When I first started my business, the thing I was most passionate about was preserving photos. And–still am totally dedicated to photos, slides, negatives and video… I wanted to stick to just photos, but a close friend of mine and I were discussing our newly established businesses and did a little brainstorming. She brought up the idea of scanning scrapbook pages. Scanning scrapbook pages are really fun, because my beast of scanner picks up all the intricate details of the embellishments. Truly, the printed images look just like the original scrapbook page–so much so–you reach out to touch it! She really encouraged me to focus my all my scanning efforts on scrapbook pages. And I thought that was a great idea, not only for my time, but for my business…it was a win-win!
She is a former scrapbooker, and created 41 pounds of scrapbooks, I weighed them! She told me that she rarely let her family look at them; because they were too precious and she had taken so much time to make them. I was hit with emotions–“You mean, you spend hours creating these pages–and you NEVER let the kids look at them?” She said, “NO way–they’d mess them up for sure and I could never replace them.”
So– I took all 41 pounds of her precious scrapbooks and digitized them for her…then we had them printed into photobooks. It was AH-MAZING to see them go from 8 inches to maybe an inch of space for each book. The printing looked exactly as they were in the precious scrapbooks. Now, she can give a copy to each of her children and keep her originals all safe for herself.
To further identify if preserving scrapbook pages was something the crafting community also thought was important; I went to several scrapbooking events. I asked all the attendees about my service and if it was useful to them. I was surprised that many said that the scrapbooking was therapeutic for them and they do it just for themselves. They told me that they were not concerned about their scrapbooks being damaged and they really didn’t want copies or images made of them. I met two friends that make the exact same pages, at the same time, so that they have a copy. I thought that was so neat. While they are at the scrapbooking retreats they enjoy each others company and create something together. I was welcomed so warmly within the community–and let me tell you– it is a unique community. They have all kinds of cool tools of the trade and set up their stations–just so—AND they have so-much-fun.
It was such a treat to go to several retreats and offer my service. I was able to complete a precious scrapbook for one of the ladies who got copies made for her whole family after the passing of her grandfather. It was a very special project to be involved with and I will treasure her trust in me forever.
Scrapbook pages are gorgeous, I love how the memories are highlighted with special stickers and sayings. The papers compliment the photos and events… I really have a great love for the craft of scrapbooking. It is a true art–that is for sure! After meeting so many wonderful ladies, I realize that it is so much more than the craft… it is also a way to relax, to spend time with friends, and another version of self care. One thing I get hung up on is the preservation of their pages for the generations to come. What if there is a fire? What if the dog gets ahold of them? What if there is a flood? It pains me to think that their unique craft could easily be taken away.
I will keep my hopes up, and hope one of those awesome ladies will get in touch with me so I can preserve her books forever. Until then, I will observe the sweet craft from the outside. xoxo
