Heritage Family Photo Albums or Scrapbooking

In addition to filling in the family history charts, you may also like to portray your ancestors' life in a scrapbook. David goes strictly for the information, however, I enjoy the stories about my ancestors too – what they were like, who they were, their occupations, how they felt about things, what the world like at that time they lived, and so forth. I also like timelines. 

I picked up a chart at a scrapbook convention some time ago by C. K. Clips which is for our son's scrapbook. In the center I will place a birth photo above his birth year. Around the perimeter of the page are the events pertinent to the year he was born such as the popular songs and television shows, films, newsworthy events, the President and Vice-President serving the year he was born, record-breaking sporting events, cost of living, and other stuff. There are websites online that cater to lists of events that happen each year. Scrapbooks are also a great place to store copies of birth certificates in pocket pages, a time-line of their life, favorite poetry, school memories, marriage photos, a mini copy of their wedding certificate, their children's photos, shots of their homes and cars, a copy of a completed family tree or chart and perhaps a photo of their gravestone. Be sure to use acid-free, lignin-free paper, pens/markers, and plastic sleeves to keep your information bright and readable for many years to come. DO NOT use those cheap magnet photo albums as your photos will deteriorate/fade over time. 

To purchase a decent photo album, you may check your local craft store for supplies such as Hobby Lobby, Joann's, Michael's, etc. I began with Creative Memories as that is what my sister sold at the time I learned to scrapbook but now I've purchased templates from Kiwi Lane Scrapbooking Co.. There is no right way to decorate a photo album/scrapbook page, except to use acid-free materials. One may spend as little or a lot for decorations such as scrapbook paper, punches, stamps or stickers. The sales clerk can show you the things you'll need to purchase at first and some shops even have how-to classes if you feel you need extra help. Kiwi Lane has tutorials on YouTube. There are a wealth of decorating ideas out there in magazines, books (craft stores, scrapbook stores, regular bookstores, library) and online.

Written by Dolores J. Rush, updated 4 May 2023.