Scrapbooking Mementos

Bulking Up

Family photos are flat and easy to scrapbook. But how do we preserve the pin Great-aunt Mary always wore in her Sunday hat? Uncle Eddie never went anywhere without his good-luck penny. Cousin Gertrude was famous for the embroidered handkerchiefs she gave as gifts. Sometimes, we need to include bulky mementos to tell the whole story. Here are some products that can help you scrapbook them safely:

• If you’ve ever had trouble sliding a bulky scrapbook page into a page protector, you probably need a Sheet Horn. This tool holds the protector open so you can insert your finished page without damage to die cuts, photos and other embellishments. Sheet Horns come in 8.5×11- and 12×12-inch sizes. They retail for $4.98 and $7.95. (888) 860-9120, www.c-lineproducts.com

• I invented Page Flippers for many practical (and fun) scrapbook uses—including memorabilia preservation. A Page Flipper is a 3.5×12-inch archival sleeve that has a self-stick adhesive strip, so you can easily attach it anywhere on a page protector. To hold smaller objects, just trim the sleeves to size. For the page at left, I trimmed a Page Flipper and then stitched around each Swedish coin to keep it in place. Now I can “flip” the sleeve to see both sides of the coins and to reveal the journaling underneath. Each six-pack costs $6.95. (800) 727-0699, www.paperadventures.com

• Protect-A-Page keeps three-dimensional memorabilia, photos and important documents safe. These snap enclosures are 14 inch deep and made from rigid polyethylene. Available in 8.5×11-inch and 12×12-inch sizes, they fit easily into all standard binders and keep mementos from getting crushed, broken or lost. They sell for $2.49 and $2.89. (877) 910-3306

Two Titles for 3-D pages

• Making Lumpy Scrapbook Pages (Hot Off The Press, $9.95) provides 48 pages of solutions and ideas for adding three-dimensional accents to your scrapbook page. It features 92 idea pages for scrapping with lumpy materials such as eyelets, brads, wire, fiber and ribbons. (800) 227-9595, www.paperpizazz.com

• Michele Gerbrandt’s Scrapbook Basics (Memory Makers, $22.99) tells you everything you need to know about scrapbooking. This guide explains scrapbooking terms and answers questions such as how to identify “safe” supplies and how to get organized. Gerbrandt shares encapsulation tips for preserving memorabilia, and her page ideas are inspirational. Since the book’s contents are aimed at helping the beginner, it’s a great resource if you’re a family historian first trying your hand at preserving findings in a heritage album. (800) 448-0915, www.memorymakersmagazine.com