Scan My Photos Scanned My Photos

A while ago, there was a contest sponsored by Scan My Photos on Twitter. If you re-tweeted the contest tweet, you could win free scanning. Well, I won free scanning!!!

The prepaid shipping box was quickly emailed to me and then I had to decide which photos would go into it. I hauled out all my photos and started sorting. I actually wish now I would have just grabbed piles and put them in the box instead of trying to sort them. They will all have to eventually be scanned anyway. But, I wanted the photos of family members scanned first so I went for those.

I followed the instructions provided and crammed the box FULL - I think I ended up with well over 1000 photos and I could have probably crammed in a few more. Then I dropped the box in the mail - it was all pre-paid so all I had to do was take it to the post office and send it off to California (not India as some services do).

In a week or so, I got it all back - all the photos were scanned! WooHoo! The prize package included several copies so I was able to give a CD to my folks. Now, I have to decide what to do with the photos now that they are scanned. Do I throw them away or keep them? I guess I'll keep them.

I can't wait to use them for digi scrapping and make photo books at PhotoBooks{etc}!

The best part is that I didn't have to scan them! I had started several times but doing one at a time on a flat-bed scanner was going to take FOREVER!!!!!

If you're on the fence about the cost of a scanning service - get off the fence and go for it! Time is money! There is no way I could have ever scanned this many photos myself! I highly recommend Scan My Photos and will use them again to finish up my scanning.

Scrapbooking is Everywhere- Part 2

Last summer I blogged about seeing Scrapbooking in the post office in the small town my parents live in. Well, last week, I was on vacation in Coeur D'Alane, Idaho with my family and we stopped at Cabela's on the Idaho/Washington border so my husband and sons could, well, do whatever men do at Cabela's (we actually walked out the door with ammunition and 2 pocket knives). I said, "See ya'!" when we walked in the door and they headed for the "Gun Library". I headed over to wander around the "housewares" department. Did you know you can get a recliner done completely in camo - as well as curtains, towels, and hot pads? Anyway, someone asked if they could help me find something and I (being sort of snarky) said, "Yes, a scrapbook store." Their reply was, "Uh, we have a section over there of scrapbook stuff."

I almost laughed in their face. I went over near the "Country Store" and there it was - a small section of Karen Foster Hunting and Fishing scrapbook products! And here I thought I was being all smart-alecky about it.

Scrapbooking at Cabelas... who knew? I had visions of Wes from the Scrapped Movie shooting holes in the albums to embellish them (remember that?)

"I'll Be There For You..."

Remember the theme song to the show FRIENDS by The Rembrandts? What's funny about starting your own business is that usually, as you start talking about it, your friends are SO SUPPORTIVE of the idea. They'll say, "Go for it!" or "I'll support you 100%!". They will cheer you along and tell you that you've got the talent to do whatever you're thinking of doing.

But, you know what happens when you finally open that business? Your friends are often nowhere to be found. There is an old saying that comes from the bible that roughly says, "No man is a prophet in his own country". That is true at times. I often find that those who were your biggest supporter during the planning stages of your business, don't take you seriously when you actually launch the business. They will often treat your business lightly and sometimes even expect a "friend discount" (translation - WHOLESALE PRICE).

It's sad, really, because you would hope that those closest to you would be your best customers if they are interested in whatever you're selling or doing. You would also hope that they would be your best customer advocates and tell others about your new business.

So, the lesson for today is that if you have a friend who owns a business - be it a scrapbook business or a plumbing business - use them. Put your money where you mouth is and show them that you really DO support them 100% by becoming one of their customers.

Kizer and Bender at CHA

Check out what the Scrapbook Industry's favorite retail consultant duo have going on at CHA Summer next month.

They have helped CHA put together a national "Craft 'till You Drop" weekend.at the start of the show. You can get details on it HERE at their blog.

And, if you're heading to CHA in Orlando, you can sign up to attend some of their fun and informative sessions there. Find out more about what they're doing at CHA HERE.

Please take advantage of the opportunity to get some great advice. Scrapbook retailers sometimes don't realize how much they could use sound help and information. Veteran retail consultants like Kizer and Bender and established peer-to-peer networking groups like ScrapBiz can be absolutely essential to your survival as a retailer.

Why Scrapbooking Matters - Part 2

So many of our photos have such fun stories to go with them. I encourage you to make story telling every bit as important as photography when it comes to scrapbooking. We can put photos into an album with the name of the person and the date of the event on the back. But, is that enough? We can glue the photos on cardstock and embellish them like crazy and not have enough room for much journaling - but even that may not be good enough.

For instance - the photo to the left looks like a boy just putting on a shirt. And, in 25 years, that boy may not remember exactly where he was at the time. In 50 years, no one will know that there's more than meets the eye in this photo. They will just see a boy putting on a shirt. They may not even be sure who the boy is.

Here's the story: This is a photo of my 11 year old son at our Family Reunion in Wyoming last year. We were playing a game with all the cousins to see who could put a shirt on first. But, here's the catch. I had soaked the shirts in water, rolled them up and put them in the freezer the night before. Does that change what you see in the photo? He has spent about 30 minutes beating and pulling on his frozen, rolled-up t-shirt. Only after he was able to break the ice enough to unroll it and then pull the sleeves apart was he able to get it on. And, out of the 25 kids playing the "Frozen T-Shirt" game, he got his shirt on FIRST!

Wouldn't it be a shame if I didn't take the time to put that story with the photo? It totally changes what you see and suddenly you start seeing how the shirt is pulled at the neck. You can see the frost on the top of the right sleeve. You might even wonder if he's freezing as he puts it on.

The stories are what make the photos meaningful to the next and future generations. Don't forget to leave a place for them.

Why Scrapbooking Matters

This is GREAT! This is exactly why we do what we do! We should be teaching our customers that scrapbooking isn't just for this generation, but for the future generations who will love to "meet" us through our scrapbooks!

Are you a Scrapping "Foreverist"?

Nicole Amsler of Keylocke Services posted a great thought today at ScrapBiz. She posted a blog article about Foreverism. It sparked a good conversation among ScrapBiz members. Really, Scrapbooking or "Memory Preservation" as I prefer to call it, is not a hobby with a deadline. It goes on forever - as long as you have photos, you have memories to preserve.

Of course, some of us look at our photos and think, "Yeah, it will take me FOREVER to scrap all these photos." But, where is it written that you must scrap ALL of them? That's not what we mean by "foreverism". To me, it means that if there is more to the photo than just a photo, that you will want to always be telling the story of your best photos and moments SOMEHOW. That "somehow" can be in the form of traditional scrapbooking, digital scrapbooking, photo books, etc.

The June 2009 PMA Magazine has a GREAT article on Story Telling. You can read it HERE. I think every retailer who has face to face contact with customers should read and incorporate some of their suggestions. We need to teach classes on story telling and encourage customers to not just decorate the page, but tell the story. THAT'S what makes the photo meaningful and helps them capture the importance of their scrapbooking.

For far too long, we have concentrated on embellishing the photos and, frankly, crafts have a short life cycle. We have lost a lot of customers who got burned out on the craft part of scrapbooking. They still have photos. They are still taking photos. And, they still have stories to go with those photos.

I've suggested this approach before and often, retailers will call me a "heretic" because I'm trying to suggest that products aren't important. Actually, the opposite is true. The more we can get people to scrap and the longer we can hold their attention, the better it is for retailers. Customers might not over embellish each page as many have in the past. But, they will be lifelong customers who understand the true reasons they do what they do. THOSE are the people the industry should be looking for and catering to. Short term customers = short term retailers and I don't know any retailer who goes into this thinking, "I'll ride the wave for a couple of years and then close".

We've also had conversations at ScrapBiz recently about theme scrapping. One member said the local scrapbook store she was recently associated with is struggling BECAUSE they chose to follow industry fads when their customers wanted themes. Fads create supply collectors who often become buried in a stash that they will never use. They buy the latest pink flower paper even though they really need to be scrapping choir concerts, track meets and birthday parties. Themes matter. I will scrap Christmas photos 18+ times in my children's lives. I will scrap Halloween costume photos a dozen times. Many of those photos and poses will nearly be identical. I need new products along those themes to keep it fresh each year.

Yet, themes = boring according to many magazines and online communities. Yet, when the black/white/lime green flourishes are long-gone as trends, themes will still be around. Themes are forever.

Memory Preservation is forever. Only when the scrapbook industry catches that idea and opens up their minds to what it means (that it means MORE than just the products we sell) will we ever create an industry that grows and is healthy. We MUST take the longer or "foreverist" view of memory preservation or we become a cyclical craft that ends up as not much more than another aisle at the big-box craft store.