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Scrapbooking is bigger than golf; 'addicts' say the hobby enables them to document their family stories Date published: 3/6/2007
By KIM BAER Sure, the papers are pretty, the ribbons fun and the stickers cute. But scrapbooking is about more than putting together attractive pages. With their work, scrapbookers say, they preserve family memories. Like the time when Lisa Ouellet's preschool-aged son got ahold of the scissors and chopped his hair until it stuck out in clumps like a newly hatched chick. Or the day the next-door neighbor's tulips bloomed, so Ouellet snapped pictures of her two boys sniffing them. The Spotsylvania County resident scrapbooks to document these moments. "Otherwise, we'll all forget, unfortunately," she said. MORE POPULAR THAN GOLFModern scrapbooking began in the early 1980s when the first scrapbooking store opened in Utah. But the hobby really exploded about 10 years ago, turning into a $2.5 billion annual industry. In fact, the pastime is now more popular than golf. That's right. Golf. One in four households has a scrapbooker, compared with one in five households with a golfer, according to Creating Keepsakes magazine. As the hobby has grown, it has evolved. It provides a growing market for women entrepreneurs, a way to celebrate faith and a way to raise money for charities. Cheryl Menders is one of the women who have broken into the scrapbooking business. Two years ago, the longtime scrapbooker created the Croppin' Companion--plastic folders for pages in progress. They have a large pocket for storing a scrapbook page and two smaller pockets--one at the top and one at the bottom--for photos, memorabilia and other items. The mother of three runs the business from her Stafford County basement. The folders are available at croppincom panion.com. Menders, who has a master's degree in physical therapy, never expected to become a business owner. But she's glad scrapbooking has provided the opportunity. "It's a God-sized project. It's been his since the beginning," she said. "I couldn't do it on my own." KEEPING THE FAITHScrapbooking also provides a spiritual outlet for a growing number of people. Lori Reed of Spotsylvania County runs a monthly "faithbooking" group at Salem Baptist Church. Reed, a Creative Memories consultant, provides a layout, usually tied to Scripture or a biblical story.
Date published: 3/6/2007
Scrapbooking is fast becoming the top past-time and so it should be.
Visit my blog sometime.
http://scrapbook-supply-news.blogspot.com
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