May is Scrapbook Month A Time to Ponder

May is Scrapbook Month, A Time to Ponder

 Ah a topic dear to my heart and I am not a Scrapbook doer, but I am a user of their ideas at times and attempt to help others collect their genealogical information by using a basic Memory Book.

  A Memory Book you say, well it is a Memory Calendar of your past year.  I suggest you start with Christmas so it can end in December and be a gift to a family member at Christmas the following year.

  Having recently read where our current history is being lost faster than it is being created, we used this as a method of recovery.  The article listed many many ways to help correct that in ones own family.

  The Memory Book can be as simple as a 3 x 5 card with a statement about something special you did that month. A picture of an event you attended or happened that affected you and your family.

  I went to a office supply store and bought acid free sleeves, acid free paper and acid fee pens and pencils for our members to use.  I also had acid free picture tags for members to use.

 At a local craft store I got several mini calendars that could be cut up and added to each page for the Memory Book. We used only 12 pages for data for basics, one for each month.

 This cut up calendar, 3 x 5 card or picture you have to add, to page is set on each page for each month of the year. Now you can break it up and do it as a Family calendar of events during the year, Medical knowledge for a year, genealogical finds for each month,  or what ever goal you want to succeed at.

 A recovering Cancer patient did it for Medical genealogy, It was a fabulous book.  What a great way to remember the positive things that happen in such a difficult time. Mine is by the month for various monthly events in the family.  I started mine in January but am planning on backing it up to last fall.

January has a notice of Mom's death and her picture on the mortuary card given. Other events for  the month are noted on the days of the week of the calendar. The events attended in February are posted for the next month ditto down the months. It has become a simple and easy item to do. Not costly expensive or time consuming.

One person cut the days of the week out of the calendar and only posted the month and the days that applied to their events.

So on the side of Scrapbooking you can preserve some of your family history for a child or grandchild or daughter or son, and maybe promote the want to carry on this learning of family history into the next generation.  Truly hope you give it a try.

It may be a fun thing to do for a shut in, in your family also.  Just keep it simple.