Scrapbooking has become very popular the last several years. For some it is a passing fancy (like myself)...to others it is a die hard occupation.

I started a scrapbook when I was a kid, containing newspaper clippings, ticket stubs and letters from Broadway stars (like Sarah Jessica Parker). I collected many items over the years to fill numerous albums, but haven't made the time to showcase them all.

Two years ago I put together a scrapbook of my wedding. It was a big undertaking but nonetheless a worthwhile endeavor. I know I enjoyed reviewing the album my mother put together of hers 35 years ago.

However involved you become in starting such a project, the end result will be well worth your time and effort. Whether it is a simple photo album with detailed captions or an elaborate spread of snippets and scraps, this work will prove to become a family keepsake.

Recording videos has become very commonplace in our culture. Whether it be an old-fashioned camcorder or a new-fangled digital device, most people have some kind of video-recorder in their possession.

While my husband is the handyman when it comes to handling the camera-work, I just figured out how to get my compact digital camera to record video footage last week...and I've had the thing for over six months.

Thanks to my honey, we now enjoy pulling out the tapes we recorded of our son's first year in baseball and watching the birthday/holiday movies my sister emails us throughout the year. And I still have the video (somewhere) of my 30th birthday bash I threw for myself. Then there's the 8 minute clip of our wedding ceremony...my brother-in-law forgot to turn the camera on until just before we exchanged our vows.

All of these home movies hold great value to me, and my kids love to watch them over and over again (they're 3 and 4 years old). And in time, they'll mean even more as we grow older. Truly a treasure in time.

If you haven't recorded any yourself, I recommend giving it a try...it's easier than you might think. If you do have footage such these, then consider what more you can do to capture your life and the lives of those you love when you include stories from your life on film.

Talk about expanding your audience! Some people create blogs. They are kind of like journals or diaries on the Internet but these are not private. They are viewable by anyone who finds it.

I've got several myself for the various interests in my life. For the person who wants to share their thoughts with the world as they happen, this is one way to do it.

For those who like the idea of a create-your-own memoir book, you can create a Memoirs By: Me Album.

Basically, we supply you the skeleton and you put the meat on the bones. With a suggested list of chapters, we provide a syllabus of objectives and assignments to help you complete each chapter.

There's just something about seeing your work published in a hard-covered book...you then feel like a real author. There are two ways you can go about this: self-publish or submit your work to a publishing house.