Organizing a Great Scrapbooking Event

Organizing a great scrapbooking event is no different to planning a dinner party, a business meeting or a children’s birthday party. The basic planning tips are the same.

So if you want to plan your own event for National Scrapbooking Day, read on … Not done it before? There is still time, and it’s not as difficult as it seems. Whether you are a newbie to scrapbooking or not these tips will help.

 

The basic things to decide and plan are: who, why, where, when, what, how and how much - just like any other scrap book plan! So we’ll look at each in a bit more detail.

 

The Why
On my first NSD I was still relatively new to scrapbooking but had been bitten by the bug and was keen to share it - there’s nothing like a new convert to spread the word! So Mrs-Newbie-here had a scrapbooking ‘class’ for her friends.

Why would you want to plan a scrapbooking event for NSD or any other day? Perhaps because you …

• want to have fun with some friends
• love scrapbooking and want to share it with others
• have a great hobby and everyone should be doing it!
• passion is scrapbooking and want to share the passion
• have too much stuff and really should share it around - lol!

 

The Who
Who will attend?
Consider whether you want friends only attending or if you feel confident enough to open your meeting to Jemima Public. Or you could invite friends to bring a friend.

This decision will determine the size of the group and therefore the location required. Or the location size will limit the number invited.

 

The Where
Home or away?
Are you going to do this at home? That’s fine for a few participants.

A dining room table will do great, as will the kitchen table - I overflowed to the kitchen counters on one occasion when some friends brought friends. Or how about out on the deck - a great option if your weather is more reliable than where I live!

Wherever you are in your home, remember to book it with the rest of the family!

 

If you want to rent a room try your local library, church or local community center. These may be low or no cost. (In a community location you may not be allowed to sell anything, so make sure you include everything in the price you charge.)

 

Running the class at a hotel, a larger center or a residential event is more expensive and usually requires to be arranged a few months to a year in advance - so start planning for next year! (The video at the end has some serious tips for getting people to register early for your event!)

However if you find a cancellation and your negotiation skills are good you could get a good price at this late stage, as the location may prefer to get some money rather than none.

 

The When
Date/Time/Duration - how long will you scrapbook:
As a general rule when planning an event, decide on the date and have one or two dates in reserve, and check for availability with potential locations.

If you are planning an event for National Scrapbook Day, we know that is always the first Saturday in May - but if it clashes with something else you want to do, you can still plan your scrap booking day for a date close to it.

What you decide to do on your program will determine how long the event will be, and the longer it goes on the more things to consider.

 

Invitations:
These can be word of mouth or beautiful creations you’ve spent hours making - well maybe not with all the other work you’ll be doing to get this off the ground. Lol!

However I suggest you request responses in good time to allow you to firm up your plans, along with a deposit on booking to help cover your initial costs. (If you’ve booked a room for 20 and only 5 show up, you will still have to pay the full amount.)

Having to pay a deposit also shows commitment on the part of those who sign up, for once someone has handed over good money they are less likely to change their mind not turn up on the day. You don’t want to be left with lots of scrapbooking products on hand because several people did not show up. (Or maybe it would be a good excuse to have! Lol!)

 

 

The How
Cost:
Whether you make a charge or request a donation will depend on what you are providing.

Consider these in the price:

• share the cost of renting a room if that’s what you do
• will your price be all-inclusive or will food & drinks be charged as taken - many prefer an all-in price and not to worry about extra money making the cost much more than it originally seemed
• that said, if you provide a sales table then you want to make sure people have extra money with them
• will you make it a charity event with a portion of the charge donated to a local or national charity, or take contributions

 

How about Scrapbook Supplies?
Will everyone bring their own supplies or will you share? If you have invited only a few friends you may decide to supply everything from your own stash.

Your LSS may provide scrapbooking products on a sale-or-return basis. Your event is likely to provide new customers for them so they may consider it worth having a ‘presence’ at your event. You certainly would want to point this out if they are reluctant to help.

You should make it clear if products are included in the price or not.

If you wish to have sponsors you should contact the relevant companies at least a couple of months in advance, and some ask for longer. Check out their websites for details.

 

The What
What will make the day fun?
Do you …

• plan in detail because everyone is new to scrapbooking
• just let everyone ‘do their own thing’ and simply provide the place because folks know what they’re doing
• teach class(es), or ask someone to - a friend may be happy to help
• or if your group are all experienced scrapbookers each could take turns demonstrating their specialty
• teach tips and techniques
• gift making session: eg Mother’s Day & Father’s Day follow shortly after National Scrapbooking Day so mini scrapbooks, an accordion scrapbook in a tin, or a framed family layout would make great gifts
• organize games with prizes

Just remember, the more there is to do the more it’s likely to cost.

 

What impact will certain decisions have on my plans?

• invitations - making your own can be time consuming so the simpler the better is sound advice
• stock - do you need to buy/ask for sponsor - you should allow at least a couple of months to hear back from suppliers; your LSS may help in a shorter time frame
• the size of the room will limit the number of participants
• food & drinks - will you provide everything
• are you providing or arranging transport to the location

 

To cater or not to cater?
If your event is a couple of hours long then you could provide refreshments only. However, if it’s 4-6 hours or more then we’re into catering. So, do you provide food, and for one or two meals, or just drinks and ask everyone to bring their own?

The usual options apply:

• byog
• bring and share
• pot luck
• covered dish
• outside caterers, etc

 

A good alternative if you can get it to work, is for one group of non-scrapping friends to provide the food in return for your group catering for their next event - don’t forget to include the cost in the budget.

If you do the catering yourself it does not have to be elaborate: a bowl of soup and some fresh bread, or another light, quick and easy dish. You are not entering a gourmet cooking competition, simply providing sustenance to eager scrapbookers!

Do you have room to eat away from the crafting area? You don’t want food all over the layouts you’ve spent hours making. So scrapbooking at the kitchen table is not such a good idea in these circumstances.

And don’t forget to include the main food group - chocolate! What’s scrapbooking without some chocolate?

 

Whatever way you do it, don’t forget to enlist help and delegate.

 

Remember, you don’t have to be a scrapbook designer or teacher to run an introductory class with your friends. You’re enthusiasm for scrapbooking is a great starting point, then if you all want to learn more you have company to go to ‘proper’ classes!

National Scrapbooking Day is the obvious time to try out these organizational skills but they can be used any time and tweaked for any event planning you require.

If you’ve any tips for planning a great National Scrapbooking Day event add them to the comments below. Meanwhile, don’t let the professional business elements of this video put you off, just listen to what he’s saying and pick up the tips that will work for organizing a great scrapbooking event.

 

 

---

Related Posts:
Free Scrapbook sketches
10 Tips for Starting Scrapbooking on a Budget
Ode to National Scrapbooking Day
10 Tips for National Scrapbooking Day

---

[tags]National Scrapbooking Day, tips, videos[/tags]