Find Friendly Support in the Forums - SC#6

Scrapbooking for me is always a lot more fun when I share my table with someone. I love to blog hop, web search and spend time hanging out in the forums. I love the Stampin' Connection at Stampin' Up! and I like to spend time chatting with my all invisible friends at Splitcoast Stampers. There is always a new idea or challenge you can try.

Protecting Your Memorabilia - SC#5

      In class tonight we went over lots of really good facts about Protecting Your Memorabilia. All of them very true....

Fact 1:  Liquids destroy memorabilia ~ I found it quite humorous that the first picture we saw tonight was a can of split coke on a table full of scrapping supplies and photos. We do this in class and at crops all the time without even thinking.

Fact 2:  Digital photos are stored on computers. ~ They crash... HAVE BACK UPS!!! (enough said)

Fact 3:  Sunlight will eventually diminish photo, negative, layout, and album quality. ~ ahhhh... YUP!!! two of my album covers have faded in the afternoon sun.

Fact 4:  Extreme temperatures damage photographs, negatives, layouts, page protectors, and albums. ~ True again! Here in South Carolina, I have noticed that a couple of my album covers are starting to get a few mold spore spots coming on them. We live at the beach, so I know things here are a lot damper. 

Fact 5:  Although not immediately apparent, fingerprints on photographs, negatives, and layouts become visible over time. ~ GREAT!!! I have really oily fingers. 

Fact 6:  Handle and store your photos, negatives, and layouts carefully. ~ I learned tonight that it is a good idea to store your negatives separate from your photos.

Fact 7: Not all plastics are alike. ~ okay, so here's a great tip.... "do not buy materials containing PVC or its cousin polyvinyl acetate (PVA). Instead, look for acrylic or polyester (polyethylene and polypropylene) materials. They are chemically stable and will ensure encapsulation safety for your memorabilia. If you are uncertain of a product’s composition, you can easily identify PVC by its strong plastic odor."  Guess what plastic I use???? :)

Fact 8:  All paper and cardstock found in your local scrapbook store is not necessarily acid-free unless clearly stated. ~ And even then.... you have to be careful. One thing we talked about was checking our paper to see if it is  “acid-free” using a pH Testing Pen. 

Here are a few facts of my own that I shared with my class...

Fact 9:  Newspapers are made of acidic material which can harm your photos. Make a photocopy of your newspaper clippings 

Fact 10: If love using metal or acidic items for scrapbooking... Then you might want to consider using photo duplicates rather than your original photos. So if corrosion or damage happen, you still have your original photos on hand. Safeguard your originals. I know because I was shocked to discover that some of the brads on my layouts were turning rusty!

Fact 11:  Check to see if lumpy objects are rubbing badly onto the face of your layout. You might want to make sure that it's not rubbing onto some precious photos, especially if they are heritage photos. Use duplicate photos because if you are using original photos, the constant rubbing will harm your photos.

Fact 12: If you don't enjoy doing it, get someone who does to help you. that way things will turn out better in the end.

Photos: Sorted and Scrapbooked - SC#4

       Tonight class was all about the different way and means of storing your photos before, during and after, while you are scrapbooking. The class was very informational and I truly believe that you need to follow all the guideline and ideas that they shared. There are multiple ways of sorting, storing and protecting your photos and you just need to find a variety of ways that work best for you.
       I have tried several different ways over the past few years and now I just store them on my computer and on a flash drive until I get ready to print them. This way works best for me right now, due to the limited space I have at my house.

Creating a Layout... SC#2

On Saturday, I signed up for 24 free scrapbook classes at scrapbook.com, just to see what they were all about and to use them as a jump start for me to get back into the swing of things. Tonight was the 2nd class, which was to create our first layout. So I combined Thursday's Split Coast Scrapbook challenge with class and this is what I came up with... "Memories at Lake Isabella"

Why & How to start Scrapping... SC#1

        Tonight, I signed up for 24 free scrapbook classes at scrapbook.com, just to see what they were all about and to use them as a jump start for me to get back into the swing of scraping again. The first lesson was all about why we scrap and how to get started and it got we thinking about all the scrapbook pages that I have put together over the past 35 years. I also started thinking about all the genealogy and family history stories and information that I have collected over the past 35 years.
       In our class, the instructors discussed the why and I really liked the reasons they gave... "There is one thing that all good scrapbook pages do: they tell a story. And for us, that is the heart of scrapbooking. It is storytelling at a precious, personal level. It is organizing moments of the past so they have meaning for future generations. Embodied in every scrapbook page is a celebration of life, a moment or moments captured that are especially unique to a person or family. Scrapbookers today are preserving yesterday for tomorrow."  Throughout the rest of the class we just went over ideas and things that help to make it easier to get started.
       One of the ideas that they gave us was to start small, so I thought it would be fun to start out with a couple of small 6x6 pages...

Decorations & Dividing Wall - Davis Wedding

 We had a very wonderful and successful evening. It was our first official catering event here in Myrtle Beach and it went off without a flaw. We made all the food for the buffet, we also provided the new dividing wall and extra touches. Our menu included a Chocolate Fountain with dip-able goodies like, strawberries, cherries, marshmallows, pineapple, bananas and oreos. We also served chickens salad filled cream puffs, veggie tray, peel & eat shrimp, baked cheese & southern style pimento cheese ball with crackers, and our new peach wedding punch