Sometimes, individuals want to earn a little extra money, but don't want the pressures of a job they don't enjoy. Using hobbies and interests to turn them into a successful sideline can be a smart way to find a job that's fun and profitable. So, what about your own interests - you say that you enjoy scrapbooking? Why not try to turn it into a full-time career? With a little creativity, you too can turn your hobby into a profitable job where you are your own boss!

One of the most common ways to build a career around scrapbooking is to become a consultant for one of the many scrapbooking companies. Scrapbooking consultants work to sell the products of a particular company, most often done through catalogues and in home parties. The trick to becoming a successful scrapbooking consultant is to have a network of people that you can draw from who would be willing to host parties and land you some new contacts throughout the community. Once you have a customer base, scrapbooking consulting can become a highly lucrative career.

If consulting is the route you would like to pursue, there are a few things you should know when choosing a company to work with. First, avoid any company that has hundreds of consultants in your particular area. If you find you are working with a company with plenty of consultants in your city, you will have to work twice as hard to secure unique customers in a saturated area. Second, find a company that has unique products. You do not want to be competing with the local discount retail stores such as Wal-Mart. You will not be able to sell at competitive prices and still make a profit. Having something unique takes care of the competition problem.

Another option for creating a fun scrapbooking career is to become a scrapbooking instructor. You can avoid having to sell a particular company's products and instead focus on teaching all aspects of the art. If you are an excellent scrapper and have ideas for unique pages, talk to your local scrapbooking and hobby stores to find out if they have any need for instructors. You can also host lessons in your own home and charge a per hour price for your instruction.

For the ultimate in scrapbooking entrepreneurship, consider opening a scrapbooking store. You can sell products from all manufacturers and host lessons and classes right from your home. The most profitable scrapbooking stores will invest in a die-cut machine and offer their customers free use if they purchase their paper in the store. Customers who bring their own paper can use the machine for a small fee. Many times, customers will be willing to pay a little more for paper that they know gives them access to a die cutter.

If you are particularly good at creating layouts and embellishments, consider becoming a designer. Contact scrapbooking companies and find out if they have need for any designers to create page layouts or embellishments for their company. You can also create customized pages and sell them on Ebay. These pages will have space for journaling and pictures, but everything else is done. Busy working moms often will pay top dollar for well-made pages!

These are some of the best ways to take your scrapbooking passion and turn it into a lucrative source of income. As with all things scrapbooking, your imagination is the key! Stop and think about what you wish you had access to in the world of scrapbooking and consider if you could provide that service to

others! Who knows, you just might come up with the next great scrapbooking trend!