Scrapbooking is a new hobby that is currently taking America by storm! Some people have even remarked that scrapbooking meets are the quilting bees of the new millennium, where women meet to make pages and swap local news and gossip. What are the benefits of scrapbooking, and why has the hobby become so incredibly popular?

People have been making scrapbooks for more than a hundred years, but the scrapbooking hobby has only recently developed into a multi-million dollar industry. The first scrapbooks were collections of poems, letters, and other memorabilia. Often young ladies of the nineteenth century would create these collections, which were called commonplace books. Young ladies who worked in paper or cloth factories took the scraps off the floor to decorate their commonplace books, and this is how scrapbooking got its name.

The Present

One of the reasons for the recent growth in popularity of scrapbooking is the relatively new understanding about how to correctly preserve photographs without fading. Older scrapbooking materials contained acid and lignin, which over time cause discoloration and fading in photographs. Scrapbook companies are now making paper, glue, stickers, and other materials out of acid- and lignin-free materials, which ensures the photographs last for much longer. Companies began educating women about the need for proper scrapbook paper and supplies, and the word spread.

Scrapbooking is quickly evolving from a simple hobby to an art form. Finished scrapbook pages are called layouts, and scrappers take great pride in creating layouts that are unique and intricate. Sometimes the layout is less about the picture and more about the techniques used to create the page itself.

Many women are quitting their jobs and becoming work-at-home scrapbooking consultants. These ladies host crops in their homes where other people come and use their supplies to create layouts. The consultant will educate her customers to the art of scrapbooking, and everyone makes at least one page during the crop.

Another reason that creating scrapbooks has become so popular is that scrapbooks are a fun way to preserve memories and family heritage for future generations. Children and grandchildren will be more interested in exploring family heritage through a colorful and well-made scrapbook than just through a series of boring photographs in an album. The scrapbook also ensures the photographs will last for future generations, rather than simply being thrown in a shoebox and forgotten.

Scrapbooking is the hobby that is only going to increase in popularity, and be enjoyed by people of all ages and backgrounds. No matter who you are and where you live, you have memories that are worth preserving. Get started creating a scrapbook today!