Have You Ever Had a Photo that is Scratched or Stained?
As a Scrapbooker you know that the most important part of your scrapbook is the photo, and if that photo gets messed up by getting it stained by your coffee cup that is on your work station or scratched by one of your Scrapbooking tools, then you don’t have a scrapbook page with a photo now do you. Well do not worry I have some ideas that I have used personally and some that my friends have used and said that they worked for them and they just may be the ticket to save your scrapbook page. Never think the worse until you try some of these tips. What do you have to loose?
The most common mistake I have is doing a wonderful layout and then when I think I am done I realize that I have scratched or smudged my photo. Don’t Worry. Reprint the photo and replace the bad with the new.
Well sometimes it’s not as easy as that so here are a few handy ideas:
If the scratch is on the corner of the photo you can easily cover it up by using a corner paper punch, or with a photo frame, or even photo adhesive corner tab to cover up this scratch.
Another method is using an embellishment such as an eyelet, brad, ribbon ties along the edge where the scratch is, or a sticker will work great too!
Another technique to use on a scratched photo, when near the edge, is sanding. I have not done this personally but a lot of my Scrapbooking friends have and it looks fantastic. Take a small piece of sandpaper and rough up the edges all around the photo, if you think this effect will not go with the theme of your layout then take some paint and give the photo a brushed border effect.
If you notice the scratch or tear before you have added it to your scrapbook page, of course you can reprint this photo especially if it is in a bad noticeable spot of the photo. But what if this is the only photo that you have and can not reprint it. You may want to use your scanner and scan it into your computer and clean up the photo using Photoshop or one of the many computer photography programs that they have on the market. Doing this your page will be perfect and no one would ever know that there was a problem OR if you don’t have a scanner and photo software you can add the scratched picture to your scrapbook with a little caption “sorry this picture is scratched, but it’s the only one I have”. This to me just shows that everyone makes mistakes and it can still be perfect!
One of the other fears a Scrapbooker has is when you are scrapping and you spill a drink and the photo gets wet or stained. That is why I always print two pictures. I never know when I am going to need that photo, and if I don’t need to use that second picture it can go into a frame or I will send it to that special someone who was in the picture or was at that event and give them a smile.
So do not fear, if you have a scratch or a stained photo there is always something you can do to make it look Great!
Have a Great Day and don’t forget to leave time to Craft!
