Close To My Heart offers a number of products designed to directly touch and/or interact with your photos, including:
- Patterned Papers (printed papers known as B&T Duos™)
- Cardstocks
- Memory Protectors™
- Adhesives, specifically Tombow® Mono™ Adhesive and Bonding Memories™ Glue
The above items are designated as photo safe, which is defined as acid free, lignin free, and buffered, and without PVC. Papers are printed in the USA, and Memory Protectors™ and adhesives are manufactured by long-time trusted suppliers and vendors in Asia. All of these products (papers, protectors, and adhesives) conform with the definitions of photo safe above.
Our Studio J® layouts are processed using top-quality 100-year photo paper with silver halide photo processing, not printing. This process is the same as high-end photo processing labs, with longevity of colour vibrancy equal to that standard.
Note that while Close To My Heart sources top quality materials for its textiles, metals, wood, and plastic embellishments and trims, there are no industry standards or expectations for these products in memory keeping. We offer a wide variety of items to add beauty and diversity to projects, and customers may or may not choose to incorporate these items into their scrapbooks.
We do not recommend stamping on a photo for scrapbooking purposes, although our inks are considered “photo safe” by the criteria above. Our inks are pH neutral and may be used for any type of project including stamping on photos for art/craft purposes. Close To My Heart Exclusive Inks™ are available in a variety of formulations to serve different purposes.
DYE-BASED INK
Our classic stamp pads and re-inkers are made from a water-soluble dye-based ink that dries very quickly and absorbs well into cardstock. It is a multi-purpose ink that many choose to incorporate into scrapbooks, which are typically stored closed, in a cool, dry place, which will help keep colours vibrant. Note that dye inks will fade over time if exposed to heat and light.
PIGMENT INKS
Our tower assortments of mini ink pads are pigment-based ink, which is a more viscous and vibrant ink. It is slower to dry than dye ink (and may be “set” more quickly using a heat tool), and delivers a more vibrant and dimensional colour as it tends to “sit” on top of paper rather than absorbing into the fibers. Pigment ink is light- and colour-fast.
ALCOHOL INKS
Our marker sets are formulated with alcohol ink, which is ideal for shading and blending without streaking. These markers are not considered journaling pens, but are designed for freehand colouring and for colouring in stamped images. We recommend stamping the outline image in archival, pigment, or StazOn™ ink to minimize bleed when colouring in the image with alcohol markers.
Our classic stamp pads and re-inkers are made from a water-soluble dye-based ink that dries very quickly and absorbs well into cardstock. It is a multi-purpose ink that many choose to incorporate into scrapbooks, which are typically stored closed, in a cool, dry place, which will help keep colours vibrant. Note that dye inks will fade over time if exposed to heat and light.
PIGMENT INKS
Our tower assortments of mini ink pads are pigment-based ink, which is a more viscous and vibrant ink. It is slower to dry than dye ink (and may be “set” more quickly using a heat tool), and delivers a more vibrant and dimensional colour as it tends to “sit” on top of paper rather than absorbing into the fibers. Pigment ink is light- and colour-fast.
ALCOHOL INKS
Our marker sets are formulated with alcohol ink, which is ideal for shading and blending without streaking. These markers are not considered journaling pens, but are designed for freehand colouring and for colouring in stamped images. We recommend stamping the outline image in archival, pigment, or StazOn™ ink to minimize bleed when colouring in the image with alcohol markers.
If you have further information please pop me a line
Gloria xo
