Scrapbooking — preserving family history using photos, memorabilia and archive-safe products — is crafting's hottest trend.

Although it's primarily a pastime of wives and moms, it can involve the whole family, as it has for authors of two new books: "Island Memories, Hawaiian-Style Scrapbooking and Idea Book," by Bella Finau-Faumuina and Delia Parker-Ulima (Mutual, spiral-bound, $16.95), and "Hawaiian Scrapbooking: Vol 1: Floral Designs" by Rosie Ramiro and Kawohi Tuasivi (Bess Press, spiral-bound, $14.95).

Even if Mom is building the page, others can select the photos or other souvenir pieces, choose colors and patterns of paper, or write captions and journal entries, Bella Finau-Faumuina explained.

As scrapbooking became big business and "scrappers" became more creative, the pursuit has gone far beyond its original form — gluing photos to colorful paper. Now there are hundreds of papers from vellum to card stock, thousands of die-cut shapes, embossing powder, eyelets and adhesives of every kind, Parker-Ulima said.

The authors saw an opportunity in a problem confronting Island scrapbookers: Very few materials fit Island themes. Finau-Faumuina and Parker-Ulima founded the first scrapbooking manufacturing company, Creative Native Crafts (46-174-F Kahuhipa St., Kane'ohe; www.creativenativecrafts.com), to produce papers emblazoned with Hawaiian flowers, palaka and such, and die-cuts on Hawaiian themes. Ramiro and Tuasivi developed patterns for hand-cutting Island flowers and other forms.

On this page: One of Creative Native's most popular designs, a honu (Hawaiian green sea turtle) with a window that lends itself to making a "shaker box" to be filled with sand, beads, small shells, glitter or other eye-catching stuff.

Reach Wanda A. Adams at wadams@honoluluadvertiser.com.