Crop Corner

Ask Rebecca: How do I safely include newspaper articles in my scrapbooks? I get asked frequently about how to include newspaper articles in scrapbooks. Due to the high amounts of both lignin and acid in newsprint the paper deteriorates very quickly becoming brittle and turning yellow. The main cause for concern in scrapbooking is not only the breakdown of the newspaper article but how the acid in the article will affect the rest of the page and even the album. A) Copy them on to acid free paper. You can have this done at your local copy center or you can simply scan them in to your computer and print them out on cardstock. Personally, I prefer to have articles color copied because you achieve a nearly perfect replica of the article keeping the shades of the original paper.