A break to shape treasured memories

The closet is full of family photographs and since the holidays you’ve collected even more. Don’t just shove them out of sight: Turn over a new leaf and start scrapbooking, says Amy Phillips, a professional scrapbook maker.

According to Creating Keepsakes magazine, the business of scrapbooking has grown 600% over the last five years. Now it’s a billion-dollar industry.

There are scrapbook stores, Web sites, chat rooms and idea books to guide you, but the easiest way to get started is with a “crop.” That’s a group setting where friends come together to work on their albums away from the distractions of housework, ringing phones and kids. “It’s like a quilting bee,” Phillips says. “Mostly women sitting around talking.”

“It’s nice to be with people doing the same hobby,” says Lisa Bieler, an elementary schoolteacher who lives in West Los Angeles and came to Beverly Hills for a crop at Phillips’ house. “I have a small house, and just to set up and tear down is a hassle. But knowing I have this time and space makes it a lot easier.”

The support system helps, especially if you’ve never done a scrapbook before and years of photos stretch out before you.

Don’t get overwhelmed, Phillips says, “even if you’ve got years of pictures and you’re still taking pictures. The best thing to do with your old stuff is get it into any kind of archival book. Make sure your paper is acid free and don’t worry about it. Then ask yourself what you want to start with.”

Pointing out Lolli First, a Beverly Hills homemaker who also turned out for the crop at Phillips’ house, “She’s starting with a trip to Hawaii.”

Says First: “I stack all my pictures in shoeboxes, and when Amy told me about the crop, I thought, ‘What a great thing!’ And anybody can do it. I’ve selected the pictures, and Amy’s helping me lay them out to decide what looks good.”

Phillips, who teaches scrapbooking classes, provides a great big table that croppers can spread out on, extra supplies for sale, lots of advice on layouts and embellishments, and even moral support.

With Phillips’ encouragement, Carol Lipman, a jewelry designer from Hancock Park, was turning a near catastrophe into a book of memories.

“I got married in 1989 and stored the photos in the garage and then we had a rainstorm,” Lipman says. “By the time I got back to check them, they were growing mold. It was really sad.”

You don’t have to be a fabulous artist to become a scrapper, says Phillips. Just choose a theme and get started.

Do you want to do family trips? Individual kids? Your parents’ 50th anniversary? Maybe your child is graduating from high school and you want to make a scrapbook as a graduation present.

Whatever the theme, cull only the best photos.

“Be ruthless,” Phillips says. “You can’t put in every single picture. [Select] the highlights, then put the others away in an organized box with dates and names of who’s in the pictures. Think organization.”

You might not even need the whole picture. Photos can be trimmed to take out dull backgrounds or cropped into diamonds, ovals or other shapes. Get creative and cut into the photos, Phillips says.

“Cut out one and put it on a larger picture. I don’t know what you call it, but It gives more dimension and depth to the photo,” she says.

Decide on a layout and then begin adding embellishments. Phillips uses ribbons, clip art, buttons, charms, pieces of greeting cards -- anything that fits the theme. She also includes plastic pockets for keepsake items such as recital programs.

And don’t forget to journal.

“The information that you write in the book is how others will know who these people are when you’re long gone,” Phillips says. “Even if you run out of room to journal on the page, write it down and put it in a pocket.”

Making notes on why the pictures hold special memories for you is the goal, scrappers say.

“I’m a mature mom, and it’s important to me to capture images of my past to give to my kid,” says Lipman.

Phillips has been scrapping for five years, but a year ago, feeling she was missing too much of what was going on in her daughter’s life, she ended her 20-year career as a publicist and opened a scrapbook business called Photo Fairy.

“I couldn’t see this being popular in the greedy ‘80s, but now people are realizing the importance of family and friends, and it started before 9/11 and all this talk of war,” she says. “There’s something about documenting your life and your travels. You just don’t remember things.”

*

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

A sweetheart scrapbook

Valentine’s Day is a good opportunity to present a best friend or sweetheart with a keepsake book. Here are some tips to get you started.

Get a smaller album, 5 by 8 inches, for example.

Document your time with that person. Did you take trips together, do special activities together at school? Record the feelings you had when the photos were taken.

Valentine’s Day usually means hearts and flowers, but if you don’t go for cutesy, choose embellishments in hip, hot colors with contemporary or retro designs.

Use keepsakes of your relationship as embellishments, such as ticket stubs from concerts you attended together, or greeting cards. If the items aren’t acid free, make sure they aren’t touching the photos.

Get more ideas and tips from scrapbooking magazines, Web sites or classes. Professional scrapbooker Amy Phillips will teach classes Wednesday and Feb. 26 through the Beverly Hills Recreation and Parks Department. (310) 550-4753.