WeScrap

Men move from making movies to scrapbooking

BY ERIC LEACH, Staff Writer

Inoue and Bilsland both worked in the motion picture industry, he doing pyrotechnic effects and Bilsland animatronics. The two entrepreneurs saw a need for a paper organizer to make files readily visible and accessible at movie studios and decided to design and market one on their own.

But when they went to trade shows to sell their new product, the two Simi Valley men started meeting women who told them that with minor modifications, their organizer would be good for scrapbooking.

"We looked into the industry and found that it was really huge," Inoue said. "We went ahead and designed our product to adapt to the scrapbooking industry."

From there it was a snowball effect as they met more scrapbookers who led them to open a store in Simi Valley this spring, with the name E.B.B. Creations based on Bilsland's initials.

Now they sell hundreds of items that can be used in scrapbooking along with 20 workstations where scrapbookers can gather to produce their books and share ideas. Each station has a cupholder and electrical outlets for heat guns, glue guns, die cutters and even sewing machines.

"We found friends who scrapbook and started picking their brains about what was hot," said Inoue of the mostly women scrapbookers.

"It's a very social group of people, very welcoming and friendly."

He said the spirit of cooperation extends to the crafts stores in the area that also sell scrapbooking supplies, with customers going from store to store looking for products to fulfill their individual creative visions.

Bilsland said what goes on in the world of scrapbooking sometimes seems "stranger than fiction."

"We even had a Web customer from Mexico who walked in the door here one day," Bilsland said. "Here in the U.S. the industry is pretty well-established. But it is a burgeoning industry in Norway, Japan and all over the world — Mexico, Finland, Brazil. Before we opened this store we had more Norwegian customers than customers in California."

Bilsland said his female customers ask him and Inoue all the time if their wives scrapbook, and are surprised to learn they do not.

"Our customers can't believe it, because to them this is like a candy store," he said. "For some it's more of an art thing than just a hobby. They are putting a lot of individual effort into what are really works of art, one of a kind. You can't reproduce these things. You are only limited by your imagination."

One of the customers in E.B.B. Creations recently was Sheila Fernandez of Simi Valley, who said she and her husband, Alfredo, are helping to make scrapbooking more popular among boys through the Cub Scouts.

"I do it because I want to document my family's history, so in the future my children can remember this is our family and this is our history," Fernandez said.

"... We did a wonderful Cub Scout scrapbook project, and the boys just loved it. We explained how important it was — your history. There are more boys and men getting involved in it, because they can see the importance of it."

Inoue said he has had only a few men walk into his shop, including a brawny biker who came in recently to find rub-on letters for his motorcycle.

But all sorts of women are interested in scrapbooking, including stay-at-home mothers and women in a variety of occupations, including doctors.

The more they learn about scrapbooking, the more they see the possibilities, Inoue said.

People can make careers out of scrapbooking, submitting their layouts to manufacturers of various scrapbooking materials who are looking for people to promote their products.

Some scrapbookers have their work featured in magazines, in books and on the Internet.

"They might wind up traveling across the country promoting a product by teaching classes," Inoue said. "The avenues in scrapbooking are incredible."

---
Eric Leach, (805) 583-7602
[email protected]

Residents called into action for All-America competition

By Kathleen Quilligan

[email protected]

Porter-Ross: Wants people to create scrapbook pages

While the city and county wrote the application that make Fort Wayne and Allen County a finalist in the All-America City competition, residents’ help is needed to actually win the award.

Mayor’s Area Advocate Denise Porter-Ross said that on each Friday through June 8 she will announce ways city and county residents can help win the award that is given to 10 of the competition’s 21 finalists.

The city previously has received the award in 1954, 1982 and 1998, but this is the first time the city and county have collaborated on the award. To be named an All-America city, a community must have active citizen involvement, effective and efficient government, and community vision and pride.

Porter-Ross said her first announcement asked residents to create scrapbook pages of their families, churches and community groups to show what the area is really like.

“I know scrapbooking is a big phenomenon in this community,” said Porter-Ross, who is still getting pictures from residents who attended the Blue Friday rally she conducted in February in support of the Chicago Bears and Indianapolis Colts in the Super Bowl.

The scrapbook pages may be dropped off at any area Wal-Mart store.

Porter-Ross said she also encourages those who have been around for the previous award-winning years to journal about their memories. For example, she said babies who were born the week the award was announced in 1998 were given a certificate that named them “All-America City babies.”

“They must be in baby books someplace,” Porter-Ross said.

The push for resident involvement comes as a last step in the finalist process that measures city participation and shows support for the award, Porter-Ross said.

“People complain and bemoan some things, but we have a lot of great things going for us and a lot of community involvement,” Porter-Ross said. “People should feel good about where they live.”

Scrapbooking goes beyond cut & paste

Hobby flourishes with new techniques, materials

BY AUTUMN PHELPS
Remember back in elementary school making cut-and-paste Mother's Day cards scribbled with crayon flowers and hearts? Or using bright-colored construction paper to build anything from hats to snowflakes?

The possibilities were endless, and it always felt great to finish a one-of-a-kind art project for someone special.

It might be a distant memory for many adults, but for some, those childhood crafts turned into a sophisticated hobby. They call themselves croppers, and there is no formula for their art. Just like when they were kids, they take time to assemble colorful, textured works no one can replicate.

In case you haven't heard, it's called scrapbooking, and guess what -- May is National Scrapbooking Month.

"Forms of scrapbooking have been around for a long time," said Annette Green of Melbourne, a consultant for Close to My Heart, a direct sales company for scrapbooking materials. "Today, it's a family hobby."

It's such a big family hobby that people spend $2.6 billion on it each year, according to the Craft and Hobby Association, making it the most popular segment of the craft industry.

Green said she has at least a dozen completed scrapbooks filled with pictures, cardstock, brads and other objects helping to preserve her family memories.

"I have a room to myself," Green said. "It's such a good feeling to sit, remember and go through those old photos. It's an art. I try to make the prettiest pages I can, and I truly enjoy it."

Finding time

Green and fellow Close to My Heart consultant Laura Irsfeld of Indian Harbour Beach hosted an event called "Scrap Your Heart Out" last weekend at the Indian Harbour Beach Recreation Center. They invited local croppers to a two-day scrapbooking event.

Not everyone, however, is able to spend a whole weekend creating such detailed masterpieces.

"A lot of the feedback I get is, 'I don't have enough time to scrapbook,' " Green said. "Everybody's busy."

To help free up time, Close to My Heart and many craft stores sell scrapbooking kits, complete with color-coordinated paper and all the materials needed to make a book.

"If you get a 12-by-12 album kit, you could literally finish it in a day," Green said.

Some might feel all-in-one kits take away from creativeness of scrapbooking, but it doesn't have to, Green said. Some scrapbookers add personal touches after the kits are complete.

"People have gone as far as the toolbox and pulled out washers to use for embellishments," Green said. "They use paper clips, ribbon. I use coasters as picture mats."

Scrap trends

Mark Twain and Thomas Jefferson often are cited as early scrapbookers, and some say the craft dates back even further. It's easy to wonder what scrapbooking pioneers would think of today's pages, which are full of glitz and glamour.

One technique that's become popular in recent years is stamping, which is exactly as it sounds. The stamps and inks are much more advanced than they used to be.

"Our business specializes in clear stamps," Green said. "You can see through it completely."

That means you'll know where your design will go on the page.

Another scrapbooking trend, Irsfeld said, is adding lots of embellishments.

"A lot of the trends are gearing toward office materials," Irsfeld said. "Fasteners, brads, paperclips. We're finding them all in scrapbooking."

Candy Forbes, co-owner of the Craft Boutique in Indian Habour Beach, recently started designing her own line of scrapbooking materials. She said what's hot in scrapbooking depends on the time of year, like springtime.

"Right now, we're doing all different kinds of flowers with leaves, balloons and ribbons," Forbes said.

Melbourne Crafts & Stuff employee Evelyn Cross said May is National Scrapbooking Month for a reason: There are many special occasions around this time.

"Most are trying to get graduation stuff done, and getting ready for June weddings," Cross said.

Scrapbooking isn't limited to the actual books anymore, either. The craft encompasses cards, photo frames and other practical items that make thoughtful gifts.

Using computers

You'd think in the age of the Internet, crafts involving manual labor would be obsolete. But devout crafters say they prefer the handmade look of a traditional scrapbook.

"There are digital scrapbooking programs out there where everything is done on the computer," Green said. "The problem with that is everything is flat."

An advantage of the programs is they offer more options than you could dream of with a click of the mouse.

Even those who are anti-digital scrapping turn to technology for some elements.

"I do some things on the computer," Green said. "I do some journaling. I usually want to type instead of handwriting."

And photo-editing programs can put a twist on pictures, adding flair to a scrapbook. For example, Green made her daughter look transparent like a ghost in a Halloween photo using Adobe Photoshop. It turned out to be the perfect fit for her Halloween scrapbook page.

Stress relief

Scrapbooking shouldn't fail to spark inner creativity, but if it does, there's another plus side to it -- it's an excuse to get out of the house. At scrapbooking events, it's not really about what you're making, it's about the conversation that happens while making it.

"On an open crop night, we sit down and work on our own projects and socialize," Irsfeld said. "It's kind of like a quilting bee."

And it's not just for women. Irsfeld said scrapbooking is starting to attract men, particularly retirees.

If nothing else, scrapbooking is an avenue for escaping the day-to-day.

"It's where I find relief of stress," Irsfeld said.

Contact Phelps at 242-3612 or [email protected].

Scrapbooking: Bring family photos off the bench

By Kathy Stephenson
The Salt Lake Tribune

Article Last Updated: 05/07/2007 07:32:59 AM MDT

How lucky could a sports-loving scrapbook neophyte be? My first "crop" is an all-star gathering.
    My teacher is Lisa Bearnson, Highland resident and the founding editor of Creating Keepsakes scrapbook magazine. My classmates are the wives of some of the Utah Jazz players and coaches.
    Jazz staff members - several of whom scrapbook - pulled the gathering together when they realized most of the players have children younger than 5. By the time the kids are old enough to understand basketball, Daddy might be playing in another city or retired. A scrapbook of their playing days in Utah would bridge the memory gap.
    We meet in an underground suite at the EnergySolutions Arena. Bearnson and her staff have put together a packet that includes Jazz-colored paper, lettering, "naked" chip board and brackets that we will use to create two sports-themed pages with the title "Play Hard."
    Before we begin, Cheyenne Araujo - wife of Rafael - shows everyone her first scrapbooking effort: a small album of her now-3-year-old daughter's first trip to Brazil, her dad's birthplace. Cheyenne's hoping today's event will inspire her to do even more.
    "I think it's fun to look back and remember," she says. "Rafael says it shows you care."
    Now I feel guilty. Until now, I have shunned this popular hobby, partly because of time and expense, but mainly because I never liked those pages filled with ribbon and doo-dads and one photograph trimmed to the size of a golf ball.
    That's not to say the Stephenson family photos are in disarray. After they're developed, we slide them into protective covers, label them and store them in three-ring albums. They are organized and easy to find.
    But as my children's school certificates, Little League photos and artwork pile up in a box in the closet, I realize I need to do something more.
    Bearnson gives me and the Jazz team some simple strategies to get started:
    * Use 12-by-12 paper. It gives you more "real estate" to work with than 8 1/2 -by-11.
    * Flaps and pockets create even more space on a page.
    * With "naked," or unpainted, chip board, you can paint it any color you want. In this project, it was colored white and used to spell out the name of our favorite player and his jersey number.
    * Buy some archival mist and spray it on newspaper clippings. It neutralizes the acid and prevents yellowing.
    * It's more expensive than glue, but pages come together faster when you use sticky dots tape.
    Amy Williams, wife of Jazz guard Deron Williams, makes me feel better that my children's Jr. Jazz basketball photos are buried in a box.
    "This will be the first page I've ever done for Deron," she says as she paints the chip board. "We have so much stuff saved like newspaper clippings and stuff from his college days."
    Williams is an avid scrapbooker. But most of her time and energy is spent chronicling 4-year-old Denae and 8-month-old Daija.
    "It's fun. I'd rather do that in my free time than anything else," she says.
    But she feels no urgency to start on a sports book for her husband, she says. "He knows I'll get to it at some point."
    I hope I can get to my own all-star album sooner than that.
    ---
    * KATHY STEPHENSON can be contacted at [email protected] or 801-257-8612. Send comments about this story to [email protected].

Legend Male Scrappers!

Mark Twain Was A Scrapbooking Addict
By Kathy Williams

Scrapbooking can frequently be viewed as a woman's hobby. There are however, many instances throughout the long history of this popular craft where men have played significant roles in developing the art that is loved by millions of hobbyists today. Unfortunately, the pull for men in scrapbooking was often the money, while there is plenty of evidence that some of them truly did enjoy scrapbooking as a hobby. Here are some of the finer achievements of men in scrapbooking history.

- In the mid 1800's, London based "W. H. Rock" began producing leather albums with pre-printed pages of flowers and birds. These albums became popular for scrapbooking hobbyists.

- In 1857, the production of "carte-de-vista" albums, containing photograph pockets, became popular.

- Mark Twain, best known for Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn invented "Mark Twain's Adhesive Scrapbook" with pre-pasted pages. This idea was one of his most loved business adventures, possibly because it earned him over $50,000. Don't be too easily fooled, however, because Mark Twain enjoyed scrapbooking so much that he devoted his Sunday afternoon to keeping his scrapbooking albums up to date.

- Thomas Jefferson was an addicted scrapbooker. His albums included news clippings, drawings, and dried leaves. Men in the eighteenth century helped to produce "Dutch Gilt" or "Dutch Flowered Papers" (lithography or stenciling in Holland or Germany) using wood, metal, or blocks. Originally intended to line cupboards, these patterns quickly became a favorite in the scrapbooks of the day.

- In the 1870's companies began mass producing embossed paper for use in scrapbooking albums.

- While stickers, iron-on letters, buttons, rubber stamps, and metal accents are used today in scrapbooking, the Prang Company developed "album cards" for use in scrapbooks of the nineteenth century. These sets of ten cards were pictures of birds, flowers, or landscapes to be used in scrapbooks.

- Most nineteenth century scrapbooks have "calling cards" in them. These decorated cards were left by guests at the host's home. They eventually made their way into many scrapbooks because of the fond memories of wonderful parties and dances, not just by women, but, as you have already guessed, by men.

Kathy Williams loves scrapbooking and rubber stamping. She currently spends much of her time in her online rubber stamp store Rubber Stamping Fun

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kathy_Williams
http://EzineArticles.com/?Mark-Twain-Was-A-Scrapbooking-Addict&id=120667

Turning Tragedy into Healing: Mother Creates Scrapbooking Kits to Help Parents Cope

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MEDIA ADVISORY
Catholic PRWire

Unique grieving kits offer comfort to parents who want to commemorate their child’s short life.

Julian, NC, May 4, 2007 – After experiencing both prenatal loss and the stillborn birth of her son, Tanner, Diana Gardner-Williams drew upon her experiences to create a line of comforting scrapbooking kits designed specifically for the loss of a baby.

Every year more than 26,000 American women, and 4.5 million women worldwide, will deliver a stillborn baby. Miscarriage statistics are even more dramatic, reportedly occurring in 20 percent of all pregnancies. Many families are looking for ways to memorialize their child. As a mother who has experienced this significant loss, Gardner-Williams knows the pain is immeasurable.

After Gardner-Williams delivered her son stillborn, she found solace in journaling and scrapbooking to ease her pain. She had trouble finding scrapbook products that specifically addressed the loss of a baby, and so she decided to create her own.

Her company, Just a Cloud Away, Inc. produces specialty scrapbooking kits, offering comfort and guidance to families struggling to cope with this type of loss. Just a Cloud Away kits are designed to comfort and cradle the hearts of grieving parents, providing them with the means to preserve their love and acknowledge the legacy of their baby.

“I want these kits to provide a loving touch and a guiding hand during the healing process. I hope families will talk and share how their precious angels touched their lives,” said Gardner-Williams.

Three different styles of Just a Cloud Away scrapbooking kits will be available in the series. Themes include Classic Baby, Modern Baby and Vintage Baby. Each scrapbooking kit contains one 12x12 scrapbook background, a 12x12 Certificate of Love, two sheets of coordinating stickers and a die-cut sheet with images of babies and angel babies on clouds. The kits feature exclusive designs with angelic and heavenly imagery.

For more information on the Just a Cloud Away Scrapbooking Kits, including project samples and tip sheet, visit www.justacloudaway.com.

Fix Those Mistakes!

Easy Ways to Fix Scrapbooking Mistakes
By Katie Gee

We have all done it. We have created the perfect scrapbooking page and we sit back and look at it with pride in our eyes. You know the feeling of pride one can only feel when they have poured over an hour on one page and we KNOW we did a great job. We read our journaling and then the date jumps out at us we used the year 2004 and this is 2006. Or, we have moved our hand across the page after writing the last word and created a smudge. Do not panic and do not tear up the page, fixing scrapbooking mistakes is an easy thing to do!

What I have found is that there is no scrapbooking mistake too big or too small that it can't be fixed without anyone ever knowing it happened. Misspellings and incorrect dates tend to be my number one mistake. If it is simply a date or heading that is incorrect, I take a piece of solid scrapbooking paper, cut it in a unique fashion and glue it over the mistake. Voila, you have a blank slate to write on. If it is in the middle of writing, I take that opportunity to add stickers or other embellishments in the middle of my journaling and write around it. If I smudge writing or stamping, I typically cover it with an embellishment or I smudge other areas of writing and try to give the page an overall shabby look.

It can also be frustrating when a picture, die cut or scrapbooking paper tears. Again, embellishments can do a great job. If you cover the tear in scrapbooking paper or the scrapbooking page with a sticker, nobody will ever know that the tear was there. Please note that if you add an embellishment one place you will more than likely have to add scrapbooking embellishments elsewhere or it may look out of place.

It is through mistakes that I have been able to use my creativity to come up with an even better page than before. It forces me to think outside the box. So, don't think of them as scrapbooking mistakes, think of them as scrapbooking challenges. You also need to know that, no matter what challenge you are faced with, there is a solution on the internet if you can't think of one yourself.

Learn more about scrapbooking layouts or scrapbooking at www.seriousscrapbooking.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Katie_Gee
http://EzineArticles.com/?Easy-Ways-to-Fix-Scrapbooking-Mistakes&id=331609

Scrap That Baby!

Baby Scrapbooking: 5 Tips for Creating the Perfect Scrapbook
By Linda Kerr

Although having a baby can be a shock to the system – all those dirty nappies, sleepless nights and bottle washing might not leave you with much time to make a scrapbook, it is something you really should consider. If you can take the time to document your child's life, he or she will be amazed to see what they used to look like.

#1 If you live in an area where baby scrapbooking classes are held, they are definitely worth a visit. Some speciality stores such as Archivers provide free classes

#2 Don't just begin your scrapbook with the birth of your baby, take photos of yourself whilst pregnant at baby showers and at hospital having a scan etc. You also might want to include photos of the doctors and nurses and ever fellow mothers

#3 Make sure you prepare well in advance so you don't end up rushing about trying to decide what papers and embellishments you want to buy. If you know the sex of your baby then you can decide on the colour scheme, otherwise choose neutral colors such as orange or yellow

#4 Keep a pocket diary or note book with you so that you can write down what happened in the day and how you felt. Make sure that you take note of their first words and when they first walked. A snipet of hair is also a nice touch

#5 The most important thing is that you actually make a scrapbook. If you feel that it will take too much effort then you can make life easier for yourself by buying a read-made baby themed book

Many people have the thought of creating a journal or scrapbook but then don't get round to doing it. Of course, they then regret it as their memories become hazy. Your book does not have to be perfect so don't worry if it's a bit rough round the edges. The most important element is conveying how you feel.

Struggling to come up with baby scrapbooking layout ideas? Too busy dealing with nappies and feeding? You can now create baby scrapbooking layouts easily with Scrapbook Baby Books.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Linda_Kerr
http://EzineArticles.com/?Baby-Scrapbooking:-5-Tips-for-Creating-the-Perfect-Scrapbook&id=366585

Keep Your Room Organized!

Organizing Scrapbook Room - Space Saving - Organizing Your Scrapbooking Area
By Casey Lee

With the hundreds of thousands of scrapbooking papers and embellishments available on the market, it is easy for your craft area to become overwhelmed by scrapbooking supplies. This becomes an especially difficult challenge for scrapbookers who live in small spaces such as apartments or dorm rooms. Never fear—with a little effort you can follow a few easy steps to create a space for your things that is organized, clean, and beautiful.

You will likely need the most time and space to organize your papers. A good option for this is a paper saver, as made by most of the larger scrapbooking companies. Usually made from plastic, these folder-like portfolios are large enough to hold hundreds of papers and include tabs to separate your pages into categories for easy organization. If you find that you do not have enough room in a paper saver, you might also find it useful to invest in a filing cabinet or one of the sets of drawers made especially for scrapbooking. These are available at all craft stores and online.

Once you own a tool for organization, the next step is to decide how you want to categorize your supplies. The option most often used is color, but you can also separate your paper into themes (holidays, wedding, etc) or by marking, such as solids and stripes. You can also use this system to organize flat embellishments, such as die cuts or stickers.

You also need a place to store your tools and embellishments that are not easily filed. One good way of doing this is by using baskets and a shelving system. Store cutting tools in one basket, glues in another, markers and paint in a third, and so on. By buying baskets in bulk, you will save more money then if you use photo boxes, and the display will be uniform and attractive. Remember to label your baskets so you save time when you’re looking for a particular item.

If you need to save space, however, a basket and shelving system may not work for you. Instead, keep all your tools and supplies stored somewhere safe and out of the way and keep a “kit” of your most used items close at hand in a photo box, basket, tote bag, or other container. That way when you only have time to do a quick page or two, you can use your kit to complete it and then quickly clean up. On the other hand, when you can devote an entire day to scrapbooking, you can pull your supplies out of storage to complete many pages of your album.

Try to remember that keeping your space clean and organized will make scrapbooking easier and more enjoyable in the future. By labeling your storage containers and sorting your papers, you will be able to quickly find the tools you need. Organization is the key to stress-free scrapbooking and creating beautiful albums.

Listen to or read more articles on Scrapbooking. Visit Casey Lee's EnVision Opportunity Today.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Casey_Lee
http://EzineArticles.com/?Organizing-Scrapbook-Room---Space-Saving---Organizing-Your-Scrapbooking-Area&id=305447

Martha Stewart Makeover

As Media Outlook Cools,
She Tries Scrapbooks;
Wooing 'Elite' Dealers

By BROOKS BARNES
April 25, 2007; Page A1

On a recent episode of her daytime television show, Martha Stewart set out to make a decorative songbird out of wool and felt. It didn't go smoothly. She struggled to wind the wool into a head and strained to insert wire legs. "This is a tough little bird," she told viewers, frowning.

Now Ms. Stewart hopes a high-stakes crafts project for her company will be less exasperating. On May 1, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc. will roll out a line of more than 650 products aimed at the legions of hobbyists who assemble elaborate scrapbooks. It's the company's biggest merchandising initiative since it teamed up with Kmart stores in 1997, and it represents a strategic shift toward licensing its brand and selling via the Internet.

What does the domestic-arts maven see in a dowdy industry where merchandise is sold in cluttered stores stacked floor to ceiling with pipe cleaners, Styrofoam balls, glue sticks, beads and fake flowers?

"Paper crafts may sound like a quaint pursuit," says Chief Executive Officer Susan Lyne. "But it's actually a rapidly growing business." Preserving photographs and memorabilia in decorated albums -- enthusiasts call it scrapbooking -- has grown into a nearly $3 billion industry, according to the Craft & Hobby Association. Martha Stewart Living hopes to ring up enough sales of $1.69 colored markers, $4.99 bottles of glitter and other merchandise to generate $100 million of annual sales within three years.

The rollout of Martha Stewart Crafts is part one of a planned merchandising blitz that the company hopes will return it to profitability and deliver long-term growth. Although Martha Stewart Living posted revenue of $288 million in 2006, up 36% from a year earlier, it had a loss of $17 million. It hasn't turned a profit since 2002, the year Ms. Stewart became entangled in a securities-fraud investigation that resulted in her five-month imprisonment on an obstruction-of-justice charge.

Ms. Stewart's high-profile media businesses have traditionally been the company's engine. But both magazines and television face serious long-term challenges, including the migration of advertisers to the Internet and a declining audience for daytime television.

Ms. Lyne's strategy: steer Martha Stewart Living into low-cost, high-margin licensing deals. Ms. Lyne hired Robin Marino, former president of Kate Spade Inc. and a veteran of Burberry Group PLC and Federated Department Stores Inc., as the company's first president of merchandising. Ms. Marino already has lined up deals to sell Martha Stewart dinnerware and furniture at Macy's, premium Martha Stewart house paint at Lowe's and even Martha Stewart-branded homes.

But it's Ms. Stewart's bet on crafts that investors and competitors are watching most closely. The company sees the sector as a promising new revenue stream, one perfectly suited for the Internet. Its entire scrapbooking line will be offered for sale on the newly redesigned MarthaStewart.com, the company's first major retailing attempt via its own Web site.

To succeed, Ms. Stewart will have to connect with a far-flung world of customers, including legions of Middle Americans who may never have used her tips on home decor or holiday cooking. She put her designers to work coming up with new twists on such mundane products as scrapbooks, ribbon, and cardboard boxes. Her executives went looking for a retail partner whose stores didn't look like a mess. And Ms. Stewart herself hit the road to try to woo some hard-core crafters.

Martha Stewart Living has always stood out as a rare business built around a single person's taste and sensibility. The partnership that put its products into Kmart stores has been rocky, with sales lower than expected. That convinced the company of the importance of tightly controlling product design, marketing and even store layouts. Otherwise, the brand will suffer, it concluded.

Eccentric Business

The crafts business, in some ways, is eccentric. Even outlets operated by big craft chains often resemble Main Street hardware stores from a bygone era, with oddball items stacked inefficiently in a dusty jumble. Suppliers are a hodgepodge, ranging from the office supply giant 3M Co. to a two-person company that sells a single item, Baby Tooth Album Inc.

Scrapbooking draws a diverse crowd, crossing age groups and ethnicity, and is particularly popular in smaller communities. It's possible that crafts and scrapbooking enthusiasts will view Ms. Stewart's glitzy Manhattan media company, along with her exacting recommendations for doing things, with a measure of suspicion.

"I'm not sure people want to bring a brand into their scrapbook," says Shelly Izen, the owner of Scrapbook Fever, a crafts store in Salem, Ore. "Martha's stuff looks pretty, but crafters are strong-willed and don't want to be told what to do. Martha's stuff seems very 'do it this way or no way.' "

Ms. Stewart, in an interview, predicted crafters will ultimately embrace the line. "We have some high-quality, wonderful products that I'm sure people are going to love," she said.

The U.S. craft andrecordedhohobby  industry $29.5billiondollars in sales in 2006

Scrapbooking dates back to the 1800s. Mark Twain helped popularize the practice by patenting, in 1872, a "self-pasting" book that had thin strips of glue on each page. It wasn't until the late 1970s, when interest in genealogy spiked following Alex Haley's "Roots" book and TV miniseries, that a cottage industry sprouted to cater to scrapbook fans, who often fill their books with pieces of family history.

Between 1998 and 2006, scrapbooking grew from a $350 million hobby fueled by mom-and-pop stores to a $2.6 billion business, according to the Craft & Hobby Association. Big retailers began stocking items for enthusiasts, such as specialty scissors, stickers and sparkling paper. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. in February said it would stop selling fabric by the yard in certain stores and begin offering crafts supplies.

"It's not a very sexy business," says David Abelman, senior vice president of marketing for Michael's Stores Inc., a big operator of arts-and-crafts outlets in the U.S. and Canada. "But a lot of people have realized it's a good one."

Ms. Lyne hopes he's right. Worries about the future of Martha Stewart Living's media holdings have contributed to a 21% drop in the company's stock since Dec. 20. The CEO is eager for licensing deals to kick in. "The year ahead is an important one for us," she told investors in a conference call in February.

Martha Stewart Living's stable of magazines -- Living, Everyday Food, Body & Soul, and the newly launched Blueprint -- are growing, Ms. Lyne notes. Ad pages for its flagship magazine, Martha Stewart Living, totaled 1,287 in 2006, according to the Publishers Information Bureau, up 95% from 2004, when advertisers fled following Ms. Stewart's conviction.

Slow Gains

But the magazine has yet to regain its 2002 peak of 1,887 pages, and the gains are slowing. That troubles some investors and analysts. In this year's first quarter, ad pages in Living increased 11%, compared with an 80% increase in the same period last year. By comparison, Time Warner Inc.'s Real Simple magazine, which gobbled up market share during Ms. Stewart's legal troubles, saw ad pages rise by 32% in the first quarter.

Ms. Stewart's chief financial officer, Howard Hochhauser, says the company expects advertising revenue to grow by about 25% in 2007, due largely to a recent price increase. He says the company views publishing as a "vibrant" business.

Ms. Stewart's syndicated television program, "Martha: The Martha Stewart Show," has won awards and attracted strong advertiser interest, but hasn't met ratings expectations. The program attracts about 1.5 million viewers each day, according to Nielsen Media Research, about 40% fewer than stations anticipated when it launched at the beginning of the 2005-06 season.

Shows with similar ratings typically face cancellation. But General Electric Co.'s NBC Universal, which distributes the program, has agreed to give "Martha" another year before deciding its fate. Ms. Stewart recently fired the show's executive producer as part of an overhaul effort. "We are bringing back more of what Martha is known for, teaching and how-to inspiration," says Ms. Lyne, who notes that much of daytime television has been struggling. The company cautioned investors in February that it expects TV revenue to drop in 2007 because of a failed DVD effort.

The merchandising relationship with Kmart, a unit of Sears Holdings Co., has also been disappointing. In recent years, sales have been lower than anticipated, partly because higher-end consumers interested in Martha Stewart products were unenthusiastic about her Kmart line, retail analysts say. To make matters worse, Kmart has shuttered dozens of stores. A Kmart spokesman declined to comment. Ms. Lyne says the company plans to "refresh" its Kmart product assortment later this year. The current agreement between Ms. Stewart and Kmart is set to expire in 2010.

Despite the Kmart problems, the company believes that merchandising and licensing deals can deliver growth opportunities and high profit margins, while requiring little upfront investment.

Ms. Lyne says the crafts push will lend itself to Internet promotion and merchandising. Scrapbooks are often assembled communally, with aficionados hosting "cropping parties." MarthaStewart.com aims to both sell scrapbook supplies and serve as an online forum for crafters. Users will be able to post videos and photos of their projects, view craft-related video clips from Ms. Stewart's show, and download instructions. The company says crafts is already the second most visited section of the site, after food and cooking.

Exclusive Partnership

To protect its brand, Ms. Marino sought an exclusive partnership with a specialty retailer. The company decided that two national chains -- Jo-Ann Stores Inc. and Hobby Lobby Stores Inc. -- were too downscale, according to two executives involved in the matter. Representatives of those companies didn't return calls seeking comment.

Martha Stewart Living executives opened negotiations with Michael's Stores, which has 920 stores in the U.S. and Canada. The typical Michael's store stocks 44,000 different items, says Harvey Kanter, the chain's executive vice president and chief merchant. In exchange for a commitment from Michael's to reduce clutter by reorganizing its shelves, Martha Stewart Living named the retailer the exclusive bricks-and-mortar outlet for its merchandise, at least until the fall.

Mr. Kanter say the changes were helpful but not extensive. "We just needed to think a little bit harder about our customer's needs," he says.

For their product line, Ms. Stewart and Hannah Milman, editorial director of crafts for Martha Stewart Living, tried to come up with new twists on old products. Ms. Milman says innovations include adhesive-backed ribbon and "collector boxes" in which crafters, instead of pasting keepsakes into scrapbooks, can create displays for wall-mounted dioramas.

Senior licensing manager Alex Perruzzi says the design flourishes will allow the company to market and price the merchandise, which also includes some paper products unrelated to scrapbooks, as premium and "aspirational." A white cardboard box for holding cupcakes -- think school bake sales or housewarming presents -- is based on one from Ms. Stewart's favorite bakery in Paris. Sheets of colored paper aren't described as brown, but as "Norwegian chocolate."

In January, the company dispatched Ms. Stewart and a dozen executives to Anaheim, Calif., to give a group of "elite" private craft dealers a sneak preview of the line.

As the invited dealers sipped wine and munched on gourmet Asian appetizers, Ms. Stewart and her team talked up products ranging from stickers of daisies ($4.99 a sheet) to an ergonomically designed paper punch ($9.99). When Ms. Stewart held up one of the blank scrapbooks from the line, the crowd responded with a chorus of oohs and aahs.

The dealers, who had started lining up for Ms. Stewart's demonstration two hours in advance, reacted positively to most of the products. But some references to Ms. Stewart's deluxe lifestyle didn't play as well. When Ms. Stewart described how she converted an entire floor of her "winter house," located on her Bedford, N.Y., compound, into a craft-making studio, several dealers rolled their eyes.

"This is just a little preview, but we are devoted crafters, as I hope you can tell, and this is just the beginning," Ms. Stewart said.