Wednesday 28 November 2012

So This is Scrapbooking: Melissa


Hello! Today I'm delighted to be able to welcome you to the first chapter in So this is Scrapbooking. It's a whole new series which grew from a small thought: before I started scrapbooking I didn't know how to get my photos off my camera and onto my laptop. That was the start, the first thing I learned; and you'd laugh if I told you some of the others. But, eventually, it all brought me here - and that's something I wanted to celebrate. I thought I wouldn't be the only one who felt scrapbooking had brought more than an affinity with glue and a renewed love for cutting things up. And I was right. Lots of you have a story to tell! "What has scrapbooking done for you?" I asked and you have told me..



..so let's dive right in with my first special guest Melissa

How I Became a Coach in Finding Photo Freedom

Hi Everyone! Melissa Gross here. It is such an honour and a pleasure to share with you today about how scrapbooking led to my position as a coach in Stacey Julian's 2011 Finding Photo Freedom workshop over at Big Picture Classes.



I've scrapbooked pretty much all my life in one form or another, however I had fallen into a little slump back in 2008/2009. I was involved in a few Yahoo! Groups and occasionally would scrap a layout or create an embellishment for a swap, but I was a little overwhelmed with the number of photos I had that weren't yet scrapped or in an album of any sort. Plus, I had purchased my first digital camera in mid-2008 and had not yet developed a system for getting those printed. In all honesty, my photos were very well organized (i.e. I knew where they were, they were labeled, etc.), however I didn't have a system in place that made it easy for me to find photos to scrap when I was inspired.

In the fall of 2009, I read a post about Stacy Julian's book  PhotoFreedom, which describes her system of organizing photos and inspirational scrapbooking. She calls this system her Library of Memories (LOM). I didn't realize it at the time, but Stacy's book was out of print. Fortunately, Robbie was able to find a used copy for me. I devoured the book and immediately began setting up my own Library of Memories system.



Through the book, I discovered the Big Picture Classes website (it was still called Big Picture Scrapbooking at that time). I was thrilled to learn that a new class called A Library of Memories, based on the system in Stacy's book, was starting on February 3, 2010. I signed up and my addiction enjoyment in online classes began!

The four month long class truly revolutionized the way I scrapbooked! I reorganized my print photos, began using a digital workflow plan, started sharing my photos, stories & layouts on a blog, and changed from chronological to inspiring scrapbooking. I wrote a post explaining my new system here, however I still make changes and adjustments to the system as I find what works for me as new ideas or technologies come out. One of Stacy's philosophies about scrapbooking is that "it all counts" when we do something that helps us in recording and preserving our memories. So,now, whether I'm rating & tagging digital photos, writing a blog post, sorting memorabilia, or creating a layout, i realize...so this is scrapbooking, it all counts!

At the end of all that workshop back in the spring of 2010, I posted a question to Stacy asking how she had chosen the coaches who assisted her by answering questions and posting on a classroom blog. Here's a portion of her reply: Thus far, I have simply reached out to a students whom I know love LOM and who have continued to adapt it to their lives. I suppose an LOM coach needs to be articulate and patient and compassionate- most of all, they need to be willing to devote HOURS to the benefit of others and willing to learn themselves. I was intrigued with the idea of "working" in the scrapbooking field, something I consider a hobby. I filed Stacy's response away and continued enjoying my new LOM system. 


Late that year, I saw posts on Stacy's blog that she would be offering the LOM workshop again in the summer of 2011 and that the workshop name would be changed to Finding Photo Freedom (FPF). I simply reached out to her via email and expressed my interest in being a coach in that workshop. I then explained the reasons I felt I would be a great coach: (1) I understood the system, (2) I had adapted the system to fit my family & lifestlye, (3) I am a teacher by training & by passion, (4) I love helping others learn, and (5) I had plenty of time to devote to the message boards during the workshop.

And that's how it happened, really, that simple. Stacy was in the process of rewriting and updating the materials for the workshop, and she emailed me back to say that she would love to have me as a coach! Thus, I was one of three coaches to "work" in the FPF workshop in the summer of 2011. I put "work" in quotation marks because, I really, I enjoyed every minute of it. To get a paycheck at the end was like icing on the cake!

Thank you, Sian, for letting me share this story of how scrapbooking led to my position as a coach in the FPF workshop. I would like to end with two fun announcements:
(1) Stacy's book PhotoFreedom was just released as an eBook and is available from BPC here.
(2) The next Finding Photo Freedom workshop is scheduled to begin on February 7, 2013! More information can be found here.


Melissa Gross lives with her husband Robbie and her amazing collection of scrapbooks in the sunny state of Texas. She blogs regularly at Daily Life Bits and Pieces; and I'm a huge fan of her pages which continually inspire me to look through my own collection of ephemera and use what I've got. her enthusiasm is infectious - please do pay her a visit, say hello, meet a fellow scrapbooking fan. This is scrapbooking.

If you have a scrapbooking super-story to tell, please get in touch. What do you know now that you didn't know before? Is your hobby now your business? Has scrapbooking changed your life? Let's talk about it!



25 comments:

Ruth said...

What a great post!

Jane said...

I've loved reading this post, I do wish I was more organised!

Melissa said...

Thanks for the opportunity to be a part of this great new blog series! I'm looking forward to reading everyone else's stories, finding new blog friends, and learning along the way.

Rebekah said...

Congrats Melissa, how fun! Wonderful to read your inspiring LOM success story. I'm looking forward to the new class session coming up!

Barbara Eads said...

Hey Melissa,
I love your story. I too am a LOM alum. Although I don't do it EXACTLY as Stacy taught it, I've adapted it in a way that works for me. Thanks for sharing your story. There's nothing better than your passion becoming a source of income!

Susanne said...

Such an interesting post Melissa, to hear how things come about. And this looks to be a great series, Sian. Can't wait for the next installment.

Fiona@staring at the sea said...

Really interesting post. I would never be that organised and if I'm honest I think it would kill scrapbooking a bit for me if I felt I had to do it to a system. Always good to hear how other people approach things though.

Elizabeth said...

Lots of useful information in Melissa's post, and a great story.

Ginger said...

Wonderful post! I think this new series will be very interesting Sian, so lovely to see how scrapping has given Melissa these wonderful opportunities.

scrappyjacky said...

Some great info from Melissa [who's blog I already enjoy]....especially for someone as disorganised as me....I think I may need that class!!

Kirsty.A said...

Lovely. I've been following Melissa's blog for a while, but i didn't know all that about her.

Ladkyis said...

Thank you Sian for organising this post and thank you Melissa for telling me about something I hadn't heard of before.
So much to think about.

Lou said...

i thoroughly enjoyed reading this post Sian and am intrigued by FPF x

Melissa said...

How fun to see some familiar faces & some new faces here in the comments! I truly enjoy the organization of my LOM system, which allows me to scrap non-chronologially - today I've completed a layout from April of 2011 and another from July of 2011. I'm hoping to pull a childhood Christmas photo for my next layout (very pre-2011 LOL)!

Maria Ontiveros said...

What an awesome post. I didn't think I had anything to contribute to this project but now I'm rethinking that!
Rinda

Amy said...

Rinda, I think you would have some very interesting things to say on this topic and series.

Very interesting Melissa, I have that particular book and found it a good read - but I have enjoyed Stacey's philosophy for a long time - mainly through Simple Scrapbooks magazine.

Linda said...

I loved reading this! I have done Stacey's class a couple of times and I can tell you that Melissa was a fabulous coach! I thoroughly recommend the class:)

Scrappi Sandi said...

What a wonderful start to this new feature! Loved it!...& although I'm already a HUGE BPC fan already I'll definitely be checking out those links!! Thanks Melissa...& thanks Sian!! :D

Missus Wookie said...

Great story - loved hearing how your coaching came to be. I too love my LOM system and the BPC classes I've taken.

Lynn said...

Great post - I have the book and whilst I don't follow the system to the letter, I have taken many elements and adapted to what works for me. The main thing it helped me get rid of was that thought of "being behind"! Looking forward to hearing more "so this is Scrapbooking"

Sue Althouse said...

Great post, perfect start to your new series, Sian! I've taken the Photo Freedom journey with Melissa. It came along at the perfect time in my scrapping life and I'm very grateful for that!

alexa said...

Lovely to read all about this, Sian and Melissa - I really need to get my photos in order. That's such a happy and relaxed photo of you sitting there on the floor!

Karen said...

Great post, Melissa! Although I've never adapted the process as completely as you did, I loved Photo Freedom and it's still on my bookshelf. I've purged some of the others, but not that one.

Paula - Buenos Aires said...

What a cool story! I love Stacy Julian´s style, she is an awesome teacher. I was lucky to attend one of her classes in CKU 2002.

Alison said...

Great start to the series Sian...I Love Melissa's blog!
Alison xx

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