Whenever I tell anyone that I teach online scrapbooking classes, the response is certain to fall into one of two camps:

1. The "that's cool" response: "how fun!" or "I bet you love that" or "it's awesome you can do something you love" or even "how do I sign up?"
2. The "people actually pay for that response: "uhhhhhhh" or "that's really weird" or <insert confused face> or, yes, even "people actually pay for that?"

(Obviously the first response is my favorite.)

I think I sometimes forget that the scrapbooking world really is its own little universe, complete with stars and unique systems.  There are webcasts and videos and chat rooms and message boards and e-books; there is even rumored to be a slam blog for mocking scrapbookers of the celebrity sort (I haven't actually seen it). (Yes, there are also scrapbook celebrities.) Online classes have started becoming more popular and commonplace as magazines (Making Memories, BH&G, and my beloved Simple Scrapbooks) have ceased publication.

I can't imagine that online courses are unique to the scrapbooking world. Whether or not that's true, though, and despite its potential for weirdness, an online scrapbooking class is just really fun. Big Picture Classes, while not the only source for classes, is of course my favorite. You learn stuff about your hobby and you meet other scrapbookers (online, of course...but aren't we past that stigma yet?), you get inspired. Being a wordie, I've chosen to focus all of my classes on journaling and words, but you can take a course on almost anything you can imagine.

Enter the Big Idea Festival.

This is something we've done at Big Picture Classes for a long time—a free course. One summer we focused on a layout and a project made with the same supplies by 12 different teachers, so you could be inspired to use products in a bunch of different ways. One summer we focused on color. Last year we focused on words, which of course I loved, but I think I'm most excited for this year's class.

For 2012, each teacher (seven you can see on the website and seven who are mysteries!) focused on a big idea. Some thought, process, philosophy, experience, idea, or project that is important to her right now. Notice I didn't say anything specific about scrapbooking—these big ideas don't necessarily focus on photos or words or pretty pink embellishments, although some of them do. (Mine has almost nothing to do with my favorite hobby, in fact!)

Which makes this the perfect class for you to sign up for if you're in response group#2 when it comes to online courses. It's the perfect chance to see what they're like because A---it's free! and B---you don't even have to love scrapbooking to love the ideas you'll come away with.

Sign up for it here! If nothing else, it's your chance to see me on video, which I know is an experience you've been dying to have!