Getting Started
Scrapbooking is the practice of combining photos, memorabilia and stories in an album, preserving memories for future generations. In recent years scrapbooking has become a $300 million dollar industry as the public has discovered the joys of creating albums for families and friends. Online Scrapbooks is there to help you with all of the your scrapbooking needs.
Basic Materials
- Acid-free paper, card stock, and stickers
- Acid-free pen, markers, and adhesive
- Acid-free emory book album
- Straight and pattern edge scissors
- Photos and photo corners
- Paper punches
- Journalling templates
- Decorative embellishments
Preserving Your Memories
Scrapbook albums have existed since the beginning of photography. However the sad fact is that photographs and most printed material are not permanent and will fade and yellow with age. Scrapbookers of today are aware of these problems and the industry is providing remedies that will allow scrapbook albums that suffer from minimal deterioration. The most important thing is to avoid using materials with high acid content which can cause photos and paper to deteriorate. Another thing to avoid is lignin, a material that is the bonding element in wood fibers. Over time, paper with lignin will become yellow and brittle and thus you should only use lignin-free products.
Your albums should contain page protectors to shield the pages from smudges, oil, and dirt that can be transferred from your hands. You should never use albums that use sticky magnetic pages. The sticky substance will be transferred to the photo and backing paper causing deterioration. Never crop Polaroid® photos (they will curl and fall apart). Mount all memorabilia on acid-free cardstock paper and photocopy all newspaper clippings on acid-free paper.