Continued from page 1
4. Take photographs of your child’s artwork. You can keep
reminder and get rid of bulk. By way, this is a great way to use up those last few pictures on a roll of film.
5. Use polypropylene memorabilia pockets to safely encapsulate and display small items such as ticket stubs, hospital tags or locks of hair.
6. Create a pocket page in your scrapbook album to hold awards, greeting cards, report cards or children’s artwork. To do this you’ll need two pieces of acid-free cardstock sized to fit your album. Cut top off of one piece so that it is three to four inches shorter than other piece (leaving width as is). Place acid-free adhesive on bottom and two sides and adhere shorter piece directly on top of full-size piece of cardstock. This will provide you with a pocket to hold your assorted memorabilia, and you can embellish front of pocket as you choose.
Be sure to use acid-free adhesives when mounting memorabilia directly onto your album pages. You can use self-adhesive photo corners or a corner slot punch for those items that you don’t want to permanently mount.
To safeguard your precious keepsakes, practice these “Don’ts”:
Do not use rubber cement, tape or glue, which may contain acid and harmful chemicals that will destroy your photos and memorabilia.
Do not laminate memorabilia. Laminating with common heat-sealing laminating machines permanently traps dust and contaminants in a closed environment. Laminating machines that use heat subject your memorabilia to high heat and strong pressure that can cause it to age more quickly. And, laminating with a heat-sealing laminating machine means that lamination is irreversible.
Never put newspaper directly into your scrapbook albums. Newspaper is a cheap paper that contains lignin. Have you ever noticed how quickly a newspaper yellows especially if it exposed to sunlight? The yellowing effect is result of lignin. Newspaper also contains acid. Storing photographs and memorabilia with newspaper creates a damaging environment for your keepsakes, as acid will migrate from newspaper.
If you do not want to create a scrapbook album, you can still enjoy your items in future, by ensuring their safety with use of archival-quality storage supplies such as: acid-free file folders, archival boxes or polypropylene enclosures. (Remember: All supplies for storing and displaying photos or memorabilia should be acid-free, lignin-free, and PVC free!)
If you’ve been feeling guilty because you haven’t organized and protected your family’s keepsakes, then take heart. This accomplishment pales in comparison to significance of journey you embark on each day -- creating joyful memories with people you cherish most in your life.
Copyright 2003-2004, by The Sentimental Playground. Article may be reprinted with permission. Please contact info@organizedphotos.com
Christine Sutton and her business partner, Tracey DuBois, have helped countless people organize, protect, and enjoy their precious photographs. They co-founded www.organizedphotos.com, a website dedicated to helping people find the joy in their photos once again. The website offers a fun approach to photo safety, organizing solutions and a FREE Photo Organizing Idea Kit.
