Scrapbook Glossary A thru C

A

ACID - Acid in a scrapbooking item will cause it to deteriorate; over time it will cause paper to become brittle and crumble. Our bodies produce acid through our sweat glands, saliva, etc., so be sure to wash your hands before working on your pages.

ACID-FREE - Acid-free means that the item has a pH factor of 7.0 or more. Using products that are acidic in your scrapbooks can be harmful to your pictures and means they will deteriorate much faster. The acidic item will deteriorate quickly, too. We want our scrapbook pages to last a long time, so be sure you are using acid-free products in and on your pages. Some things can have the pH corrected by using an archival spray, thus making it safe for your scrapbooking.

ACID MIGRATION - The acid content of one item can "migrate" and contaminate an acid-free item if not protected properly. If the item you want to use is not acid free, placing it on buffered cardstock will help. Once you place the page in a page protector, that will pretty much contain the acid to just that one page.

ADHESIVE - This describes what you use to attach your photographs and memorabilia to your scrapbook pages. There are a variety of styles to choose from, depending on the item and size, and can include glue sticks, photo corners, tapes, sprays, and more. A more complete description of the different types of adhesives can be found elsewhere on this site. Always be sure that whatever adhesive you use is acid-free.

ALBUM - A book used to store photographs and/or scrapbook pages.

ARCHIVAL - This term generally means the item will not fade or deteriorate over time.

B

BORDER - The margins of an element or a page, usually referring to something that "frames" it or sets it off from the rest of the page or helps to bring focus to it.

BRAG BOOK - Typically refers to a smaller photo or scrapbook album that can be slid in a pocket or purse for transporting, thereby making it "easier" for grandma or whoever to whip it out and "brag" about her grandkids! :-) These are great for gifts.

BUFFERED - When something is referred to as being "buffered," it means it's had the acid removed and something added to it to keep it acid-free and protect it from future acid-migration.

C

CARDSTOCK - Sturdy paper in a variety of weights and colors, sometimes with designs. It is best to only use acid-free, lignin-free, and buffered cardstock when scrapbooking, and construction paper does not qualify!

CIRCLE CUTTER - This is a scrapbook tool used to cut circles and sometimes ovals from your pictures or paper and cardstock. There are quite a variety of circle cutters, and they will be discussed more in-depth in the Scrapbooking Tools section on this website.

CLIP ART - A term for art that you purchase in a book or software program, or sometimes online, that can be used on your scrapbook pages. You can sometimes find free clip art online.

CORNER ROUNDER/PUNCH - These are punches specifically designed to give a rounded or other decorative edge to the corners of your photographs or other elements used in your scrapbooking.

CROP, A - "A Crop" means a get-together of fellow scrapbookers to work on scrapbook albums and page layouts. "A Crop" can be used to describe just an informal social gathering of friends to scrapbook or it can mean a marathon-type scrapbooking event, sometimes days in duration, usually for a fee.

CROP, TO - "To crop" means to trim down a photo or other element to make it more pleasing and to eliminate unnecessary and distracting portions. This makes the pictures somewhat smaller, thus allowing more to fit on a page. NOTE: Never cut into Polaroid pictures, there is some chemical in them that I believe will damage your photos. Also, never crop an original, one-of-a-kind photograph, but instead get copies made for scrapbooking and file your original in a safe place.

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