I just wanted to post the link so it would be clickable! :) Here is a link that might be useful: My wedding scrapbook

I started back in 97 when my dd was born- today she turns 9! I did her baby book and it was ok. Then I discovered Creative Memories and all the stuff out there. I redid her pages- thanks to double prints- and it is much nicer. I used to use a 3-ring binder and page protectors from office supply store. I used solid paper as my page. I used some stickers and a little journalling. I have since taken all those pages and put them into CM albums. Now I use the regular white pages and use the colored paper for frames or accent strips. To organize and make things go faster I use an easy method. I have a binder with sleeves in it. When I develop film I separate in dated or event order. Then I divide by what pics would fit on a page. I drop those pics into sleeves. Then I take paper that matches the pics and drop it in the sleeve. I may put some stickers in there too. Then when I go to scrap, I just grab a sleeve and work that page. I have already picked out the stuff for the page, just need to assemble. Unfortunatly, I have a digital camera now. It was so easy to develop film and then sort out the pics. Now I have to download onto a CD, take to a place or use an online service. I have not done this yet, which explains why I have over 600 pics to print, and at least half I need doubles of- one for my dd and one for my ds albums. One nice thing about digital is that I can print only what I need, so I may print all my dd birthday pics for her album, but only print a few for my son to have in his. Hey soggy6- aren't you the one with the pool that had plaster then switched to ptec after a crack or something? Are you going to, or do you know about, the event at Newburg Hall down by Sac State on 4/29? My CM gal and her friends are having an all-day event. After spending last year doing the build, it will be nice to spend a day scrapping. I am taking all our vacation pics- the ones before we had kids- and getting them all into albums. Won't be super fancy like my kids books. The goal is to have them in an album instead of not.

Hi, I see that it's been a little while since you posted this, but I wanted to share the info I have in case you still need it. I discovered Creative Memories Digital Scrapping software around 6 months ago and haven't looked back. I packed up all my traditional stuff, (and I had lots and lots of it...) and I'm now trying to decide who to give it to. Creative Memories is great, I had tried scrapping with Adobe Photoshop Elements since I already used it to manipulate my photos, but I could never get the hang of it, (I've since discovered that many other people say the same thing, you have to have a good working knowledge of it to scrap with it.) CM does all the major things that PSE does, you can lasso an area and turn a photo into sepia or b/w while leaving that one spot in color just for one example. There are bunches of free paper collections that you can download, along with a free version of the scrapping software, Storybook Creator. The free version is very limited in what it will do though, you can basically only use it to drag and drop photos into all the pre-designed pages available. It's not terribly expensive, and if you buy the beginners collection you get a 39.95 coupon toward a storybook, (an 8x8 is around 40.00.) With it you also get a large kit of paper/embellishments/overlays, (which you can fill with color, gradients, paper, etc.)/and word art. You can do things like change the look of a piece of paper or embellishment simply by changing the hue or color of it. You can change it to match your photos or just to get several different looks from the same paper or embellishment. CM collections that are available to purchase, (in addition to the free ones) are very inexpensive. They range from 3.95 to 9.95 for a very large collection. There are also freebies added daily to my website that you can download, or you can use products that are not CM although I rarely need to because they have so much to choose from. I know some people like to use the freebies you find online though and most of those are compatible with it. I was so impressed with the company that I signed up as a consultant a few weeks ago and I'm loving it. I have a Facebook group called Tamela's Scrapbooking Divas where you can check out some of my work along with a few other people who have posted there. The software is extrememly user friendly and what I do is teach people how to use it, in addition to the free web claasses that CM offers covering beginning to advanced techniques. If you would like more info just e-mail me at Tgillespie67@aol.com and put CM in the subject line so I know to open it. I will be happy to tell you how to download the free software and papers if you contact me. Sorry, I didn't mean for this to be so long... Have a great evening! Tamela (Tammy) Gillespie

WOW! Great question!! Up until about a year ago I went to Crops quite regularly. The things that I really liked were: ~the expensive items were there for us to use, so that we didn't have to put out the money for something that we would use infrequently ~at each class the hostess would teach a new skill..stencilling, embossing, etc or she would hand out a instruction/idea sheet for layouts ~she had all the other supplies right there for us to buy as we worked, so if we needed just one sticker or a die cut etc, they were right there to purchase ~she charges $15 for a 6 hour crop (6-midnite) or 12 if paid three days in advance ~because of the hours, no one brings children..which is kinda nice, as we look at it as a moms time out. ~we always get a break half way thru for goodies and coffee The things that I would be looking for would be: PLENTY of room to work..sometimes her crops get a bit crowded and that can be frustrating ~music that keeps you moving, not fighting off sleep!! ~the hostess that I go to has TONS of supplies for us to use, and there is no extra charge for using these things..she has punches, stamps, stencils, large paper cutters, crimpers, ( I can't even think of all that she has there!!) Its just really convenient to know that we don't have to purchase all these things, as she will have them there. I think somewhere I may still have all my CM class information...maybe it will help you with some ideas..I'll see if I can find it if you think it might help. Good Luck!!!! ~Mar~