by Dawn Clear

Created on: June 17, 2009

Why is scrapbooking becoming so popular? Well, imagine this. You invite a friend over to your home that you have not seen since high school to do some catching up on the past. Your friend wants to see pictures of your wedding, your family and you plop down a cardboard box full of pictures, right in the middle of the table. If you are paying close attention to your friend, she is probably trying to find the nearest exit and wondering why she decided to accept your invitation.

How many of us store our cherished photos in this same manner? Due to technology, we have hundreds or even thousands of pictures saved on digital cameras, CD's, flash drives or personal media drives, just waiting to be printed off.

We took those pictures in the first place because they had value to us. You do not want to keep your memories locked away. You want to get them out to remind you why you snapped those photos in the first place.

I have six daughters and when I got into scrapbooking it was a way to share this hobby with them. It gave me not only a way to get rid of the clutter of all my cardboard boxes of pictures and organize them but it also was a way for me to share memories along the way with my children. We all get to spend time together laughing, talking and reminiscing about snapshots. Remember when this one was taken? My husband says he can always tell when we are scrapbooking because the room is full of chatter.

Another plus to scrapbooking is the creativity that goes into the hobby. Each one of my girl's books is unique. They can let their imagination and individuality roll. You can tell what kind of mood they are in from the page they design that day or the memory they were feeling from the photo page they are working on. It is therapeutic as well as fun.

My husband lets out a sigh that could feel a stadium when all of us girls squeal with delight when we receive the ad from the craft store that our scrapbook supplies are 50% off. This means we can stock up on everything from, paper to stickers. In addition, when you are scrapbooking, it keeps your photos from turning yellow and falling apart because the supplies are acid free. This is very important in preserving your precious memories for many years.

My oldest son is in the Navy. My daughters and I had worked together to create a scrapbook for him. In his book, we organized it from baby pictures to birthdays, all our family vacations to family reunions. Important school functions to his high school graduation and was finished off with his Naval graduation. We gave it to him when he was home on leave. He really enjoyed being able to take memories of home back with him to his new home. Words can not express how I felt when he told me he shared his album with his buddies back at the base.

The next time you want to spend a day catching up with an old friend, invite her over for some laughter, some enjoyment and some scrapbooking. Tell her not to be embarrassed about the cardboard box of photographs because everyone has one. Just change it into an album that you can be proud to cherish for generations to come.

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