream offerings for croppers with an unusual attitude towards the dissimilarities that define people. "Same-Differences presents images of a broad spectrum of ages, abilities, colors, enthnicities, and physical attributes," observes Luty.

"And we show them working together, playing together, and living together just the way they do in real life," she says proudly.

"Do I have strong opinions that scrapbooking products should reflect the diversity of our lives? You bet I do," says Luty. "But they're just my opinions, my perspective, and my individual 'world view.'" With the Same-Differences products, "I simply invite people to join me in sharing that view," she says.

Luty notes that some companies prefer to target a separate niche with their products, offering images of a single ethnicity, religion, or physical state. She says she has no problem with companies and customers who prefer what she simply calls a different scrapbooking "frame."

HP Photosmart Express Kiosk

2006-02-24T10:28:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, Hewlett Packard unveiled its new HP Photosmart Express Kiosk, a self-service photo-processing, printing, poster, calendar, and greeting card maker.

These interactive kiosks will be found in drug stores, grocery stores, camera stores, and whereever shoppers might feel convenient to get photos made.

Longs Drugs Stores, Albertsons, and Bashas' Supermarkets have already announced plans to roll these in. In fact, four Longs Drugs Stores in California already have them in place:

129 North El Camino Real Encinitas, CA 92024 (760)-942-2134
5644 Mission Center Rd Suite 201 San Diego, CA 92108 (619)-298-3533
1500 First St Livermore, CA 94550 (925)-455-5400
738 Bancroft Rd Walnut Creek, CA 94598 (925)-938-7616

The HP Photosmart Studio is the only in-store solution that allows customers a fun way to design creative products using 200+ images in less than an hour at affordable prices.

Here's how it works...

Insert any combination of photo CDs, memory cards or memory sticks into the kiosk, and your images are instantly loaded into the system to view.

Select a project to create. Choose from small, medium or large albums, posters, calendars, greeting cards or photo CDs.

Print. A Longs Drugs photo department employee will present you with your creation in minutes!

The HP Photosmart Express can accept photos on just about any kind of media, including Compact Flash (type 1 and 2), Secure Digital, Memory Stick, xD, MMC, mini-SD, RS-MMC, MS Duo, CD, DVD, USB Flash thumb-drive, SmartMedia, Bluetooth 2.0, Wired and wireless networking.

National Scrapbooking Day!

2006-02-23T13:33:00.000-08:00

Press Release:

The National Scrapbooking Association announces a new web site - NationalScrapbookingDay.com - to publicize and promote events commemorating National Scrapbooking Day. The free service encourages all scrapbooking enthusiasts to submit and search for events and ideas to celebrate NSD. The site also invites scrapbookers to sign a petition to recognize National Scrapbooking Day, which traditionally is the first Saturday in May.

Many scrapbookers mark National Scrapbooking Day by gathering with fellow scrapbookers and working on pages and albums. Retailers and Service Providers host special events like crops, contests and product sales. This year National Scrapbooking Day is Saturday, May 6, 2006.

"National Scrapbooking Day also is a time for all scrapbookers to reflect and recognize that what we do matters," notes NSA president and co-founder, Veronica Hugger. "Scrapbookers are historians. We dedicate our precious free time and energy to document the lives of loved ones. National Scrapbooking Day reminds us that scrapbooking is important."

NationalScrapbookingDay.com provides a means for scrapbooking enthusiasts to share and celebrate the day with scrapbookers everywhere and helps all segments of the scrapbooking market:

- Consumers can find stores or service providers near them offering ways to celebrate National Scrapbooking Day
- Retailers and Service Providers can list for free any event they are sponsoring that is in conjunction with National Scrapbooking Day. Now is the time to finalize plans for National Scrapbooking Day, so events can be promoted appropriately
- Manufacturers and Publications can submit project ideas for make & takes, games, or classes, or advertise on the site as a way to show support

To submit and search for NSD events and ideas and to sign the petition to recognize National Scrapbooking Day, visit NationalScrapbookingDay.com.

About the National Scrapbooking Association (NSA)

Serving all segments of the scrapbooking industry - consumers, retailers, service providers, manufacturers and publications - the NSA provides the tools to strengthen and unify the scrapbooking community and is dedicated to expanding the passion of scrapbooking to untapped markets. The NSA web site (www.nsa.gs) features a comprehensive list of scrapbooking retailers, a calendar of scrapbooking events, and an aggressive affiliate program to benefit referring members.

###

National Scrapbooking Association
www.nsa.gs
713-589-2140

Lucidiom Brings Its Digital Photo Creativity to Scrapbooking

2006-02-23T10:25:00.000-08:00

Press Release:

Lucidiom Inc., creator of the original Automated Photo Machine (APM), will showcase its new Luci scrapbook kiosk program at the Photo Marketing Association (PMA) Show, February 26th through March 1st in Orlando, Fla. Luci is the first photo kiosk with features tailored just for scrapbookers, such as 12x12 photo printing, unique mats and template layouts.

"Luci is much more than just a photo kiosk. It's an entire program designed to bring the digital photo business and the paper scrapbook business together. Luci offers new custom-designed creativity tools for consumers and new profit opportunities for retailers," said Lucidiom Vice President of Scrapbook & Craft Business Development Kesley Anderson. "With Luci, retailers will garner higher profits, expand their product offerings and reach out to a wider range of customers."

Lucidiom is collaborating with two well-respected companies in the scrapbook market to help retailers coordinate Luci prints with their other merchandise. Luci offers photo mats, Prism Prismatics Borders that coordinate with Prism Prismatic Packs. Plus, designers from DigitalScrapbookPlace.com have created distinctive scrapbook layouts from their online kits exclusively for Luci. Retailers get a new set of templates each month to keep customers coming back for new designs. With these two Luci partnerships, retail customers can make quick and beautiful scrapbook pages right in the store.

Luci is built upon Lucidiom's APM 1100 which debuted last December. The kiosk features a 17-inch touch-screen to make ordering prints fast and easy. Lucidiom's APMs support every digital media type. Consumers also can choose to print standard size photos, enlargements, index prints or burn images to CD.

Plus, with the integration of Lucidiom's Photo IQ suite, consumers get the best photos possible with red-eye elimination, cropping and image enhancement. Consumers also can scan in old photos and scrapbook pages to make duplicate albums.

Luci comes with Lucidiom's award-wining APM software and network support that allow retailers to manage all its APMs online from any location and handle every business need -- from analyzing business operations to tracking sales trends to providing customer support.

At the PMA Show, attendees can print their photos for free at Lucidiom's booth #4361, while test-driving Luci and Lucidiom's other digital imaging solutions. During the show, retailers also can learn how to expand their business by playing Lucidiom's Maximize Your Profits Contest. Attendees get their contest cards stamped at three of seven demo areas within Lucidiom's booth to enter the contest and are eligible to win one of many iPod Nanos and a 42" plasma high-definition television.

Keep Your Kids From Dying Of Boredom

2006-02-23T07:42:00.000-08:00

The "mom, I'm bored" syndrome is deadly. While it can't cause your kids to actually die from boredom, it can cause you to kill them! A clinical psychologist has published an article with some common sense answers to this problem including, you guessed it, scarpbooking. Isn't it funny how something you find pleasurable can actually help you survive the winter?

read more

CanvasOnDemand Turns Your Photos into Collage Portraits

2006-02-16T14:11:00.000-08:00

Photo collages are more than a collection of images. They visually tell a story, commemorate an event or celebrate someone special.

In continuing to provide an emotional experience for canvas lovers across the country, Canvas On Demand, a provider of canvas photo reproductions, is now providing custom canvas collages via its Website.

Canvas collages are a novel way to prominently display story-telling pictures for every life event -- anniversaries, Mother's Day, Father's Day and sporting events are just a few. With four unique layout options, a variety of backgrounds and special effects, Canvas On Demand offers every photo lover, scrap booking queen or crafty nut a chance to bring their photo album to a new medium-real artist canvas.

View examples of canvases and read testimonials from actual customers.

Learn how to make your own photo collages.

ScrapSimple Templates

2006-02-15T11:03:00.000-08:00

The ScrapGirls announced the release of their new ScrapSimple layered digital scrapbooking templates allowing you to create the look of stacked papers.

Each ScrapSimple set comes with step-by-step instructions, ideas and samples, and three page templates in two sizes. (12x12 and 8.5x11)

The templates sell for $3.99 for a set of three and can be used time and time again.

Scrapbook MAX - Digital Scrapbooking Software

2006-02-15T10:39:00.000-08:00

Scrapbook MAX is a digital scrapbooking kit. The software uses a drag and drop design to simplify digital scrapbooking in a fast, fun and easy way.

You can drag and drop your digital photos into the design space. Then build impressive, personalized scrapbooks by selecting backgrounds, images and different text options with your mouse.

Scrapbook MAX comes with professionally-designed templates and backgrounds, photo-realistic embellishments, colored and textured paper scraps, traditional and whimsical frames, captions, speech bubbles and more. You can make multimedia scrapbooks by adding music and soundtracks.

The software also offers photo retouching tools such as cropping, scratch and red-eye removal. You can get creative with your designs by adding shaping, edging, blurring, black and white and watercolor imaging, and other neat effects to your photos and images. Plus, just as in traditional scrapbooking, you can layer photos, paper scraps and images for a three-dimensional effect.

Publish your scrapbooks in a variety of formats with a few simple mouse clicks; no additional publishing software is required. You can make video CD's (VCD) to watch on your television, slideshows, Acrobat PDF e-books, screensavers, JPG images and HTML files. Share your memories with friends and family through email, CD-ROM, printed copies or the web.

Expand your Scrapbook MAX image library with booster packs, and find helpful tips and free templates, images and more in the Scrapbook MAX community forums.

Crafting Is HUGE!

2006-02-14T07:28:00.000-08:00

Ipsos-Insight has just completed a study of the crafting industry and found it to be enormous. Perhaps surprisingly, scrapbooking is just the third largest piece of the crafting industry. But not to worry, scrapping is growing remarkably fast with no end in sight.

According to the study, the entire US crafting industry made sales in excess of $30 billion. That represents an annual growth rate of almost 4%. Scrapbooking was behind cross-stitch/embroidery and crocheting but it is one of the fastest growing crafts so it may one day take the top slot. The recently concluded Craft & Hobby Association convention in Las Vegas drew 1,100 exhibitors and more than 8,000 attendees. Another important demographic observation is that crafts are appealing to a younger segment of the population. If you are thinking of opening a business, these facts are something you ought to consider. But another is the fact that many large, national chain stores are enlarging their crafting and scrapbooking sections.

read more

Sizzix Value Packs - Save As Much As 50%!

2006-02-06T13:03:00.000-08:00

Don't have a sidekick? Wish you did? Now might be the time to take the plunge with a Sizzix value pack. These packages put together by Sizzix and only available via their web site offer the perfect way to get started. And if you just cannot justify spending money on this, how about dropping some hints to your husband for what could be a truly special Valentines Day gift!

Forget About Bored Games And Puzzles

2006-01-30T09:05:00.000-08:00

I know it is unusually mild in the northeast US and other places. Maybe the Superbowl is scheduled for this weekend and you're hosting or going to a party. But sooner or later the weather will keep you insides and football is almost gone. So what are you going to do then? We spend so little time together in a single family unti in this society, you simply must make the most of any family time you get. So, what do you do to engender your family's sense of togetherness? Well, here's a thought. The next time you ponder a family game night or something else to bring everyone closer, how about a scrapbooking night?

We always run into the different sensibilities between genders whenever we try to do something as a family. In terms of TV, boys want to watch football and girls want to watch American Idol. Besides, watching the tube together is more like doing anything apart than it is "family time." In terms of other activities, boys want to play certain kinds of video or board games and girls want to play others. There is some common ground but usually the thing breaks down because somebody is unusually good at this game and somebody else is unusually good at that one. Scrapbooking is different because it can be structured in a way where everyone wins and such that the boys and girls in your family can all have a great time. Girls will usually enjoy the crafty part of things. Maybe the boys don't want to do crafts but they can go through pictures and organize them or pick their favorites.

There is nothing which brings a family together as much as going through boxes of pictures. And there is nothing which drives home the strength of parents' love for their children as much as looking through baby or other pictures of the family together at some holiday or on a vacation. Scrapbooking need not only be about cropping and stamping. And the finished product need not be the only aspect of the craft which the boys enjoy. Try setting aside one two hour session on a Sunday night or the next time you get snowed in and make everyone participate. Use your head and make sure you have something for the boys to do like going through pictures to pick good ones. Spread out on the kitchen or dining room table and make a big project of it. In many ways, setting out all the pictures in a place where they don't immediately have to be put away will extend the pleasure. Think of this as a giant jigsaw puzzle, one which takes weeks to put together.

If you get resistance from one family member or another, maybe start things out not as a "scrapbooking night" but rather as a couple hours of going through pictures. Then sneak some of your scrapbooking supplies out and start to put something together. You'll be wanting some input from John as to what to write next to last year's baseball pictures. Slowly but surely you'll pull the entire family into the process of putting together some scrapbooks. You'll be glad you did this. But don;t be surprised if your husband or sons get mad that you can't do this every Sunday night.

Sale Of Scrapbooking Magazine Causing Stir

2006-01-25T08:29:00.000-08:00

Primedia's exploration of the divestiture of its crafts unit is creating a stir. The Mad Cropper worries "what could happen to my favourite mags Â Simple Scrapbooks and Creating Keepsakes." Others might wonder if this could be the death knell for their favorite titles. I'm here to tell you there is nothing to be concerned about.

Primedia began as a cooperative venture between former executives of MacMillan Publishing and the leveraged buyout firm, KKR. The general idea was to buy publishing businesses from private concerns, where titles could be had for as little as three times earnings, combine a bunch of these relatively small business into a larger corporate entity and then take the enterprise public at multiples of around 7 or more times earnings. To illustrate, say you can buy two magazines for $1 million each, a total of $2 million, and then sell stock in your business for $5 million, that would be a really good investment. That was essentially the KKR vision with respect to Primedia.

But Primedia was never a corporation which had a vision with respect to the nature of titles they would publish. They hired a crew of Harvard MBAs to scour the landscape searching for publications which could be had at low multiples for management to buy. And buy they did. The result was a mishmash of unrelated titles. For example, back in 1991 when Primedia started, they purchased New Woman magazine and the Daily Racing Form in order to complement their business directory business and a large stable of business to business magazines like "Telephony," the magazine of telephone engineers. Later they bought "Funk and Wagnalls Encyclopedia," "Weekly Reader" and a business called "Films for the Humanities and Sciences" geared towards colleges and high schools. I won't go into details about all their acquisitions because there were many but my point is most of these things had nothing to do with each other and that's the way the business developed. Perhaps more importantly, none of these things had anything to do with crafting or scrapbooking.

Primedia often picked up publications from the founder who had built the company. Sometimes they chopped this head off the operation and proceeded to run the company based almost exclusively on principles of financial management as taught by Harvard Business School. That means the bottom line was continually reviewed, budgets examined very closely, and little cuts made in order to enhance the bottom line. Very few businesses were managed in a fashion which would enhance continued development of product and brand. Primedia presided over the destruction of many a brand.

Sometime around 1996, Primedia expanded by purchasing a new business focused on professional training. The company they purchased had been started by a man who was essentially a "used car salesman." He developed training for car dealerships which was in video format sent by satellite transmission to dealerships around the country. Before its sale to Primedia, the business had expanded to include training for law enforcement and emergency response, banking, etc. As a good "used car salesman," the seller cleaned up the business and made it look pretty for Primedia who overpaid by hundreds of millions. That littlemisstepp cost the CEO and Chairman his job.

A new CEO was hired to plan a new vision and take the company into the next millennium. This supposed "genius visionary" was named Tom Rogers and he made his landmark acquisition the purchase of "About.com" for around half of Primedia's overall enterprise value. But About.com was literally a piece of junk and internet stocks had collapsed by the time Rogers' crew celebrated the "marriage" of the two enterprises. From this time until the present, Primedia has languished and ultimately is involved in a breaking apart of its businesses to recover at least some of the value contained within the organization and pay off the huge piles of debt the company has acquired over the past decade and a half.

The sale of Primedia's craft business segment is simply a part of the overall breaking apart of the company. There is nothing in particular to be concerned with regarding the sale of Simple Scrapbooks, Creating Keepsakes, Craftrends or any other of these businesses. It cannot fall into a worse organization. Whoever acquires these publications will most likely manage them better than Primedia did. The track record of businesses which leave Primedia is pretty good.

Memorystone Launches New Book Publishing Service

2006-01-20T16:52:00.000-08:00

Memorystone Publishing, Inc. announced the launch of a new service which gives internet users the ability to make a personalized memory book in minutes.

Visitors to Memorystone's website can browse through their professionally written and designed book templates. After selecting a template, the user writes a short dedication and adds personal photos and captions. You or your family and friends can then purchase a printed version of the book for as little as $49.95.

The online version of the book can be enjoyed for free.

Hottest Trends In Scrapbooking

2006-01-20T07:07:00.000-08:00

Scrapbooking Bug has an article today talking about the hottest trends in scrapbooking including "Creative Cropping," Digital Scrapbooking, and "Mini Scrapbooks."

Read More

Couple Opens Scrapbooking Retreat

2006-01-17T14:32:00.000-08:00

A couple recently opened a scrapbooking retreat known as Michelle's Scrapbook Cottage in Fishers, Indiana. According to USA Today, the couple renovated a three-story Victorian mansion which offers seven bedrooms, five fireplaces, a formal parlor and a ballroom. A local scrapbook store will open a small store in the cottage. One night packages include one nights lodging, all meals, beverages and munchies for only 150.00! From what I can see on the business' web site, dates are booking up fast so check it out now and make your reservations soon!

Scrapping For Good Causes

2006-01-17T09:42:00.000-08:00

Looking for some kind of event to raise money for a good cause? Why not sponsor a scrapbooking event? Probably a high percentage of people living near you engage in this hobby in one form or another. Folks at the Fort Morgan (Colorado) United Methodist Church recently held a "Cropping for Food" event which raised money for an international youth movement formed to battle hunger. Organizers were able to bring local businesses in to sponsor the event and sell supplies, teach different skills and generally make the thing a rousing success. Another example of the type of charity performed by scrappers is the Krop4Katrina effort which raised thousands of dollars to aid hurricane victims. What could be a better excuse to get out of the house and go scrapping than raising money for a good cause?!

Scrabooking 101

2006-01-13T08:06:00.000-08:00

Martha Stewart "Living" has an article about how to get started scrapbooking called "Scrapbooking 101". It is rather short and really just a few tips for the uninitiated. There are a few other srticles on the site with tips including "Scrapbook Techniques" but the topics are not well developed. I expect we'll be hearing more and more from Martha about all sorts of scrapping topics as she rolls out her product lines later this year or early next. In the meantime, this piece is really the kind of thing you can share with other friends and family who are less experienced than you.

Scrapbooking Retreats are Big Business

2006-01-12T23:56:00.000-08:00

Last month we blogged about a new scrapbooking retreat called Garden Spa Scrapping, that provides the cropper plenty of space and time with resort style amenities.

The St. Paul Pioneer Press also ran an article about scrapbooking retreats as the latest phenomenon in the $3 billion a year industry.

The article notes that there are already some 10 scrapbooking retreats within driving distance from Minneapolis-St.Paul, and featured a couple starting an 11th such facility, noting that croppers need more space and more peace.

Scrapbookers used to meet in their homes to crop (or cut paper and pictures), but found they needed larger spaces to work. Meetings moved to church basements and finally to hotels and church camps. But for many, a hotel or camp left a lot to be
desired.

"In a hotel, you have to go through public areas, so you can't be in your pajamas. And at camps the big complaint was that you were in kids' beds, bunk beds," said Anita Norha, co-owner of Bridge Creek Cottage in Augusta, Wis.

Hence came the scrapbooking retreats offering resort & spa amenities, access to scrapbooking supplies, where croppers can crop like crazy from morning to morning.