Everything’s a keepsake

Have a lot of old family photos you don’t know what to do with? Or maybe you just want to give that special someone a gift that’s made from the heart. The Magic Moments & Keepsakes scrapbook store in the Almond Orchard Shopping Center offers everything from scrap book classes to gift ideas. Michele Lehane has owned Magic Moments & Keepsakes for five years and enlightens us on the world of scrapbooking.

How many scrapbooks have you made in your lifetime?

Oh my gosh. I’ve been scrapbooking for 12 years. Probably, maybe, 20.

That’s a lot of scrapbooks! Any particular one your favorite?

I have pages that are my favorite, but not any books.

Do you think there should be scrapbooking at the competitive level?

There is. A lot of magazines have contests that you can go in. Every year, Creating Keepsakes has a contest that picks the 12 top scrapbookers of the world. Other paper companies have their own contests and pick according to their product.

Ever competed in one of these contests?

Oh, yeah. I’ve done the “Hall of Fame” [contest], but not since I’ve opened my store. I’ve competed in the “Chatter Box” contest. I haven’t won, but I have been published in magazines.

What’s the most unusual scrapbook you’ve ever seen?

People scrapbook everything now: CDs 10, Altoids 10 [meaning a scrapbooked object includes 10 individually framed pictures]. The business is paper-crafting.

What else can you do here besides make a scrapbook?

A lot. You could do card making. You could make wedding invitations, birthday invitations. You can make gifts, home décor, calendars, shower invitations, party favors—all that stuff.