Start up a Scrapbooking Club

written by Sherry DiPaolo

Wouldn't it be nice to have someone to scrapbook with you?

I love to scrapbook with other people. It makes for a nice evening of conversation and a great way to share your life stories. I used to scrapbook alone until I became a Scrapaholix Instructor. I love being an instructor. My club meetings are always so much fun and I look forward to them each month. Have you thought about starting a scrapbooking club? If so consider joining up with Scrapaholix and becoming an instructor, but if that isn't for you, you can still start a club anyway. Here are some helpful tips to start your own club.

How often do you want to meet? How frequently do you want to hold your club? Weekly, twice-monthly, monthly?
It's best to get a consensus from group members as to which day and time works best. How many people do you want in your scrapbook club? The group dynamic varies greatly if you have 6 or 30 people. Decide in advance how many people you think will comprise an ideal group.

Where do you want to host the crop?
You can start out at your home, or you can ask if the scrapbookers in your club would like to rotate houses. For larger groups, consider churches, community centers, or hotel conference rooms. Often churches and businesses will be very receptive to providing space for this type of gathering. Scrapbooking is a fun, family-oriented activity, which places of worship and community centers generally love to embrace.

Do you want to charge membership dues?
Scrapaholix Clubs are free, but you do want to charge for the kits and your teaching. Most members charge between $10 and $20 and this includes the monthly kit, your technique teaching, light refreshments, and access to your tools and other goodies you may provide. If you have to pay for your scrapbooking space, you'll want to recoup those costs.

What will you serve?
You can serve food - or not. Try to keep things simple. Maybe have coffee, soda, or water (be sure to have diet or sugar free beverages). Don’t choose foods that are messy or require your members to wash their hands with each bite. We don't want our pages to get messed up. If you're going to serve finger food, use toothpicks. And for the chocolate fix - M&Ms are wonderful because they really do melt in your mouth and not in your hands.

How structured would you like your meetings to be?
Scrapaholix Clubs are an international network of classes, or "clubs," and crops, which provide a social learning environment for Scrapbookers. Each club is run by you, the enthusiastic instructor, who each month have a “meeting” where you “teach” a new scrapbooking technique with the support and assistance of Scrapaholix. The goal is to promote and develop the craft of scrapbooking and to provide an opportunity for members to learn and express their creativity through memory keeping.

What is the best way to set up the meeting space?
Make sure the lighting is adequate and that each guest has enough table space. You can set everyone up on your dining room table, or if you have the space, create a more elaborate configuration. One idea is to create a square from 2 8” tables and 2 6” tables. This configuration will comfortably accommodate a number of scrapbookers.

It's fun to have some community tools on one table, too. You should have the basics, such as, trimmers, Coluzzles, Eyelet Setters, Crop-A-Dile, etc. Have idea books and magazines and have sample layouts posted on your computer or a table for members to view. You will also want to place small baskets or bins around with an assortment of paper “scraps” for the group to use and add to. Have small wastebaskets in various places for garbage scraps to keep the area neat, organized and clutter-free. Try setting a relaxing (or energizing) mood with music.

How will you find club members?
If you don't already have a group of scrapbooking friends (or you want to find more), simply announce your group in the community. Word of mouth is the best way to do this. Ask your friends to bring their scrapbooking friends to your club. You can also post flyers and announcements in libraries, grocery stores, community centers, etc. Check to see if your local newspaper will run a free ad in the Community Notes section. For example: "Free Scrapbooking Crop. All levels of experience welcome. Instructor/designer on hand to answer questions and provide instruction. Come have fun and meet new friends. Time and location. Your contact info." You can also send email invites to all your friends with Evite.com. Simply pitch your crop night as a "girls', or mom’s night out."

Now that you have this information to get you thinking, try and move forward with this idea by joining Scrapaholix or just setting up your own little club. Visit our Scrapaholix website today.