If you want your Bible journaling to last for years to come, you’ll want to make sure that everything you put in your Bible is acid-free. But, what does it mean to be acid-free and why is it important?
What Does Acid-Free Mean?
Acid-Free is a term given to Scrapbooking, photography, and now Bible journaling products that tell us that they are pH Neutral. If you can remember from science class, pH is a measure of hydrogen ion concentration. A pH of fewer than seven means that the item is acidic. If you think of hydrochloric acid as having a pH of zero, you’ll likely remember that a low pH is not good.
Acid-free is important because you don’t want your Bible journaling art to deteriorate over time or turn yellow. The good news is that most papers, except newspapers, are acid-free, but sometimes you may want to venture out of the scrapbooking aisle and add other things to your Bible
How to Test for Acid-Free
To make sure that what you’re using is acid-free, consider testing elements that you’ll be using in your Bible with a pH testing pen. The one I use is created by a company called Line Co., and it works well. Here’s our ministry affiliate link if you’d like to purchase one: http://amzn.to/2vNWO2F.
To use the pen, mark it on the item in question. If it turns yellow or almost colorless, you’ll know it’s acidic and has a pH of less than 7 or according to the package, 6.8. If it turns purple, you’re good to go! Purple means that it’s above 6.8 pH, and that means that the item is acid-free and can be used safely in bible journaling, in scrapbooking, in card making, in whatever it is you would like to use it for.
You may want to test both sides of the item just in case the other side is acidic. Glue is acidic. If your item is adhesive, I would suggest testing the other side.
Saving Money on Bible Journaling Supplies
I used to buy Avery white sticker sheets to create stickers to use in my Bible. Those were not cheap, but they said acid-free on the front of them, so I knew they were safe to use without worrying.
After going through a few packs, I started to search for an alternative. The 8.5″ x 11″ blank shipping labels seemed to be a good alternative to test. I’m excited to say that every one that I have purchased so far is acid-free!
The good news is that the shipping labels are about $.10 a piece, which is awesome because I can make a lot of stickers for $.10. Instead of going to the store and buying stickers, I had a great alternative to make my own.
Using Items that Are Acidic In Your Bible
If you are going to use newspaper clippings in your bible, I would suggest you print the item out on copy paper. Most copy paper, every piece that I have tested is acid-free.
I would rather have something in my bible that’s lasting forever, or at least close to forever, rather than have something that will deteriorate over time. What do you think? Is having something acid-free important to you?
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