by Hillary Twiford, news editor

Did you know that biology teacher Mrs. Nicole Keller is a member of the Scrapbooking Hall of Fame? As soon as you walk into her classroom, you can tell she is interested in crafts. Her room has brightly colored science decorations, some created by her students and some of her own. Her passion for crafting extends beyond simply decorating her room, however. Mrs. Keller’s scrapbooking creations have been featured in numerous magazines and trade publications. 

The magazine “Creating Keepsakes” held a competition for their cover image. “They send you a picture, and you try to scrapbook it. They choose the ones they like the most to publish,” Mrs. Keller said. Her design was published on the cover of the May 2005 issue.

In the card making book, “The Best of Card Creations,” her card was used on the cover as well. She was even featured in the 2001 Scrapbook Hall of Fame.

She cites her creativity as the reason she got into designing and submitting her work. “Ever since I was little, I had to make something. It was part of my creative nature,” she said. “And in scrapbooking, you use your photos of family. It’s about preserving memories and documenting the situations that have happened.”

Over the years, Mrs. Keller has assembled multiple scrapbooks, but her favorite remains one she made about her grandmother. I sat down with a tape recorder and interviewed my mother’s mom.  “I sat down with a tape recorder and talked to my mother’s mom. I typed up everything she said and made a scrapbook about our family. About a year and half later, she passed away, so I was really glad that I did it.”

Lately, Mrs. Keller has been preoccupied with earning her master’s degree and extra credits, so she hasn’t submitted to a magazine in the past couple of years. However, she notes that today’s increasing technology have streamlined the process of publishing  creations through alternate methods.

“It’s easier to get your work out there because now you can publish yourself with a blog,” Mrs. Keller said. “Because of Pinterest and blogs, there is more of a sharing of ideas between everyone. Someone who wouldn’t usually take the time to send stuff into magazines or other print media can still share their work through those ways.”

For more information on Mrs. Keller’s creations, visit her blog, http://cropadhereembellish.blogspot.com/2008/06/my-scrapbook-resume.html