The Scrap Art Times vol. 1 no. 1

WHAT IS A SCRAPBOOK?
A scrapbook is an album or book into which clippings, notes, pictures (you name it) can be pasted or glued.
Scrapbooking is a method for preserving history in the form of photographs, printed media, and memorabilia contained in albums, or books. The idea of keeping printed materials of personal interest probably dates to shortly after the invention of the printing press in 1800. This trend is probably similar for photographs. Photography became available to an ever-widening population with the invention of George Eastman’s (Eastman-Kodak) paper photographs in the late 1880s.
A Scrapbooker is a person who preserves in albums or books sometimes to document their personal and family history and sometimes to collect other things such as recipes, quotes, favorite places to go, business cards or ideas. My personal favorite is to clip words, sentences, and pieces of songs from magazines, posters, flyers, newspapers, matchbook covers, napkins, drink doilies (you get the idea) and tape them down in a stenographers notebook. When I am looking for an idea for my title or captions I flip through this book.
Scrapbooking means having access to an almost unlimited variety of albums, pages, papers, fonts, writing implements, tools, embellishments, and technology. Chances are you’ve probably obtained at least some of your supplies from the internet. It seems there is an almost daunting array of tools available these days. There is even an encyclopedia of scrapbook tools and techniques to purchase. Scrapbooking has gone artistic; high tech and highly competitive. But, whatever your reason to scrap and whatever your preference for tools we all have one common goal; to preserve our memories. Keep Scrapping.

A LITTLE GREAT IDEA
Keep the greeting cards that you receive throughout the year. Just toss them in a shoebox and pull them out when you are working on a layout. You might find the perfect cutout for a homemade sticker, a word or phrase for a title or caption, an instant die cut or a paper piercing.
Sometimes I am even inspired by a greeting card to design a paper or layout.
If you are concerned about the greeting cards being safe for your scrapbook use PaperSaver: a spray product that neutralizes acid in paper and adds an alkaline reserve to prevent it from further deterioration with age.

AWESOME PHRASES FOR FATHERS DAY LAYOUTS
My Dad; My Superhero
Father of my heart
Because you loved me
Father-Daughter Harmony
And then a Hero comes along
A Hero lies in you
My Sons Father
Like Father, Like Son
Father To Be
Dedicated to my Dad

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scrapbooking

The First Scrapbook

My first scrapbook is not very pretty. There isn’t much journaling and the photos are not labeled. Each single layout has too many photos because I couldn’t decide what to eliminate and my embellishments consist mostly of geometric shapes of solid colored cardstock. The only tool that I owned at the time was a corner rounder and I rounded EVERY corner. My husband pulled it off the shelf the other day and said, “Gee honey, your scrapbooking has come a long way.”
Creativity is a powerful force that evolves. The more you use it the stronger it gets. You have to have the courage to try new things. You have to be willing to experiment and take chances. You have to trust yourself and believe in your ideas. When I created my first page I was in a room full of veteran scrapbookers and I was afraid my ideas would seem silly. I kept my work very plain and basic (boring and primitive). When I tried again in the privacy of my own home I was more experimental but it took me awhile to unleash my ideas. When I let intuition kick logic in the butt I began to interject my personality into my work. I went with my instinct and became willing to express what I felt and thought on paper. If you are afraid of being wrong or looking silly, your creativity will suffer. Act like a creative person and you will find yourself becoming more and more creative. I don’t think we are born with creativity. I think it developes from our surroundings and what we enjoy. Creativity is an attitude. Be brave and create.
Bobbi Jacobs
April 19, 2010

Scrapbook Preservation: Where to Store Your Scrapbooks

Environment is a principal factor in the preservation of paper and photos. It can either enhance the longevity of these materials or be the instrument of their destruction. You should select a room to store your albums that has a consistently moderate temperature and relative humidity. Do not use attics, basements or garages which are subject to climate extremes, insect and rodent infestation and pollutants. The room should be free of all household cleaners, paints and solvents, all of which emit destructive fumes. The room should provide maximum protection from potential water damage, sunlight, high humidity and excessive temperatures. Do not store albums near radiators, fireplaces, stoves, air conditioning units, pipes, windows, under sky lights or against exterior walls. Use a a Humidity Card Indicator to determine the humidity level which should be 45-50%. In addition, Silica Gel Canisters should be placed near (but not in direct contact with) your albums to absorb excess moisture. Both are sold at www.thescrapartsite.com. So much time, thought, love and dedication go into creating your albums. Now you need to think about preserving them.

Tuttle, Craig A.
An Ounce of Preservation.
Florida: Rainbow Books, 1995.

Scrapbook Preservation: Temperature & Relative Humidity

It may be instead of preserving your memories you are contributing to their deterioration. You need to provide a friendly environment for your family treasures to be stored in. Nearly everyone has a collection of documents and photographs yet few of us know much about their care and preservation. As scrapartisits we should educate ourselves on the basics. Do your scrapbooks a favor by taking a look at the ideas in our “Preserving Your Scrapbooks” blogs and perhaps lengthen the life of some of your family heirlooms.
We all know that ‘temperature’ is the measurement of hotness or coldness in the environment. Another important consideration for the environment in which you store your albums is ‘relative humidity’ which means the percentage of moisture in the air relative to the maximum amount the air can hold at that temperature.
High temperature and relative humidity will cause the fibers in paper and the emulsions in photos to absorb excess moisture from the air which stimulates water based chemical reactions. Paper and photos exposed to these conditions become damaged.
Low temperature and relative humidity stimulate the fibers in paper and the emulsions in photos to release water vapors which cause the paper and photos to deteriorate.
Extreme fluctuations in temperature and relative humidity are detrimental because they cause the fibers in papers and the emulsions in photos to swell and contract. These fluctuations create physical stress on the paper and photos causing deterioration.
Moderate temperatures and relative humidity are beneficial to the preservation of paper and photos as they create conditions that are stable.
The optimum temperature and relative humidity in your storage or display area should be 65-68 degrees fahrenheit and 45-50% humidity. The level of relative humidity can be determined by using a humidity indicator card which is sold on our web site for only $1. These cards contain chemicals which change color to indicate whether your conditions are dry, normal or humid. If your space is too humid you can use a de-humidifier or if too dry a humidifier and re check the levels with another card. Or, if that is not an option consider relocating your albums.
In addition, Silica Gel Canisters should be placed near, but not in direct contact with paper and photos to absorb potential excess moisture produced by high temperatures and relative humidity. Silica Gel Canisters can be purchased on our website for $8.99 each and will last a lifetime with proper care. They are reusable and easy to use.

Tuttle, Craig A.

An Ounce of Preservation.

Florida: Rainbow Books, 1995.

Next weeks blog: Where not to store or display your albums

Don’t Forget To Write

I spend hours creating a scrapbook. With every page I endeavor to make a new piece of art that will offer giggles & glee as we recapture all of those moments that we have shared as a family. One of the kids will pull a scrapbook off of the bookshelf and start flipping through the pages and before you know it everyone in the house has joined in the celebration. I cherish the idea of leaving those books of artistically displayed, fond remembrances for people to enjoy even after I am gone. When I think about how my books might become “legendary” one day I realize the value of journaling. After all, a picture book is worth a thousand words but a book of pictures with a wonderfully detailed, well told story is priceless. Telling a story can offer the reader an opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of the experiences of those faces in the photos. I have a box of very old black and white photos from my Grandma’s attic that I often take out and admire. As I study the faces in the photos I try to imagine what life was like back in the early 1900′s. I look hard for details and features that might prove the identity of one of the people pictured as being one of my own. I can envision the scrap art that I could create with those photos if only I had the story, the dates and the names. I decided that I would not leave my dynasty a collection of scrapbooks that was “partial”. A scrapbook should remind us but it should also entertain.
This week I have worked on a new line of journaling cards. Some will add punch and spice to your pages and others will quietly invite you to journal. Whatever method you prefer just “Don’t Forget To Write!”

Welcome to the scrap artist blog

Scrapbooking is a method of preserving your MEMORIES using photographs and memorabilia. Take it one step further; let loose your creativity and you have ART. I am a scrap artist who wants to share with you my playful & fun, romantic & sweet, adventurous & bold craft paper originally made for my albums now available for yours. At www.thescrapartsite.com we feel that the most important scrapbooking supply is the paper and we make it large (12 x 12) to fit those large albums but also to cut down and use for FONTS, DIE CUTS, PHOTO MATS, SMALLER ALBUMS and whatever your creativity desires. Many of the papers are dimensional so that all you need to add are photos and journaling eliminating the need for multiple sheets of paper. www.thescrapartsite.com

BJacobs