Part 7: Glossary
The following terms are important in the art of
scrapbooking. Some of them may be familiar
from other crafts or contexts, while some are
specific to scrapbooking. You should understand
all of these glossary terms.
Acid-free – supplies treated to neutralize or remove the acids present in wood pulp paper, so they last a long time and won’t react with chemicals present in photos and memorabilia. Acid-free and lignin-free papers can last more than 200 years.
Adhesive – used to attach scrapbook items together, it comes in several forms:
liquid glue, glue sticks and pens, and little squares that are sticky on both sides.
Album -- this holds and protects the pages of a scrapbook between heavy covers.
Archival – materials made without or treated to neutralize acid, lignin, or PVC, making them pH neutral and stable, and safe to use with photos.
Archival Mist – an aerosol spray (which costs about $40 a can) used on memorabilia to neutralize the acids and make items safe for use with photos.
Border – a decorative strip that ornaments the edge of a page.
Brads – small metal fasteners with a solid top, and two prongs which go through the paper. They can be used in the same way as eyelets/snaps, but no special tools are required.
Buffered – paper coated with calcium carbonate to absorb and neutralize acid. Used as mats, buffered paper will help keep acid in your memorabilia from migrating to your photos.
Crop – as a noun, this is a party for scrapbooking, similar to a quilting bee. As a verb, it also refers to cutting photos or other items down in size to emphasize information or cut out extraneous background.
Cropper Hopper – an organizational system specifically for scrapping which includes bags, work stations, filing systems, etc.
Embellishments – any additions, such as stickers or borders, placed on a page as design elements to jazz up the photos or items.
Eyelets – tiny rivets/grommets with a circular hole in the center, used to anchor elements to the background, add detail, or thread yarn or ribbon. They require special tools such as a self-healing craft mat, hole punch, hammer, and eyelet setter.
Frame – a paper border for a photo or anything else which goes on top of the item; the item shows through a cut-out center.
Heritage – a genealogy scrapbook, ideal for family traditions.
Journaling – any kind of writing on a page; may include describing or labeling the items or photos, telling the story behind the items/photos, or recording a story or memories, as in a diary.
Journaling squares – squares of paper or cardstock used to write on.
Layout – a scrapbook page itself, or a page composition or design plan.
Lignin – the acidic part of the wood pulp; lignin-free papers have been processed to eliminate all but a trace.
Lumpy-bumpy – pages using three-dimensional or mixed-media embellishments, such as buttons or eyelets, to give texture to the design. These embellishments give the page a "lumpy" or "bumpy" feel and prevent the scrapbook from being closed completely flat.
Mat – a paper border for a photo or anything else which goes below the item; used as a background.
Memorabilia – found items such as newspaper clippings, event flyers, postcards, etc. that have sentimental value but usually are not archival.
Page kit – all the photos, papers, and embellishments you plan to use for creating a page. When stored together, these let you work quickly at a crop.
Page protectors – transparent, archival sleeves used to keep scrabook pages clean and safe, and to attach them to certain types of binder. These are available in various sizes and styles.
Paper dolls – a type of paper piecing used to create characters.
Paper piecing – creating pictures using different colors of scrapbook paper to define the shapes of the picture; often abbreviated PP.
pH neutral – refers to the alkaline level of an item; neutral means the item is chemically stable and won’t react negatively with other items.
PVC – poly-vinyl-chlorides; chemicals in vinyl and other plastics that emit gases which fade photos. All your page protectors and sleeves should be labeled PVC-free. Inert plastics such as mylar polyester, polyethylene (clear page protectors), and polypropylene (frosted page protectors) are pH neutral and stable.
Scrapbook – a binder whose pages contain some combination of photographs, text, embellishments, and other memorabilia.
Scrapbook paper – this comes in all colors and many designs, acid- and lignin-free.
Shaker box – a small, flat box (or other shape) with a clear window in the front, filled with tiny items such as beads or buttons, for interest and motion.
Spread – two facing pages of a scrapbook form a "spread" when laid open.
Supplies – the scrapbooking things that get used up and must be replaced, such as paper.
Swap – a popular way to trade supplies and handmade elements with other scrapbookers. The organizer (hostess) sends out the details (what kind of swap, themes, dollar amounts, due dates, etc.) and calls for participants. Each participant takes responsibility for mailing a specified number of chosen items to the hostess by the deadline. The hostess sorts and mails the items to all the swappers in the group, so that each participant receives a selection of every item in the swap.
Tag – a card or smaller piece of material with fiber or wire fastened through a hole at one end; used as a design element, for journaling or labeling, or to add texture to a page.
Theme – the topic of the page or scrapbook. It determines the embellishments chosen, as for a handfasting, a trip to the zoo, new baby, seasons, holidays, etc.
Tools – the scrapbooking things you can reuse indefinitely, such as scissors.
Topper – a border that goes horizontally, usually across the top of the page (but can be placed across the bottom) and often contains the title of the page.
Twistel – "wire" made of rolled paper, which can be used as a fiber or unrolled.
scrapbooking. Some of them may be familiar
from other crafts or contexts, while some are
specific to scrapbooking. You should understand
all of these glossary terms.
Acid-free – supplies treated to neutralize or remove the acids present in wood pulp paper, so they last a long time and won’t react with chemicals present in photos and memorabilia. Acid-free and lignin-free papers can last more than 200 years.
Adhesive – used to attach scrapbook items together, it comes in several forms:
liquid glue, glue sticks and pens, and little squares that are sticky on both sides.
Album -- this holds and protects the pages of a scrapbook between heavy covers.
Archival – materials made without or treated to neutralize acid, lignin, or PVC, making them pH neutral and stable, and safe to use with photos.
Archival Mist – an aerosol spray (which costs about $40 a can) used on memorabilia to neutralize the acids and make items safe for use with photos.
Border – a decorative strip that ornaments the edge of a page.
Brads – small metal fasteners with a solid top, and two prongs which go through the paper. They can be used in the same way as eyelets/snaps, but no special tools are required.
Buffered – paper coated with calcium carbonate to absorb and neutralize acid. Used as mats, buffered paper will help keep acid in your memorabilia from migrating to your photos.
Crop – as a noun, this is a party for scrapbooking, similar to a quilting bee. As a verb, it also refers to cutting photos or other items down in size to emphasize information or cut out extraneous background.
Cropper Hopper – an organizational system specifically for scrapping which includes bags, work stations, filing systems, etc.
Embellishments – any additions, such as stickers or borders, placed on a page as design elements to jazz up the photos or items.
Eyelets – tiny rivets/grommets with a circular hole in the center, used to anchor elements to the background, add detail, or thread yarn or ribbon. They require special tools such as a self-healing craft mat, hole punch, hammer, and eyelet setter.
Frame – a paper border for a photo or anything else which goes on top of the item; the item shows through a cut-out center.
Heritage – a genealogy scrapbook, ideal for family traditions.
Journaling – any kind of writing on a page; may include describing or labeling the items or photos, telling the story behind the items/photos, or recording a story or memories, as in a diary.
Journaling squares – squares of paper or cardstock used to write on.
Layout – a scrapbook page itself, or a page composition or design plan.
Lignin – the acidic part of the wood pulp; lignin-free papers have been processed to eliminate all but a trace.
Lumpy-bumpy – pages using three-dimensional or mixed-media embellishments, such as buttons or eyelets, to give texture to the design. These embellishments give the page a "lumpy" or "bumpy" feel and prevent the scrapbook from being closed completely flat.
Mat – a paper border for a photo or anything else which goes below the item; used as a background.
Memorabilia – found items such as newspaper clippings, event flyers, postcards, etc. that have sentimental value but usually are not archival.
Page kit – all the photos, papers, and embellishments you plan to use for creating a page. When stored together, these let you work quickly at a crop.
Page protectors – transparent, archival sleeves used to keep scrabook pages clean and safe, and to attach them to certain types of binder. These are available in various sizes and styles.
Paper dolls – a type of paper piecing used to create characters.
Paper piecing – creating pictures using different colors of scrapbook paper to define the shapes of the picture; often abbreviated PP.
pH neutral – refers to the alkaline level of an item; neutral means the item is chemically stable and won’t react negatively with other items.
PVC – poly-vinyl-chlorides; chemicals in vinyl and other plastics that emit gases which fade photos. All your page protectors and sleeves should be labeled PVC-free. Inert plastics such as mylar polyester, polyethylene (clear page protectors), and polypropylene (frosted page protectors) are pH neutral and stable.
Scrapbook – a binder whose pages contain some combination of photographs, text, embellishments, and other memorabilia.
Scrapbook paper – this comes in all colors and many designs, acid- and lignin-free.
Shaker box – a small, flat box (or other shape) with a clear window in the front, filled with tiny items such as beads or buttons, for interest and motion.
Spread – two facing pages of a scrapbook form a "spread" when laid open.
Supplies – the scrapbooking things that get used up and must be replaced, such as paper.
Swap – a popular way to trade supplies and handmade elements with other scrapbookers. The organizer (hostess) sends out the details (what kind of swap, themes, dollar amounts, due dates, etc.) and calls for participants. Each participant takes responsibility for mailing a specified number of chosen items to the hostess by the deadline. The hostess sorts and mails the items to all the swappers in the group, so that each participant receives a selection of every item in the swap.
Tag – a card or smaller piece of material with fiber or wire fastened through a hole at one end; used as a design element, for journaling or labeling, or to add texture to a page.
Theme – the topic of the page or scrapbook. It determines the embellishments chosen, as for a handfasting, a trip to the zoo, new baby, seasons, holidays, etc.
Tools – the scrapbooking things you can reuse indefinitely, such as scissors.
Topper – a border that goes horizontally, usually across the top of the page (but can be placed across the bottom) and often contains the title of the page.
Twistel – "wire" made of rolled paper, which can be used as a fiber or unrolled.
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