Telling Those Stories of Old

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!