Scrapbooking growing by 'leafs' and bounds

Not long ago, scrapbooks were fusty repositories of yellowing newsprint and dried prom corsages. Now, they are more likely to be put together using quality archival materials, sophisticated layouts and polished graphics.

In many new scrapbooks, each page represents not only a life event but also a hefty investment in cutting tools, adhesives, card stock and decorative embellishments.

The Hobby Industry Association, a trade organization for crafts- and hobby-related businesses, reports that scrapbooking is its fastest-growing sector, with sales of supplies quadrupling in the last five years to an estimated $2 billion. And that figure is expected to grow 40 to 80 percent annually over the next five years, said Don Meyer, a spokesman for the association, based in Elmwood Park, N.J.

While the industry had too few players to count in the 1990s, Scrapbook Retailer magazine says that there are now about 3,000 independent scrapbook supply stores in the United States and 1,600 manufacturers of specialty scrapbooking products like albums, acid-free paper, pens, punchers, stickers, stamps, templates, ornamental charms, tags, labels, embossers, paper trimmers and die cuts.

"You could spend an arm and a leg on all the great scrapbooking stuff that's out there," said Karen Huntoon, a magistrate and an enthusiastic scrapbooker in East Longmeadow, Mass. She says she spends $200 a month on scrapbook supplies, primarily designer paper. "It's an obsession with a purpose," she said. "I'm creating something so when I'm gone, my kids will have a piece of me to remember."

Although others may feel the same way, no one really knows what is driving the recent popularity of the hobby. Some people say that it could stem from a strong desire to document family connections after the trauma of Sept. 11, 2001. Part of the popularity may be attributable to the emphasis on genealogy in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which has used new outlets, including the Internet, to generate interest in the field even among those who are not Mormons.

But perhaps the most compelling reason is the strong social network that scrapbooking can provide. Scrapbook Internet chat rooms are extraordinarily active, with warm and supportive messages flying back and forth 24 hours a day. Creative Memories, a direct-sales company based in St. Cloud, Minn., has some 90,000 consultants who serve as hosts for product showings, akin to Tupperware parties, in their homes. Creative Memories reported sales of $400 million last year.