Some Basic Terms And Process To Know When Beginning

Terms are important to communication. This is also true when bringing things together in a collection. Even though some terms apply specifically to making a scrapbook the concepts are universal. So the sale clerks will know what you are talking about, having at least an overview of a few terms helps when you go to craft stores to get supplies. Knowing some basic terms will also help you not feel so lost when the clerk starts speaking in what seems like a foreign dialect. Let’s start with acid. Because acid-free products are crucial to preserving your important pieces, it is important to ask for materials that do not have acid-based content. To be more specific, to produce a safe keep scrapbook the Ph level should be around seven or higher. Look for PVC-Free materials. The supplies should not have any polyvinyl chlorides. Instead polyester, polyethylene, or polypropylene is desired. Another important term to know is lignin. Lignin is acid based so look for lignin-free materials to prevent your newspapers, or clippings from yellowing. Speaking of acid you will also want to take steps to keep some everyday sources of acid out of your collection. It may seem trivial but everyone has acid on their hands so an action as simple as washing your hands before touching the scrapbook is of great benefit.Since many scrapbooks are made up to save memories for a long time, archival is a common term. Archival is the process of preserving your items. It protects your bits and pieces from fading, yellowing, or deteriorating. Also recommended for archiving is the use of buffer paper. Buffer paper will protect your papers and photos from the damage of acids defusing, and migrating. Look for buffer paper with the label “Photo Activity Test,” approved by the American National Standards Institute. Sometimes initials P.A.T. which is approved by ANSI are used to mean the same thing. Another set of initials to keep an eye out for is CK OK. Materials displaying the CK OK ‘Seal of Approval’ leads you to products produced to provide safe keep in scrap booking. Stay away from materials that do not have this seal. Scrapbooking in particular uses terms like cropping, workshop, page exchange, product swap, layout, mounting, double mount, heading, embellishment, title page, page, and preserving memorabilia. Even though they are used heavily in connection with scrapbook making, these ideas can be applied in various extents to any collecting.Cropping is the act of trimming photos to fit your book. This can be done simply with scissors or more elaborately with PhotoShop. More importantly cropping also includes gathering ideas, collecting items, and putting the parts in an order that tells a story. Affixing your photos on a single sheet of paper is the process of mounting. The process of sticking two pieces of paper together with photos on top of them is called double mounting.Collecting does not need to be a solo activity. One of the ways to socialize is workshop. Workshop is the process of working with other people to come up with ideas. Page exchanging, although similar to workshop, is more specific. You bring a page with you and work with others to share ideas and to craft that single page. Another aspect of workshops is product swapping. This is the process of swapping old materials, such as scissors, papers, etc, to get new materials. If a club does not exist for your particular form of collecting you can always start one to share ideas and materials.Organization is of the highest importance with any collecting. If you have not already, you will soon hear the term layout. The term is used to define collecting your pages and inserting them so they are arranged around a theme also know as page grouping. Choose any common theme or you can devise your own theme, such as “My Scrapbook of Memories.” A few final terms and ideas to keep in mind. Embellishment is the term used to define die-cuts, stickers, or anything else that make up a page. The title page or header is the start of your scrapbook often stating the theme that defines the overall ideas behind your scrapbook. Page is the process of creating the non-photographic materials, such as journal, embellishments, etc that go around your photos. Finally, memorabilia is adding souvenirs, official documents, artwork, or any other related documents to your scrapbook.