This is a great video from WatchMojo.com. This lady is classy and very much a scrapbook expert. Watch this video as she shares with you how she uses, picture matting, card stock, stamping, patterned paper and eyelets to put together a wonderful looking picture book.
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Scrapbooking is catching on around the world, but no where is it most popular right now as with the seniors. Since they have much more time to spend with this project versus their children or younger counterparts, this is a natural hobbie for them!
To start out, seniors have so much life experience that it is no problem trying to find topics of interest or the people in their lives that they can dedicate a scrapbook too.
The only thing that may be a challenge is the budget. We went over that with an earlier post regarding scrapbooking on a budget. There are plenty of knick knacks around the house and of course tons of pictures in boxes and and everywhere at relatives houses and such. The first thing a senior should do is pick an obvious topic for the scrapbook. Do you know what we are thinking at the top of the list?? Grandkids!!
There is no end to how many pictures there have been taken with the grandkids, especially from the time of birth at the hospital. What senior does not have pictures of the grand children from at least their first several birthdays. So, gather the pictures first. Next, comes the theme of the scrapbook. It could be the "growing years" or the "next astronaut." or the "future rock star." If these young ones show any aptitude for any musical talents or dancing, or "brains" answering each city name in Africa, the themes are endless.
Once set on a theme, you should get embellishments and other scraps to complement the theme. Going to a scrapbook store near you could give you so many more ideas of the page design, embellishments, and other material items. I would suggest not to plan for a very large scrapbook because it could get so bulky that it will be uncomfortable to lug it around.
If a senior has never done a scrapbook before, it is wise to buy a beginning book in scrapbooking. Make sure it has a lot of pictures. The less words the better! We want the seniors to have fun while learning.
Did this ever happen to you? You are at a family event or some memorable event that you want to capture with your camera and definitely plan to use in your next scrapbook. You get the pictures developed only to find a lot of them are too bright, not centered in the frame, blurry because you shook the camera, or you even found blank pictures all together!
This is when you should think about how you use your camera before you go to the event! Most of the time we do not think about how we are going to use the camera, much less even checking if we have film in the camera before we leave our home!
So, here are the basics of what to do to prepare:
1) Make sure your camera has new film. (if film is already in the camera, make sure you know the expiration dates of the film and change out if needed)
2) Check the camera lens to make sure it is clean and not scratched.
3) Check to make sure the on board batteries are still "alive."
4) Keep the camera in room temperature setting if possible. In the dead of summer with extreme heat or the cold of winter, these extreme temperatures can affect the quality of the pictures.
5) When aiming the camera, make sure you take extra care in centering the person or subject in the picture.
6) Hold your camera steady!! Even with high speed or "shake proof" cameras, you can still get a blurry picture if not completely still.
7) If you can find a setting for "day/night," use that setting because it is a general setting that can make the best picture for you.
8) When taking film in for developing, compare photo processing charges with at least two different stores. Quite often you will be surprised at how much you can save for developing per picture costs.
So, if you follow these common sense ideas, you will be guaranteed of outstanding pictures to mount in your scrapbook.
Feel free to make comments here if you would like to add your clever ideas for making great pictures!
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The most devestating thing that happens to photos with age is fading and deterioation. You know what I mean…the old photos turn yellow, get brittle, even stick in pieces to the sheet protectors they were mounted on.
This can be alleviated by using only acid free paper and sleeves. Use sheet protectors to mount photos. Anything that can shield pictures from oxidation and constant touching by human hands is strongly suggested. Stay away from any "sticky" albums or adhesive to self mount pictures or "magnetic" cellophane. All of these materials can deteriorate pictures immediately.
When you get photo prints from a photo processing company, make sure the photo paper is acid free, lignin free and ph neutral. Believe it or not, some photo processing companies will sometimes give you prints on acid materials without you knowing about it.
If you print out photos on your own ink jet printer, make sure you check that the ink is acid free as well. Keep all images and picture surfaces away from direct sunlight, humidity and liquids.
Lastly, make sure you digitally back up all your photos on a CD of DVD. This precaution can come in handy if you should ever run into damaged photos in your scrapbook for whatever reason.
If you take good care of your scrapbooks, you will enjoy many years of enjoyment of your "prized" scrapbook!
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