Scrappers any thoughts or ideas on this dilemma?

[FantasticDisFamily]

I was driving to work this morning and started thinking about some of my existing "albums" that I should scrap. (I have ~40 minutes each way so I have WAY too much time to think )

Although not really at the top of my list of scrapping priorities I keep coming back to my informal wedding pictures. My mom put together two albums of pictures starting with me receiving my engagement ring, documenting all of the festivities from gown shopping to showers, etc and ending up with the "pranks" our attendants pulled on our house while we were gone. When we had developed the pictures of our honeymoon we added those to the end of the second book. She even went so far as to write little captions on pieces of paper and place those throughout.

This was 20 years ago and no one really knew much about archival acid free, etc. And this was an unusual activity for mom too. I really treasure these and because of that am concerned about leaving them in these old, inexpensive, glue strip type albums. I know the captions are just fine point marker on regular "typing" paper. But I also don't want to lose the layouts and captions mom did. Her health is poor and when I was talking to my dad over the weekend he was mentioning that her arthritis has become so bad she can't even fill out a check when she has her hair done anymore so having her rewrite the captions on card stock isn't an option.

Any thoughts? Ideas?

TIA
Deb

 

[December99]

Can you maybe scan the captions she did? Or another thought would be to use the archival mist. That sounds like a great thing to do though, scrap them into a scrapbook. In a sense your mom did that, but back then they didn't make the acid free photo albums. Or, could you just move them out of that album into another photo album???? I would try the archival mist stuff though. I have also heard that you can put the paper on cardstock to preserve it but don't let it touch your pictures...that's another thought. Good luck.

 

[Spinning]

That was so nice of your mom! Anyway! I would definately get them out of the magnetic albums.
I think I would just transfer it over to another album. Keeping it the same way she had it. Maybe the parts she wrote just matte it on acid free paper and then adhere it.
You could also take a few pictures of the album as it was and create your own page with those pictures.
Good luck!

 

[BevS97]

I would do as little as possible to it. Maybe you could transfer it to a safer album but I would still keep the original captions, layouts etc as they are.

My dad made loads of scrapbooks in his teens and twenties. They are all in cheap paper albums (not magnetic) and most things were stuck in with sellotape.

The sellotape has caused some discoloration, and worse, in a lot of cases it is no longer sticky, so things are falling out, but for the most part his albums are doing pretty well, and I would hate to mess with them as they represent his work. I'd rather have the paper fade and discolor a little, than try and replicate his captions.

I look at it this way, if in 20 years time they discover that our current practices aren' t safe, I would hate for someone to take my albums apart and redo them.

Bev

 

[FantasticDisFamily]

Thanks gang. That pretty much fits with the thoughts I've had.

Question for those who have used the archival mist - any problems with it streaking the ink?

I've matted other non-acid free paper products that were going to be on the same page as photos before and kept them away from pics so that sounds like a good idea.

And you're all correct I really don't want to lose her work. But I also don't want to lose the pictures either. I thought about having copies made and doing another album entirely and including pictures of her originals but have discovered a lot of the negatives were thrown out when they moved from their "big house" to a condo a few years ago.

Dad's the photographer in the family and doesn't get rid of anything! Mom couldn't see any point in keeping the negatives, after all she already had the pictures!

Deb