SCRAPBOOKING GROWS INTO A $2.55 BILLION A YEAR BUSINESS.

Byline: Eugene Tong Staff Writer

VALENCIA - Sticky paste fastened scraps of merry memories from Pam Darrow's life onto her family albums - a volume rendered with craft and flair, intended to preserve a brief moment for posterity.

``It's to preserve memories for the children,'' said Darrow, 44, of Saugus, part of a trio of friends who spend Fridays together compiling the past into elaborate albums. ``My kids love looking through the scrapbooks, and you know what, if my parents had done something like this for me, I would really like it, too.''

It's a potent brew of nostalgia, home-spun hobby and dollar signs - and local entrepreneurs have taken interest. At Michaels Arts & Craft store in the Valencia Marketplace, Assistant Manager Rhonda Thomas watched scrapbook supplies expand from just one aisle to four over the last three years.

``It's a major, major business for us,'' said Thomas, who estimates some 10 percent of sales is scrapbook-related. ``We have four aisles devoted to it. We have seasonal stickers, special die-cuts, you name it - it's big.''

Scrapbooking is a $2.55 billion business - complete with brand-name product lines and door-to-door marketing consultants - according to a 2004 nationwide study conducted by the trade magazine Craftrends and industry giant Creating Keepsakes.

About one in four U.S. households has a member who practice the hobby - 66 percent are between age 30-50. Spending on related products has increased 6 percent since 2001 - some industry watchers believe such stay-at-home activities serve as a release for many Americans looking for simple comforts post Sept. 11.

``It used to be just your average stickers, decorative paper,'' Thomas said. ``Now we've gotten into embellishments and a lot of 3D-type stuff. Acid-free paper - being acid free is a big issue now. It's a way to preserve the pictures.''

JoAnn Fabric and Craft in Valencia has bolstered its lineup of scrapbook ingredients - about 15 percent of the store's business, manager Jennifer Berresford said.

And sales have increased by more than 30 percent at Remember When Scrapbooking since the supply store opened two years ago. The store is equipped with a laser scanner and cutter, and its weekly ``cropping'' nights draws some two dozen bearing trims, paper and photos.

``The room holds 30, but I didn't realize all these women bring in suitcases and suitcases each,'' owner Patricia Teichert said. ``I have to take out tables to accommodate all the stuff they bring.

``If you talk to any scrapbooker in the world, they'll tell you they're addicts. It's about getting a life on record before they're forgotten.''

But for ``scrappers'' such as Lindy Amico, who spends between $200 and $500 a year on supplies, it's more than just dollars and cents.

``It's a way of preserving memories of my son - I only have one,'' said Amico, 52, of Saugus, who took up the hobby nearly five years. ``He really likes looking at it. When he comes home from school, he likes to see what I've done.''

Memories mundane and grand all have a place in Amico's album - a bid for permanence in the minds of a loved one.

``I did do something when he got his first haircut,'' she said. ``It's something that I can give him if I am no longer around - it's something he can always have, to look back.''

Darrow prefers to document events chronologically - she has 10 albums for the 10 years she has been scrapbooking.

``It's interesting to see just how my creativity has evolved. In the beginning, it was just put the paper on the page and a few stickers and you're done. Now it's just like artwork. Each page is like creating a different piece of art.''

For Rebecca Berens, the hobby appeals to her ``artistic side.'' She spends about $500 on materials.

``I was actually an art major in college,'' said Berens, 39, of Saugus, who meets with Amico and Darrow most Fridays to work on their albums. ``Yes, I could slap them in a photo album, but this is a lot more fun.

``It's also social. We sometimes come and talk for an hour before we even get started.''

Eugene Tong, [phone]

eugene.tong(at)dailynews.com