I’m part of that number, are you?

Now I don’t know if that statistic is 100% true or not, but I can’t imagine it’s completely wrong.

Like I mentioned the other day, I scrap because I love taking pictures and don’t want them to sit in memory card/on my computer.  Sure, I have all sorts of memory cards hanging out in my purse/camera bag and I don’t like to delete photos until I know they’re backed up somewhere.  But I definitely have way more fun working on a scrapbook layout than I do clicking a button on my computer to look through pictures.  I also scrap to preserve my memories for my future kids and grandkids, so they’ll know what crazy shenanigans (or maybe boring shenanigans) their mom/grandma was up to when she was young.  My grandpa is 90 years old and he has tons of old photos hanging out in his apartment.  Next week, I’ve made a date for dinner and to go through all of his photos (well maybe not all of them, he’s got tons!) so that I can start putting them in books and jot down the events that accompany the photos.

Have you seen the latest video from Archiver’s?

It’s pretty inspiring…and you can watch it HERE.

And you really don’t want to miss it.

Tuesday morning was all about warm greetings, sharing stories and catching up. It was like this big wonderful family reunion. As everyone settled in, the focus turned more towards the business side of things. Time to review, evaluate and strategize. The long day ended with some relaxing fun as everyone enjoyed some really yummy food and  a little “card making”. 

Things fired up again early Wednesday morning. The day was filled with training sessions, group discussions and more strategizing. As I basked in the creative energy that surrounded me, I was inspired to capture and “preserve” these moments just as I would a birthday or holiday so I grabbed my camera and off I went.

After dinner, everyone gathered for a short recap of the day. Our CEO stood before the group and began speaking of the “history” of scrapbooking. (seemed a little random) As the group respectfully listened, the double doors at the back of the meeting hall suddenly swung open and in walked  (are you ready for this?)  TIM HOLTZ!!!

There are no words to describe the reaction of those in attendance…..maybe this will help…    

I seriously thought we might have to bring in oxygen! It was a fabulous surprise that got even better. He showed up prepared to teach a workshop.  WooHoo!  Tim is an amazing person and an outstanding instructor. We learned tons of new techniques and got to use a bunch of his new products.  (before you even ask……yes, his delicious new creative goodness  is landing in our stores over the next few weeks) 

The results speak for themselves….

The best thing about the last three days was the feeling we came away with. Tim is SO inspiring. It was the same excitement I felt upon completion of my very first scrapbook page years ago.  He left us feeling confident, knowledgeable and just plain giddy!  Now, we want to pay it forward. We want you to experience that same feeling.

Our managers left yesterday  to go back to their respective stores. They are  super excited to share what they learned.

Let us INSPIRE YOU!  It’s a great time to go to Archiver’s.

Oh, and Tim…..thank you so much. You’re the best! 

Here are just a few of my favorite ideas:

1. Tribute or heritage photos

I love how this tray (from our Appleton, WI store) uses old photos in a whole new way. Talk about a touching way to honor your loved ones or family members who are in the military! I have a stack of old photos of my grandparents that I love, but have never known quite what to do with them. I think I’ve found my answer! A decorated tray like this would make a really special, meaningful gift for grandma, grandpa, or other family members. Remember to always use copies of your photos and not the originals!

2. Travel photos

Whether you went on an exciting adventure to a far-away place, took your annual family trip to the beach or cabin, or spent a day exploring a nearby town or attraction, almost everyone has travel photos of some kind or another. When I get home from a trip, I love displaying my favorite vacation photos throughout my home so I can look at them every day and remember all the fun we had. This tray (from our Fairview Heights, IL store) caught my eye–what a fun and different approach to showcasing travel photos! I really like how memorabilia (in this case, shells) are incorporated into the design, too. Wouldn’t it be cool to have an entire wall filled with trays like these, one for each trip you took?

3. Baby photos

Look at this adorable tray (from our Woodbury, MN store)! Instead of giving a new mom a few cute outfits that her baby will quickly outgrow, why not give a beautiful home decor piece for the baby’s nursery instead? Mom will be able to look at and admire this special keepsake every day. While none of my close friends have babies on the way at the moment, you can bet I’m saving this idea for the future!

4. Wedding photos

A wedding is one of the most important days in a bride and groom’s life. Instead of keeping wedding photos in an album that only gets pulled out a few times a year, why not display them on the wall and enjoy them every day? This tray (from our Austin, TX store) really highlights these special moments and memories and turns them into a home decor piece the happy couple will love looking at day after day. Make a tray using copies of your own wedding photos, or give a tray as a thoughtful gift to the bride-to-be in your life. You can add the papers and embellishments now, and she can fill in the photos later. Or, give it as a special 1st anniversary gift!

I’ve got a blank tray at home, just waiting to be decorated. After seeing these ideas, I’m inspired and excited to get started–how about you?

Typically the paper that postcards and other memorabilia  are printed on contain acid that will migrate to your photos over time.  While acid and lignin are issues that came up readily in the early years of scrapbooking, you don’t hear a lot about them now.  They remain harmful chemicals to photos and are the biggest issue with including memorabilia straight into albums.  I use the archival color copier to eliminate the problem and put as much memorabilia in my books as I want.  My albums are only 8-10 years old and when I haven’t made a copy, I have been sorry as some of the photos closest to it are already yellowing.     The copier we have at Archiver’s is acid/lignin free and uses archival quality paper and ink. I was a devotee of this tool long before I started working at Archiver’s and was impressed with the research they had done before adding them to the first stores.   The copies are photo quality and are on thick archival paper, so you really get the look and quality of the original you are copying.  I can enlarge and shrink photos to a really small size, beyond what most photo stations I have tried can.  If you don’t have an Archiver’s near you, you can use a product called Archival Mist to de-acidify the item that you are using.  Some fun ways to incorporate  memorabilia:

Shrink Photos – I like to have header pages in my trip albums.  I used the copier to shrink down several of my best photos and included them small on the first page – then used the actual photo in my layouts later in the album.

Ticket Stubs – I had pre-ordered tickets to castles and historic British sites before we left on this trip.  When they started arriving they all had the Queen’s seal on them.  I want to incorporate as many as I could into my layouts because they looked so cool!  On this particular layout I had open space  that I didn’t have a photo to fill with – copies of the airline tickets worked great.

Maps - We did so many fun things in and around London that I wanted to include the map to orient where in the city we spent our time.  I copied and enlarged this map from one of the tube maps we got at the subway station.

There is no one size fits all system, so our first step was to acknowledge that and stop looking for one.   Each generation of photo taking has been different and the items needed to organize are different.   For this many years worth of photos, starting to organize by year makes the most sense.  This way everything is organized by date until she decides what she wants to do for a specific project or album. We have a plan of attack for each different type of photo and I will share pictures and our tips and tricks when we are done – hopefully there may be a few ideas that will help those of you struggling with the same thing.

I will have as much fun doing this as mom will getting it done!  A girl’s day of reminiscing about family memories and a chance to help mom get organized.  Win – Win.  Despite my chronic complaint that I don’t have enough time to keep up with my photos – I love the process of keeping memories.  So, Happy Mother’s Day (early) to those of you family historians who take the time to keep memories for your family…your children’s children will thank you.

These crop weekends have become a part of our lives. Even though everyone is busy working and taking care of families, we have learned that it’s equally important to make time for these weekends. After all, our ultimate purpose for these crops is to get a “boat load” of scrapping done…..and that we do! It’s awesome spending quality time with great friends who are all doing basically doing the some thing…..preserving the memories of their families. We live in different parts of Minnesota, we are not the same ages (we range in age from 25 to 40-something ) and we seldom have the time to meet socially outside of work. At these crops we laugh, we cry, we share stories and more stories about our kids, pets, jobs, and vacations. We eat, we drink, we eat some more….  we ask and give advice and opinions, we critique and admire each others work, and totally “scraplift” from each other. At the end of the weekend we are overflowing with a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction having documented yet another chapter in our lives. Sunday always seems to come too fast and we are all sad to go yet we know that the next crop is just around the corner.

Because these crops are such a big deal to us, we think they will be a big deal to you too. Archiver’s now hosts weekend crop packages right in the store! Coming up on April 23-24 is our second “Getaway Weekend Crop”.  I have to admit, it’s a bit more convenient than our crop tradition. You don’t have to bring food, they give away great prizes, and you get a really cool value pack of clear stamps from Autumn Leaves. Plus, everything you need (or don’t need) is right at your fingertips.  Although you can’t spend the night in the store (beds would just take up precious scrapping space), you can leave all of your stuff right where it is and resume your creativity in the morning! The response to our first weekend crop back in January was huge….I’m just sayin…

For those of you who go on weekend crop getaways you know what I’m talking about. For those of you that have never been….give it a try. Start your own tradition. You won’t be disappointed.