Scrapbook Entrepreneur: Ideas To Work From Home

Preserving Memories

Turn Your Hobby Into a WAHM Business

When my girls were babies, I started a scrapbook, or baby book for each of them.

Over the years I’ve compiled notes on many of their “firsts” – first tooth; first immunizations; first haircut and other milestones.

I’ve kept up their family histories all the way from when they were first born, through grade school, high school, college, weddings and in the case of my oldest daughter – her first baby.

Today, this art of maintaining memorabilia has morphed into the art called “Scrapbooking.”

My two nieces are very much into scrapbooking and have compiled some beautiful books. One of my nieces has 5 children.

What is Scrapbooking?  Wikipedia defines it as:

Scrapbooking is a method for preserving personal and family history in the form of photographs, printed media, and memorabilia contained in decorated albums, or scrapbooks. The idea of keeping printed materials of personal interest probably dates to shortly after the invention of printing.

If you’re crafty, then you might want to consider supplementing your income by starting a scrapbooking business.  It could be a great way to turn a hobby into a money making opportunity and enable you to work from home.  Of course, to really be a success with your scrapbooking business, you’re going to need to have a plan and know what you’re doing.  Let’s take a look at the best course of action if you’re thinking about becoming a scrapbooking entrepreneur.

First, you’re going to need to decide whether or not you want your hobby to be a business.

It might not be immediately obvious why it would be a bad idea.  However, when our hobbies turn into another kind of work, it can be hard to find ways to relax.  Make sure that you’re ready to add in another job, and that scrapbooking will still be your passion after money gets involved.

Next, think about whether there’s a demand for your services.

Do people comment on the quality of your memory pages and digital scrapbooks?  Do they ask you what they should do with their own, or where to get the best supplies?  If you’ve experienced this time after time, a home based business might be appropriate.  It’s no fun to leave your photos sitting in a drawer or on the computer, and people now are realizing that.  People are always looking to preserve memories of milestones such as births; graduations; weddings; vacations and retirements.  You can help them make their dreams of a beautiful scrapbook come true.
Prepare to market your talent.

Put together a portfolio of your best work, compiling the pages you’re proudest of.  That way your prospective clients will have something to look at that’ll tell them what kind of quality you have to offer.  Make sure you include only professional quality work.  Don’t fill out a scrapbook portfolio with pieces that aren’t up to snuff.  It won’t look good, even if they make the portfolio look a little thicker.

Now you’re ready to start looking for clients.

You’ll need to let others know you have this business. Start by telling your family and friends, and encourage them to tell other people they know.  Write an online press release, or have one written by a professional who knows the format.  You can also submit this press release to local papers and in other areas in the community.  Just a flyer at church, the grocery store, or in the craft store can do a lot too.  Start writing a blog. A quick way to start a blog is HERE. After you develop a good client list, think about offering discounts for referrals.

The business can expand if you’re willing to not just offer scrapbooking services, but to teach others how to put together scrapbooks too.  Set up a class and teach people in your community how to present their memories in an attractive way.

A scrapbooking business can be a lot of fun and you can turn it into a second career or may make some extra money for your family.  Just remember to research current going rates and charge fairly for your time and materials so you don’t undercut yourself.  If you approach things the right way, your scrapbooking business could really take off.

Copyright 2010 Moomette’s Magnificents – All Rights Reserved

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Photo Print Poster Giveaway Contest from Digital Room

Endless Summer

Digital Room Poster Print Giveaway

Recently I’ve been very much into photography – my inspiration is my brother, who’s a professional photojournalist.  Although his talent didn’t quite rub off on me, now that I have grandkids I’ve been trying to take more photos.

I’m also interested in scenic photography – it drives my family crazy when I say “stop the car” or we are out for a hike, and I often lag behind to take some pictures!

The photo on this post has become one of my favorites, and was taken over the 4th of July when we were camping in Connecticut with my daughter and her husband, along with the grandkids.  It was one of the few weekends that has been sunny here in New England this summer.

Digital Room is the online printing website that offers Poster Prints and will be hosting this week’s giveaway

Digital Room will be offering a free High-gloss or Semi-gloss 18×24″ Digitally Printed Posters as a Giveaway to one of my readers at Moomette’s Magnificents.

It’s a great opportunity for you to start thinking about custom poster printing for all your favorite photos from family birthdays, new babies, weddings, anniversaries, graduations or other special occasions!. Now is your chance to enlarge that special photo you’ve been wanting to display. The photo can be of anything you want, as long it will make you happy to see it enlarged!

For a chance to win this Giveaway Contest,  there will be one (1) winner of a High-gloss or Semi-gloss 18×24″ Digitally Printed Poster.

Please include a way of contacting you. Should you be the contest winner, this information may be shared with the contest sponsor in order to send your prize.

Main Rule:   (remember if this rule is not followed then no others will count)

a) Sign up for my free Newsletter Updates to my blog through my e-mail Feedblitz link (on the top of my right column or let me know if you already are, in a separate comment) AND

b) Leave a comment on this post describing what favorite photo of yours that you would have printed up as a poster printing.

Now for extra entries (each task will get you 1 extra entry):

~One Extra Entry: Add my banner button to your sidebar or add me to your blogroll, and come back here and leave the link (I will be checking)

~ One Extra Entry: Become a Fan of Moomettesgram on Facebook and let me know your name in a separate comment.

~ One Extra Entry: Follow Me on Google Friend Connect (right sidebar) and leave your name in a separate comment.

~ One Extra Entry: Follow Me on Networked Blogs (right sidebar) and leave your name in a separate comment.

~One Extra Entry: Comment on any non-giveaway post on my blog and leave your name a separate comment letting me know which post you commented on

~ One Extra Entry: Follow Me on Twitter and let me know your Twitter name in a separate comment

~One Extra Entry: Tweet about this contest (Retweet button at bottom of post), and come back to this post and leave the URL link to the Tweet so I can check. You may Retweet once per day until the end of the contest, but please leave a separate comment for each Retweet, along with the permalink

~One Extra Entry: Blog about the contest on your blog linking to my blog and the site

~One Extra Entry: Favorite Moomette’s Magnificents in Technorati and leave your name (I will be checking) in a separate comment  (the link is on my right sidebar).

Make sure you comment separately for each task after the required entry task so you will get credit for each one ~ and leave your e-mail where you can be contacted.

This contest will run until August 4, 2009 at approximately 11:00 pm.

Winners are chosen by Random.Org, if you want all your chances counted, make sure you leave individual comments, not all of them in one!

*Winner has 48 hours to contact me or another name will be chosen.

*Include your email if it’s not enabled.

*Giveaway is open to US/CANADA residents. Ground shipping of prizes is free, but there is a $5 handling fee that must be paid by winner. Digital Room reserves the right not to print obscene or offensive materials.

All designs submitted in the form of a giveaway may be used by Digital Room for online marketing and promotional uses. The designs will be used solely as examples and will not be printed or commercially distributed.

*Rules for each entry must be followed to be valid.

Copyright 2010 Moomette’s Magnificents – All Rights Reserved

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Back-To-School ~ New School Year, New Friends, New Stuff, New Labels??

It’s hard to believe that we’re almost through the summer and Labor Day is right around the corner! My youngest daughter starts her Senior year of college soon, so I’m still in the parenting Back-To-School mode. My readers know that “Rosie the Riviter” decided to move back home for her Senior Year, so rather than being an Empty-Nestor for the upcoming school year, I’m still in Mama-mode.

No longer am I worrying about having to go out and buy apartment basics for Rosie, such as pots, pans, bedding and furniture. Most of it came back safely with her when she moved back in. Some of these items disappeared via roommates and probably would have returned home had they been labeled properly. That’s where Dymo label makers come in handy.

With the whiff of Autumn, New England fall foliage and and Back-To-School on my mind, I’m flashing back to the days when I used to take the obligatory first-day-of school picture, and waiving good-bye to the kiddos on the school bus. Flashback further, and I’m the one going off to school for the first time.

My first day of school would have been 51 years ago! I was a “walker,” even in Kindergarten. We only went half-days. When I was in first-grade, we were dismissed for lunch, walked home, and then back to school again. There was no such thing as a cafeteria, and I would say 99% of the moms didn’t work, and were at home to greet us with lunch! I still carried a lunch box for snacks, and we hand-wrote our names on masking tape in crayon to distinguish Betty-Lou’s from Suzie’s. That’s where the kids today are lucky, and have all the options such as color labels to mark not only their lunch boxes, but also their backpacks! We didn’t even have backpacks ~ I can remember carrying all my books in my arms, or once, in a rubberized green carrying sack!

If you’re a mom making a Back-To-School list, don’t forget to add a Dymo label maker to that list. Buying all those school supplies once certainly adds up! Having to replace them because they weren’t labeled is something none of us wants to do!

Whether you’ll be waiving goodbye to the school bus, or home school ~ don’t forget to charge the camera battery for those First-Day-of-School photos!

Copyright 2010 Moomette’s Magnificents – All Rights Reserved

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@Moomettes