Scrapbooking your family history.

Did you read the article in our latest magazine hertiage scrapbooking and couldn’t wait to get started? Yes….No? Either way, this is the post will definitely get you started scrapping your family heritage photos.

We all have piles of photos lying around; whether they’re new ones freshly printed, ones sorted in photoboxes, or even older photos in old family suitcases and boxes – we’ve got plenty. So why not use them up to record the most important thing about why we scrapbook – our family history.

Today, most of us get caught up in buying the latest products, trying to snatch up popular papers and embellishements, buying magazines – all to record our latest photos. Often these layouts, like some seen in magazines only showcase one photo, sometimes with limited journalling – and some committing the worst crime – not recording the date!

Scrapbooking has many interpretations to different people; it’s a creative outlet, you highlight family moments or it’s a way to journal your thoughts and feelings, or for some it’s all about recording your family.

Family heritage is all about tracing your family line and recording where you family came from and what you’re all about. Your family scrapbook can include annual events like birthdays, Christmas, Easter etc; add in weddings and other special occassions like births, deaths and anniversaries.  Then scatter your album with family events, get togethers; add in ‘daily life’ scrapbooking layouts and much more – scrapping your family heritage is totally up to you and is different for everyone.

So walk with me on a mini journey today to bring your old family photos to life!

Scrapbooking your heritage – tips:

• It’s important to make a personal connection to the photo in your layout. Record the people in the photo, your relationship with them, your feelings about the photo or even just general observations about the photo.
• Make a change and include a relative or family member’s journalling on your layout.
• Include personal messages written on back of old photos in your layouts.
• Never use orignal photos on scrapbooking layouts. Store these in archival photo albums/storage boxes. Always reprint/copy the originals.
• If you don’t know much about the context of a photo, include journalling about the way the photo makes you feel.
• Always include the date the photo was taken (even if you’re scrapbooking photos from today), if not include an estimate. Always try and include where the photo was taken and who was in the photo.

Remember to have fun while your scrapping! You’re your own family’s historian so record what you can and enjoy it!

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Christine Rumley created this delightful layout about her grandparents wedding day using Kaisercraft’s Duchess collection.

Here’s what Christine had to say,

“I am so lucky that I was able to actually ring Ma (my 96 year old Grandma) up to ask her about this photo because my mum and my sisters couldn’t tell me who all the people in it were.  Her memory absolutely amazed me, she talked for over an hour about her wedding so I have so much more information than I could possibly fit on that one layout, I took pages of notes though for future reference.  I plan on doing another layout about the story behind her dress and I think I might add a pocket to the back of the layout to hold all the extra journaling.”

Christine also shares her tips on her simple heritage layout:

• Mat your photo on the cream side of the “Royalty” paper and distress the edges to mimic the borders that are commonly found on older photos.
• Distress the edges of all your paper using sandpaper, then use your fingernail to gently lift the edges upwards to add subtle dimension.
• Cut strips from the “Regal” paper instead of using real lace.

Alicia (Barry) has also created an amazing layout using a photo from her time spent in America. An interesting journalling technqiue she used was to compare the age of the Old Mill in Hampton, NY  in the photo to something else – the age of her home country – Australia!

Further reading/links on scrapbooking, family history and journal tips.

• http://www.myheritage.com/
• http://www.gould.com.au/
• Scrapbooking Memories recently (Volume 11.1) had an article by the talented Yvette Adams about scrapbooking your heritage. With simple layouts and tips, this article is a must read!
• Journal keeping tips from Angie Lucas (Former Simple Scrapbooks Managing editor).
• Kaisercraft Magazine – Heritage scrapbooking article, pg 69.

Don’t forget to enjoy the experience, and please share your ideas and thoughts below if you think we’ve missed something!