Creating Scrapbook’s A Money Making Venture?

Filed under Entrepreneurs, Home Based Business, Scrapbooking, Small Business by on May 12, 2012 at 8:18 pm {no comments}

The Scrapbook industry is becoming massive and is now worth several $bn in the US alone.  A market this big offers lots of opportunities for the entrepreneur and or creative type to earn some money, and it can easily be turned into a lucrative home based business.

Starting a home-based scrapbook making business is fairly easy if you have some natural creative and artistic flair. Many people would love to have a well designed scrapbook to celebrate a special event, and even those who indulge in the hobby may be prepared to pay to have that once in a lifetime event chronicled for them.

Other opportunities would include making scrapbooks for big events such as a major sporting event, such as the Super Bowl, or Olympic Games, or seasonal events such as Halloween. A well designed scrapbook giving an introduction to Christmas , with a few template pages for people to add their own pictures would make an ideal present for that hard to buy for person, and a small scrapbook of a personal event such as a baby shower or anniversary party would make a nice thank you gift for those who attended. Bear in mind a scrapbook can be digital nowadays, so making a digital record of a new babies Christening to distribute to all the guests would be a welcomed and cost effective reminder for all involved.

The other opportunity available is in the supplies side. Things like stickers and cut outs are cheap to make and easy to store, however many busy scrapbookers don’t have the time to do the “fiddly bits” so welcome the opportunity to buy ready cut hearts and other shapes which they can use to embellish their pages. Similarly you can easily print attractive stickers and common headers on either a Colour ink jet or Laser printer and offer them for sale in sheets. Pre cut labels are cheap and if you are feeling really ambitious computer driven cutting machines are quite affordable nowadays.

You can easily sell them through auction sites such as e-bay, and at local craft meets, or you could even set up your own e-commerce store.

Another option particularly if you are making scrapbooks to order is to sell supplies. If you can afford to buy in larger quantities the price drops dramatically and you could effectively get your own supplies free by for example buying 10 albums at a 50% discount to retail and selling 5 to other scrapbookers. Because of the labour involved in making small packages of supplies most craft stores insist on a large mark up so providing you don’t have to pay someone to do it you can enjoy a good margin and possibly offer your customers a good price too.

If you do decide to start making scrapbooks for others, it would be wise to learn everything you can about the process, before you start your business. There are a lot of good books available on the subject and there are often local classes available. Read as many books and magazines you can find as you will pick up a lot of ideas and even if some cover the same material in parts they usually have some unique ideas.  Practice what you learn and add own creative ideas to the mix for the best results. Remember, scrapbooking is an art form in its own right so be creative and remember the more unique your scrapbooks are the more clients you will ultimately have.

Before you take your first commission get your suppliers sorted and work out your costs. Buying your materials in bulk will earn you decent discounts however make sure that you don’t skimp on quality to save a few cents or pence. Always get a few samples before you place a bigger order, and most suppliers will let you buy samples at a discounted price or may even send you some for free.

When it comes to getting customers the best way to market your product is to have samples of your work on hand that you can show people. This shouldn’t be a problem as you will have had to have made a few scrapbooks to learn the basics, and if you are not already interested in the hobby you shouldn’t consider it as a business opportunity anyway. Using them as  presents is also a good tip as some of the recipients realising what a kind and thoughtful present they make might decide to give some themselves in the future. You can always remind them they you are in the scrapbook business when you meet up with them in the future too or you can place a discreet made by label on the back cover.  There is always a market for nice things so if you make nice scrapbooks and show them to enough people you will soon have a business.

 

Scrapbooking A Fun Hobby For All

Filed under Scrapbooking by on May 12, 2012 at 7:23 pm {no comments}

Scrapbooking is one of the most popular hobbies in America and is done in recognition of special occasions, including anniversaries, graduation, birthdays, weddings, new births and as a memoir of precious moments. The possibilities are only limited by your imagination and may even include such things as buying your first house, Attending a big sporting event or as a holiday journal.

There are several products needed for scrapbooking, the most important of which is an album that you  can easily add pages to. The options here are endless and can be a cheap as a ring binder or as fancy as a deluxe slip cased photo album. For simple journal style Scrap Books a note book will also suffice.

Then you need your props which could include photos, postcards and other paper memorabilia, magic markers, and crayons in a range of colours, glue, stickers, and other embellishments. These products are easily picked up in any craft store and there is now a hopst of on-line stores making shopping for them easy. You can even buy scrapbooking materials on auction sites such as e-bay. Many online specialty stores carry specialist items too such as fancy papers and cards, which are great for that special project.

An typical example of a scrapbooking project may be a high school graduation. This could include Photos of the graduation ceremony and pictures of special moments with school friends. Then on each page the person could write their thoughts concerning the image including the feelings and emotions the picture or piece of memorabilia invoke. Perhaps it was a big win for the football team which could be embellished further with a local newspaper clipping report or a parents ticket stub from the game, or a prom picture or two.

Once the picture is applied and the words are written, it’s time to add the embellishments. It’s fun to add a catchy title to the top of the page, which can be written, printed from a computer or found on a sticker. Once the title is added, some ribbon, carefully applied glitter or or confetti-like cutouts can be placed sporadically throughout the page to give it that extra wow feeling.

Scrapbooking is not only a fun and creative hobby but also a great way to preserve our memories. As the years go by and memories fade, it is wonderful to turn to a scrapbook and remind yourself of those great events that have shaped your life and who knows someday if you decide to write your memoirs the basic research will have already been done.

So scrapbooking is not only a wonderful pass time, but also a great way to record treasured memories which you can in time that we can share with your children and grandchildren. A great scrapbook collection can also become a family heirloom.

Tips For Vacationing With An Autistic Child

Filed under Accommodation, Camping, Destinations, Parenting, Travel Tips by on May 10, 2012 at 12:29 pm {no comments}

Planning the annual family vacation and arranging the travel can be stressful enough for any parent, however when one has a child or children with Autism or similar autistic spectrum disabilities it can be a real challenge. However with a little forethought the experience can be a lot less fraught and much more rewarding for the child.

The first thing to remember is that although for a non autistic child the family vacation is something exciting to an autistic child, any form of change can be frightening and confusing. Thus introducing the idea well in advance makes sense. Also its important to understand what your child likes and doesn’t like and plan the location with this in mind. For example if you have a child who is scared of crowds and loud noises a holiday in a noisy busy tourist resort or an amusement park may not be the best idea. This can seem unfair on the other members of the party; however a compromise is easily reached perhaps by choosing a quiet location on the outskirts of a busy location allowing those who want to travel into the centre.

Another important tip is to plan the days and the times that you visit the various attractions. If you have a child who likes a particular thing such as trains or animals then a day at an attraction featuring these will be a wonderful lasting memory for all involved. If they are likely to be busy, phone them and explain the situation. They will be able to give you advice as to when the quieter times are often very early or late in the day. You could also consider visiting during the off-season, providing it will not disrupt their school work too much.

Also carefully plan the journey, as all children get bored quickly, and the cry of “are we there yet” will be well known to any parent. This problem can be worse with an Autistic child as they are more likely to become stressed and upset on a long journey. If possible aim to split the journey up with a stop off or two. Possibly visit a small visitor attraction on the way and or stop off for a meal at a service area.

Finally it is important to remember that you are not the only people who will be on holiday and the other people on vacationing at your location may not have had experience with autistic children before. Therefore in the unlikely event of any misunderstandings try not to become over defensive or aggressive; if your child is being noisy or disruptive explain that they have autism and if necessary move on to another more suitable area. Most people are very understanding when you explain the situation, however if you don’t tell them they will not know.

This does not mean you should ignore your Childs rights, but being willing to compromise usually gets you a lot further.

Follow these tips and your family holiday should run smoother and you will have a much happier child.

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