Please Vote!

We just need 36 more votes and only have a couple of days left, please please vote for us if you haven't already.  It only takes a second and we could possibly win a $250,000 grant.  If you have already voted, please post this on your wall and ask your friends to vote, we would really really appreciate it.  Thanks for all your support!

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https://www.missionsmallbusiness.com

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Thank you!

Christmas in July All Day Crop

Don't miss this year's Christmas in July Crop Saturday, July 28th 9:00am - 6:00pm $35.00 River of Life Church (on the other side of Publix) Come crop all day long at River of Life Church with Scraporium!  We always have so much fun at our crops, especially when we celebrate Christmas in the middle of the summer.  It's a full day of cropping with games, prizes, make 'n takes, vendors, and food including a catered lunch.  If you've never been to one of our crops, come see what everyone's talking about, we always have a blast. Call the shop at 813-269-7946, space is limited and must be prepaid by July 14th.

June Classes

Upcoming Classes Technique Tuesday Card Class - Tuesday, June 19th 11:00am - 1:00pm Cost: $15.00 Instructor: Tish   Disney Explosion Box - Wednesday, June 20th 5:30pm - 8:30pm Cost: $25.00 Instructor: Ginny Rescheduled for an evening class due to popular demand.  Don't miss out on this fun class!   Mixed Media Wallets - Friday, June 22nd 11:00am - 1:00pm Cost: $30.00 Instructor: Olivia   All Night Crop - Friday, June 22nd 5:00pm - 5:00am Cost: $15.00 Come crop all night long at the shop!  Snacks and drinks provided but feel free to bring anything you'd like.  Spaces are limited. Travel Book Workshop - Saturday, June 23rd 10:00am - 5:00pm  Cost:$40.00 See above for more info Kid's Camp - Monday, June 25th - Friday, June 29th 10:00am - 2:00pm Cost: $100 per child It's not too late to sign up for kid's camp, only a couple of spots are left! Simple Joys Beginner Book - Saturday, June 30th 10:30am - 1:00pm  Cost: $20.00 Instructor: Chanele Great for beginners, teens, or anyone wanting to make a simple, cute book. Vintage Circus Mini Book - Saturday, July 7th 10:00am - 2:00pm Cost: $35.00 Instructor: Kim Only a couple of spots left! Midnight Crop & Shop - Friday, July 13th 5:00pm - 12:00am Cost: $10.00 Come crop until midnight at the shop! Vintage Gentlemen Mini Book - Saturday, July 14th 10:00am - 2:00pm Cost: $40.00 Instructor: Kim See more classes on our calendar or call 813-269-7946 to sign up!

Sizzix Dies

New Product Sizzix - New Tim Holtz Dies

Krop for Kids

If you have never been to this amazing event, this is your year!  This is one of our favorite events of the year to be a vendor; it's always so much fun, there is so much to do, and sooooo much to eat!  Don't miss out this year, it is not until September but it does sell out and we wouldn't want you to miss it. Click Here for More Info

Featured Teacher - Bonnie

Do you love Tim Holtz?  Then you will love Bonnie!  She is our Tim Holtz specialist and she makes the most amazing tags and projects using his inks and techniques.  We are always busy on a Saturday when Bonnie demos because she always has something new to teach.  She is always keeping up with his latest product, latest technique, and monthly tags.  If you have never been to a demo with Bonnie, or even if you have, come check it out next time, there is always something to learn and it's just so much fun to see Tim's products in action.

Here are some of her latest creations that can be found in the store for a little inspiration:

Here's what she showed this past weekend at a demo; Tim's new summer Distress Ink colors, bold and brilliant.  We have them in stock now so come get them before they are gone!

Tags using Tim Holtz inks, dies, and more

If you want to learn all her techniques and make a beautiful Travel book, don't miss out on her upcoming class.  It is rare that Bonnie teaches a class since we keep her so busy doing demos so don't miss out on this one!  This is the class that was taught on the cruise and since it was so popular, she is teaching again and everyone has the chance to take it!

Travel Book Workshop

Saturday, June 23rd

10:00am - 5:00pm

Cost: $40.00

Instructor: Bonnie

Spaces are limited so call this week to reserve your spot.  813-269-7946

Help Scraporium Win a $250,000 Grant!

You heard right, we have submitted our application to be in the running for Chase and Living Social's $250,000 Small Business Grant!  The next part is up to you, we need 250 votes in order for our application to reach the panelist of judges and we would love to go above and beyond that number in record time.  Show how much you support your favorite small business and vote for us, tell your friends, post it on Facebook, and vote vote vote!  Can you even imagine the amazing things we could do with that money?!  Think luxury cropping room, expanding the store, adding more parking, and actually having our own water source for the toilets!  So stop reading and go vote!

https://www.missionsmallbusiness.com

Log in with Facebook, serach for Scraporium, and vote.  Then share it on your wall, twitter page, etc!




Here's what we had to say about our lovely store :)


1. Tell us about your business; how successful is it and why is it unique?

Scraporium was the first scrapbook specialty store in the Tampa, FL area and after 13 years of business, while witnessing dozens of other stores open and close, we are now the only scrapbook specialty store left in the Tampa Bay area and still going strong.  Our business started with an owner who loved scrapbooking, an 800 square foot retail space, and two walls of paper and stickers to sell.  Over a decade later, we now own the building of our current location and occupy three quarters of the property, allowing 3,000 square feet of retail and classroom space.  Over the years, we have seen the scrapbooking industry rise and fall with the economy and have taken the time to learn our customer’s needs and adapt to the growing industry and fluctuating economy.

If you come in the store you will understand why people love to shop here, because of our outstanding customer service.  It is difficult for me to even use the word “customer” because  the people who shop at our store are friends, some of them even like family.  It has even been said of us that we are the modern day “Cheers”, “Where everybody knows your name”.  We are more than just a retail store, we are a social club, a classroom, a place for creative inspiration, a school project resource, a Pinterester’s dream, a therapist, a lunch break distraction from a busy day, and a place where you can always find a friend. 

Through the years, we have come to find out that scrapbook events are popular, fun, and our customers just love them!  So we work hard planning everything from all day crops to all night crops (yes, we scrapbook until 6:00am!), Alice in Wonderland weekends, and so much more.  We even took our customers on a scrapbook cruise complete with “celebrity” teachers .  However, our most anticipated and exciting event of the year is our Scrapbook Treasure Hunt in which we network with other scrapbook stores to create a 10 day pirate themed shop hop for over 900 women.  We spend months preparing for this, redecorate our store, and even have the owner’s husband dress up as Captain Jack (he does the best impression I have ever seen!) to take photos with all the women.  We just have so much fun at our shop, we absolutely love what we do and it shows.  

We are the most fun and unique retail store you will ever encounter.  Nowhere else can you have so much fun shopping, looking through hundreds of designer papers, and finding inspiration around every corner.  We are not just a scrapbook store, we appeal to everyone from scrapbookers to artists, to cardmakers, and all crafters in general.  Scrapbooking is about documenting your photos and memories creatively and that is open to so many interpretations.  It is just so exciting to think of how generations and generations will be able to enjoy these creations in the future.

 2. How is your business involved with the community you serve?

We love our community and strive to help out in any way we can.  We provide gift certificates, prize baskets, and our teaching services to dozens of charities including Joshua House Orphanage, local schools, local baseball teams, churches, inner city after school programs, Salvation Army, Kid’s Charity of Tampa Bay, and so many more.  We recently agreed to help out with the craft portion of a Self Esteem Girl’s Camp taking place this summer and we are very excited to teach girls the craft of scrapbooking and allowing them to discover how creative they are.  Every mom who has a fundraiser that requires donations asks us to give because we are a fun and unique prize and we are always willing to help out.

One of the biggest fundraisers we ever participated in was when the owner, Denise, ran for Lutz Guv’na.  This was a fun way to raise money for our community by putting on a mock election.  The winner was decided by the person who raised the most funds.  We put so much time and effort into this, organizing scrapbook events, auctioning off prizes, and even hosting an ice cream social.  We raised thousands of dollars for our community and had a ton of fun doing it.

Attending charity events is one of our favorite ways to spend the weekend.   One of our favorites is Krop for Kids which raises over $10,000 every year in a single day of scrapbooking.  We volunteer our time to host free mini classes, make ‘n takes, and demo products throughout the day as well as sitting on the committee to help in the nine month process of planning the event.  Raising all that money in a single day is impressive but we also really enjoy the Salvation Army weekend retreat each year.  Here we teach classes, give away prizes, and always give a donation to support their incredible ministry.  There are dozens more charity events we attend, donate to, or even advertise to our customers every year because scrapbooking is such a fun way to raise money.

As much as we love to give, our customers like to give even more.  We host a Christmas gift Angel Tree and School Supply drive every year and our customers give and give until all the names off of the tree are gone and the school supply box is overflowing.  The foster children we do this for are always generously taken care of with loads of gifts at Christmas and tons of school supplies.  We also hosted a day where people were encouraged to work on cards at the shop to send to Operation Write Home, a ministry that sends handmade cards to troops.  Ladies were bringing in boxes of handmade cards and we sent hundreds off to troops and had an amazing time doing it.  It’s so fun to see how giving these scrapbookers are with their time, money, and resources.

3. What would the Grant mean to your business plan and how would you utilize the funds to ensure long-term growth and stability?

This grant would undoubtedly be a humungous help in carrying out our creative vision for the store.  We are in a creative business and, expectedly, we are constantly dreaming up innovative ideas to get more people scrapbooking and ways to expand our store.  The most important effort to keep people coming in our shop is to order new product. This is where the majority of our money goes.  If you know anything about the growing scrapbook industry, you know that designers come out with new lines every few months and there is currently so much product out there that we could fill an entire Super Wal-Mart! We cannot fit all of that in our store so we have to choose wisely and get to know the needs of our customers.  With our constant product ordering, our shelves are always filled with designer papers, fancy embellishments, and beautiful albums but amidst all this, we have a leaky roof, an air conditioner that randomly quits working mid-July in Florida, and a well that recently dried up leaving us without toilets for weeks.  So we patch things up and pray that we can continue to “borrow” water from our neighbor, ignoring the $15,000 it will take just to have our own toilets working because we just don’t have the money.  This grant would help us out with so many of the issues that could eventually become detrimental to our business.

Apart from the boring improvements that need to be made, we also need to work on the visual aspect of our building.  We are currently in a small beige building that is very unnoticeable. Weekly I hear someone walk in our store and say that they have driven past it every day for months and never noticed what we were here and they are always surprised at how large and exciting the inside of the store is compared to the outside.  We help create and inspire beautiful and amazing works of art and we have dreams of our building reflecting that.  Grabbing the attention of the heavy amounts of traffic that pass by our store each day and getting people excited to come visit us will only help ensure that we continue to grow and get even more people scrapbooking and preserving their precious memories.

Making improvements to our store and carrying out our creative vision of a luxurious cropping room, expanding the store to the 1,000 square foot space next door to it, bringing in scrapbook “celebrity” teachers, and even just paying some of our volunteers who work for free will really give us that extra push we need.  We have been in business for over 13 years and I feel we have a really good sense of what our customers are looking for along with the ability to work with any economy we are faced with.  We are here to stay and cannot wait to see how far this grant will take us.

 4. What types of challenges can you identify with your business plan and how will you overcome them?

 The biggest challenge I can foresee with our business plan is growing too fast too quickly, this is the reason so many other stores closed down in our area.  Growing pains can be difficult sometimes and we certainly know about that.  We purchased a building, moved, and expanded our store when the economy was great then, unexpectedly, a few years later, things went downhill.  Then we were stuck with debt and the customers stopped coming as often since everyone knows that in a down economy, mom’s hobby will be cut first.  Although we always feel that preserving and documenting memories and photos are important no matter what the budget, their son’s baseball league and daughter’s dance team took precedence.  We managed through the tough time and even learned some smart ways to get people to keep shopping and now we know how to manage things when we see a big change coming.

One issue that will be and currently is a problem as our business grows is parking.  When the road was widened many years ago, half our parking lot went with it and now we are strapped for parking spaces any time we have a class or weekend event.  There are places around our building that can be turned into parking spaces but, again, that item of business is far down on our list.

For a business that everyone said was just a fad and we would close our doors in a year to what we have become now, I think we have faced and conquered many challenges and we have a good sense of what to do and what not to do.  We have learned to work with whatever economy we are faced with and continue to keep up with the trends of the industry and needs of our customers.   It’s taken over 13 years to get to that place and I am sure there will be other challenges we face along the way but we continue to survive despite what’s thrown at us and with the help of a generous grant, we can be even more successful in carrying out our dreams.

  5. Describe the talent on your team and how they make your business successful?

Our team of talent plays such a huge role in the success of our business.  We have so many talented people from those who teach classes, those who design store samples, those who demonstrate our new products, those who orchestrate big events, our blogger, and even those who just like spending their time at our shop giving us ideas.  We have several designers who sit at home and think up amazing projects like oversized three-dimensional tags, 12x12 page layouts, Artist Trading Cards, and so many other things that are probably a foreign language to someone who does not scrapbook.  They leave the projects they make at the store to inspire others to create their own designs.  Then we have teachers who make such fun and unique projects for classes such as a three dimensional strawberry pie made from paper, vintage mini scrapbooks complete with metal trimmings, flower displays made entirely of paper, and so many other fun and interesting techniques.  The teachers always keep up with the latest trends, scouring blogs, taking classes from professional designers, online classes from scrapbook “celebrities”, and anything else they can do to keep things new and exciting.  This draws customers and sells product like nothing else, people just love learning new tips and techniques.

We also keep things current by updating our blog almost daily and sending e-mails to an e-mail list of over 2,000.  We started doing this a few years ago when we decided to put all our efforts into keeping the store open and everyone seemed to have a blog so we jumped on the blog bandwagon and have been enjoying the ride ever since.  Women are so excited when we send e-mails and create new blog posts, they can’t wait to see what’s new in the store or what classes are coming up.  This takes a team of talented people to come up with the creative classes and another team to get them on the internet utilizing a blog, on online calendar, a mass e-mail, and even Facebook.

We also have a team of talented volunteers who help out with not just the creative aspect but also the tedious time consuming projects that take place.  When we have our annual Treasure Hunt, we spend so much time creating over 600 tags, page layouts, and more for all the treasure hunters who walk through our door.  We have a team of about 12 hardcore volunteers who put all of these things together for us at home on their own time.  Like I said, some of customers are like family and willing to help out in any way they can (more than some of my own family would be willing to help) because they love what we do and they couldn’t imagine life if we weren’t there.

Kid's Camp

Kid's Camp is coming up and we are really excited!  June's camp is filling up fast so sign up now if you want a spot, just this week we signed up four kids and they can't wait.  If you can't make June, sign up for the second week in July!

FREE Demo This Saturday!

Don't miss our free demo this weekend with Bonnie! FREE Demo with Bonnie Saturday, June 16th 11:00am - 4:00pm Learn everything you ever wanted to know about distressing, Tim Holtz products, inks, die cutting with the Vagabond, and more. Plus, be the first to see Tim's brand new summer color inks in Salty Ocean, Mowed Lawn, and Picked Raspberry.  They are bright, bold, and beautiful!   And we restocked the Spring colors and much more of his product including NEW Sizzix Dies!  Come check out the new stuff this weekend!

This Week at Scraporium

There is always fun to be had at Scraporium, come in this week to shop, take a class, watch a demo, or just hang out, it's always a good time! This Week's Classes: Punches of Flowers - Wednesday, June 13th 11:00am - 2:00pm Cost: $25.00 Instructor: Ginny Learn the fun technique of using punches to create beautiful, 3-dimensional flowers.  This pretty arrangement will make a fantastic display piece or a fun and unique gift.  Don't miss out on this class! Pysanky Eggs - Thursday, June 14th 12:00pm - 2:00pm Cost: $30.00 Instructor: Cathy Learn this amazing Ukranian egg decorating technique that has been around for generations.  You will use the wax resist method to write your design in hot wax and dye the egg.   Kid's Class - Disney Tag Book - Friday, June 15th 11:00am - 1:00pm Cost: $15.00 Instructor: Chanele The kids are out of school and want to be entertained, bring them to Scraporium to create fun and inspiring scrapbook projects.  The class is open to children ages six and up (parents and adults are welcome too) and they will be making a fun Disney themed tag book to add photos to.  The supplies for the book and tags are included, this will be a fun class for any child.    ATC Scrap Happy Hour - Friday, June 15th 6:00pm - 7:00pm Cost: $10.00 Instructor: Chris We are so excited to finally have an organized ATC swap!  This swap will take place one Friday a month and each month will be a different theme, the swap is open to the first 20 who sign up and pay the registration fee.  For this month, please bring 20 ATCs with the "Father Knows Best" theme, you will swap your ATCs and receive 20 different cards to take home.  You will also receive the supplies and instruction to make two additional ATCs introducing the next month's theme.  Refreshments will be served and this will be a fun time to swap ideas,techniques, socialize, and bring home fun and inspiring ATCs.  Don't know what an "ATC" is?  Come by the shop, we'll show you :) It's not too late to sign up for this month's swap, call the shop now to reserve your spot 813-269-7946 FREE Demo with Bonnie This Saturday! Saturday, June 16th 11:00am - 4:00pm Learn to use Tim Holtz products such as inks, dies, markers and more from Bonnie.  You will learn fun techniques and be inspired to create something beautiful.   Love Tim Holtz as much as we do?  Reserve your NEW Summer Distress Ink set now.  They have been ordered and you can now get on the list to be the first to have them!  Ask about the reinkers too, call 813-269-7946 for more info.

Featured Teacher - Kim M

Have you taken a class from Kim yet?  If not, it's probably because all of her classes are filling up and her students are requesting more!  Kim has a wonderful vintage style and her work is neat, precise, and beautiful.  Just come in the store to see one of her samples on display, she makes the most amazing mini books!  Kim is a fabulous teacher with so many repeat students, her classes are fun, informative, and you will always learn something new.  Look for one of her classes coming up, you won't be disappointed.

Here are photos from her latest Vintage Gentlemen Class:


Check out Kim's Upcoming Classes:

Vintage Circus Mini Book - Saturday, July 7th
10:00am - 2:00pm
Cost: $35.00


Circus is one of Kim's favorite subjects of all time. This circus mini book is measured 5” x 7.” The book was constructed using only paper lunch bags! It is filled with fun folds, pockets and tags. You will be using products from Graphic 45, Tim Holtz, and treasures Kim has acquired over time.

In this class, you will learn how to put together a mini book using the paper bags. In addition, you will learn how to bind the book using a piece of sticky back canvas. You will have so much fun inking, embossing and learning new techniques. The pictures really do not do this book justice. You have to go to the Scraporium store to see it in person.





Vintage Gentlemen Mini Book - Saturday, July 14th
10:00am - 2:00pm
Cost; $40.00

Second class added on a Saturday by popular demand.  Don't miss out on this great class with tons of fun techniques.


The mini book is measured 6”x 6” and filled with fun folds, pockets, tags, and tabs. You will be using products from Graphic 45, Jenni Bowlin, Tim Holtz, and treasures Kim has acquired over time. In this class, you will learn how to fold 12” x 12” papers three different ways. You will have so much fun folding, inking, and learning new techniques.

Save the date for her class in August, Farmhouse Mini Book using October Afternoon's paper line.  

Saturday, August 18th

10:00am - 2:00pm

Photos and details coming soon.

Call the shop at 813-269-7946 for more info or to sign up for one of her classes!

Tweety Jill Grab Bags

Tons of jam packed grab bags from Tweety Jill for $10.00 each!  Come Saturday, June 9th for the sale.  Plus there will be more Sunday, June 10th to buy from Jill herself.  Please bring cash to purchase these items.  See you this weekend at Scraporium!

Tweety Jill Garage Sale

Saturday, June 9th

10:00am - 5:00pm

Sunday, June 10th

1:00pm - 5:00pm

New at Scraporium

Bella Blvd - Baby Boy and Baby Girl Check out this great class using these new papers Baby Onesie Book - Saturday, June 9th 3:00pm - 5:30pm Cost: $35.00 Instructor: Maddie A few spots are still available. Check out all of our other fun classes on our calendar or call the shop at 813-269-7946 for more details or to sign up.

Tweety Jill Garage Sale

Tweety Jill Garage Sale at Scraporium  this Sunday! We will be open on Sunday for this very special sale.  Jill, our favorite vintage collage designer is moving and downsizing so she will be selling lots of her craft items at Scraporium.  Find great deals on her gently used craft and art supplies including tons of grab bags for sale! The store will also be open for shopping so feel free to come shop from Jill and from Scraporium. Tweety Jill Garage Sale Sunday, June 10th 1:00pm - 5:00pm

ATC Scrap Happy Hour, Weekend Classes, and More

It's summer time!  Summers are fun at Scraporium, we have lots of classes, fantastic crops, and great new products.  Be sure to get in on the action, sign up for an upcoming class!  Classes are fun, you learn new techniques, and you take home a project you can be proud of.  There are even kid's classes throughout the summer plus a Kid's Camp with a whole week of fun!  Sign yourself or your kids up for a class, you'll need a break from the beach :)  Check out our new ATC Scrap Happy Hour: We are pleased to announce our newest ATC (Artist Trading Card) gathering to be held the third Friday evening of every month from 6:00pm - 7:00pm (dates subject to change).  Our first meeting is Friday, June 15th and the theme is "Father Knows Best." The Scrap Happy Hour is open to the first 20 people to sign up and pay the $10.00 registration fee.  This fee will be required each month to reserve your spot.  This will be on a first come, first served basis. For your money, you will receive the materials needed to make two simply assembled ATCs announcing the next month's theme.  So bring your scissors and adhesive of choice, the rest will be provided for you.  Refreshments will be served to complete the happy hour feel but no alcohol will be served.  Put on your thinking caps, come up with a fantastic idea and bring your 20 creations on the 15th to trade.  You will leave with 20 cards, all will be with the "Father Knows Best" theme.  ATC Scrap Happy Hour  Friday, June 15th  6:00pm - 7:00pm  Cost: $10.00  Bring 20 ATCs using the theme "Father Knows Best"   Here's what's coming up this week: Technique Tuesday Card Class - Tuesday, June 5th Cost: $15.00  11:00am - 1:00pm  Instructor: Tish  Make 5 beautiful cards and learn amazing new techniques.   Vintage Gentlemen Book - Friday, June 8th Cost: $40.00 10:00am - 2:00pm Instructor: Kim Beautiful Vintage Gentlemen book using Graphic 45's paper line.  This will make a wonderful Father's Day gift!  Kim's classes have been filling up as soon as they are advertised, her classes are organized, informative, and most of all, fun!  Call to reserve your spot before they are all gone! All Night Crop - Friday, June 8th Cost: $15.00 5:00pm - 5:00am Need a fun place to be creative, stay up all night, and enjoy the company of other scrapping friends?  Come to an all night crop, we really do scrapbook all night long and we have lots of fun!  We will have snacks and drinks but you are welcome to bring anything you would like and feel free to crop in your pajamas!  Space is limited so sign up now and we'll see you Friday! Memory Book - Saturday, June 9th Cost: $35.00 Instructor: Kim J Make this amazing Memory Book, perfect for a display piece or fun keepsake with a a special photo. Baby Onesie Book - Saturday, May 9th Cost: $35.00 Instructor: Maddie Join Maddie (a former scrapbook store owner and teacher) and make this adorable baby book!  You will learn new techniques, including making a paper diaper. Who doesn't love a cute baby book, call to sign up and let us know if you want boy or girl.   Take a class or come crop this week, you won't be disappointed!  Call the shop at 813-269-7946 for more info or to reserve your spot. Check our calendar for more details, supply lists, and upcoming classes.