The sun is shining, the weather is warming up and it's time for a spring clean! Or maybe not, I hate that word (clean) unless someone else does it, it interferes with my scrapbooking! But spring is a time to get organised and we can help you to do that. Whether you need albums, paper shelving, stamp storage or kits to copy (makes scrapbooking much quicker!) we have what you need. Just click here to go to our Online Store. And have a look at out Spring Special while you're there -but you'll have to be quick!

Or perhaps time is what you need - we can even help you there! You can join us for a weekend of of scrapping, fun, games, prizes, giveaways and laughter at The Tops Conference Centre, Stanwell Tops NSW in May 2010. Click here for details. Or why not join your local craft group? Just two hours once a week will help you to get those photos organised and into albums in no time! And if you are lucky enough to live in southern Sydney you can join the scrapbookers at Live 'n Learn craft group Mortdale, every Wednesday 10am-12md, creche available for 0-6 year olds. Phone 9521 3358 for more information.

In the meantime here are some tips to get you organised -

Don't try to tackle all your photos at once, if you have as many as I do then you'll just get overwhelmed and put them all away again. Choose one envelope of photos (if they are already printed) or two dozen or so to have printed (if they are stored on disc or on your computer) Discard any that are out of focus or duplicates. If the photo is damaged, decide if it worth having copied & repaired or if it isn't important.

If you have a lot of photos that you won't get around to scrapbooking for a while then it is worth investing in archivally-safe boxes to keep your photos safe and in order. Then you can scrap the ones you want and keep the rest safe. There is nothing wrong with pulling out photos that you like and scrapbooking them in no particular order. Most modern albums allow you to swap your layouts around withoput pulling the album apart.

And remember, if you have any photos that are in the old peel-back sticky 'magnetic' albums - GET THEM OUT TODAY. They are not acid-free or PVC free and will damage your photos. You have probably noticed the damage already (fading, brown spots and brittleness) If you have trouble getting the photos out of the album try using a L'il Chizler This little piece of plastic makes it easy to lift out photos, move photos & embellishments on your layouts and much more. And at $2.97 it's a great investment. If you can't lift your photos out of the sticky albums without damaging them, you may have to have them copied and reprinted, which is very easy to do nowadays.

Hope to see you soon, either at our weekend away or via our online store - keep an eye out for specials, we're always updating!

Happy Scrappin'
Jen & Kate