Scrapbooking Family Heritage

It took a little longer to receive than I anticipated but was well worth the wait.

I just purchased this book a few days ago and was so engrossed that I read it cover to cover. Lots of clean, simple ideas that don't require tons of specialized equipment (i.e. eyelet setters, brads, pockets, foldouts) but that could certainly be adapted that way, if you like to use those gizmos. I liked that there were both ideas for doing pages/books chronologically, and doing them thematically (i.e. places we've lived, our home town past and present, our family business). It encourages scrapbookers to chronicle their current life for generations to come (very interesting and creative sequence of layouts about one woman's college career and trinkets/papers that are relevant to her life as a current student). Also gave good ideas for how to scrap pages when there is missing information about relatives, embarrassing decades (aaah, how to scrap the '60's, '70's and '80's when so many of us were awkward teens), and "sensitive" topics or details. The one thing I wish this book had, was more information on how to save/restore old and crumbling memorabilia--I was hoping for a lot more details than "use acid-free paper" or "consult a professional conservator".

As a beginner scrapper, I just loved this book. It has tons of ideas for pages. I really liked all the info that is provided as to where to purchase supplies etc. There are tons of the best websites provided to get just what you need. I also purchased the Creating Keepsakes Tips and Tricks and loved it just as much!

I'm been afraid to start my family heritage scrapbook, but the ideas here have really started me thinking. I can do it! With this book to inspire me, the project seems within my capability. There are tons of ideas with almost 300 pages of photos showing real scrapbook pages. Each sample has details of the paper, font, accents, etc. to show you how it was done. Sample ideas: use lace or a handkerchief on a page to relate to clothing in vintage pictures * including a family tree * use old letters and cards. Learn how to incorporate memorabilia without bulkiness and how to give historical perspective to family events. Quibbles: The tiny print of the photo captions is a little hard to read.

I decided to give my mother a "surprise" scrapbook for her 75th birthday, December 23, 2004. I had a few old pictures that I had borrowed from her during the years and had copies made. I knew I wanted this book to be really special but I did not know how to go about displaying the pictures of my mothers parents and grandparents. This book is full of pictures and it will help me put this all together in the two short weeks I have to complete it. I also found an old picture of my mother when she was in her late teens or early twenties. I used it to make an announcement of her upcomming 75th birthday by turning it into a four quarter fold card. I wrote a poem about her and asked all family and friends to send a birthday card, picture or a note for her surprise scrapbook and for them to mail it to my home. That way she will get all the cards at once and they will be a nice keepsake for the scrapbook. I will include one of the announcements I created as part of the scrapbook also. I found an old but pretty etched hand mirror at an antique store and I will incorporate it on the cover of the scrapbook with some lace and ribbons. I will title this scrapbook "Reflections of my family". I will also include pictures of all her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. Without this book I would not of thought about the journaling involved with the photos. Luckily, I can contact my mothers sister and cousins for information on the history of the people in the pictures. My mother lost one of her daughters this September to cancer so it has been a hard year. She was only 53 and very close to mom. I plan to do a special page for her in the scrapbook. I later plan to make a scrapbook called "Sisters" and have just pictures of me and my 3 sisters in it. This was another idea I got from Creating Keepsakes Scrapbooking Family Heritage. I plan to do more keepsake scrapbooks now for my own grandchildren because it is important to have your family history available for future generations.