Lora Mercado has been into scrapbooking for more than 10 years and thinks others enjoy the hobby as much as she does.

"I love scrapbooking," she said. "It's a way of preserving memories for future generations -- to get to know family that is gone."

Once Mercado attended a scrapbooking retreat she was hooked and decided to get into the business herself.

"They are so fun, just a blast," she said. "Once people go to one retreat, they just keep going."

During the retreat, conducted at various hotels, each participant is given a space in a meeting room to spread out scrapbooking materials, with no need to clean up after a hard day of work. The retreats includes five meals, a T-shirt, goody bag and more. The retreats take place in hotels that offer spa services to make the experience more special.

Mercado's first retreat will take place at Indian Oak Resort and Spa in Chesterton,April 11 to 13. Retreats are offered several times a year, details are available on its Web site:

www.scrapaholicretreats.net.

Mercado has used her knowledge of the Web to launch the scrapbooking business, as well as a business that sells "diaper" cakes. She also makes jewelry and teaches rubber stamping, all home-based businesses, so she can stay home with her 4-year-old daughter.

"I'm jugging everything to spend time with my daughter," she said. "I come from a crafty and artsy family. Starting an online business through a Web site is not that difficult, depending on how computer savvy you are."

Since there's not a lot of competition in the area, she hopes the retreat businesess will flourish.

"I'm juggling all my businesses, but the scrapbooking trends keeps growing," Mercado said. "With weekend retreats, you can get more done, have a fun time away with friends and are not interrupted."