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By Meghan Dinger
In the background, soft rock music plays. "I have to be in the right mood to scrapbook," she says as she arranges her rubber cement, scissors, and craft box on her right side. "I always need music or a movie in the background. It's hard to scrapbook in the silence." Adrienne Haskins, an avid scrapbooker, leans down close to the paper and the photograph she selected, and a brown curl falls down in front of her face. She tilts her head to one side. She studies the paper, slightly shifts the photograph on top, then sits back again, nods in satisfaction, and then proceeds. "I think I have been doing it since high school," she said as she leans over a stack of colored paper, deciding which one to use next. "I do it so I can place my pictures in a creative way and into a format that can be looked at and enjoyed by others, like my family, kids, and grandkids." "It is important to me because I want my kids and grandkids to
be able to see how I lived and what things were important to me,"
Haskins said. "I also do it for myself so I can look back and see
where I've come from and how I've Haskins, a Utah State University student, isn't the only one. The art of scrapbooking has become a growing trend nationwide, and especially in Utah. A trip past the magazine rack of a bookstore reveals that the number of magazines that advertise the perfect diet or share the secret of Jennifer Lopez's new hairstyle, are now equaled and rivaled by magazines that explore this whole new craft world. A world full of die cuts. And buttons. And paper shapers. And rubber cement. A world for scrapbookers. Several magazines can be found in every local bookstore, offering helpful tips and fresh new ideas to the scrapbooking community. Web sites such as www.clubscrap.com, www.memoriesexpo.com, www.timestocherish.com, and www.paperpatch.com have been started for those looking for advice and new materials. Chain stores known as Archiver's are found in three states. It seems scrapbooking is here to stay. To many, the art of scrapbooking is a special way to creatively display pictures, so that memories are captured in a fun and enjoyable way. It is a way to show the future some of the past, for many in Utah. "In Utah, families and genealogy are such a priority here, so scrapbooking has become hugely popular here," Haskins said. Scrapbook albums usually consist of photographs that are carefully cropped, mounted, and displayed on decorated pages. These pages often chronicle such events as weddings, celebrations, friendships, baby births, family reunions, or other memorable times. "Celebrate the important relationships in your life," Editor Melissa Inman of Scrapbooks etc. said in the April 2003 issue. "Whether you choose to document the birth of a baby or the start of a friendship, you're preserving history that can be enjoyed for years to come." New trends often develop in scrapbooking, one of which is the three-dimensional page, where the creator can use materials such as dried flowers, wire, embellishments, charms, or ribbon to create a raised textured look that springs off the flat page. Cherishing memories is a tradition, but new ideas for how those memories can be remembered are frequent. As the scrapbooking world has expanded, several stores have been opened, such as the Scrapbook Company, the Scrapbook Station Inc., and the Scrapbook Junction. Archiver's, another chain store, was once started as a small photo preservation idea, has now been turned into an enormous scrapbook paradise, Jennifer Wilson said in Scrapbooks etc. A journey through the crowded aisles of the Scrapbooking Company of Logan shows just how popular this art has become. Each aisle of the store is packed with shoppers in search of materials, some customers are milling around casually, while some are on a mission as they look for the perfect shade of pink paper to match the pink baby blanket in the picture. For all the trends like rubber stamps, colorful diecuts, photo mounting techniques, and metallic lettering that have come out, Haskins still prefers the simplicity of colored paper and stickers. "My pages are really simple compared to other people's that I have seen," she said as she cut a photograph to frame the faces. "Mine are simple probably partly because I am a poor college student and can't afford the fancy stuff. But, then I kind of like them simple because I am simple myself. I like to see myself reflected on the pages." "I think a scrapbook page is successful when the page reflects the moment and vibrance of the photos," she said. "I think they are successful when they reflect the creator's imagination and personality." Haskins tries to make her pages reflect the mood of that particular memory. A lavender, elegant page with silver lettering displays an evening banquet. A cheerful pink and green plaid page, adorned with daisy stickers is "fun, flowery, and girly, just like that day." As for scrapbooking cost, Haskins said it can become quite expensive after all the required materials are purchased. Paper, glue, scissors, stickers, vellum, diecuts, colored borders. The list could go on an on, depending on the creator's imagination. By the time Haskins' newest book is complete, which will chronicle her summer in Myrtle Beach, S.C., she will have spent about $60 to 70 on the scrapbook. To save money, Haskins prefers to make her own lettering. She cuts a stack of 1-inch squares on white paper. Her plan is to create a calligraphy letter on each one, but after starting the first one, she stops, looks, and crumples it. "Ew! That's ugly!" she says with a laugh. She tosses it somewhere near her turquoise trash can and grabs another. She tries again. This time, a curvy and graceful "G" is created.
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