Do you know these terms?

So, as most of you know I work at a scrapbooking store and generally we have spring cleaning days/weeks and as we have been cleaning things up and getting things all nice and tidy I came across this little thing that had "Terms You Should Know" needless to say that totally caught my attention!

Wow, what are these words??  I get asked all the time about different things in the store, how something works, what should I do with this, can you just do this for me (lol), what does that mean, why is this better than that?? So, I started reading and thought oh wow, how great and useful is this?!?! But, before I could share this little book with the rest of the girls I took it home with me to educate the world, cause remember, I LOVE to teach people. It's not fair for one person to have all the info. Knowledge is power and with that being said, here are the TERMS:

Acid: In paper maufacturing, acid is used to break apart the wood fibers and lignin. When acid remains in the product, it will react to accelerate the deterioration of photos and other materials. (That is why you would look for Acid Free when buying your supplies)
PH Factor: The pH factor refers to the acidity of paper. The pH scale runs from 0 to 14. Acid-free products have a pH of 7-8.5. To determine the acidity in products, you can buy a pH tester pen. (a lot of scrapbooking stores or art supply stores carry them. Although, most packaging if made for scrapbooking, card making, etc will state that it is acid free. Pretty standard these days.)
Lignin: Lignin is a bonding material that holds wood fibers together. When lignin remains in paper, the paper will yellow and become brittle over a period of time. The majority of paper that is manufactured today is Lignin-free! (I always wondered what exactly Lignin was)
PVC: Polyvinylchloride, often referred to as "vinyl" by manufactureres, is not arcival safe. It can be chemically unstable and can cause deterioration. I have never been asked about this, but, hey it might be useful to someone :) 
Archival Safe: Archival Safe incorporates all items listed above. Materials, techniques, and methods used in manufacturing of archival safe items will make them last for generations without deteriorating. Which is exactly what we want!

Now what do you do if you have something that is not preservation safe??? Well, no worries, they make something for that so you can preserve your items. There are a few different brands out there all essentially are going to do the same thing. The one that I know the most about is... 

It neutralizes the acid and make them last forever :) 

So now that you know (or maybe you already knew and now feel delightfully refreshed)

And just for fun, my new glitter containers...thanks Nicole!

 Want all the details?? Check out my post today on Mon Ami Createry. I think you will love it. :)
Also come back tomorrow for some Birthday inspiration!!!

XOXO
Danni

Family Is...

Well, my family is:

Awesome
Wonderful
Amazing
Annoying 
Caring
Loving
Supportive
CRAZY
Silly
Weird
Beautiful
Big


But most of all I wouldn't trade them for  nothing. They are simply the best for me. Do you feel that way about your family? If so, you will LOVE the new mini book I created using the Family Is" line from Bo Bunny. Not only are the colors amazing but, it is perfect place to stick all those wonderful or not so wonderful family pictures... you know the ones where you kid is sticking his tongue or won't stop scrunching his face up lol, ya those would even work for this book.

(So, the photography, is not bad but it is not good. I am LEARNING!!! Already I have learned so much, like,  best time by far is early morning light and thanks to my good friend Connie, not only is she super crafty and has the best Tim Holtz collection of ink but her photography is AMAZING. Don't just take my word for it, you should check it out for yourself and tell her I sent you over :) She will Love it!!!)

 Don't forget to check out my Flickr where I posted A BUNCH of pictures of this book. Some that I think are AWESOME and some not so good. But it will give you a sense of what my mini book class will look like. Also, once I figure out how to create a gallery in Flickr I will be able to separate the pictures for you.

I just love all the texture and dimension in this book and am truly satisfied with the results, now to proudly put on display and wait for the world to see it :)

Have a wonderfully good crafting day

xoxo

Danni

Long Nights Happy Results

After a VERY VERY long night of balancing sick kid, sick husband, my oldest sons school project (George Washington puppet which looks awesome), and my prep work for my Valentines banner class that I taught today everything went smashing :)

here are some of the fun pieces that we used in class that I prepped last night

painted wood pieces

 Baggies full of lots and lots of goodies

 Micro beading the first coat of the love script. So fun and bouncy :)

AND... traced out chipboard heart templates to use as the base in the banner.

And for some reason I do not have a picture of the finished banner but here is pretty much what it looks like

So, even after falling asleep on the couch at almost 2 in the morning and being woken up numerous times for various reasons, and leaving an hour too early to go and teach the class...ooops at least I only got as far as the stop sign down the end of my street...the class was a HIT!!!!!! The ladies were so amazing and so kind and it was full of laughs. I even got the privilege of having my friend Nicole from  Sweet Stamp Shop come. I can't wait to see the finishing touches she put on her banner once she got home.

So Much To Learn

There is way way way to much to learn....and it does seem very intimidating looking at everyones beautiful blogs.  But i shall go forth and continue. I just spent the last, well, 2 hours looking at blogs and finding people to follow and had a nice chunk of blogs I wanted to add, and I thought I hit the follow button but I must have hit the CANCEL!!!!! Seriously????? Well, try again tomorrow....maybe even post some fun little craft projects that I have been working on while I am at it.

So........please be patient while I learn to navigate this blogging business and hopefully it won't be long either :)