Friday's Favorite: Artful Memories

This Etsy shop is all about colorful fun, and getting your photos organized. I like that! I'm pleased to feature Lara Medina of the Etsy shop "Artful Memories" as my Friday's Favorite. Here is her interview:

Are your family's photos in shoeboxes and old sticky albums? Get them out! Let me help! My name is Lara and my shop is Artful Memories. I create fun, funky scrapbooks, scrapbooking kits, journals, wall art, and other goodies that showcase your treasured memories and tell your story.


Scrapbooking, for me, is therapeutic and my creative outlet. A few years back, I was sick, and didn't know what was wrong with me. To this day, we still don't know what was wrong. I needed something to get my mind off of how awful I felt, so I headed off to my local craft store and picked up some card making supplies. The kids and I made a few cards together; it was okay. My husband is a photographer, so we have tons of pictures of the kids lying around. I thought, let me try this "scrapbooking" I hear so much about. I was hooked! The rest is history, our history!

I would love to do some more custom work. I have done pages for people, where they just send me a photograph and some info about the picture, and I create a layout for them. I want to do complete albums like baby's first year or a family's "year in review."

There are so many resources on the internet for paper crafting. I get a lot of inspiration from many different places. A great one is Scrapbook. My blog is a great source of inspiration, too!


If you are just getting started in scrapbooking, just remember, there is no wrong way. If you are new to Etsy or have recently opened your shop, congratulations! Etsy is an amazingly awesome community. Everyone is so friendly and always eager to help. Get involved in the forums, ask questions, check out shops that are similar to yours. Keep your shop current by adding new items regularly, and renewing items when you can't list new ones. Last but not least, hang in there! The sales will come. For some it happens the first day they open and for some, it takes a while longer. I waited 1 1/2 months for my first sale, and my first customer bought 3 kits from me. I was so excited! So just hang in there!

There are so many wonderful shops on Etsy! I have barely scratched the surface! I find new shops to heart every time I log on! I recently purchased a sling bag from L&B Accessories. Everything about the experience was terrific and I love my new bag!

Thanks, Lara, for that wonderful interview. Please visit her shop and leave a comment to let us know you dropped by!