Family Treasures

I am so excited and disappointed at the same time!  My Mom told me about all the treasures that she and my Aunt found, going through all of my Grandma's things after they had been storage for 8 years.  The disappointment comes because I'm almost 900 miles away from my Mom and can't "eyeball" them myself.  My Mom had a fantastic day with her family and the two sisters had fun remember things, laughing, tearing up and then getting back on task.

My Grandma Hopkins is a social historian's dream.  Growing up relatively poor and being a newlywed when the Great Depression hit, she learned to save everything!  It was a bane to those who had to clean out her house where she had lived about 70 years, but a boon to me - the family's historian!  So much happens in a person's life that sometimes we don't even really know what we don't know!  We don't know what questions to ask!

Some of the boxes contained slips of her hand crocheted lace, fabrics and the little "bits and bobs" that you save because you might need something some day.  A few held her costume jewelry and a little doll that is about 100 years old.  Other things were more mundane like the apple box in the layout above.  My Mom remembers that her father received a gift box of fruit every year and it was always a happy occasion when it arrived (life certainly was much simpler then, wasn't it?).  This is one of the boxes - Grandma saved and reused everything.

Other boxes hold treasures that have me salivating in anticipation.  Grandma kept her diploma from "Normal School", her life time teaching credential and every teaching contract she ever had from the 1920s to the 1960s!  These will help me fill in the blanks as I share her story.  Another treasure was a family Bible about 140 years old from the Wolcott side of my family.  Several other Bibles were found belonging to my grandparents and great grandparents.  Both my grandfather and great grandfather spent some time as pastors.  There are even some Bible study and sermon notes from my Grandpa.  Since he died before I was born, I'm anxious to read them and see if I can step into his mind a little and get to know him.

Then there is the whole wooden trunk stamped F.W. Tisdale - whose treasures are yet to be discovered.  My family historian heart grows faint in anticipation!!!

Well I'll have to be patient.  My poor mother can't scan and photograph everything in the first 24 hours now, can she?

I had to do something with my excitement so I created the layout above using Jean Daugherty's Apple Hill Kit which coordinated with that apple box.  If any of you locals are reading this, yes, it's made about our Apple Hill!  It's one of the loveliest apple kits I've ever seen and I have no hesitation in recommending it!

What unexpected treasures have you found?

Book Review and My Lifetime Story and Life Book Challenges

Anyone who sets foot in our home knows that we are a family of bibliophiles, so it only seems fitting that I should begin a series of reviews about books that may be helpful in scrapbooking, photography, digital graphics, genealogy, heritage studies and so on.

As a disclaimer, I must say that I have not actually completely read this book word for word,because it had to be returned to the library without renewing because there was a hold.  I read enough to put it on my Amazon list for future reference. Also it's not necessarily a book you read word for word, but pick up and thumb through and read sections that apply. It is a reference type book.

The Power of Memoir: How to Write Your Healing Story by Linda Joy Myers, PhD a therapist and president of the National Association of Memoir Writers, presents guidelines for sharing your own story with tips on both the technical and emotional aspects of the journey.

It will probably come as no surprise to you that I highly recommend everyone sharing their own story.  People tend to think they are boring or that no one would be interested in their lives.  But, wouldn't you want to know even a little of the daily life of your great grandparents?  I know I would treasure every bit.  Many families are blessed to have letters and even some journals, but mine was not and it has left me with many questions unanswered.  I wonder what questions my grandchildren will one day have about me?  Perhaps they or others can learn from my own mistakes and avoid them.

Furthermore, there is value in telling your story whether someone else reads it or not.  As a therapist, Ms. Myers' book touches greatly on the healing aspect of telling your story.  I often think of it like this - when I share my story with someone I trust, or write it down - I am removing a part of that pain from my body.  It's almost like a surgical extraction though truly our experiences never totally leave us, but sharing can diminish the blow. She covers extensively dealing with controversial topics and writing the truth about loved ones.

In addition to the healing aspect, which some may not agree with or feel the need to address, there are many writing prompts in the form of both topics to cover and questions.  There is advice on technique, structure and even publishing!  You can read excerpts from the book here at the author's website.

So, how does this translate into scrapbooking?  Well a lot of scrapbooking is telling a story in pictures and art, though we often fall short in the words department.  About ten years or so ago, when I was still paper scrapbooking, I was on an email list with Angie Pedersen and she challenged us not to forget ourselves in our scrapbooks.  Inevitably one person is repeatedly behind the camera telling the stories of others, but everyone is left to wonder who the mysterious camera man or woman is!  Then she wrote The Book of Me and others in the series.  These are excellent guidelines.  Perhaps I will review that book next!  You can read more from Angie on her blog.

Are you already looking to scrap your story?  Faith Sisters has an excellent serial challenge called My Lifetime Story, running in 2010.  You can find some great ideas and the challenges are left up in the forum so you can start up at anytime.  If you would like to see what others are doing, you can look here in the My Lifetime Story Challenge Gallery for great ideas.

In heritage scrapbooking we are often telling the story of someone else and piecing together from photos, documents and interviews.  The person may no longer be living and this presents more challenges.  Heritage Scrap has a serial challenge called Life Book, which is currently in its 3rd round.  This is put together and run by the lovely Victorian Rose Designs!  There is a chat at 9PM Eastern each Monday where ideas are discussed and Vicki passes out wonderful digital goodies.  You can peek in the Life Book Gallery too for some awesome ideas. I should state that the Life Book format is not only for telling the story of your ancestors but works for telling your own story as well.

Sometimes it is scary to put yourself out there or to even think about these things, but they can be blessings too.  If you read this post and feel inspired, leave me a note in the comments - and better yet a link to a gallery where you have posted your work! I look forward to hearing from you!

$1 Quick Page at Faith Sisters

With each monthly collaboration kit we do at Faith Sisters, we also do a quick page.  For the So Fru Fru collaboration, I created this and you can purchase it for $1 here!

So Fru Fru - Earn it Free at Faith Sisters

Recently I had my first adventure in designing non-heritage designs.  If you can see the ribbons with roses, about half way up... then you'll know I was only partially successful and making it non-heritage.  It was fun to stretch my wings a little and try something new. All of the designer's elements and papers are pooled together so you can't really see what was my contribution, but there is a lot in this and it's only HALF of the collaboration!

Right now you can earn this large, second portion of the collab free when you purchase $10 or more from the Faith Sisters Store.

Autumn Sales

Autumn in my favorite season and so I've decided to celebrate by continuing my Autumn Sale.  There if 40% off almost everything at my Heritage Scrap Store and 40% off of everything in my tiny new store at Faith Sisters.  Different items are available at each site.  Thank you for looking!

Under Construction

If you are dropping in - THANK YOU - but please excuse the construction mess as I redesign my blog. Thank you for your patience.

You can find my designs at Heritage Scrap and Faith Sisters - Thank you for looking!

Remember to bookmark and come back. I will be posting new information soon and at the end of October there will be a blog train!

Beatrice Estelle Smith

Recently Heritage Scrap has a new designer, Roberta T. Designs. This is a layout of my Great Grandma Bea, whom I most resemble of all my relatives and ancestors. It was created with her

Botanical and Lace kit.