While so many women today enjoy the art of scrapbooking, many are surprised to discover that it has a history that stretches back some one hundred seventy nine years and has as much to do with trash as with delicate embellishments and carefully written journals. Indeed, what started out as a book about collecting scrap pieces of paper and newspaper clippings has turned into a multi-million dollar industry.

- Published in 1826, "Manuscript Gleanings and Literary Scrap Book" by John Poole was a unique collection of engravings and poems. The book also explained the best means of finding, collecting, and arranging scraps (printed pieces of paper with beautiful ornate designs).

- During this time, even the smallest leftover "scraps" of paper were saved and later used in scrapbooking layouts. Even today, some scrapbooking revolves around stickers intended to look like old "scraps"

- "Scrap mania" quickly caught on in the society and companies began producing scraps, scrapbooks, albums, and supplies used for the display of puzzles, poems, journaling, and pressed flowers.

- In a society where little was wasted, the scrapbooking addict would find plenty of uses for old newspaper clippings, advertisements, and printed poetry.

- Modern scrapbooking, with archival and acid free paper owes much of success to Marielen Christensen. In 1980, she shared scrapbooking albums of her families history with the World Conference of Records in Utah.

- The albums generated so much attention that the Christensen family saw an immediate business opportunity. They opened the first retail stamping store "Keeping Memories Alive"

- Today, thousands of scrapbooking companies supply the eager scrapbooking crowd with stickers, rubber stamps, acid-free paper, albums, and a whole host of embellishments.

Scrapbooking continues to draw much attention and interest since it is focused on the wonderful memories of our lives and the lives of the ones we love. Whether it is the birth of a baby or the graduation of a son, these moments are sure to make scrapbooking a favorite hobby for many years to come!

Kathy Williams enjoys scrapbooking and rubber stamping. She sells her unique line of rubber stamps in her online rubber stamp store Rubber Stamping Fun