{image1}Creating a scrapbook once involved pasting newspaper clippings into a very plain-looking album, but about ten years ago, two crafty and savvy women took the hobby to a new level when they started "Creative Memories" in St. Cloud, Minn.
Since then, the hobby has become increasingly more popular around the world, especially in the Midwest where modern scrapbooking evolved.
The new school scrapbook is as much about presentation as it is about preservation. Hobbyists create pages to display photos and other memorabilia using decorative-edge scissors, die- cuts, patterned or scenic backgrounds and stickers for embellishment.
Scrapbooking albums -- which also include "memory albums" and "memorabilia albums" -- now have acid-free pages that are designed to last for generations.
There are many ways to lay out an album page, from the simple to exceptionally intricate layouts. Typically each page features a title and often includes "journaling" which tells the story behind the pictures. Photos are cropped or cut into a variety of shapes.
Although the hobby is primarily popular with mothers who want to create albums of their child's birth and life, Creative Memories Consultant Marisa Klopp says there are many events that warrant a scrapbook.
"People make albums for many different reasons: vacation and travel, heritage, weddings, holidays, military and faithbooking, to name a few," says the Milwaukee native who lives with her husband and son in Glendale.
Klopp, 32, started scrapbooking when she was expecting her first child a couple of years ago. She has since made two scrapbooks for her son, Matthew, as well as an album of her own childhood for her mom. She is working on a wedding album and plans to create a scrapbook for her second child, due in July.
Klopp's vocation entails teaching classes, helping hobbyists organize photos, and holding workshops and "crops," all-day scrapbooking sessions. She also receives a discount on scrapbook supplies.
"Starting out is the most expensive, however, about 70-90 percent of the products you buy to start out are tools and they won't have to be replaced," she says. "Paper, stickers and photo mounting supplies are the things that you will need to continually replace as they get used up, but those things are not expensive."
Wal-Mart and Target both carry scrapbook supplies and Milwaukee has a store called The Scrapbook Store.
"Scrapbooking is a lot of fun to do! Anyone can do it. You don't have to creative at all," she says. "Also, people know that getting their pictures into quality albums ensures that they will last for generations to enjoy."
Klopp is hosting a "Think Spring" Workshop, on Sat., March 20. For more information about the workshop or to order supplies, e-mail her at Mjklopp17@aol.com.
Molly Snyder started writing and publishing her work at the age 10, when her community newspaper printed her poem, "The Unicorn.” Since then, she's expanded beyond the subject of mythical creatures and written in many different mediums but, nearest and dearest to her heart, thousands of articles for OnMilwaukee.
Molly is a regular contributor to FOX6 News and numerous radio stations as well as the co-host of "Dandelions: A Podcast For Women.” She's received five Milwaukee Press Club Awards, served as the Pfister Narrator and is the Wisconsin State Fair’s Celebrity Cream Puff Eating Champion of 2019.
