By Carol Duvall
Who would have guessed? Not I, certainly, that scrapbooking/memory album keeping, call it what you will (it's putting together photo albums) would become such a hot, hot, hot thing to do, and that it would become such a big, big, big business? Not only are there products in the stores, there are even stores devoted exclusively to scrapbooking products. As you saw on today's show, today's scrapbooking suppliers now have their very own trade show. Amazing.
If you have somehow avoided the madness up until now, but you DO have all those family snapshots around the house...that you would like to put into their very own album...and you WOULD like to do more than just stick those pictures on plain black or white pages, you'll find help at your nearest craft store. On today's show, we introduced you to a FEW of the products available to help you.
First, we have books. They are soft cover books, to be sure, but they are real books with lots of helpful suggestions, directions, ideas, etc., to get you started. Family Memories, by Design Originals' Suzanne McNeill, is one, and Memories in Minutes, from Ellison Craft; Design, is another. By the time you read these, there may be a dozen more on the market. It's growing that fast!
There are also two current magazines on the subject: Creating Keepsakes and Memory Makers. As with the books, there may be 10 more by this time.
As for more in the printed word, there are literally dozens and dozens of craft booklets on the scrap/album subject. There are booklets with suggestions and helpful ideas on how to assemble memory albums, and those with background pages and cut-outs to frame your pictures. There are themed booklets for special occasions and events, like birthdays and graduations, and there are some with background pages for pictures taken in any of the four seasons. The list goes on and on and on. Most of these booklets are published either by Design Originals or Hot Off The Press (Leisure Arts).
Now the products. Today's market offers decorative-edged scissors to cut your photos or background pages, and other scissors to cut decorative corners. Fiskars puts out all of these. If you want decorative edges obtained in a different way, there are rulers with decorative edges. You draw along the sculpted edge and cut it out.
If you want to make your own die-cut type of background, there are large stencil cut-outs available today.
Once everything is cut and glued the way you want it in your album, then you need to 'journal' it... that is, to note the who, what, where and when in writing. If your printing or handwriting isn't what it should be for this type of record-keeping, there are books on lettering. The basic and clever one I showed is The ABC's of Creative Lettering by Lindsay Ostrom, published by EK Success. There are word stencils, as well.
There are also many different kinds of pens to make your lettering look its best. EK Success has an entire line of pens in different point sizes. There are also points that write with a double line to make decorative lettering and borders without much effort. There are calligraphy pens in different widths, as well. All the EK Success pens come with ink in many colors, and all inks are acid-free.
In addition to the pages, the albums need covers. To this end, Walnut Hollow has developed wooden covers for you to decorate as you see fit. Another company, Bag Works, offers fabric covers in either plain or print (print--discontinued by the manufacturer) versions.
As with many crafts, this is one that you might want to pack up and take to a friend's house so you can work on the album(s) together. With this in mind, Bag Works produced a Memory Bag Tote with lots of pockets for stashing things. In fact, the tote itself will serve as your storage center, for keeping all the things you need when you're NOT working on the books. When it comes to scrapbooking, there isn't much that you CAN'T find on the market today.
RESOURCES :
acid free scrapbook pens - Zig, The ABC's of Creative Lettering booklet (Model #: booklet - MSBK1)
EK Success Ltd.
Website: www.eksuccess.com
Memories in Minutes
by Sandi Genovese
Ellison Craft, 1997
Order this title from Amazon.com.
Family Memories booklet, Scrapbook Hearts starter kit (Model #: 5005)
Scrapbook Hearts starter kit - discontinued
Design Originals
Website: www.d-originals.com
Creating Keepsakes magazine
Creating Keepsakes Magazine
c/o Subscriber Services
PO Box 469007
Escondido, CA 92029
US
Phone: 760-745-2809
Toll Free Phone: 888-247-5282
Website: www.creatingkeepsakes.com
Memory Makers magazine
Scrapbooking and photo journaling
Satellite Press / Memory Makers Magazine
Website: www.memorymakersmagazine.com
rulers - Deja View by C-thru
C-Thru Ruler Co.
Bloomfield, CT
Phone: 860-243-0303
Toll-Free Phone: 800-243-8419
Fax: 860-243-1856
Email: thecrew@cthruruler.com
Website: www.cthruruler.com
scrapbook tote bag, scrapbook covers - BagWorks (Model #: 2649 tote bag)
BagWorks Inc.
Website: www.bagworks.com
trimmers, scissors - Fiskars
Available at craft and hobby stores nationwide.
Fiskars Brand Inc.
Website: www.fiskars.com
wood scrapbook cover - Walnut Hollow
Walnut Hollow
Website: www.walnuthollow.com
booklets on scrapbooks - Hot Off The Press
Hot Off the Press, Inc.
Website: www.craftpizazz.com
GUESTS :
Dan and Deanna Lambson
Co-founders, Creating Keepsakes Magazine
Toll Free Phone: 888-247-5282
Email: comments@creatingkeepsakes.com
URL: www.creatingkeepsakes.com
| 
)
)
)
