The Family Album

By Wendy Brochu
Scrapbooking, it’s all the rage. Everybody’s doing it, even Rosie. It’s on talk shows, news shows and in lots of magazines. So what’s all the fuss about? Well if you don’t know, you haven’t tried it. It’s both fun and meaningful. Scrapbooking is turning ordinary photo albums into descriptive, even entertaining, books that chronicle your family’s lives. Your family will enjoy these
precious memories for generations.

I began scrapbooking when my twins were just three months old. My first reaction was I didn’t have time. I soon realized the pictures were piling up and the most important moments of my children’s lives were being forgotten. It was then that scrapbooking became the perfect way to capture those moments. This was more than a mere hobby, this was preserving and documenting our lives as a family.

So how do you begin scrapbooking ? First decide what type of album you wish to make and divide your photos appropriately. Next, you should start with archive quality products. Things to look for are acid-free, lignin-free and buffered pages and paper. Acid is what eats at photos and accelerates their deterioration. Lignin is the substance found in tree pulp that yellows. Buffered products prevent the traveling of harmful ingredients from memorabilia.

Other helpful items are a photo labeling pencil, pens to journal, (again you want them to be archive quality, I had to re-do lots of journaling because of improper pens), templates if you would like different shaped photos, and of course everybody’s favorite, stickers. These should not only be acid-free and lignin-free but have an acrylic-base verses a rubber-base adhesive backing. This will prevent the cracking and gumminess that occurs in most stickers.

Let me give you an idea on the many types of albums you can do. The traditional family album chronicles the many changes and family happenings. Baby albums, to showcase that start of a loved ones life. Children’s school days: all those class pictures and memorabilia will be cherished as your child grows up. A grandparents brag book, wedding, anniversary and vacation albums are always popular.

More unique ideas are: a career album to show the growth and rewards of your profession. A business portfolio can help increase business by showing potential clients your talents. How about a tribute album? Give tribute to someone special, have loved ones send photos and letters of their thoughts. A memorial album for those who have lost a loved one. I yearned to have a heritage album, to detail the lives that shaped mine and to share with my children. I didn’t have any old pictures, neither did my parents. I simply started asking others and before I new it, I had a slew of memories in front of me. You can either make copies at a photo store, or if you’d like to have negatives, you can use a close-up lens on a manual camera and take pictures of your pictures! This is important if the pictures you borrow will be hard to track back
down later on.

The most important thing you can do in your album is journal! If you do nothing else, you must write. Isn’t sad to see old pictures at flea markets? Those unknown people were somebody’s family and they deserve better than to be sold for pennies. This unfortunate occurrence would not happen if photos were labeled. I have seen pictures of people literally tossed away because nobody knows who they are. The journaling in your albums can give not only names and places, but detailed information about people that others would never know. You will no longer have to stand over someone’s shoulder and explain each photo. I was not very good at journaling at first but I soon realized that it didn’t matter if my handwriting was bad, my children will love my writing because it’s mine. Remember, your handwriting is an important part of history, we all get a sense of a loved one when we see their writing.

Lastly, let me tell you the six things most damaging to your photographs. The dreaded magnetic albums. We all have them, take a close look at pictures from ten years ago. They are disappearing before our eyes. PVC albums and overlays are inexpensive plastics that trap gases that cause rapid deterioration. Direct sunlight, heat, humidity and products containing acid also wreak havoc on photos. You should always store your albums where you live and always in the upright position. Let me ask you this, where are your priceless photographs?

Wendy Brochu is a Creative Memories instructor and resides in Poland Spring with her husband Rick and two year old twins.

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