How to Label a Scrapbook
Accurate labeling is vital to the future generations who will be viewing your scrapbook. However, you can't just label a scrapbook photograph any way you like. There is a certain skill involved in properly labeling a scrapbook that you should learn before you begin.
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Things You'll Need
- Photographs
- Acid-free permanent marker or pen with narrow tip
- Wax pencil
- Acid-free scrapbooking pen
- Paper piecing or die cuts
- Scrapbook pages
- Scrapbooking adhesive
Instructions
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Label Your Scrapbook Properly
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1
Place your photographs on a hard, flat surface before labeling them. The sturdier the surface you choose, the less likely your pen is to create an impression on the front of the photo (or even tear the photo).
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2
Use a light touch. Never press down too hard on a photograph when labeling it. This could easily damage the photograph.
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3
Use the right kind of writing instrument. Permanent markers or pens with narrow tips are the least likely to cause you to inadvertently damage your photos while writing with them. Pencils with soft graphite are also good choices as long as the tip is not too sharp.
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4
Use a wax pencil. Wax pencils are excellent scrapbooking tools for labeling. The wax is soft, so there is little risk of damage to your photos.
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Try to add a label around a photograph instead of on it. Once your photographs are in place on your scrapbook page, use an acid-free scrapbooking pen to write in the names, dates, places and other relevant details of the photograph on the page. You can write under the photograph, on top of it, to either side and even around the photograph in a circle.
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Write your labels on paper piecing (a picture made from various pieces of colored or patterned card stock and paper) or die cuts, then affix them to your scrapbook pages with acid-free adhesive. Use different colors for your paper throughout the scrapbook to avoid monotony.
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Tips & Warnings
If you accidentally write on the front of a photo with your wax pencil, the wax will wipe off easily, yet the wax remains permanently affixed when applied to the back of a photo.
Vary your approach to labeling on different pages for a more attractive scrapbook. For example, do not always put your labeling underneath the photos, or the scrapbook will quickly come to seem repetitive.
Be sure to label photos individually, without stacking one on top of another. Doing so could cause the impressions from your writing to be transferred onto the photographs immediately below the one you are writing on.
