. . . . . . . to Family History Album

Scrapbooking Preserves Family History

By Jacque Fairbourn

Don't let precious photo's fade away in an old shoe box or old photo album. Don't let those precious stories of your ancestors go untold. Gather the picture's and put them together with the stories of your ancestors in an organized manner that will preserve their history of their life. We can learn so much from our families past and enjoy getting to know them through the pictures and stories. So much can be done to display your family heritage story, and it is a story. You are part of a family that started further back than anyone can remember; so tell everyone about it in your own unique way. Since you are telling a story of real life make sure you tell the good times and the bad times.

With the pictures make sure you use a contrasting color for the background paper. This will help to bring the details out in the pictures. Combine the pictures and the journaling together in a pleasant manner; also include documents that relate to different aspects of their life. Certificates, military papers, work related items, newspaper articles, tickets from a show, or quotes from an interview you did. Don't put too many items on a page though or it will look crowded. Spread it out. Add three dimensional items whenever you can because it helps to make the person more real. We can feel and see the item. Also, use your own words of your memories of your ancestors because this gives a different point of view of the person. Use your imagination and use pleasing colors, shapes, lace or leather, whatever fits the personality of the person that you are telling about. The most important thing is to bring memories of your ancestor.

There are many ways to preserve your family memories and history, using photos, videos, words, and music with the ability to make a digital scrapbook. With the computer and many programs available for choosing hundreds of designs and drop in your photos and videos. You customize color combination, journal entries, and different embellishments with your photos to enhance the history of your family. Recap the last family reunion as soon as you return and the memories will be fresh on your mind. Sharing your family's happiest memories with others are so much fun but also gratifying. Share what you have discovered when you do family research. It is amazing how much we don't know about our own family and how interesting it can be to us. Preserving our family history can also be vital information needed for future generations. Bigger items such as a wedding dress, pocket watch, Purple Heart award or family quilt that can't be captured on a page can be included by photocopying or scanning them and using the copies in your history.

The hardest part of scrapbooking and preserving your history is getting started or getting organized. It can look overwhelming at first if you haven't been keeping track of things first. Work and organize by sorting photos in files or boxes that are archival safe. Make sure to label them by person, family, time-period, life-stages or other theme. Then assemble all the materials needed to scrapbook your pages together. If you choose to do paper and embellishments then get the proper materials that will preserve your photos and items. If you choose to do digital then get all of the programs and materials needed to achieve the project in that manner. The digital programs are very easy to follow and are very user friendly.

Family history and genealogy is much more meaningful when it is shared with the living relatives and preserved for future generations. It's important to share the present, preserve the past, and share the history. Connect with your family members and work together with your memories and preserving your old family photos are important. Family history can be shared and displayed in a lot of ways, such as a family tree, a time line, or a chart. There are many online resources to help families with ideas and tips of family history. There are many resources online that will help with every little step of your family history, family history CD, or an online blog, from writing to designing to publication.

Some families like the more personal touch and like to hand write the history or at least journal parts of the entries. It can be very relaxing for a lot of people to scrapbook. Some families have got together for special occasions like 80th birthday or 50th anniversaries and have every person in the family do one page with photos and memories of that person and then compile the pages into a scrapbook history book for the person. It is a great way to celebrate their history and their life.

When tracing your family's history it is important to remember the importance of preserving not only the stories of the past, but also the stories of the living. Encourage your family members to record their memories for posterity with one of these wonderful journal type history books. Have questions with ample room in which there is room to write answers. This will become a treasured part of your family history for generations to come. Remember how important it is to share the present, preserve the past, and record the history for future generations.

Jacque Fairbourn is a consultant and mother working to promote chipboard shapes with TotalClassCreative, an online resource for craft supplies.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jacque_Fairbourn
http://EzineArticles.com/?Scrapbooking-Preserves-Family-History&id=2912925