Chipboard--and the answer is...

I find it easier to make faux chipboard by layering cardstock to get the thickness I want. Then there's no need for cardstock which find hard to cut and work with.

I just avoid touching found chipboard to photos. But since all of my photos are digital and/or backed up, I'm not too worried about having to replace one some day.

I'm with Vel, although I dont use found chipboard too much. with all the great chipboard pre-made shapes out now, I use those instead.

I'm not one of those people who even cares if its acid-free.... I'm only concerned about the glue that goes on my pictures. If that's acid-free then I feel I can use anything else I want.

All pictures are copies and I'm only scrapping for myself. While I'd like the album to last fifty years, I'm trying to be realistic. Do I want to lug 20 albums around everytime I move for the rest of my life? Since the pictures are the most important part, and the layouts are really just for a creativity outlet for me, I use the chipboard all the time!

I don't know what "found" chipboard is. Is there like a store that sells chipboard "found" out in the street? Do you get it at garage sales? If you don't "find" it does it then become "lost" chipboard? And would "lost" chipboard be acid free?

Ok, I don't worry too much about acid free anymore. It gave me a headache.

I'm cracking up at Grandma!

If we're really concerned about everything touching our SB's being acid free, I'd be concerned about the paper the non-acid free chipboard was packaged with. Could we consider it cross contamination?

But to be truthful I don't stress out about it. When in doubt, I don't let it touch my photos.

Jigsaw puzzle pieces are cool "found" chipboard. Sorry, Grandma, I didn't know what to call stuff you find around your house as opposed to stuff created for the purpose you purchased it for. Puzzle pieces are not acid-free...Irenie, I know this as I tested them with a ph pen.

Also, some people use the cardboard from pads of paper. And I was wondering how long they're good for if they're not acid-free. I had a scrapbook when I was young and the paper was not acid free (but I didn't know back then it was even something to think about) and the scrapbook totally dissolved or crumbled away--not just where the glue was. And that happened in under 2 decades.

I have used found chipboard. But I try to keep things I'm unsunre about away from my photos. The photos are the most important part for me. Although the idea of using layers of cardstock sounds cool to me too.

I just cover the chipboard with acid free paper... or paint it - So, the photos aren't touching the non-acid free chipboard. I have used found chipboard from packaging. I often wonder how far most manufacturers go with acid free - if they are selling af paper are they ensuring that the chipboard/or packaging is af as well... I never scrap a photo that I only have one copy of... Heidi Swapp has mentioned a number of times that she doesn't worry about the af issue - at this point neither do I.

• ScraPerfect Said:

Oh no, that's okay. I was just having some fun. Didn't mean anything by it. "Found" is as good a word for chipboard that is just lying around as anything else. Just trying to be humorous because I am not feeling so spiffy right now. My DH breathed on me and gave me a bad cold.

• ScraPerfect Said:

Some is acid-free- whenever I "find" chipboard, I check with my ph pen. If it's not acid free, usually I toss it (sometimes I save it for mini album covers). Some cereal boxes are acid free, others are not.

I just alter it. Acrylic paint and acid-free paper would do the trick.