This article is about the hobby. For the Firefox extension, see Scrapbook (extension).

Scrapbooking is a method for preserving a legacy of written history in the form of photographs, printed media, and memorabillia contained in decorated albums, or scrapbooks. Historically, scrapbooking was a tradition similar to storytelling, but with a visual and tactile, rather than oral, focus.

Scrapbooking as a hobby has taken off in recent years largely due to multi-level marketing enterprises such as Creative Memories. It is now a multi-billion dollar industry with a large number of companies creating scrapbooking products. Across the world, "scrappers" or "scrapbookers" get together and scrapbook at each other's homes, local scrapbook stores, scrapbooking conventions, retreat centers, and even on cruises. Scrappers share tips and ideas as well as enjoying a social outlet. The term "crop" was coined to describe these events, a reference to cropping, or trimming, printed photographs. This hobby has surpassed golf in popularity: one in four households has someone playing golf; one in three has someone involved in scrapbooking.

Modern scrapbooking is done largely on 12"×12" or 8½×11" pages. More recently smaller albums have become very popular. The most common new formats are 6"×6", 7" x 7", or 8"×8".

Various accessories, referred to as "embellishments," are used to decorate scrapbook pages. Embellishments include stickers, die cuts, fancy lettering and trinkets to decorate and personalize each page.

As an industry, it is young, with many new players entering the market to serve various niches. There are several scrapbooking magazines, such as Scrapbooks etc., and even entire shows and infomercials dedicated to selling products related to the hobby.

Originally, it was hard to find scrapbooking supplies, but now most major discount stores and almost all major craft supply stores stock them. Local scrapbook stores (LSSs) are considered the heart and soul of the hobby of scrapbooking by some enthusiasts. LSSs are where one can attend classes and find out where the best "crops" are. Supplies can also be ordered online. Scrapbooking is not only a hobby to create a place for one's keepsakes, but also has become a popular way to make gifts for weddings and other special occasions.

Scrapbooking materials

The most important scrapbooking supply is the album itself, which can be permanently bound, or allow for insertion of pages. There are other formats, such as mini albums and accordion-style fold-out albums. Some of these are adhered to various containers, such as matchbooks, CD cases, or other small holders. Basic materials include background papers, photo corner mounts, scissors, stickers, die cut templates, rub-on letters, rubber stamps, craft punches, art pens, vellum, decorative eyelets and brads, ribbons, tags, glitter, various embellishments such as chalk and ribbon, and mounting glues. Specialized scrapbooking tools include eyelet setters, heat embossing tools and personal die cut machines like QuicKutz. Creativity in materials is encouraged, so many common craft supplies can be and are used for scrapbooking.

One of the key components of modern scrapbooking is the archival quality of the supplies. Designed to preserve photographs and journaling in their original state, materials encouraged by most serious scrapbookers are of a higher quality than those of many typical photo albums commercially available. Scrappers insist on acid-free, lignin-free papers, stamp ink, and embossing powder, and pigment based inks, which are fade resistant, colorfast, and often waterproof. Older "magnetic" albums were not acid-free and thus caused damage to the photos and memorabilia included in them.

In addition to the collection of photographs, tickets, postcards, and other memorabilia, journaling is an essential element in modern scrapbooks. More than just dating photographs, contemporary journaling is often reflective and story-like, or can take on a more reportive tone. Whatever the style of journaling that the scrapbooker chooses to implement, journaling is considered a priority in the completion of a scrapbook layout, second only to the photographs themselves.

Digital scrapbooking

Many scrapbookers no longer cut and paste clippings or photos directly into books because scanners, desktop publishing, page layout programs, and advanced printing options make it relatively easy to create professional-looking layouts in digital form. The internet allows scrapbookers to self-publish their work, even if it is just for a readership of one. Scrapbooks that exist completely in digital image form are referred to as "digital scrapbooks," or "computer scrapbooks."

While some people prefer the physicality of the actual artifacts they paste onto the pages of books, the digital scrapbooking hobby has grown in popularity in recent years. Some of the advantages include a greater diversity of materials, cost savings, the ability to share finished pages more readily on the internet, and the use of image editing software to experiment with manipulating page elements in multiple ways without making permanent adjustments. A traditional scrapbook layout may employ a background paper with a torn edge. While a physical page can only be torn once and never restored, a digital paper can be torn and untorn with ease, allowing the scrapbooker to try out different looks without wasting supplies.

Furthermore, digital scrapbooking is not limited to digital storage and display. Many digital scrappers print their finished layouts to be stored in scrapbook albums. Others have books professionally printed in hard bound books to be saved as keepsakes.

Many digital scrapbook hobbyists employ "kits," or collections of matching backgrounds and other coordinating elements. Those who create the kits are considered by scrapbookers as digital artists. Some of the more elaborate kits are available for purchase, while others can be downloaded for free.

See also

• Preservation Issues

Hobbies | Paper art

Scrapbooking | Plakboek