 Last week's blog was about telling your family's stories, recording them in a mini-book format, and then putting all those little books in a box. A box of family history if you will. Another way to go is simply a scrapbook. The books are readily available in stores or online, and there are tons of clipart and stickers to jazz up those books as well. While I am doing a box of family stories, I am also doing a scrapbook of my life. It's just about me, and my life experiences. So I thought taking a peek inside my scrapbook might inspire you to do a scrapbook about yourself or about all those rich family stories from the past. Sometimes when you see what someone else has done, you realize that you can do that too! And rest assured, I know most of your books will be ever so much better than mine. I'm just not that creative. But let's proceed!  Before I continue by showing you examples, I would just like to appeal to you again to tell your stories. Doesn't matter how much you know, just seeing their family portrait or their wedding photo makes those ancestors come alive for your kids and grandkids. Online I saw a scrapbook of old family photos, and the creator had simply put 'before' and 'after' pictures on that page. Perhaps you have a old photo of your grandmother as a baby. On the same page, you can post a current picture of her. Title the photos, "Then and Now." It's all about making those old photos and people in a box come alive! So here we go!  An example of a cover you could create for your family's stories.  This is the cover of my husband's scrapbook of his family's stories and history. As you can see, it'a a leather-bound book that you can purchase to make your book of family history.  This is the spine of my husband's scrapbook. It's a nice place to put the dates of the family history recorded there.  An example of one page I did on my mother. It's very fun to go to the craft store and get stickers and clip art to add to your book.  I've done pages on my sisters and my brother too. I simply included favorite photos. There are no rules for this. Just include what you like! Don't forget to include artifacts or documents if you've got them. My husband has a ton of documents and printed memorabilia in his scrapbook on his family. He has deeds, receipts, loan applications, old schoolbooks and church songbooks. He even has the menu from the ship that his parents sailed on from England to America! If you've got such things, put them in your scrapbook. And ESSAYS! Don't forget to include a short essay or bio on any family member you place in your book. Future generations will want to read about them. Include anything and everything to make that person come alive!  Please include artifacts and archival documents. That makes your ancestors come alive even further. My husband has a document on his grandfather wherein he used his horse as collateral for a loan. How fun to read about that! And that's it! In a former blog, I posted a photo of a friend and her daughters and granddaughters poring over their grandmother's box of memorabilia. You could sense their great interest even from the photograph. I'm sure you've had this experience when looking at old-time family photos. You'll hear people say things like, "Look how handsome he was." Or, "Wow! She looks just like Aunt Martha!" Simply looking at the photos with their names and relationships makes those people come alive to the generations. And creating a scrapbook is such a great hobby! If you're looking for a new hobby, this is a great one. Until next week, stay cool and collected! 
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 I visit lots of ancestry sites, and when I visited "Teach Me Genealogy" to get ideas for recording our family's stories, I saw this wonderful opening statement. I have to share the poem, and I will share the web address at the end of this blog--it's a good one.  Yes, I'm at it again--creating little mini-books on our family's ancestors and putting them in a box. This oppressive Texas heat has me staying inside and returning to my crafts and writing. Most of my readers (I'm guessing since it's a "grandmothers' blog") are my age, and we're at a stage in our lives wherein we want to tell OUR stories and those of our parents and grandparents. Our children and grandchildren should know these stories. The way I've chosen to do it, is with little mini-books, but there are endless ways to record those stories. I plan to cover all the ways to do it in future blogs. Stay tuned. But I have to show you the old photo my husband found that so intrigued me. Take a look at this guy, my husband's Great-uncle Charlie. How can you not want to include him in a box or scrapbook of ancestor stories? Here he is:  Great-Uncle Charlie--I had to do a mini-book about him. I'll admit, we didn't know much about him. But as we researched, two important facts came to light. He was able to purchase a car in 1917, and he died in the Great Pandemic of 1918. Now while that might not seem important to you, I realized I wanted my grandkids to read about that. They study the invention of the automobile in school, as well as the terrible world-wide pandemic of 1918. By recording Uncle Charlie's story, those wouldn't be just myriad facts in a history book. They actually had ancestors who died in that pandemic or lost loved ones. And buying a car in the early days of the automobile industry was no small feat. Uncle Charlie, who farmed in Oklahoma and Texas, was able to afford one.  Charlie in his roadster circa 1917.  By telling these stories, I want my children and grandchildren and great grandchildren to know that their forebears quite often suffered through hardships and difficult times. And they made it! Children need to know they come from strong stock, and no matter their own difficulties, they can survive those things too.  My box of ancestor stories and stories of grit. This is simply the format in which I chose to share our family's stories.  A peek inside the box of little six-page, 4 1/2x6 inch books.  I added Charlie's book with that great photograph.  A peek inside Charlie's book. It does include pages of the few facts we had on Charlie's life. Lastly, my mini-books--the format I've chosen to record my stories and my ancestor stories. It works for me as quite often, I don't have a lot to tell about some of these people. I taught with a woman who would often include the item "Fun," in her rubric for an assigned project or piece of writing. I liked that. She tried to convey to her students that they should make it fun, make it eye-catching, include something to entice their readers to want to pick it up and read it. As I said, I liked that. I liked the idea of my grand kids going through my story box--such a fun concept. And choosing a mini-book that caught their eye! I've done a blog about these mini-books before, but here are some photos to recap. I've also included a youtube video with instructions on how to make these little books. If you're a grandmother looking for a new craft, these are quite fun!  A mini-book is made from a single sheet of 12x18 construction paper. No need to staple. Instructions in youtube video at the end of this blog.  I mostly included this photo, so that you could see it's really quite simple. More accurate steps in youtube video.   Need ideas for a final summer craft with your youngster before they head back to school? Actually I think these are so cool that parents and grandparents could do these themselves. Maybe place the finished product on the patio or along the backyard fence. We keep our youngest grandson during the day in the summer while his dad is working. Adney and I are often looking for a craft. These "sticks" caught our eye on Pinterest. I wish I could give you a website for these, but alas, there was no one to credit.  So we did our own version of the project. You'll need 1x1 wooden sticks (36 inches in length) from the craft store or lumber supply. You'll also need paint, various embellishments, paint pens, and twine to be used for hanging their masterpiece.  1x1 sticks that we found at the craft store. My husband cut them into the desired sizes-one long stick and one shorter one.  Paint and supplies we already had on hand. What is it they say? A picture is worth a thousand words. Probably not used in this context, but I'll let my pictures talk you through the rest of this craft.  Grandson hard at work. He had already done all the painting.  I thought I was taking him to the craft store to get the sticks and perhaps a wooden heart or star. He found these wooden dinosaurs in a bin and already painted. They were perfect for a boy who loves dinosaurs!  Another stick he created. I think we could call these spirit sticks or even totems.  As you can see, Poppa drilled a hole in the top so we could add a string, and they could be hung on the wall of his room.  I've included these closeup shots so you can see the details he painted and glued on.  A boy and his totem!  And here you have them--hanging in the boy's room. And there you have it! A fun craft for your kids, grands, or great-grands. And a fun craft for adults too! We have to do something to get us through these dog days of summer. You know the saying, "Enjoy yourself. It's later than you think!" And it couldn't be more true about that precious time with your grandkids.  Craft fun for the Fourth of July! And it's not just for kids. I write this blog for grandparents and their grands, but these crafts can be done just by grandparents. If your kids are out-of-town or just unavailable, there is no reason grandparents can't do these on their own. It's too darn hot in Texas to be going outside, so if you're looking for a craft to do inside, these might be the ticket! What was it John Adams said about Independence Day? "I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated, by succeeding generations, as the great anniversary festival...It ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade..." And this from the Pennsylvania Evening Post on July 5, 1777, "About noon all the armed ships and rallies in the river were drawn up before the city, dressed in the gayest manner, with the colors of the United States and streamers displayed." And that's what I try to do at my house--dress it in the happiest style, with red, white and and blue and streamers displayed! And I love to involve my grandkids in this endeavor. This year we did another craft. Instructions follow.  Red, White and Blue Wall Hanging. The first craft we did was the star door or wall hanging pictured above. It is made of popsicle sticks and raffia ribbon. It's pretty straight forward--create the stars from craft sticks, paint them in patriotic colors, and attach to raffia streamers. My grandson is eight years old, so this was a fairly easy craft for him. You'll need these supplies: acrylic outdoor paints in red, white and blue, raffia ribbon, a hot glue gun, and craft sticks.  Red, white and blue patio/outdoor paint available at craft stores.  Six-inch craft sticks also available at local craft stores.  This raffia ribbon came from a big-box discount store.  I had to get online for instructions on how to create stars out of five popsicle sticks. LOL.  Finished stars ready to be painted.  And so the painting begins. These are water-based paints so the clean-up is easy. It was a fun activity. After we made three patriotic hangings, we sent one in the mail to his great grandmother; we delivered one to his favorite great-aunt who lives here in town, and then we presented his dad with one to be displayed on their front porch. Next up--a 4th of July porch display!  Wooden firecrackers just for the fun of it! Another straight forward task. His grandfather used a leftover wooden cedar post (from a fencing project) for this patriotic display. Adney couldn't help with the sawing of the posts, but everything else, he did, from the painting to the shopping for ribbon and sparklers. This craft requires one cedar post cut by an adult in various lengths. You'll also need silk ribbon in red, white and blue, paints in those same colors, and some sparklers  You'll need those same paints as mentioned for the star project. You'll also need silk ribbon in patriotic motifs.  My husband cut the cedar post (grandson did NOT help with this), but if you go to Lowe's or Home Depot, I think they will cut it for you in desired lengths.  Some of the sparklers/picks we found to embellish our wooden firecrackers.  Forgot to add that the cedar posts need a small hole drilled in the top to accommodate these red, white and blue picks.  Grandson and his Poppa painted the posts in the garage.  Posts (for firecrackers) drying in the garage.  The finished project! Many blessings to doing this craft with your grandkids (or sons, daughters, nieces, nephews, friends and other relatives). Decorating your home shows to your grandchildren the importance of love for your country and the blessings and freedoms we enjoy here. It's such a great bonding time when you can do some craft or art activity with them. They tend to share their thoughts and feelings during this time of working together. It shows them you value their expertise and opinion when you take them to the craft store to pick out any items you might need. And I try not to do any craft "in and of itself." I always try to provide an avenue for them to share their finished product with others. We usually send our crafts to his great-grandmother and other family members.
Happy Fourth of July, everyone! Celebrate and festoon your own home the way our forefathers suggested!  We all have memories to share. Let's do this! It happened again. There was an article in a local newspaper about sharing and preserving your story as well as your family's stories. And then a fabulous story on "60 Minutes" about StoryCorps which seeks to record videos of people telling their stories in order to preserve this informal history. It put me in a mind to continue writing stories of my time on this earth. You might be thinking--who wants to read my story? Plenty of people do! We need to do this for our children, our grandchildren, our great-grandchildren, our nieces and nephews, and beyond. And everyone, EVERYONE, has a story to tell.  Three of my grandchildren looking through old scrapbooks. I'd say that's a pretty high interest level. Your family will want to read yours too. A list of questions to answer seems a good way to begin. Several years ago, my son and daughter-in-law gave me a book to begin to write my story. It's entitled, Legacy, A Step-by-Step Guide to Writing Personal History by Linda Spence. (I notice it's still available on Amazon.) Now you can find sites online with questions for you to answer, but they are often generic and don't go much further than, "Where were you born?" Or where did you go to high school." That's fine and that's a start, but this book and other online sites go a little deeper and ask questions that are much more fun to answer. A sample list of questions that dig a little deeper~
I cannot stress this enough. Someone will want to read your stories. I was once at a dinner party in Round Rock, Texas, The hostess had just received an old letter from a relative that was quite a treasure, and she shared it with us. It was a letter from one of her ancestors who had fought at San Jacinto with Sam Houston! Now I realize most of us won't be sharing events like that in our memories, but I've loved my husband's family letters on life on the farm here in Texas in the early 1900's. I repeat.......someone will love reading your letters or memoirs. Take a look at this picture from a friend as her children and grandchildren read their great grandmother's letters.  It's a fairly quiet January, and many of us have some time to spare. Write your memories, or add to your memories. It's good exercise for your brain! Let's do this:  O Book described above, and it's a good one: Legacy~A Step-by-Step Guide to Writing Personal History by Linda Spence. O Article from the Houston Chronicle on preserving your stories: www.houstonchronicle.com/home/article/You-re-living-history-Preserve-it-Here-s-a-16757976.php O Online article with useful questions to answer in order to write your personal essays: authority.pub/memoir-writing-prompts/ O One of my previous blogs about writing your story: www.gigisseasonings.com/blog/telling-your-stories-part-iii  Making Christmas ornaments with the grandkids, and making them out of a wooden block from the craft store. And if your grandkids aren't around to do this, just add it to your own craft list. It's very fun. I saw this idea on Pinterest. I simply got what I thought would be the needed supplies, including a package of wooden craft blocks from the hobby store, and let my grands do the rest. They are teenagers now, so I could turn them loose. They are so creative! You'll need the aforementioned wooden cubes, pretty Christmas-themed papers, an assortment of ribbons and embellishments, hot glue gun and Mod Podge. Here we go!  Wooden blocks from the craft store.  You'll need some Mod Podge and pretty scrapbook papers too!  While you're in the craft store, get some charming embellishments for the ornaments.  My grands and I have done Christmas ornament-making for about three years in a row. They always suggest raiding the old costume jewelry box (which is part of our costume box) for other embellishments.  We got hooks and eyelets from Poppa's workbench.  The finished products.  The girls sent me pictures of the ornaments hanging from their tree. Calling all grandparents! If your grandkids aren't in town, or they're in town, but much too busy for this project, I suggest doing it yourself. It can fill up your cozy December evenings, and you can turn it into a keepsake ornament for your own tree or to gift to them for Christmas. Especially if you use their photos. I'll include a website for this at the end of this blog.  Decoupaging photos on the wooden cubes! You'll find blog spot link at the end of my blog. More ideas! You can have a tea with your grandkids, and then make the ornaments. Just another fun get-together for you and your grandkids. We did that last year. I got the treats, but the girls made the canapés and set the table for us. Then we simply cleared the table and got busy creating. It's just another fun time that one hopes all involved will always remember!  The foods for tea created by my granddaughters.  These were the ornaments created last year. Instead of wooden blocks, they were made from wooden hearts and stars also available at your friendly local craft store. And that's it! This is a blog for and about grandparents and grandchildren. And today's blog can work for grandparents only. If you're not able to do this with your grandchildren, it's a fun project just for YOU. Or invite some friends over and create a keepsake ornament. It's all good! Another of my blogs about ornament making: www.gigisseasonings.com/blog/making-keepsake-ornaments Blog about making photo ornaments: wmcraftgoodies.blogspot.com/2010/11/day-29-photo-memory-block-ornament.html?m=1 Happy Christmas season to you and yours!  I have more crafts for the family. As it says on the box, for kids as young as three and as old as 103. So here we go. After this pandemic, I think we're all ready to celebrate the 4th of July in a big way. Involve those kids and grandkids in the home decorating with these crafts. The first one is just a matter of buying some "Do-A-Dot Art®". Or you can get some finger-paint and some sponges. I think the "Do-A-Dot" markers are much easier. You'll also need a star stencil or pattern and let them paint around it. Very easy for even three-year-olds.   It says right there on the box that 3-year-olds can handle this art. It's also washable.  Apparently it requires opening your mouth as you go around the stencil.   We tied it to make a mobile. We hung it in the entry hall.  It can also be hung in a window. The next one is for the older kids. It involves hammering nails in wood and stringing embroidery thread so you'll have to be the judge for what your grandchild can do. Our grandson is seven and going on eight, and he was just fine with this craft. It might be easier to show you the finished product before I go into any kind of explanation, so here is it.  Here's the finished string art craft. Much easier to explain if I start with the end project. As you can see, this involves a 5 inch by 16 inch piece of lumber, nails, red, white and blue string, and a 4 inch star pattern. Simply trace the star pattern on the board in three places, mark where you want your nails, hammer them in (but not all the way of course), and string the heavy thread. Voila! You've got yourself a pretty decoration for home or patio.  Supplies: heavy embroidery thread, nails, and a 16 inch long board.  Yes, grandson did MOST of the nailing.  Here's the stringer in action.  Finished display. By the way, I did the red star, and my 7-year-old did the white and blue stars. As you can see, I made mistakes--he didn't. And there you have it--two more crafts you can do with your children or grandchildren. They love it when you make decorations together and love it even more when you use those decorations in your home. They beam with pride. We sent the string art home with our grandson so he could hang it in his house. We also put a sticker on the back telling the day it was made and signed it. If it survives his childhood, he'll have something to hang in his house and tell his kids that he made it when he was a boy.
 Creating handmade items for this big summer holiday with the kids and grandkids! I keep my seven-year-old grandson in the summer. And I recently had my 13-year-old granddaughter come to visit as well. I decided to plan some crafts for us to do while they were here. I thought I probably should use the time with my granddaughter to work on her sewing skills. She spent the night one night so we could work at the sewing machine without her 7-year-old cousin underfoot. We would do a craft with him when he came the next morning. Making Pillows out of Tea Towels: My granddaughter's family has a lovely outdoor sectional on their patio. We decided it would be great to make some patriotic themed pillows for that couch. I took the easy way out and just bought some 4th of July tea towels. That way my grand just had to fold, sew up the sides and bottom and we were ready to stuff those pillows. Easy as can be!  The finished products. I think the tea towels made great pillows.  They look great on my couch outside, but they went home with my granddaughter. A Patriotic Ribbon Banner: The project we all three did together, and that's suitable for the younger kids (at least if they know how to tie a knot), was a 4th of July ribbon banner made of red, white and blue ribbons. We started by walking in the woods to find some sticks and twigs that would be suitable for us to tie our ribbons to. After we settled on the size and look we wanted, we brought them back to the craft room and began to cut our ribbons. We had an assembly line to measure each strand of ribbon and cut. I had already bought the ribbon when the craft store had rolls on sale at half price. Then we were ready to simply tie the ribbons on the stick in any patterns we chose. An easy craft for young and old alike.  Hopefully a fun bonding time for these two cousins.  Concentrating on the task at hand.  Even 7-year-olds can tie knots--the task required for this craft.  Our finished product. One can find wonderful ribbons at the craft store. We used twine for the hanger. This can be hung indoors or outdoors. I've even seen them pictured on the garden gate.  We made enough for each kid to take home and send one to their great-grandmother for her porch.  I think he's proud of his creations.  There you have it. Two easy summer crafts with the kids or grandkids. And it's a fun indoor craft--too hot in Texas right now to do anything outside.
As I always say, doing arts-and-crafts with the young kids is such a great bonding time. You can talk, share ideas, and learn what's going on in their lives. And you have cute pillows and a wall-hanging for Independence Day!  The best gift for Mother's Day? Something written or created by her children or grandchildren of course! I was reminded of this recently. It was my youngest son Travis' birthday. My husband asked our grandson (Travis' son) what he would like to get his dad for his birthday. He went through the usual list of daddy-gifts, and then said, "My dad has everything. I want to get him a card and write on it, 'I promise from now on I will listen to you.'" When my husband told me that, my heart melted, and I told my husband, "That's exactly what he'll get him." Poppa took him shopping that day to pick out a card, and I helped my grandson write his promise to his dad. What a treasure that is. I think things like that are the best gifts of all. A heartfelt promise written in your own hand. A poem to your loved one that you compose. A sweet essay about your mother. Those are wonderful gifts!  A questionnaire about mother for older kids~ I did this a few year ago with my grandkids for their dad on Father's Day. There are some great questionnaires online. They were older, so I printed out the questionnaire and had everyone go to their own corner and answer the questions. Then I printed their answers in a book. But you wouldn't have to go so far as to publish an online book. You could simply have them answer the questionnaire and fold it up in a sweet Mother's Day card. I'll post a website with appropriate questions about mother at the end of my blog. Some examples are:
 A questionnaire about mommy for the younger kids~ There are online questionnaires that are more appropriate for younger children. You can ask the questions and record their answers. You can do it in person, or over the phone or during FaceTime. And once again, tuck it inside a card and send it to their mother. Also, I'll give you a link for these questionnaires for the younger kids. Some examples are:
 Asking the younger kids questions about their parents, turns out to be the best fun of all. When my oldest son was four, he went to a child development lab at a local high school. At Thanksgiving, he was interviewed (as were all the students) for a cookbook for their mothers. One of the questions was to share a recipe from his mother. I can't remember the recipe, probably how to cook a turkey, but his recipe began, "My mother washes the dishes once a week and then she . . . " I still laugh about that one. So I hope you'll interview your kids, grandkids or even great-grandkids. Their responses to such questions are priceless!  Sample questionnaire for the older kids: www.imom.com/printable/15-questions-for-kids-to-answer-about-mom/   I found another craft idea for us retired folks! Painting bricks or pavers. Yes, it happened again. I paint kindness rocks, and I was on Pinterest looking for more ideas for my simple, little rock art. And lo and behold, I found an idea for painting on bricks. So if you're looking for a hobby, or simply want to mix things up in your craft room, you might want to try this. My husband is a gardener, so I knew I had to paint him a brick to place in his garden.  Very simple directions for this little craft. You can buy bricks or pavers at your home supply store. You might even have some stashed in the corner of your yard or in your garage. Then just get some craft paints specifically for outdoor use, and some acrylic to seal it when you're finished, and you are done. You might want to make one for your yard, garden or front door. Or perhaps a friend or relative for use in their garden or entranceway. I think they are really sweet.  You'll need bricks or pavers and paint and paint pens.  Don't forget the top coat to seal it!  My finished product. After I completed the paver, I looked for a place to put it in one of my husband's gardens. I tried several locations.  I tried out several spots around the yard and garden.  More spots I tried out. Then I realized I really should let my gardener husband choose the spot. Next you'll want to decide on the sentiment or quote you want to write on the brick. I considered several, and I'm sure you'll know exactly what you want to write. I tried to keep it as short as possible. Here are some ideas:
 I found this pretty one on Pinterest, but there was no credit or website given.  Love the addition of a ribbon on this one. And there you have it--another craft idea to add to your repertoire. Retirement can be the best time of your life. It's fun to fill it up with lots of crafts, sports, travel, and other activities. Go for it!
The link to that last brick idea: bkwilliams-catskidsandcrafts.blogspot.com/2011/08/brick-craft.html |
AuthorRetired school teacher and now full time grandmother sharing ideas and looking for new ones about grandparenting! Archives
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