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Make stunning scrapbooks.
Choose your themes with confidence. Plenty case studies included on how to create popular scrapbooking
themes, from wedding planning to family, baby, vacational, heritage to name a few. Learn latest
techniques and trends.
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Yellowed or damaged photos can be restored
using PhotoShop or Paint Shop Pro. Scrapbooking Secrets shows you
how to repair old and damaged photos on page 44, under the topic "Putting Colours Back into
Your Photograph".
Album Damaged Photo Example.
Corrected Photo Example.
Another example of a badly damaged photo.
Time Damaged Photo Example.
Restored Photo Example.
At this stage the photo can be
colourized using the video tutorial on page 44 of
Scrapbooking Secrets.
pH Pen Testing Kit.
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Protect Your Scrapbook Memorabilia
Submitted : July 2005 by Alison McGregor
14 Facts Every Scrapbooker Should Know.
Protecting your photos and historical items are as important as knowing your skin care products.
Handled carefully, your memorabilia can look it's best even after years of display. Below are a few
"Do's And Don't's in preserving your heirlooms for longevity:
Fact 1: Liquids destroy memorabilia, photographs, and negatives. To avoid disasters, store your
scrapbook supplies, albums, photographs, and negatives in a dry, cool place where water and dampness
can't reach them. Do not eat and drink on your work area.
Fact 2: Sunlight will eventually diminish photo, negative, layout, and album quality. Keep all
heirlooms out of direct sunlight.
Fact 3: Extreme temperatures damage photographs, negatives, layouts, page protectors, and albums.
Store all historical items in moderate-temperatures and in locations where humidity is low.
Fact 4: Although not immediately apparent, fingerprints on photographs, negatives, and layouts
become visible over time. Oil from skin is the culprit. To prevent this type of deterioration, handle
photos carefully, touching only the outer edges. Secondly, wash your hands frequently or use Acid Neutralizing
Wipes. Thirdly, follow the example of Miami CSI who wear lightweight cotton gloves insuring their photos remain pristine.
Fact 5: Handle and store your photos, negatives, and layouts carefully. Improper storage increases the
risk of scratches, tears, and bends. Store and seal your photos and negatives in a sturdy container, in
plastic sleeves that fit into a three-ring binder, or in acid-free envelopes that have been labeled and filed.
For more information on photo and negative storage, see Storing your Photos on page 12 of Scrapbooking Secrets.
Layout storage should be doubly protected: first in sheet or page protectors, then in appropriate albums.
Fact 6: Not all plastics are alike. In Fact, some sheet protectors, binders, photo enclosures, and photo
corners will eventually damage your memorabilia more than if you had not used plastic protection or enhancement
at all. The destructive material is polyvinyl chloride (PVC) or more commonly known as "vinyl." Because PVC is
an unstable plastic, it releases a hydrogen-chloride gas that spreads to your memorabilia, corroding your
photos and historical items over time.
To avoid this harmful process, do not buy materials containing PVC or
its cousin polyvinyl acetate (PVA). Instead, look for acrylic or polyester (polyethylene and polypropylene)
materials. They are 18 chemically stable and will ensure encapsulation safety for your memorabilia. If you are
uncertain of a product's composition, you can easily identify PVC by its strong plastic odor.
Fact 7: Paper and cardstock found in your local scrapbook store are not necessarily acid-free unless so stated
on the packaging or company display-signs that reference your particular item. In addition, be forewarned, though
a manuFacturer's white and pastel papers are free of acid that does not guarantee that their dark colors will
also be free. (Paper dies can affect the paper's acidity level.) Your safest approach is to test any paper that
is not specifically marked "acid-free."
How to Detect High Acid Levels in Your Memorabilia.
If you want to ensure that paper and products are acid free then invest in a Light Paper A pH-testing pen. These
pens contain a solution that changes color if the scrapbooking item contains acid. ManuFacturers use different coloured
solutions to grade the severity of acid levels, so be sure to read the label instructions in order to determine the
colour(s) you should be looking for.
Dark Paper PH testing ink will not show up on dark pigmented fibers thus affecting the pen's reliability. To
remedy this problem:
1. Test a piece of white cardstock with your pH-testing pen to make
sure it's acid free.
2. Take a scrap piece of the dark paper you want tested and rub it onto a
small area of the white cardstock using significant pressure. (When you are
through there should be a generous splotch of colour in one small area) Any
acid from the paper or ink will have transferred onto the white cardstock.
3. Test the newly coloured area with your pH-testing pen.
Fact 8: High levels of acid in ink, regular paper, newspaper, and other memorabilia amplify the acid
level already present in your photographs through a process called acid migration. Contact between scrapbooking
items can cause chemical reactions, which affect the longevity and colour of your photos. To deter this reaction
from affecting your photos, keep a buffer of acid-free paper next to or behind your photos. de-aciding sprays
are available at most scrapbooking stores. These sprays can neutralize acid in newspaper clippings and other
historical items.
Photographs are put at risk when a ballpoint pen is used to document the names and dates on their backs.
Because sufficient pressure must be applied when using a ballpoint pen, you may see impression marks on the front side
of your photo. In addition, ballpoint ink transfers. If the photo is placed on top of a photo stack, ink blotting of
other photos may occur. To avoid these problems, use photosafe pencils.
Fact 10: Photos without documented names and dates will one day become a burden or may even be discarded. Don't
Procrastinate. Document your photos as soon as they are developed. If you have unmarked photos from years past take
some time to put them in order with the proper names and dates. If you find you are having difficulty remembering
information, make a simple "year at a glance" history of your family. Include in it the age of each person,
significant events, births, and deaths. Then as you organize your photos, you will have a point of reference
to add to or start from. As you do this you can document history which benefits you now and your family for years to come.
Fact 11: Polaroid photos should never be cropped (trimmed). These contain a necessary protective seal that
allows your photo image to remain vivid over time. When this seal is broken, air enters behind the photograph
nullifying the effects of the chemical process and causing your image eventually to disappear. If you have already
trimmed your Polaroid photos and still have a visible image, colour-copy or scan them immediately.
Fact 12: Professional portraits may not be replaceable. If stored in acid-rich boxes, hung in picture frames
with acidic mats, or exposed to significant sunlight, your portraits could be irreparably damaged. Professional
photographers hold onto portrait negatives for a limited time (rarely more than 3 to 4 years, possibly less.) Copy
shops will colour-copy portraits only if the pictures lack copyright notices or written permission has been given by
the portrait photographer.
In order to safeguard your photograph keepsakes you can add the original portraits to layouts using acid-free materials
(don't crop them), use photo corners to secure them into place, and store them in acid-free page protectors in
photo albums. Alternatively, if you don't want to place them in albums, store them in acid-free, protective containers.
It's also a good idea to scan and save all portraits onto computer discs. For large portraits, you can scan and
stitch them together using a stitching program.
Fact 13: For long-term album storage, never lay albums flat on a surface and stack them. Doing so will damage
the album bindings as well as place harmful pressure on photos and embellishments.
Fact 14: Magnetic photo albums (albums that have sticky-pages covered in clear acetate) have an acidic
adhesive that will severely damage or destroy your photos. If the adhesive imbeds itself into the backing of
photos they can be difficult or impossible to safely remove from the page. If you have any photographs in this
type of photo album, remove them as soon as possible and file for future scrapping.
Tip: If your photographs seem permanently "stuck" on your page, carefully work a tightened strand of
dental floss between the photo and the page or slightly heat your pictures with a blow dryer. If your photos
are still immovable, colour copy or scan the entire page and use the replicas in your scrapbooks. Store the
original album in a safe place where it is dark, cool, and dry.
CONCLUSION.
An ounce of prevention is really worth a pound of cure. Giving your historic photos and memorabilia proper
attention and care today can save you time, money, and energy tomorrow. Remember these fourteen safeguarding
Facts when determining your scrapbooking practices and help your memorabilia last
beyond a lifetime!
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