When Dahlia Levine, a 6th grader at Congregation Har Shalom in Potomac, Maryland, returned from a cross-country road trip with her family, she didn't simply shove her pictures into a photo album or a shoebox; she made a scrapbook.

"It's cool," said Dahlia, whose scrapbook of family trips also includes poetry and drawings. "I like looking back. It brings back good memories."

Jewish teens across the country are recording their memories in scrapbooks. The method, say "scrappers," is simple: Collect more than just snapshots from fun events; save the "scraps" as well. Mementos such as ticket stubs, flyers, and brochures will help you tell your story. Some kids get creative and use fancy scissors to add eye-catching borders to stationery and photos. Others like to experiment with different markers and pens.

Like Dahlia, many teens enjoy scrapping because it will help them remember the significant events in their lives. Leah Shefter, a 10th grader at Beth Tfiloh Day School in Baltimore, Maryland, recently finished a scrapbook about her dance team's trip to the Maccabiah Games in Atlanta, Georgia. "I think scrapping is a neat idea," she said. "One day I'll be able to show my scrapbook to my kids. It has all the information about the Maccabiah so they'll see what I was a part of, the people I met, and how we looked in our costumes."

Barrie Adleberg, a 10th grader at Adat Reyim in Springfield, Virginia, enjoys the creative outlet that scrapping provides. "I'm really into the artsy photo stuff," she exclaimed. This summer, when she returned from camp, she "really got into" scrapbooking. "My favorite page captures the day we went to the beach. I have a bunch of photos of my friends playing in the waves. I made cool ocean designs, drew pictures of waves and fish; it's very colorful, filled with blues and greens."

One of the best things about scrapbooks is that they help you share your experiences with others. "Scrapping is a creative way for me to express myself," Barrie confided. "Whenever I finished a page, it was a big deal. My whole family wanted to look at it."

Surprisingly, scrapbooking is a simple activity that can improve shlom bayit (family harmony) says William Berkson of the Jewish Institute for Youth and Family. "As teens mature they expect more freedom, and their parents expect them to assume more responsibilities. This often leads to conflict." When families share memories over scrapbooks they not only feel more connected, they begin to understand each other better. "When I look at Leah's scrapbook," her mom explained, "it reminds me of when I was her age. With those memories fresh in mind, I find I'm more understanding when we have problems in our relationship."

Another good reason to take up scrapbooking is that it's a fun way to record family life cycle events. Dahlia's interest in scrapbooks began when her brother became a bar mitzvah. "My mom had a huge stack of pictures and started putting them in an album," she said. "I liked helping her. She gave me a blank album, so I started making my own scrapbook."

But the best reason to make a scrapbook is just for the plain fun of it. "It's fun and it's relaxing," said Leah. "I work on my scrapbook whenever I have free time."

Six Easy Steps to Scrapping

1. Choose an event such as a birthday party, school field trip, or Purim party. Select   6-10 photos of that event.

2. Pick your favorite photos for page one. Crop the photos. (Cut away some of the background.) Try creating fun shapes when you crop.

3. Move the cropped photos around on the page until you have a layout you like. Trace the photos with a pencil, then put them aside.

4. Add some decorative elements and information (who, what, when, where) to your page. Colorful markers, gel pens, and sticker-letters add to the fun.

5. Erase the traced lines and attach the photos with mounting tape.

6. You did it! Share your first page with family and friends, and start thinking about page two. (You can find helpful supplies at your local craft store.)