Hobby growing in popularity among people of all ages

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY CAITLIN SIRSE | DAILY KENT STATER

Credit: DKS Editors

For Diane Dezso, a sales team leader at Archiver’s, scrapbooking became a hobby about 15 years ago when she decided she wanted to document family functions and her son’s cross country and track events.

“Instead of keeping old pictures in boxes, I put them in albums,” Dezso said. “It’s a good use of the pictures – you can easily take them out and look at them.”

Emily Hinchee, senior nutrition and dietetics major and two-year employee of Jo-Ann Fabrics, said she began scrapbooking during her freshman year of high school just as something fun to do to manage the large amount of pictures she had. She added, however, that now she primarily does it to express the experience and mood of events.

“It’s a great way to remember things,” Hinchee said.

Dezso agreed, saying documenting events through scrapbooking helps eliminate the common problem of looking through pictures and not having any idea as to who is in them or what they’re from.

While Dezso sticks to documenting mostly family functions, Hinchee said she documents everything from bigger events to just fun everyday things.

“I scrapbook all the time . well, when I have the time to do it,” she said. “I’ll start something at least, but I don’t always finish things the same day I start them.”

As of now, Hinchee said she has about four different books she’s worked on, and she continues to look at cards, tags and books of scrapbooking pages for inspiration.

“It gives me ideas to start with,” she said. “After looking at them, I can put my own twist and design and colors into it.”

Hinchee said it takes her “forever and a day” to put pages together.

“I plan everything out before ever putting it together,” she said. “I’m a perfectionist, so with the slightest mistake, I find myself starting over.”

And with tons of supplies, including paper, scissors, stencils, stickers, letters and embellishments of all kinds, Hinchee has a lot of room to start over.

“I tend to put a lot of money into it,” she said. “Working at Jo-Ann’s doesn’t help the addiction of buying new things,”

And for those who aren’t looking to spend a lot of money or are just getting into the hobby, there are several options, too.

Hinchee said Jo-Ann’s does offer a scrapbooking class and a social once a month, while Dezso said Archiver’s offers several classes throughout the month – including a few free classes for beginners. These beginner classes include “Albums Made Simple” and “Tool Time Workshop.” Class schedules can be viewed at http://www.archiversonline.com/classes.

Overall, both Hinchee and Dezso said they’ve see the popularity of the hobby growing by observing the production of new machines and even just the number of customers coming in.

“We’ve got kids shopping with their moms all the way up to 80- and 90-year-olds,” Deszo said.

“The nice thing about it is that it’s something families can share together.”

Contact features reporter Denise Wright at [email protected].

Learn the lingo

&bull Acid-Free: Referred to when discussing scrapbook paper (cardstock or patterned paper). Acid-free paper has a pH factor that is typically seven or higher, which helps prevent deterioration and discoloration.

&bull Die: A metal instrument used to cut shapes or images out of a piece of paper, foam, etc.

&bull Die Cut: A piece of paper that is cut using a die. Die cuts come in a variety of shapes and sizes and can be purchased as pre-cut pieces or cut out by hand.

&bull Glue Dots: Double-sided adhesives.

&bull Journaling: The written story (who, what, when, where and why) behind the pictures displayed. Journaling on your pages helps bring the pictures to life and serves as a historical record for future generations.

&bull Mat: A frame that sits behind your picture. Mats help “ground” the picture and also emphasize colors from your photo.

&bull Scraplifting: Copying one or more design elements (title, layout, etc.) from someone’s scrapbook and using it for your own pages.

&bull Scrapper: One who participates in scrapbooking.

&bull Title Page: Like a regular book, you want to give your scrapbook a title page so people know what they’re looking at. Plus, it utilizes the first right-hand page that doesn’t have a match.

&bull Vellum: Translucent paper that comes in a variety of colors and patterns. It is often used for journaling blocks on pages.

Source: www.creative-scrapbook-layouts.com/scraptionary.html

Price Chart

Local stores offer all you can imagine in terms of scrapbooking needs. Jo-Ann Fabrics and Crafts is located on Darrow Road in Hudson, about 15 minutes away from campus. Hobby Lobby is located on Kent Road in Stow, about 5 minutes away from campus.

12 x 12 basic scrapbook

&bull Jo-Ann Fabrics and Crafts: $14.99-$24.99

&bull Hobby Lobby: $9.99-$29.99

Stickers

Letters:

&bull Jo-Ann Fabrics and Crafts: $1.49-$5.99 (most between $1.99 and $3.99)

&bull Hobby Lobby: $1.39-$4.99

Themed:

&bull Jo-Ann Fabrics and Crafts: $1.49-$4.99

&bull Hobby Lobby: $1.39-$4.99 (most under $2.29)

Decorative items

&bull Jo-Ann Fabrics and Crafts: $2.99

&bull Hobby Lobby: $2.29-$5.99 (most under $3.99)

Individual 12 x 12 decorative paper

&bull Jo-Ann Fabrics and Crafts: Starting at $.59

&bull Hobby Lobby: Starting at $.59

Packaged 12 x 12 decorative paper

&bull Jo-Ann Fabrics and Crafts: 48-pack of patterned paper for $19.99

&bull Hobby Lobby: 80-pack of patterned paper for $19.99; 24-pack of patterned paper for $7.99-$12.99; 70-pack of solid paper for $12.99; 25-pack of solid paper for $3.99

Digital photo prints

&bull CVS Pharmacy and Walgreens: $.29 per print; $.19 each for orders of 50 or more

Scrapbooking made simple

Getting started with scrapbooking can be intimidating. There are varieties of tools, several options for cardstock, oh-so-many stamps and, of course, a lot of your own photos to choose from. Where do you even begin?

Here are a collection of tips we’ve gathered from Web sites, scrappers and experts to help you sort it all out:

&bull For beginners, it’s easier to start at the present and work your way back to older events.

Source: Diane Dezso, sales team leader at

Fairlawn Archiver’s

&bull Make things easier by starting with a theme album (i.e. for a pet or last year’s Halloween).

&bull Select one photo for your focal point. Other photos should be considered “accessories” that help you tell the rest of the story. We read from left to right, so the top left-hand corner is a usually a good place to put your focal-point photo.

&bull Add visual interest to your background by cutting a piece of patterned paper into a large, curved shape and attaching it to your cardstock.

&bull To save money and create quick page accents, cut out designs from patterned papers.

&bull Add a white mat around photos to make them pop.

Source: www.everything-about-scrapbooking.com/scrapbooking-tips.html

&bull “All you really need is some paper, a few pictures and an idea. It’s really easy to get started. A class is always fun but not needed if you don’t want to.”

Source: Emily Hinchee, senior nutrition and dietetics major