Getting Photos Out Of Old Albums

I've been whittling away at a bad weather project. Like everyone else, I used magnetic photo albums in the '70's and 80's, only to discover the photos have become stuck to the album pages and can't be easily removed. There's nothing magnetic about those albums; the tiny stripes that held the pictures in place are glue.

The adhesive has dried out and is causing the photographic paper to deteriorate. The pages themselves are not acid-free and are causing more damage to the photos. The icing on the cake is the plastic cover, which is further corrupting the photos. The photos become brittle and the colours fade or change. There's no question that they have to come out. I can save you a little research time by directing you to a good video showing how archivists deal with this issue by clicking here.

The first thing I did was take the pages out of the albums and remove the plastic sleeves. That buys a little more time for working away at the project. No matter how many videos you watch that say the removal will be easy, it won't!  The ones I'm working on right now are particularly difficult to remove because they are home developed and the paper is thinner than the usual professional paper. I have the negatives for these pics and can risk some experimentation. I recommend taking a good photograph of your pic before you start, or you could scan the pic to be sure you have a copy in case anything goes wrong.

These are my tools. ~

I split open the pages so I could get at the back of the album sheets. ~

Then, I lifted a corner of a photo and slid a piece of dental floss under it. I tried waxed and unwaxed floss and couldn't see any difference in performance. Gently pulling the floss back and forth in a sawing motion begins to release the photo from the glue. ~

Applying heat to the back of the album pages every so often, helps to soften the glue. You can put the pages in the microwave, after removing the plastic cover, for 15 sec. intervals to soften the glue. Anything longer than that runs the risk of scorching the photos. Overall, the hair blower did as well and was less risk.

In some areas, the floss couldn't budge the glue and I had to resort to using a sharp knife to pry the photo off. This usually took some of the album paper with it. ~

You want your photos to be lying face down on a natural linen or cotton cloth to ensure you aren't corrupting them with even more chemicals.

It's critical to do any lifting with a knife with the photos face down. If you try to lift the photo up from the sheets, instead of the sheets up from the photos, you will get wrinkle lines and cracks in your photos.

These removed photos are from the same album page and are the same home developed type. The one on the left is badly damaged by removing it facing up and the one on the right came off with a slight bend on the upper left corner, where it was lifted to get the floss between the photo and album page, by removing it face down.

This is a time consuming, sometimes frustrating and painful process, but worth it to save precious memories.

I'll go to the trouble for a picture of a well loved though very bad runaway dog (that cost me a fortune in dog catcher fees) and my baby girl who's all grown up now!  I hope this gets you started on preserving your precious photos.

I'm sharing this with Wow Us Wednesdays, Share Your Cup Thursday, Create It Thursday, Show And Share

Check Out This Paint Tip!

Who doesn't hate painting around door hardware?  It's way too much trouble to take the knob off or even loosen the plate to paint under it! ~

I was cutting little notches in Frog Tape so it would fit in a nice circle on the metal plate.  My friend, Wendy, couldn't see what I was doing and thought I was doing something altogether different.

She thought I was putting an elastic band around the plate.  Bingo!  Brilliant!  It works! ~

The elastic forms itself perfectly to the plate and is tight enough to make sure no paint bleeds underneath.  It's a breeze to remove and it's free with broccoli! ~

Thank you, Wendy, for that brilliant idea.  You saved me time, money and gave me a use for my elastic band hoarding habit!

The Correct Way To Burn Candles

One of the cheapest ways to create ambiance in the home is to have lovely candles lit. ~

When I opened my first home decor shop, I approached a company about carrying their line of upscale candles.  They agreed to be my supplier on the condition that I allowed their representative give me instruction on how to correctly burn a candle.  Duh, I think I know how to do that already.

It turns out this company knew what they were doing.  If someone pays $10 or more for a candle, they will return it if it doesn't meet their expectations.  That looks bad for the company and the shop and, as it happens, I didn't know quite as much as I thought!

You need to trim the wick to no more than 1/4 of an inch in length.  Any longer and the flame is too large.  The heat from the flame will melt the candle at an accelerated rate. This causes excessive wax dripping. ~

If you want to avoid your candle burning too deep rather than evenly across to the outsides, you must burn it as many hours as it is wide each time you light it. ~

This pillar candle is 2 1/2 inches wide and should only be lit if you intend to leave it burning for 2 1/2 hours.  Opt for a smaller candle if you think you will not be having it lit that long.  A 1" or votive candle would be a better choice in that case.

I always trimmed the wicks before I wrapped up my customer's candle purchase.  In six years, I only had one candle returned.  She was a good customer and I promptly refunded her money.  Each day, at work, I lit that candle and burned it for the full 4 hours the width indicated.  It burned evenly to a tiny puddle of wax in the end.  Because this customer knew me so well, I felt comfortable showing her the end result and she became a regular user of the line.

It's important to use the appropriate holder for your candle.  A votive will burn evenly and completely in a container that fits snugly to it's sides.  Too short or too loose a container will cause it to burn too quickly.  The holder on the left is perfect and the one on the right will leave you with a melted mess! ~

 Tea lights need to be left in the metal holder to keep their shape and for fire safety.  You can disguise the metal holder with candle sand, salt, coffee beans, etc. ~

For fire safety and to protect my walls, I always use a sconce with a glass shield.  Candle sand, which is available in a variety of colours, is an extra level of security.  It also lets the melted wax harden and it can be lifted off the sand in a single sheet. ~

If the area is unsafe or if I'll be leaving the candle unattended, I go to battery operated candles  ~

A bobeche is a cup or ring that catches melted wax as it drips down the side of tapers.  You can buy simple ones at department and dollar stores.  This one is from the Victorian era and has lovely crystal prisms.  It's not original to the mercury  glass candlestick but I like the look of them together.  Like the girondelles (mirror backed candle sconces), of the time when all lighting was by candle, they are intended to reflect the light of the flame and double it's effectiveness. ~

I have a habit of tossing all my candles in a drawer and the soft wax picks up all kinds of dust and bits of stuff.  Stretch a pair of pantyhose over your hand and that stuff buffs right off the candle! ~

It's nice to have a long necked candle lighter and a candle snuffer.  If you don't have a snuffer, hold your finger vertically in front of the candle before you blow it out.  That stops the wax from spraying outward from the candle. ~ 

Remember that the flame throws off a lot of heat.  A tight grouping of candles is very pretty but it does cause them all to burn down quicker and less evenly. And, of course, you need to remove the paper labels before you light them. ~

A hurricane protects your candle from drafts and ensures an even burn.  Any heat resistant material will do the job just fine.  I use everything from sealer jars to cut crystal vases.  This HOPE hurricane is a favourite of mine! ~ 

With a few, simple pointers you can get maximum use from your candles and surround yourself with all the beauty and romance of candlelight.

Face it girls, we all look better in the light of a flickering candle! 

I'm sharing with:  Make It Pretty Monday, Thursday Favorite Things Blog Hop, Transformation Thursday, Wildly Original Link Party