More about what was seen and heard at the Great American Scrapbook Convention...

Wanted: more products for military-themed scrapbooking. There seems to be a wide range of scrapbooking activiites going on here. There are albums documenting military service, albums that document home life while the servicemen and women are away and documentation of various trainings. As military families move around for different jobs or trainings they meet new people and make new groups of friends. One woman told me that her husband did some kind of training with a new group every six months. She painstakingly documents every training group and leads the other wives to do so.

Now available: Scrapbook-themed tee shirts in plus sizes. Two Chicks Designs brought tee shirts up to size 6X and found a grateful audience for shirts at the top end of range.

Incoming: Scrapbookers are eager to learn more about stamping techniques. Retailers -start with the basics and go from there, especially embossing and aging techniques.

Going Digital: Digital Scrapbooking 101 classes were full as were sessions on getting photos off of your digital camera (I should take that one) and photo retouching. The fact that that attendees that come to this show are hardcore scrapbookers should prove that traditional scrapbooking and digital scrapbooking can co-exist under one roof. Will next year be the year of Hybrid Scrapbooking classes?

Loving Layouts: The class roster featured a variety of classes but at the end of the day, the layout classes ended up the winners. No matter how many great ideas are out there, consumers want more more more.

Retailers Make the Show Work: I noticed that at least one store owner hired a bus to bring scrapbookers into the show. Other retailers took booths on the show floor or tables during the evening crops (150-350 folks depending on the night). A couple of nights work could yield more than you make in two weeks at your store provided you have the right merchandise to sell to this eager, captive audience. Taking a booth on the show floor may be a large commitment for a small store but you will reach out to 5000 buyers who may never otherwise come to your store. I am always amazed at how many buyers stumble across stores that are within 10 miles of their homes.

Next time I think I may buy a ticket for the crop. I am going to insinuate myself into a big group of new girlfriends and belly up to the crop party buffet. I haven't seen that many platters and deli trays since my community Lunch with Santa event! Not only do these women schlep carloads of supplies, the bring coolers of food too. Now THAT is my kind of crafting party!--Beth