When you look at old photos what do you usually see? The reddish cast of the photos? The yellowing of newspaper clippings?

In the past, products used for scrapbooks were not safe for photo preservation. Manufacturers didn't put much research into the products they sold. They had no idea what kind of damage their products would do years down the line. How do you prevent this from happening to your photos?

Do you have any photos stored away in a shoebox that you have no idea who is in the picture or when it was taken?

While looking through my grandma's tattered, mildew stained scrapbooks, I realized that almost every photo was deteriorating and fading. All of the memories that she wanted to share would be gone in the next generation. Some of the items in her scrapbooks were already no good.

Digital scrapbooking is gaining popularity and there is so much available online now to fill the demand. The benefits of going digital include saving time and money on supplies. You can quickly find everything you need for little or even free online to create memorable pages.

When starting a scrapbook project there are five simple things you can do to make your project run smoothly. These things also allow you to spend your time scrapbooking instead of spending your time looking for what you need.

Organize your photos. This is a simple task. Sort through your photos by date, category or by family. This depends on what type of scrapbook you are making. Having your photos ready saves so much time. You can just pull out what you need for that particular page and you are on your way!

Digital scrapbooking can be addictive. Searching online for papers, kits, and elements, downloading freebies and buying kits from online sites. Everything gets downloaded into one folder and there it sits. As you keep adding to it, it becomes complete chaos.