Fast Family History

Simple approaches for heritage layouts

When we get ready to make a scrapbook page, it’s natural to reach for our current photos and newly made memories first. After all, they’re fresh, and readily available. We don’t have to interview distant aunts or climb into musty attics in search of stories and photos.

As if musty attics weren’t enough, heritage topics can also feel intimidating. There are so many different places you could start, so many boxes of photographs you could focus on, and so many extra steps involved in getting the story down on paper.

But the rewards that come from documenting your “ancient history” can be well worth the effort. Imagine the feelings of accomplishment, of connection with your past, of perspective for the future. Here are five easy ways to dip your little toe into the family history pool. Try one and see how passionate you become about the past.

Supplies:

cardstock (Bazzill Basics) • patterned paper (Making Memories, Collage Press) • letter stickers (Making Memories, EK Success) • paper lace (Creative Imaginations) • embroidery floss (DFN) • photo corners (Canson) • inkjet transparency (3M) • software (Adobe Photoshop CS3) • digital butterfly (Rhonna Farrer) • other (handwritten letter) • 12 x 12 layout by Noel Culbertson

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1. Use their words.

When Mary Louise Campbell passed away, her only grandson (Noel’s husband) inherited all of the photos, letters, and scrapbooks she had kept over the years. Noel stumbled across a funny little “Dear Fairies” note in a shoebox of old letters, so she quickly dug up a photo of Mary from about the same time period and paired them on a precious layout.

Your Turn

Do you have anything written in your grandmother’s hand—a love note to Grandpa, a birthday card to you, a recipe, a note to one of your children? Even if it’s from 1991 instead of 1931, memorabilia like this looks great on a layout, paired with a photo of Grandma from any point in her life. Worried about ruining an original? Scan the letters or the photos first.

Supplies:

patterned paper (Carolee’s Creations) • trim (Making Memories) • glitter stickers (K&Company) • Monaco font • 8 1/2 x 11 layout by Angie Lucas

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2. Memory dump.

You may not know it, but there are important heritage stories and memories swimming around in your brain right now. All you need is the right trigger to set them free. While I was recently browsing through some of my childhood photos, this photo of my brother and me at my Grandma Hill’s house brought a flood of impressions to mind. I remember it all so clearly: that carpet, that huge old television set just visible on the edge of the picture, the scent of Grandpa’s famous soup wafting from the kitchen. So I sat down at my computer and just dumped all my memories of Grandma Hill’s house into a word-processing document, then I formatted my list into a journaling block for the layout above.

Your Turn

Find a photo from your childhood that feels “big” to you—a photo that draws you into instant reverie. Then sit down and write whatever comes to mind, polish it up a little bit, and add it to a layout. It’ll be the easiest heritage layout you’ve ever made.

Supplies:

cardstock (Bazzill) • patterned paper (October Afternoon, 7Gypsies) • alphabet stickers (American Crafts) • number stickers (Making Memories) • bingo card (from a Studio Calico kit) • paper flower (Prima) • plastic flower (vintage) • gathered trim • pen (Zig/EK Success) • 12 x 12 layout by Tami Morrison

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3. Tell a story you know by heart.

There are lots of family stories that you know from sheer repetition, whether or not you actually remember the experiences themselves. Stories from your babyhood—the cute things you said, your most adorable quirks, and your most exasperating antics—are prime examples. You’ve heard these stories from your parents over and over again, but how many are written down? Pick one and make a page.

Your Turn

Follow Tami’s lead and record your first words or phrases on a layout, next to a photo of you as a baby. Your journaling can be short and sweet—just a title and a one-sentence caption, as Tami’s page demonstrates. (Note: don’t hesitate to alter embellishments to suit your page theme, as Tami did by adding an “L” to the Bingo card.)

Bonus Tip

You could even expand this topic and create a similar layout for your spouse (just interview your mother-in-law), and a page for each of your children. Sounds like a mini-album in the making!

Supplies:

cardstock (Wausau Paper, Doodle Bug) • patterned paper (Dream Street, Doodle Bug) • laser cut paper (KI Memories) • rub-ons (Stampin’ Up) • stickers (7 Gypsies) • Software (Adobe Photoshop CS3) digital brushes (Anna Aspnes, designerdigitals.com) • Bitstream Vera Serif font • 12 x 12 layout by Noel Culbertson

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4. Capture current heritage.

One of the greatest ways to scrapbook your heritage is to focus on the family traits, traditions, and experiences that are being passed from one generation to another. (That’s the very definition of “heritage,” in fact!) Even though Noel’s photos were taken recently, and the thoughts and impressions she shared are current, she’s sharing a family legacy of “wit, wisdom, joy, quality time” that her daughters are inheriting and absorbing daily.

Your Turn

The next time you’re with extended family, make sure to take photos of you, your spouse, and your children interacting with their grandparents and great-grandparents. Then list the traits that each grandparent has instilled in you and your children and make a meaningful layout.