Anyone still using these types of albums?

[Merandab4]

Does anybody still use those large magnetic photo album? You know those ones that are one full page and they have the piece of film over the page.
Have you tried to Scrap with this type of album before?

Well I was thinking that this might be the perfect compromise for me as I have been fiddling with making a scrapbook for so long.

I was working with a 12x12 scrapbook, and although I am happy with the amount of room on the page, I am not happy with the size of the actual book as it seems bulky.

My other option was to just use a nice leather bound album to store all my pictures in, but the problem with that is that I can only fit two 4x6 pictures on each page. (you know those ones with the pockets). I liked the fact that the album gives you a space on the side for journaling, but thats all. I have no room to use my Disney stickers or add any other memorabilia that I have saved from our trips.

So I was thinking about using the old magnetic books. This way I can be as Scrappy or non scrappy as I wish? Since it is a three ring binder, I can always add pages. I plan to put in previous WDW trips as well. I know that I will not be able to journal on these pages, but I will be able to type out my journaling on computer paper, then stick it on my page.

The magnetic albums that are being made now days, are they safe then the ones in the past?
Have you had any problems with the film not sticking down after you've pulled it up several times?
I know that I won't be able to display raised objects in this book, but will the film still stay put even if I put some scrap paper on my page?

Thanks for any suggestions you may have!

 

[pattyT]

I would SO not advise you to do that -
those pictures stick to those magnateic albums like glue and totally ruin them!
My cousin however has a great idea of using 12x12 albums that have the 4x6 picture pages (aoll non scrapped pictures) and then puts scrapped pages in between them -

 

[Disneyland_emily]

I think the new ones are acid free but there is still a HUGE risk with them as the concept behind them hasnt changed...

Id avoid them at all costs

-em

 

[Merandab4]

Wow, thanks for the advice!
I have used this type of album for a high school memory book I've made several years ago, but I have never tried to remove any of the pictures since then. Would you advise that I remove all those pictures as well.

O boy, that would be a great task,,, I don't think I am up for that challenge.

Patty T, could you please give more description of what your relative did with her book. It sounds interesting, but I'm not quite sure I understand.

 

[poohkinandpiglet]

I wouldn't use those albums. Even the newer ones considered "photo safe" turn yellow over time. I'm not sure what kind of adhesive they use with those things but I don't trust them not to ruin my precious photos.

 

[tubachick]

as the other posters had mentioned, even though techonolgy has changed ---- DON'T risk your pictures and memories

 

[Franne]

I had my children's baby albums done in those books. The pages of the album turned a brownish yellow and it was getting worse. The brown color carried over to my pictures! Also, the pages weren't sticky anymore and it had only been 10 years. I am a CM consultant and I take one of the pages to show everyone what happens over time to those kinds of albums. Needless to say, I redid all of those albums in photo safe albums.
I would recommend going to your LSS and looking at the basic scrapbooks they have, just make sure they are acid and lignin free.

 

[JudithM]

Would you advise that I remove all those pictures as well.

This is the reason I started scrapping. I went to CM fund raiser at school three years ago & the consultant talked about the damage being done to photos in the "sticky" albums. Shortly afterwards I took everything out of those old albums. I am now SLOWLY sb everything I want to keep. It is a time-consuming project, but I feel it will be well worth it in the long run.

 

[Lady Cluck]

There is a product you can get from craft stores specifically for removing photos that have become stuck in these old magnetic albums. Does anyone know what it is called?

 

[Spinning]

I wouldn't use them either. For all the reasons listed above.
Some one on here in the past did a combination of what you seem to want to do. they used a ring binder, pockets for pictures and then inserted scrap book page (top loading) to use as scrapping. She would also use card stock in one of the pockets for journalling...I love the idea

 

[pjlla]

There is a product you can get from craft stores specifically for removing photos that have become stuck in these old magnetic albums. Does anyone know what it is called?

It is called Un-du Adhesive remover. It is not that hard to find. I think you could find it at Walmart and Michael's. It is very easy to use and doesn't harm your photos. For Mother's Day I gave my mother the gift of "time", as in, I took my time to remove all her photos from those old sticky albums. I admit I ruined one or two photos , but mostly they came out well. You have to be fairly generous with the amount of remover you use sometimes. The directions advised putting a "few drops on the edge of the tool" but at times I actually had to apply it to the back of the photo. The tool works well. And the amazing thing is that you can actually spill the solution on the photos and it doesn't hurt them!! (Actually, I can only claim that about old photos... don't know what would happen with newer photos that came from a computer printer. )

I suggest that you find a few older photos that you could stand to lose and remove those first.... it takes a bit of practice to get the knack of it. And you will find that some albums are much stickier than others. THere were a few old albums where the photos actually FELL out and others where they were in there like CEMENT! Good luck!.........................P

 

[pjlla]

Anyhow, about the topic, I have done something for some pictures for my Mom recently that might solve your problem. I bought some AF-LF albums that held 5 photos on each side of a page (two vertical and 3 horizontal). I organized the photos by "event" and date and at the start of each new event/date I left one of the photo slots free for a journaling block. I actually didn't scrap the block, but rather did it on the computer. I used pretty fonts and clip art, but I needed to include a lot of info in each block, so it was much easier to use the computer. So far I have done a 10 year album of our family vacations. I would love to have had the time to "really" scrap the photos, but we are talking about 65 years of photos she had.... not enough time in the world to do all that!! This was a good compromise and not too bulky.........P

 

[Merandab4]

Anyhow, about the topic, I have done something for some pictures for my Mom recently that might solve your problem. I bought some AF-LF albums that held 5 photos on each side of a page (two vertical and 3 horizontal). I organized the photos by "event" and date and at the start of each new event/date I left one of the photo slots free for a journaling block. I actually didn't scrap the block, but rather did it on the computer. I used pretty fonts and clip art, but I needed to include a lot of info in each block, so it was much easier to use the computer. So far I have done a 10 year album of our family vacations. I would love to have had the time to "really" scrap the photos, but we are talking about 65 years of photos she had.... not enough time in the world to do all that!! This was a good compromise and not too bulky.........P

What is AF- LF Album?

I once saw an album smilar to what you are describing, (both horizonal and vertical spaces on each page) at Target. Didn't seem like they give you that many pages. Can you buy refill pages and add to it?

 

[Disneyland_emily]

AF-LF I believe stands for Acid Free- Ligin Free

-em

 

[Nik's Mom]

Those magnetic albums are a NIGHTMARE! I just removed all of my Mom's old pictures from those horrid books. It took forever to get them out (but I didn't rip any pictures ). I showed her how damaged the pictures were getting. I put them all in photo-safe boxes until I have time to scrap them all for her.

 

[JudithM]

It is called Un-du Adhesive remover.

I used it when I took my old photos out of the sticky/magnetic type photo albums. The owner of my local scrapbook store recommended it, & it worked well.

 

[SplshMtn99]

I'm one of the scrappers that uses 3-ring binders & does a combination photo album / scrapbook. I do it this way mainly because I like all my photos in one place in chronological order...and I don't have that much time to scrap.

You can use what ever size you like. I've done 8.5 x 11 -- & started another album in 12x12. All 3-ring binder style.

I use photo album pages (pocket style) and if I scrap a page, they just go into a page protector. (They sell 12x12 pages that hold 4 4x6 pictures on each side. But 2 pictures go in horizontal & 2 pictures go in vertical.)

I've also done just a quick little 4x6 scrapped card with title & info & stickers to slip into a picture pocket if really pressed for time & the event wasn't major.

Once I also wrote out quite a bit of journalling (from 9/11 while we were at WDW)...and simply laminated it; punched holes & slipped it into the binder.

It works for me.....and it makes me happy that it's done.

 

[scrapperjill]

No No No....Don't do it. Those albums are BAD....Sure with advances they may not be as bad as years past...but there are some wonderful proven safe albums out there. Depending on what size your looking for...you can get albums anywhere from 6x6 to 12x15...I'm sure there are smaller and larger albums out there.....I'd look at what you have to scrap and decide what size would be best...If all you have are a bunch of 6x8 photos...maybe a 12x12 album is to big....after all your only going to be able to fit one 6x8 photo on a 12x12 page...but if you have a mix of smaller size photos along with larger photos...then the 12x12 may just be the size you need.

But what ever you do....stay away from those magnetic albums...and yes you should take the time to remove your old photos from them...Matter of fact have you looked through them lately? Take a look and see if you notice any changes in color.....fading of the photos, yellowish tint, brown edges....that's all damage due to the acid and lignen....that only gets worse with age.