And now for the post I know you’ve been waiting for…
Back in December I made the decision to step down as a designer at Sweet Shoppe Designs and retire as a digital scrapbooking template designer. Because of the rushed end-of-the-year holiday timeline, I’m sure it seemed like a bit of an out of the blue decision to a lot of you. But the reality is, this was something I’d been mulling over for a good six months to a year before I actually took the plunge.
As many of you have guessed, yes, my decision to step down as a template designer was related to the little boy we have coming our way in June. But I’d say the baby was much less the reason and much more the catalyst for me to actually take action on a long pushed aside dream.
You see, I never set out to be a template designer or even a digital product designer. In fact, for many years as a scrapbooker I swore I would never be a designer. My passion for scrapbooking has always been telling stories in a creative way and as anyone who’s followed any designer knows, scrapbooking tends to be one of the first things that goes when you become a designer (the irony, right?).
But as I shared more of my layouts as a Sweet Shoppe SugarBabe, along with an occasional freebie template here and there, I started to get more and more requests from digital scrapbookers for templates using my designs. And since I’d always wanted to own my own business and having a mobile, online business as a military wife seemed like a smart idea, I decided to take the plunge.
What a lot of people don’t know, is that prior to launching Nettio Designs in February 2011, I sketched out a plan for another website.
A place where creative tech-lovin memory keepers could go to be inspired, connect, and fully embrace a spirit of creativity and adventure in their lives.
And I called it, KICKASS SCRAPBOOKING.
But for many reasons, the timing didn’t feel right. If I’m being honest, I didn’t feel ready.
So in the meantime I took what I felt was the “safe” route and opened up Nettio Designs selling digital scrapbooking templates, eventually became a designer at Sweet Shoppe Designs and spent the last 3 years learning, growing. All the while knowing in the back of my head that one day this would be the direction I would want to go. One day I would be ready.
And I’m beyond thrilled to say that today is that day.
Now some would probably say that starting a new business venture with a baby on the way isn’t the smartest move. That it would have been safer to stay the course and grow what I had already built with my template business.
But the way I see it, if come June, my life is going to get crazy and my time turned upside down, then I want to make sure the time I do have available is being used for something I am truly passionate about and for me, that extends WAY beyond designing templates on a weekly basis.
What I most want to do is empower digital, hybrid & paper scrapbookers alike to step outside their comfort zone, embrace creative adventure and capture their story in a kickass way.
Which is exactly what KickAss Scrapbooking is all about.
So if you’ve ever felt bored with the stories you tell, felt like all your layouts look the same, or are just ready to take your scrapbooking to a whole new level beyond templates, go check out KickAss Scrapbooking.
Over there you’ll learn much more about my vision for the site as well as details on how you can get your very own copy of the KickAss Scrapbooking + Lifestyle Manifesto which will give you a much clearer (and prettier!) picture on what kickass scrapbooking is all about than I can squeeze into here.
What This Means for Nettio Designs
Now before I go, I know there are some of you who are probably wondering what the launch of KickAss Scrapbooking means for Nettio Designs, so here’s a few answers to what I suspect will be common questions:
1) What does the launch of KickAss Scrapbooking mean for Nettio Designs?
All good things I hope! Moving forward my main scrapbooking-related focus will be at KickAss Scrapbooking, but I will be keeping the Nettio Designs site as a personal playground for my own creative & life adventures. So if you want my best scrapbooking tips & tricks, you’ll now find those at KickAss Scrapbooking, but if you’re curious about my behind-the-scenes adventures, you’ll find those here.
2) Does this mean we won’t see digital scrapbooking templates from you anymore?
Yes and no. I will no longer be offering digital scrapbooking templates on a regular basis or as individual products. But you may occasionally see templates from me as part of a larger product when it makes sense.
3) If I previously subscribed to Nettio Designs News, do I have to sign up again at KickAss Scrapbooking?
Nope! The previous Nettio Designs News email list has been merged with KickAss Scrapbooking which means if you are a Nettio Designs subscriber excited to join me on this kickass adventure, you’re all set.
In fact, you should have received an email from me this morning letting you know about KickAss Scrapbooking. If you didn’t, it means you aren’t currently subscribed to the Nettio Designs list and you’ll need to sign up again over at KickAss Scrapbooking.
Not interested in KickAss Scrapbooking? No worries! Simply click the unsubscribe link in your email and you’ll be removed from the list.
4) Will I still be able to receive Nettio Designs blog posts through email?
No, I will no longer be sending Nettio Designs blog posts out via email. So if you want to keep up with what I have going on here at Nettio Designs in addition to KickAss Scrapbooking, you’ll need to subscribe directly to the Nettio Designs RSS feed using a feed reader. I personally recommend Feedly.
Now, what are you waiting for? Head on over to KickAss Scrapbooking and check it out! I can’t wait to have you join me on this new kickass scrapbooking adventure!
