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| OCTOBER 27, 2005 | Send features
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Scraps of Life
Some people — including
students — scrapbook to preserve their fondest memories
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| The Shorthorn: Mark Roberts |
| Interior design freshman Lindsey
Hantsche, left, teaches a scrapbooking class
at Recollections in South Arlington. |
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By Kayla
Murillo
The Shorthorn staff
Arriving in kindergarten on the first day.
Leaving high school on the last day.
Walking down the aisle or attending someone else’s wedding.
A night out or a night enjoying the company of loved ones.
At life’s turning points, photos capture the moment.
But rather than putting them in a traditional album, never to be
seen again, some people have found an alternative way to preserve
and share their memories — scrapbooking.
With scrapbooking, photos and other items are presented in a book
on pages designed by the owner.
Some UTA students have been engulfed in the hobby.
Public relations senior Jean Peak has completed three scrapbooks
and is working on a fourth about her and her boyfriend. When she
finishes an album, she stores it on her bookshelves for guests to
view.
One of her favorite pages features her two cats, Starsky and Hutch.
“I have a picture of them cuddled together sleeping,”
Peak said. “In the background is a border with kittens and
it says ‘Starsky and Hutch crashed out.’ ”
Before starting a new page, Peak likes to arrange photos on the
background to see which design she prefers. If she can’t find
the layout she wants, she’ll go online and visit other people’s
scrapbooks to get ideas.
She said buying all the necessary tools to complete a scrapbook
can become costly.
“They can range from about $200 for a small one all the way
up to $500 for a large one,” Peak said.
When she has extra money, Peak goes to a scrapbooking store to buy
things like special markers, stickers and calligraphy pens.
Interior design freshman Lindsey Hantsche works at Recollections,
a south Arlington store that sells scrapbooking products exclusively.
She said sometimes people come to the store and only buy a few items,
but she recently sold $900 of merchandise to one customer.
“There’s a lot of tools that go with [scrapbooking],”
Hantsche said. “There are starting tools and then embellishment
items.”
Hantsche scrapbooks and teaches classes at Recollections throughout
the week. She said her favorite is Canvas Concepts, an intermediate
class, which teaches how to take scrapbooking from books to a canvas
for decoration.
Drex Davis, president of the online scrapbooking magazine Scrapbooking.com,
said that while scrapbooking has been around for more than 20 years,
it has gained popularity recently.
“Over the last eight years or so, scrapbooking turned a corner
and went mainstream,” he said.
After Sept. 11, people reprioritized their lives to emphasize family,
especially the preservation of family memories, he said.
According to Davis, the trend is rapidly spreading throughout the
U.S. and to other countries.
As a result, companies are starting to market to international consumers
by making products in different languages.
Davis said the Web site offers enthusiasts a weekly newsletter and
message boards. Scrapbookers may also upload their personal layouts
and showcase them on the online gallery.
“We have nearly 100,000 page designs from many of the top
artists in the world,” he said. “People can come browse
these designs to get ideas.”
Most scrapbookers range from ages of 18 to 60 years old, Davis said.
Some work alone, while some work with a group of friends who share
the interest.
He said they enjoy scrapbooking’s ability to touch them emotionally.
“It is expressive and allows people to project their values
and individuality on their histories — creating beautiful
heirloom keepsakes,” he said.
CORRECTION
ThIs story should have stated that Drex Davis
is president of Scrapbook.com, an online scrapbooking store.
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History in the Making
Recollections is located at 1108 W. Arbrook Blvd.
Classes are held daily for those who want to learn
new scrapbooking techniques. The class schedule is
posted on the Web
site.
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