Mention scrapbooking to most baby boomers and Gen-Xers, and what comes to mind is Grandma’s old scrapbook, with its black pages, yellowing photos in corner mounts, and musty smells.

But over the past 20 years, scrapbooking has undergone a face-lift. With vibrant papers, flashy tools and oh so many accessories, what was Grandma’s memory book has become a multibillion-dollar industry, which was spun off from archival genealogical work by the Mormons.

Today, scrapbooking supplies are available at most department and craft stores, as well as shops in many towns dedicated exclusively to scrapping, as it’s known among its aficionados. Bookstore shelves are full of magazines and books dedicated to the hobby. Cable channels have scrapbooking shows, and the home shopping channels are selling its supplies. Material is also sold at home parties, much like Tupperware, so scrapping becomes a social activity as well, getting together with friends to put together pages.

Vendors are putting out catalogs of all-new supplies several times a year. Specialty stores offer classes, crops (scrapbooking sessions) or special events, such as the all-day Super Bowl crop for football “widows” held Feb. 1 at The Crop ‘Til You Drop Shop in Trenton.

“Everyone’s looking for new ways to present universal themes,” said Dolora Conley, co-owner of the Trenton store with her sister-in-law, Kim Pettegrow.

The hobby got its start in Utah, spread first to California and the Southwest, then traveled east. It came late to Maine, but it’s definitely arrived.

Nancy Adams, owner of The Craft Barn in Ellsworth, began stocking scrapping supplies about six years ago.

“I almost gave up on it, but two years ago, it began to take off,” Adams said. “Maine is behind in certain things, and scrapbooking is one of them.”

Possibly as an aftermath of 9-11, family and home have taken on a renewed importance in America. Scrapbooking is a beneficiary of this trend, as many mothers and grandmothers are capturing both current family life, and their heritage, on scrapbook pages. An impetus has been acid- and lignin-free supplies that should last for decades.

Just ask Ann Woodruff. When she took over as manager at Scrapbooking Corner in Rockland last June, she had never tried scrapbooking. But she has taught herself how to scrap, working 10 to 20 hours a week at the hobby.

Her impetus was that she inherited five generations of family photos, which she wants to put in some context for her children.

“I’d like my grown children to have a sense of their own family,” Woodruff said.

The big difference between yesterday’s scrapbooks and today’s is the inclusion, on most pages, of a journaling section – a narrative of what’s happening on the page.

“You tell a story in a few or a lot of words,” Woodruff said.

In addition to the colorful 12-by-12 or 8-by-10 pages, both plain and patterned, there’s a multitude of choices for a novice entering a scrapbook store. There are punches, journaling pens, punches, rubber stamps, inkpads, chalks, eyelets, brads, letters, cutting templates, stickers, tags, embossing tools, die-cuts, 3-D adornments and storage systems.

“There’s so many products, and that’s what makes it so fun to do,” said Julie Kelly, owner of The Cinnamon Stick in Milbridge, who has been scrapbooking for seven years. “There’s always something new and exciting. You make memories for your family, as simple or as elaborate as you want. It’s a really nice way to record your heritage.”

Technology, in the form of computers, printers and scanners, also has been a boon to scrapbookers.

“You’re able to do things that you couldn’t a few years ago,” Woodruff said.

Nancy Saunders almost can measure the growth of scrapping by the size of her house. Her daughter, Jennifer Davenport, got her hooked three years ago. Saunders began selling supplies out of a back closet of her Bucksport home. She ended up building an addition to house her store. Now she’s looking for a new house on Route 1A in Holden, so she can have a bigger shop.

Why does she feel that the hobby has taken off so?

“It’s a good way of displaying your pictures,” Saunders said. “It’s almost like a diary. It’s something anyone can do. I’ve seen 5-year-old kids that put beautiful pages together.”

Davenport, who Saunders jokingly said, “got me involved with this mess,” has been scrapbooking for three years, and began after attending a Creative Memories home party.

“I do it mostly to preserve the memories of my [two] children, so they can look back later and get more detail,” she said.

Davenport runs a day care center in her Bucksport home, and keeps scrapbooks for the six other children who attend there, because “I’m around these kids as much as their parents are.”

Scrapping serves as a creative outlet for Davenport, who works on it four to five hours a week at her kitchen table. She comes up with most of her ideas on her own.

She said she’s “very controlled” when buying supplies.

“I buy what I need, and when I run out, I go buy more,” she said. “You can have too much, if you don’t know how to use it.”

Davenport can measure her growth at her hobby.

“It changes so dramatically,” she said. “I’d like to go back and change those beginning pages, because those are so plain,” she said. “But it shows my progress, so I leave them alone.”

Aimee Sanfilippo of Thomaston began scrapping four years ago, at her mother’s suggestion, as a way to display the many photos that she had been taking of her family’s activities. She continues for her two children.

“There’s the reason I scrap, to preserve their memories, their childhood,” she said.

Sanfilippo “aspires” to scrap at home, but that hardly happens. Instead, she goes to a friend’s mother’s house, where a group gets together for that purpose on Friday nights.

“I don’t think a lot of people scrapbook alone,” she said. “They get together to scrap. That’s what’s missing in other hobbies or crafts. There’s no me time, no time without children or husbands.”

She does have a dedicated room for scrapping, a study off her bedroom, but it’s become a storage area for her extra supplies.

“I do get projects together in that room,” she said. “I’ll develop 20 different layouts and parts, then put them in little folders to take with me.”

When it comes to idea generation, Sanfilippo admits, “I do my fair share of scrap-lifting. I’ll take ideas from magazines and books and give them my own flair.”

Gail Nelson of Winter Harbor has been scrapbooking for seven years, and has seen the hobby grow from when supplies only could be bought at Creative Memories home parties to finding them everywhere. She has her own theory why it’s enjoyed this surge in popularity.

“It’s a worthwhile hobby,” she said. “It preserves your history, and it’s something you can leave for your kids. It’s time and money well spent.”

Nelson, who spends four to five hours a week scrapping, does so alone part of the time, in a dedicated room in her house. She also gets together with a group that meets at The Cinnamon Stick.

“It’s like a quilting group, except you scrapbook,” she explained. “Quilts fade, pictures don’t.”

She likes to work with themes, such as her family’s trip to Disney World or birthdays. She’s planning a page on the launch of her husband’s new boat.

Nelson likes to keep things simple.

“There’s so much out there, it’s unbelievable,” she said. “You can put a lot into it if you want, or you can be basic. I like to get more pages done.”

Those scrappers interviewed had different sources for supplies. Davenport has ready access through her mother’s shop. Nelson frequents home parties and The Cinnamon Stick. Sanfilippo said she joins with friends to “make pilgrimages” to scrapbooking stores, and she also has bought online, through mail order, and even ordered from QVC.

“Scrapbookers are like the model-train guys,” Adams said. “They’ll go everywhere looking for supplies.”

All those interviewed agreed on one thing: There’s no one right way to put together a scrapbook page.

“It’s a craft anyone can tackle,” Conley said. “Even those who don’t think they’re creative can tackle scrapbooking. Everyone’s style is a little different.”

Among the stores carrying scrapbooking supplies are Scrapbooking Corner, 78 Maverick St., Rockland, 594-2790; The Crop ‘Til You Drop Shop, 993 Bar Harbor Road, Trenton, 667-5959; The Craft Barn, Mill Mall, Ellsworth, 667-7257; The Cinnamon Stick, Main Street, Milbridge, 546-4410; and Nancy’s Scrapbooking, 435 Central St., Bucksport, 469-2832. For other shops, check the Yellow Pages under Craft Supplies. Retailers also are listed at the back of scrapbooking magazines.

Scrapbooking scraps

What you need to get started: Personal memorabilia (photos, tickets, etc.), album, pages, paper trimmer, scissors, adhesive, corner punch, alphabet stickers.

Tips to consider:

. Don’t be afraid to crop photos. “It’s OK to cut out the excess, and focus on what matters,” said Dolora Conley, co-owner, The Crop ‘Til You Drop Shop, Trenton.

. Don’t overdo. “Keep it simple,” said Nancy Saunders, owner, Nancy’s Scrapbooking, Bucksport. “Don’t make it too complicated. Focus on what you want that page to look like.”

. Take a class for beginners. “That way, you can find out what’s safe for your albums and photos,” said Jennifer Davenport of Bucksport.

. Don’t redo. “We’re always striving for perfection,” said Aimee Sanfilippo of Thomaston. “I would never get caught up if I went back and redid things.”

. Start with current pictures and work backwards. “That way, you can see a finished product quickly, and it’s inspiring,” said Gail Nelson of Winter Harbor.