I just got my son's school photos back, just in time to tuck into the (late) holiday cards. Boy are school photographers getting savvy.

Now they print the pictures ahead of time which naturally (if I represent the average consumer) you end up buying more photo sheets  because you can't bear to destroy cute photos  of your precious child. Now what do I do with 8 sheets of little photos? There simply aren't that many friends and relatives!

Retailers who come up with great ideas for using all different sizes of school pictures will be doing their customers a huge favor. If you go to the trouble to make lots of samples, consider contacting your local paper because that will be an interesting story for them-especially if they can illustrate the article with your projects!

Here are some ideas to get you started:

• Contact the photographer who serves your local school. The principal's office will know or- ask an employee with school age children for the envelope the photos come in- there is usually info on there.
• Work with the school photographer to get samples of the types of photos included in the package.You'll want all the sizes and backgrounds possible. Also if you can- get grade school photos and high school photos so you can show age- specific ideas.
• Create a variety of projects using the photos and display together with the papers and embellishments you use.
• Work with your local paper and other partners to do a "Scrap Your School Photo" contest.
• Apply these same ideas to sports team photos.

If you are already doing things with school photos, let me know! Perhaps we can create a gallery of ideas on scrapbookretailermagazine.com so you can learn from each other's efforts.--Beth