Fire and Ice

I wish I could listen in on product development meetings and scrapbook manufacturers when they decide what their next season’s lines will look like. How do they decide that red is in and blue is out (for example)? How do they set about to plan what a line will look like – will it be plaids or paisley or flowers? Graphic or distressed? Will they have coordinating plastic or metal embellishments – or both? How do they decide on pricing? What about the marketing, how is it planned? How do they decide which lines should no longer be produced – is it based on demand or because they are deemed to be too old? I wish I could listen in on scrapbook magazine planning meetings. How do they really choose new faces? Do they really sit around and discuss which are the best products (in their opinion) or are the decisions made on a commercial basis? To what extent to they actually follow the trends that come from the “troops” (like doodling) or how much do they try to create new and hot trends? Are l

I really love scrapbooking and, since I discovered it, I’ve loved every aspect of it. Recently, though, I’ve noticed that there are a few things are bothering me about this hobby. Remember as you read: this is only my opinion and I have a right to it! (ie, don’t flame me for having an opinion...) 1. The message from the media that one must be constantly buying things in order to do this hobby “well”. Much like fashion, papers are in one minute, out the next and if anyone even thinks of using their “old” papers they are sometimes made to feel inadequate. “Spend, spend, spend!” is the constant mantra and I don’t think this is right. Some people create beautiful albums with few supplies or with (gasp!) older papers. 2. Magazines that dictate styles. I know that magazines speak of “find your own style” but in reality they perpetuate the one-photo, tons of embellishments look that is not easy or desirable for everyone to achieve. Where are the layouts with lots of photos? Where are the la

As I’ve mentioned before in this blog, I love words and writing and reading. I’ve been keeping a journal since I was little and I also have an entire book of poems that I wrote mainly in my teens (and some are not bad, actually!) These poems I lovingly entered in my book with colored pens and doodling, so the book itself is precious but the act of writing poetry meant that I wanted to do that for a living. However, even when I was 10 I knew that poets didn’t make much money and that didn’t sound very appealing. So when I saw the film Superman (the original!) I knew immediately what I wanted to do with myself: I wanted to be a journalist like Lois Lane. It just felt so glamorous – working with words, reporting the stories, maybe even changing the world. This sort of stayed with me for the rest of my growing up years so when the time came to choose a degree I went for journalism, what else? OH! How I loved those first few months in my studies when I was crafting stories, learning about g

What is it about scrappers and Disney? At least here in the UK it seems that most scrappers want to go to a Disney park, have just returned from a Disney vacation or are happily planning one in the future – that is, if they are not all just Disney mad anyway! Why? What is it about Disney that appeals to scrappers or vice versa? Is it the Orlando shopping, the cheap prices, the way to record a memorable family vacation? Is it the cuteness, the family-orientation or the multitudes of characters available? What is it? My own Disney connection is deeper than scrapping (I like to think) as I’ve been going to the Orlando and California parks since I was a baby. In fact, my mom likes to think I was conceived while they were on their Disneyland honeymoon! My nursery was decorated with Mickeys and I used to read books with Disney characters on them. My first “proper” trip to the theme parks was at the age of 2 and of course I remember nothing. But nearly every year after that we’d go to Orlando