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Cynthia Artigue (left) teaches client Ashley Fox how to preserve family stories.

After Hurricane Katrina, Cynthia Artigue's family lost 10 homes in St. Bernard Parish, including one that belonged to her husband's elderly Aunt Pearl. Pearl Artigue was a good sport about losing everything, says Cynthia, except old documents and photographs. She was the keeper of her deceased brothers' and sisters' histories. Cynthia recalled her reaction. "She cried and said to me, 'It's like my family never existed.'"

Pearl's is a cautionary tale Cynthia, a veteran scrapbook consultant, tells potential clients. Most people don't take time to keep family photos and documents organized, but doing so can mean walking way from a natural disaster with memories intact.

Scrapbooking became the craft du jour in the '90s. Retail stores sprang up everywhere. But today, they've slipped in popularity as consumers pass on hobbies that appear too labor intensive.

Artique, a consultant from the national company, Creative Memories, believes scrapbooking doesn't have to be too cutesy or precious. "In the end, it doesn't matter how many stickers you put in your scrapbook," she says, "just that you created a legacy for your children." One of her most popular products is a simple photo album with adjacent space for quick journal entries.

Artigue has also used scrapbooking as therapy for chronically ill children at Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center. Cataloguing and chronicling events and thoughts can be therapeutic for anyone under stress, she says, and the process doesn't have to be made complicated.

If you have damaged photos you'd like to restore, visit creativememories.com, click on "our products and service," go to the "advice" link and choose "restoring photos after a natural disaster."