"This book is worn, this book is old, but memories inside, worth their weight in gold."

Inside the sepia-toned prints are pasted to tattered black paper, some held in place with yellowed tape, others wrinkled or frayed. Names and dates are handwritten on the face of the photos, some notations faded beyond recognition.

There are not many pages, only twelve, but they chronicle the first three years of a grandmother’s courtship and marriage, culminating in the final picture - her first home, rundown and weathered, just like the album.

As stated, worth their weight in gold, but the years have not been kind. Without protection, the treasured images are gradually fading away.

It may be too late for old photos glued and taped firmly in place, but certainly it is not too late for all.

Just like the evolution of photography has progressed steadily from the original dageurreotype camera of 1839 to the compact digital cameras of today, so has the photo album seen its share of improvements throughout the years.

But now, scrapbooking has taken the Plain Jane photo album to new and imaginative heights. Supplies are readily available in craft stores and photo shops, but Gloria Miller, who is a Creative Memories consultant in Grand Digue, can bring both the supplies and instruction right into your own home.

But, Gloria warns, once you start, it is hard to stop. "Everyone says it is so addictive!" she says. "You get so involved in what you are doing, that it is difficult to leave it to do something else."

The concept of scrapbooking involves a good, high quality album cover with removable pages. The pages are suitable for handwriting, so your own personal comments, feelings or thoughts to describe the photo or the event can be added using a special ink marker that will not fade with time.

Pictures are affixed with durable two-sided tape, but not necessarily in rows. They can be overlapped, angled, cut into shapes, grouped together…the possibilities are endless. Decorative stickers and colored borders can be added for interest. And the finished product is quite amazing....