Guide Note

Scrapbooking is the art of preserving personal history by creating an album of photographs and other memorabilia. The scrapbook differs from a photo album in that it is artistically embellished and contains items such as ticket stubs, newspaper and magazine clippings, and personal written accounts in addition to photographs.

Fast Facts

1. Mark Twain and Thomas Jefferson kept scrapbooks
2. Scrapbookers are also referred to as "scrappers"
3. The hobby of scrapbooking saw renewed interest during the 1980s
4. One in three U.S. households is home to a scrapbooker
5. Retail sales of scrapbook related items exceeded $2.5 billion in 2004
6. Over 1,600 U.S. companies produce scrapbooking materials
7. Scanners and specialized software allow for digital scrapbooking

Scrapbooking hobbyists decorate the pages of their albums using a variety of techniques such as rubber stamping, calligraphy and watercolors. Scrapbookers may further embellish their albums by attaching buttons, pressed flowers, shells, glitter, stickers and various commercially made two and three dimensional scrapbook decorations to their pages.