Be yourself; Everyone else is already taken.
— Oscar Wilde.
Welcome! Ever surprised by where life’s winding curves take you? Me too!
Rewind 20 years to 1999, when I made my first scrapbook of a road trip taken with friends after graduating from college. I went to Hobby Lobby and bought everything I needed to capture my pics with my memories! Jump a couple years to 2002 when I was introduced to Creative Memories. I fell in love with the tools and the quality of the albums. I had a new baby, and I loved the opportunity to get out of the house and work on my albums. I signed up that fall with Creative Memories and have been hooked ever since on their products. I hosted crops as I could over the years while adding 3 more kids, including a set of twins (didn’t host many events THAT year!)
Fast forward to 2016, I was getting back on my feet after a divorce, move, and transition into a new job. I was ready to expand once again into my ‘hobby job’. I started doing more local events and expanding my customer network. I loved sharing my passion for scrapbooking for others and continued to make my own albums. Can you believe I’ve never actually counted how many I’ve made? Let’s just leave it at MANY.
Jump to October 2018, I walked into work to find that I was about to be walked out. After 20 years at the same hospital, I lost my nursing management position in a ‘leadership restructuring’. After a few months of job searching and personal reflection, I decided in January 2019 to put my ‘job search’ on hold and pursue scrapbooking as a full time job. I wanted to stay home until the end of the school year…then the end of the summer…and now until who knows when!
I want to share what I love- and I truly believe that there is high value in capturing your memories with your photos. Photos take me back to an earlier place in time, but my memory doesn’t hold onto details well. It is so important to preserve the journaling and reflection with your photos in a scrapbook. In our new digital age, people don’t even print their photos any longer. Such a shame.
Scrapbooking can feel very intimidating to people who don’t know where to start. It can be intimidating to see the elaborate layouts that some crafters spend hours on. It can be overwhelming to jump in and organize your photos. Scrapbooking is a spectrum ranging from doing nothing to spending hours on a layout. I love simple. I like to get pages done.
Scrapbooking can remind us of all the good moments in life…and also help us remember how much we’ve grown from the bad. In this blog, I hope to inspire you. Inspire you to organize your photos, print them, and put them in a book with journaling. Inspire you to find your own style. Inspire you to make an album for yourself or for someone else.
Life is Beautiful. Scrapbook It.
Love this. You are so inspiring!.
Will you teach me more I was never as good with journaling.I’d LOVE to do this fulltime.I started when my kids were younger I miss it sooo much!!!
If someone was flipping through the pages of your album and you were explaining to them about the photo/event what would you say? What information/details would you want them to know? That’s what you journal about. Tell the story!
Go girl!! I admire you so much for making your dream come true. Thank you for sharing your story and this blog. I need to simplify so I feel inspired. Wishing you buckets of success!! ❤
Tessa we have lots in common. I started in 2002 too! Good for you for pursuing this further. We should chat sometime soon… you can always pm me.
You are a very talented person and I love your classes! You are a strong and courageous woman, I belive you will be successful in anything you put your mind to. Thank you for in including me.
Wow! What a beautiful story to tell!
Your Story is wonderful. I can relate to it so well. I joined CM as well back when it was the “old” CM now that it is under new management i’m considering re joining. I love the concept and products as well I think I would be my number one customer .