One of the most difficult things my husband and I encountered as a newly married couple was combining our family traditions and making our own. Christmas was the holiday that proved most difficult for us at first. You see I grew up celebrating Christmas a very European way and my husband grew up celebrating Christmas a very North American way. Needless to say neither of us wanted to budge on giving up any of our traditional ways because we had always done it that way. ☺
Well as you grow as a couple, mature and try to put your stubbornness aside one can realize that making new traditions can be just as important as celebrating old ones. For me that means advent calendars, lebkuchen, St. Nicolas Day, Advent wreaths, cutting down the Christmas tree, visiting Mrs. Camp (because it’s tradition don’t you know), working like crazy in the bake shop on the 24th, mom’s potato salad and opening presents on Christmas Eve and sleeping in on Christmas morning. That’s Christmas for me. All these point bring back fond memories and feelings when I think about them. In part, they are what shaped me to love the holidays so much. For my husband Christmas memories are slightly different. They include pulling out the same artificial tree every year and piecing it together, waking up really early on Christmas morning, stockings, opening presents and visiting grandparents. As you can see our traditions are very different but are important to both of us.
This entire process made me come up with the idea of creating a scrapbook dedicated to the Christmas traditions we grew up with. Now that we are married and have children we have merged our two family traditions and created some of our own. Everyone celebrates the holidays differently but they are special to us no matter what. Now there is another way of celebrating those traditions. Create a scrapbook with pictures and stories of family traditions and how they started. What a great keepsake for future family members!
Some ideas of what you might include in your Christmas Traditions Scrapbook may include:
- Visits – is there a certain individual you make a special Christmas visit to? For me it’s Mrs. Camp. I’ve been visiting her on Christmas Eve day since the age of 4 and have continued that tradition for all these years.
- Baking – Christmas seems to be the time of year that even those individuals who don’t bake another time of the year pull out the flour and bake. Lots of us have those certain holiday favourites or tradional recipes that we bake every year. Christ Stollen is one of ours. Tell the story behind the recipe, how did the tradition start? Who started it?
- Cutting down the Tree - Now not all of us cut down a Christmas tree. Many use artificial trees. But there is always a story there. Celebrate it, preserve it. Let future generations know how much you enjoyed whatever tradition your family does.
- Decorating the Tree – Is there a special ornament that always has a place of honour on your tree? Take a picture of it and write the story/ history of the ornament. It could be a family heirloom or one your child made for you at school. Tell just how special it means to you and/ or your family.
- Christmas cards - Do you have special Christmas cards or letters (a child’s letter to Santa) that are precious to you? Why not celebrate them and preserve them in a very unique way. Placing them in an album not only showcases the memory but also preserves them for future generations to also enjoy.
No matter what your traditions are or how you celebrate them they are important because they are important to you. Celebrate them and showcase them in a special way that many individuals can enjoy with you. Happy Scrapping!
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Scrapbooking Your Pregnancy
What a unique way to preserve the joyous event of being pregnant. Preserve these precious memories in the form of a scrapbook. You may decide to do an independent pregnancy album or combine this within your baby album.
Ideas that you may decide to include in your album:
- Journal your thoughts and emotions when trying to become pregnant.
- Journal your thoughts and emotions when you found out you were pregnant.
- Take a picture of your positive pregnancy test.
- Write down the names you debated on.
- Ultra sound pictures.
- Date you felt the first flutter or movement.
- Pregnancy symptoms.
- Food cravings.
- Dreams of baby.
- Take pictures of your profile each month and watch as your belly grows.
- Photos of nursery, under construction and completed are always fun.
- Baby showers.
Another thing you might consider doing is asking your health care provider if you can get a photo copy of your records to include in your album so you can see your weight gain and the baby’s heart rate.
Are you/ did you keep a journal during your pregnancy? Include these pages in your album to create a truly special memory keepsake.
Most importantly, there is no right or wrong way to go about doing this album. However you decide to create your pages is perfect. Have fun; this is your album, do it your way! Enjoy!
Ideas that you may decide to include in your album:
- Journal your thoughts and emotions when trying to become pregnant.
- Journal your thoughts and emotions when you found out you were pregnant.
- Take a picture of your positive pregnancy test.
- Write down the names you debated on.
- Ultra sound pictures.
- Date you felt the first flutter or movement.
- Pregnancy symptoms.
- Food cravings.
- Dreams of baby.
- Take pictures of your profile each month and watch as your belly grows.
- Photos of nursery, under construction and completed are always fun.
- Baby showers.
Another thing you might consider doing is asking your health care provider if you can get a photo copy of your records to include in your album so you can see your weight gain and the baby’s heart rate.
Are you/ did you keep a journal during your pregnancy? Include these pages in your album to create a truly special memory keepsake.
Most importantly, there is no right or wrong way to go about doing this album. However you decide to create your pages is perfect. Have fun; this is your album, do it your way! Enjoy!
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Why Digital Scrapbook?
Digital Scrapbooking seems to be all the rage at the moment. And I have had to ask myself why? What is so special about scrapbooking digitally? I already have all my pictures, paper, stickers, pens, and whatnots ready to go. They just need to be assembled, completed. So here are some reasons why one might consider choosing to digital scrapbook over the more traditional format.
For starters there is no need to go out and buy all the different papers, pens, stickers and other embellishments for your album pages, they are already prepared for you on the computer.
There is no need to get your picture printed out to scrap them. Simply load the pictures from your camera’s memory card onto your computer. Now you have access to all your pictures via your computer. There is no longer the fear of loosing a photo in a pile because they are all right there on your PC. Just make sure you organize your pictures on your computer or you could loose them there too.
Many digital scrapbooking programs have cropping tools, photo enlargers, photo enhancers, red eye reduction tools etc. You can do all the work to your photo without the mess of scrap photo pieces flying about. No mess to clean up. How awesome is that! And with the ability of enlarging a photo right through your digital scrapbooking program you no longer need to go to the photo centre but simply do it from the comfort of your own home.
Now some people may say they cannot afford to do digital scrapbooking because of the cost. Okay, true, the cost for a completed book can run you around $45 and up. But consider this. If you were to keep a running tab on how much you spend per album on all the different papers, stickers and other embellishments not forgetting the cost of the album and pages you might find that digital scrapbooking could be dare I say cheaper in price? But not quality I can assure you. And you don’t have the worry of left over stickers etc. when you are done.
Ultimately it is personal preference and choice. I have tried digital scrapbooking and found I love it! I will, however, continue to scrapbook the “traditional” way. I personally find I like the creative freedom in whichever format I choose to work in. Whatever method you choose, remember, do what makes you happy, do it your way!
For starters there is no need to go out and buy all the different papers, pens, stickers and other embellishments for your album pages, they are already prepared for you on the computer.
There is no need to get your picture printed out to scrap them. Simply load the pictures from your camera’s memory card onto your computer. Now you have access to all your pictures via your computer. There is no longer the fear of loosing a photo in a pile because they are all right there on your PC. Just make sure you organize your pictures on your computer or you could loose them there too.
Many digital scrapbooking programs have cropping tools, photo enlargers, photo enhancers, red eye reduction tools etc. You can do all the work to your photo without the mess of scrap photo pieces flying about. No mess to clean up. How awesome is that! And with the ability of enlarging a photo right through your digital scrapbooking program you no longer need to go to the photo centre but simply do it from the comfort of your own home.
Now some people may say they cannot afford to do digital scrapbooking because of the cost. Okay, true, the cost for a completed book can run you around $45 and up. But consider this. If you were to keep a running tab on how much you spend per album on all the different papers, stickers and other embellishments not forgetting the cost of the album and pages you might find that digital scrapbooking could be dare I say cheaper in price? But not quality I can assure you. And you don’t have the worry of left over stickers etc. when you are done.
Ultimately it is personal preference and choice. I have tried digital scrapbooking and found I love it! I will, however, continue to scrapbook the “traditional” way. I personally find I like the creative freedom in whichever format I choose to work in. Whatever method you choose, remember, do what makes you happy, do it your way!
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Why Do We Journal in Scrapbooking?
It may seem like a simple question with a simple answer, but why then do people like me run from it as if it would bite? Some of us (myself included) find journaling a difficult process and would rather avoid it then actually do it.
Well, here are some very good reasons why we should muster up the courage, sit down and actual write in our scrapbooks.
The entire idea of journaling is to give meaning and life to the photos and memorabilia we have so carefully placed on our page. As good as our memory is there comes a time when it is not as sharp as it once was. Trust me, no one signed up to develop dementia or Alzheimer’s. Therefore it is oh so important to tell your story. You can start of very basic by simply including the date, place, and people in the photo. You can write a quick caption or write your story in a storytelling format. There is no right or wrong way to journal, remember it’s your album and your story, and just be sure to get it down.
There are resources on the Internet that are available for free that provide poems and quotes if you are stuck for ideas. Simply type “free scrapbooking quotes” in your search box and have fun browsing for the one that fits and suites your needs.
Journaling is not just for reminding you of the images on the page but also as a tool to inform others of why the pictures and memorabilia on your pages are so important. Simply taking a picture of a ring with no caption says, well, a ring. If you add a caption with the picture saying how the ring was your grandmother’s wedding ring, which was passed down to your mother who then intern passed it down to you, well now that’s a story and a very important on at that. So don’t go running to the hills at the first mention of journaling, set some time aside and really get into it. Find a quiet and relaxing space and let your thoughts flow from your pen. Enjoy!
“Everyone is talented, original and has something important to say.” Brenda Ueland
Well, here are some very good reasons why we should muster up the courage, sit down and actual write in our scrapbooks.
The entire idea of journaling is to give meaning and life to the photos and memorabilia we have so carefully placed on our page. As good as our memory is there comes a time when it is not as sharp as it once was. Trust me, no one signed up to develop dementia or Alzheimer’s. Therefore it is oh so important to tell your story. You can start of very basic by simply including the date, place, and people in the photo. You can write a quick caption or write your story in a storytelling format. There is no right or wrong way to journal, remember it’s your album and your story, and just be sure to get it down.
There are resources on the Internet that are available for free that provide poems and quotes if you are stuck for ideas. Simply type “free scrapbooking quotes” in your search box and have fun browsing for the one that fits and suites your needs.
Journaling is not just for reminding you of the images on the page but also as a tool to inform others of why the pictures and memorabilia on your pages are so important. Simply taking a picture of a ring with no caption says, well, a ring. If you add a caption with the picture saying how the ring was your grandmother’s wedding ring, which was passed down to your mother who then intern passed it down to you, well now that’s a story and a very important on at that. So don’t go running to the hills at the first mention of journaling, set some time aside and really get into it. Find a quiet and relaxing space and let your thoughts flow from your pen. Enjoy!
“Everyone is talented, original and has something important to say.” Brenda Ueland
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Pacing Partner
Have you ever considered signing up for a pacing partner for your scrap booking projects? The idea has been floating around in my head for some time now but I just didn’t know what to call it until one day I overheard this title used and thought “ah-ha!” A pacing partner is simply a person who helps to keep you motivated in getting your scrap booking projects completed. We all know how easy it is to have good intentions but then those good intentions start piling up on your craft desk till the day you can no longer find the craft desk, just a pile of “I’ll get to it some day.”
For the pacing partnership to work successfully you both need to be honest with each other. Set reasonable and realistic goals (don’t get over zealous and say you’ll complete your wedding album in one day). And most importantly, you need to be accountable to yourself. Your pacing partner is not going to come over and do the work for you.
So, if you need some extra motivation to get those projects completed but don’t want to leave the house to do so, enlist the help of a friend to be your pacing partner. With regular friendly phone calls and e-mails I am sure it will keep you motivated to one day show off those great completed projects.
For the pacing partnership to work successfully you both need to be honest with each other. Set reasonable and realistic goals (don’t get over zealous and say you’ll complete your wedding album in one day). And most importantly, you need to be accountable to yourself. Your pacing partner is not going to come over and do the work for you.
So, if you need some extra motivation to get those projects completed but don’t want to leave the house to do so, enlist the help of a friend to be your pacing partner. With regular friendly phone calls and e-mails I am sure it will keep you motivated to one day show off those great completed projects.
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Putting Yourself in the Spotlight
Yes, you read correctly. What about creating a scrapbook that is all about you. Think about it. You probably created several layouts but are you in them or are you the one taking the picture?
The idea of creating a scrapbook or layout with you as the main focus is to preserve your memory. Who better to tell the story of you then yourself! An African proverb states, “When an old man dies, a library burns.” Don’t let this happen to you. Start now and begin telling your story your way!
An album with you as the main focus is an excellent and special memento that can be passed on to your children. Ideas for your album can include the story of your birth, (date, place etc.), your likes, dislikes, favourite meal (colour, vacation memory), hobbies, interest, the ideas are endless.
It’s never too late to begin the journey of preserving yourself and what a wonderful memento for future generation as a way of getting to know you.
Resource
The idea for this post came from: The Book of Me http://angiepedersen.typepad.com/book_of_me_shop/book-of-me.html
The idea of creating a scrapbook or layout with you as the main focus is to preserve your memory. Who better to tell the story of you then yourself! An African proverb states, “When an old man dies, a library burns.” Don’t let this happen to you. Start now and begin telling your story your way!
An album with you as the main focus is an excellent and special memento that can be passed on to your children. Ideas for your album can include the story of your birth, (date, place etc.), your likes, dislikes, favourite meal (colour, vacation memory), hobbies, interest, the ideas are endless.
It’s never too late to begin the journey of preserving yourself and what a wonderful memento for future generation as a way of getting to know you.
Resource
The idea for this post came from: The Book of Me http://angiepedersen.typepad.com/book_of_me_shop/book-of-me.html
Friday, May 2, 2008
Recipe Scrapbook
Who says that scrapbooks need only be about people or events? Why not create a recipe book. This could become a family treasure. Take a collection of family recipes, for example Oma’s great potato salad recipe or Aunt Klara’s amazing sugar cookies, and create a one of a kind scrapbook. Scrapbooking a recipe book can be just as important as a memory keepsake as any other type of scrapbook, and just as much fun to create. You can get the individual to personally write the recipe out, this way that individual’s handwriting will be preserved forever in the scrapbook. Take a photo of the finished product so future generations have an idea of how the finished product should look like.
A recipe scrapbook is not only a great family memento but can also be a great shower or wedding gift for a new bride. Have each person submit a recipe and create a unique shower gift that the bride will absolutely love and get plenty of good use out of.
So happy scrapping and happy cooking!
A recipe scrapbook is not only a great family memento but can also be a great shower or wedding gift for a new bride. Have each person submit a recipe and create a unique shower gift that the bride will absolutely love and get plenty of good use out of.
So happy scrapping and happy cooking!
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