The days of shoeboxes full of photos are gone. Instead, the increasingly popular art of scrapbooking has been sweeping through picture collections and revolutionizing the art of preserving memories. While many moms do their scrapbooking at home, Patti Snyder and Diana Daijogo of Brentwood use their store, Art Inspired Studios, to turn scrapbooking into a community activity.

As friends who met through the Brentwood Moms Club, Snyder and Daijogo opened Art Inspired Studios in June of 2010. Both had creative backgrounds as scrapbook enthusiasts, and the two women relish the opportunity to help fellow artists archive their cherished memories.

The store offers regular classes on a variety of topics, including layout, cardmaking, scrapbooking techniques, and basic introductory classes for beginners. Class fees, which include materials, range from $12 to $45. The store also offers mixed media art classes – at which participants can learn to make journals and home décor – plus kids camps during school breaks and summer.

For social scrapbookers, Friday nights serve as “crop nights.” From 5 to 11 p.m., artists of all media are invited to bring in their current projects or scrapbook pages and enjoy each other’s company and inspiration. “It’s crafting in general,” said Snyder. “They bring in their stuff and do whatever they want to work on.” Crop nights encourage artists to get out of the house, glean ideas and make new friends. When no classes or events are being held, the studio workshop room is available for any craftsperson to use.

The store provides a wide range of crafts supplies, including paints, ribbon by the yard, flowers, stamps, pattern paper, canvases, and of course, scrapbooks. Snyder and Daijogo have carved out a special area of the store for the demo bar, at which they teach patrons how to use unfamiliar products and techniques. They enjoy the personal connection this provides, as well as the chance to help people with their projects.

“For a lot of people,” said Snyder, “it’s not a hobby. It’s their memories they want to preserve for future generations.” Snyder believes scrapbooks needn’t feature only big events, but stories, quotes and photos of everyday life. “It’s therapeutic,” she said. “You’re doing something you’re proud of that encompasses the things you love.”

Scrapbooking also needn’t be time-consuming – something put off till there’s enough time to do it all at once. Snyder and Daijogo encourage scrapbookers to do a little bit at a time and savor the art of preserving memories while they’re fresh. “Don’t feel there’s a certain way you have to do it,” said Snyder. “Do what makes you happy.”

Added Daijogo, “And don’t be afraid to start.”

Art Inspired Studios, located at 3860 Balfour Road, Suite F in Brentwood, is open Mondays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Tuesdays through Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; closed Sundays. Call 925-684-7056 or visit www.artinspiredstudios.com.