Challenge #2 Week #1 - FRIDAY PHOTOS AND FUN CHALLENGE

Challenge #2 Week #1 - FRIDAY PHOTOS AND FUN CHALLENGE - Photos & Memorabilia ( I will not re-post this every Friday however we will be working on it every Friday in February)

DUN DUN DUN... are you ready for this? It is a huge undertaking that we will be working on every Friday for the rest of this challenge. (accept this week for whatever reason it didn't post so it is now Sunday! SO SORRY!)

SET A GOAL: Some of you may be the type who want to sit down and get it all done at once. That is fine if that is your goal. Note: You will have Fridays for fun the rest of the month if you do this . However if you are like me I can only take so much of one thing for so long. SET A REASONABLE GOAL! It maybe working on photo organization for 1 or 2 hours, maybe it is to get 1 or 2 boxes organize tonight. Maybe you want to get an entire album planned out with your photos pulled and placed in the albums. No matter what your goal is... MAKE IT, DO IT and CELEBRATE IT... tell us you did it and move on to create something fun. There is a creative challenge at the end of this post by a Guest Challenger.

BEFORE BEGINNING: IF YOU HAVE MOSTLY HARD COPIES OF PHOTOS PLEASE FINISH THE OTHER CHALLENGES FIRST BEFORE STARTING THIS ONE. I want your space to be clean and free of small pieces of metal, chipboards and such items. These are you memories and the most precious part of our scrapbooking. Care for them well.

Photo Preservation:

Image Master's website -

"PHOTO STORAGE . . .

When possible, keep photographs in enclosures that protect them from light and dust and provide physical support during display or use. Chemically stable plastic or paper enclosures, free of sulfur, acids, and peroxides, are recommended. Plastic sleeves should be constructed of uncoated polyester, polypropylene, or polyethylene.

For most photographic materials, unbuffered paper enclosures are preferred over buffered enclosures. Alkaline buffering is added to archival storage papers to absorb acidity from the stored material or the environment surrounding it. However, some photographs may be altered by the buffering in alkaline papers, so unbuffered paper is recommended for most processes.

Film-based negatives, which can produce acidic gasses as they age, should be placed in archival, buffered enclosures and stored separately from other photographic materials. Store cased objects, such as daguerreotypes and ambrotypes, in their original cases or frames with the addition of custom-made, four-flap paper enclosures to reduce wear and tear on fragile cases. Place individually housed prints, negatives, and cased objects in acid-free, durable boxes that will afford further protection from light, dust, and potential environmental fluctuations.

The storage of photographs in albums serves the dual purpose of organizing groups of images while protecting them from physical and environmental damage. Albums can be wonderful sources of historic and genealogical information. Preserve them intact when possible and store them in custom-fitted archival boxes. For the storage of family photographs, albums constructed with archival materials are available from conservation suppliers. Magnetic or self-adhesive albums can be detrimental to photographs and should not be used.

HANDLING PHOTOGRAPHS . . .

Most damage to photographs results from poor handling. A well-organized and properly housed collection promotes respect for the photographs and appropriate care in handling. When images can be located quickly, there is less possibility of physical damage. The enclosures should be designed in relation to the intended use of the photographs, as well as their type and condition. Establish handling procedures and adhere to them whenever photographs are being used. View photographs in a clean, uncluttered area, and handle them with clean hands. Wear white cotton gloves to lessen the possibility of leaving fingerprints and soiling the materials; however, gloves may reduce the manual dexterity of the user.

Keep photographs covered when they are not being viewed immediately. Do not use ink pens around photographic materials. Mark enclosures with pencil only. If it is necessary to mark a photograph, write lightly with a soft lead pencil on the back of the image."

Now that we know how to store and handle photos... just a brief reminder... we need to sort them. Sorting them by event and chronological order is usually the most common.

I think I am going to sort mine by color... J/K. Some people sort them by person, family and events. Especially if they are doing albums for each child etc.

There are not many photo storage options out there I will link some products below. The key is to keep them in a dry dark place.

MEMORABILIA - Many of these items are not asid free or photo safe, though with paper in between them (acting as a barrier) and the photo you can scrap them onto the page.. I would suggest also storing them in a dry dark place for the sun and moisture can damage these as well.

The storage options for this could be the same as your photos. You may not be able to keep them all in the same boxes mixed together but you can put them on the same shelf in matching boxes so they are handy.

Cross referencing - Sorting memorabilia the same way you sort your photos will help with the easy of finding what you need when you need it.

If you have a piece of memorabilia for a certain date or event. Place a 4x6 piece of scrap photo safe paper in with the photos with a reminder that you have the memorabilia item in the other box. This will keep you from forgetting the memorabilia when you go to pull your photos for that event or person.

If you have tons of memorabilia you may want to do a page of just that. If you keep a log of what pages you need to create for what albums make sure you add these memorabilia pages to that log. This would be a great thing to use you binder for.

LABELING - Use dividers frequently. This is very important for ease of locating the photos you want. If you don't have any or you don't want to buy more then make your own out of some of your photo safe scraps. Add a tab at the top so you can easily see what you write on the label above the tops of the photos.

NOTE OF STORAGE PLACEMENT: I know there are only a few of you who have your scrap areas in the basement and have fear of flooding. I live in a flood zone with no basement and I want EVERYONE to be aware of this. God forbid if any of us have to deal with this but even a broken pipe can cause excessive water damage and I would hate for any of you to loose your photos or your albums. The higher the better. If you are in a place that never floods I would suggest only a foot or two minimum off of the floor but if you have a greater chance place place these items higher accordingly.

DIGITAL PHOTOS: Sorting would be the same way. Since you can't put a place holder next to the photos with memorabilia then maybe just adding a word document with a memorabilia log for you to check and save it within the file your coordinating photos are in.

BACK THEM UP BACK THEM UP BACK THEM UP... I don't care how you do it... external hard drive, USB memory stick, a photo hosting website, CD... ONCE YOU HAVE TAKEN THE TIME TO ORGANIZE IT PLEASE BACK THEM ALL UP!!!!!

Okay Ladies! Lets get BUSY!!!