Have you ever entered a scrapbook store and been totally overwhelmed? Where do you start? What products do you need? How do you decide what works for the pictures you want to scrapbook? Let’s hang out in a scrapbook store and see how it all works.
Window Shopping
While you can window shop at a scrapbook store, I will warn you now, that it is not the same. Yes, new products will be shown, and often layouts and big gadgets that the store wants you to purchase, but it is not a good place to start.
The Front Door
Seems like a good place to start. Obviously this is the first step in getting into the store. One must enter the front door. But what happens when you pass through? It is like being transformed into another world. Yes, even as long as I’ve been scrapbooking and going to stores, I still feel that way. It sort of hits you all at once, all the items, the colors, the products, there is just so much.
The Aisles
The aisles are probably the scariest part. Many new scrapbookers don’t understand what many of the products are used for. I recommend asking or taking a class. It will help you tremendously. Some scrapbook stores have the products sorted by company, some my product type (paper, gadgets, embellishments, page kits, etc.), and some actually categorize by theme (birthdays, travel, school, baby, etc.). I prefer the last method, because typically the products that coordinate with each other are together. It doesn’t really matter how the items are displayed, because if you have trouble finding something, there is usually a friendly, knowledgeable sales staff member around to help. When you first go through a scrapbook store, go slowly down the aisles and just take it all in. Don’t look for anything particular. Just enjoy it.
In the next article we will step outside the aisles.