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The Topic
Chelle joins us today to talk about Heritage Scrapbooking and Katie makes it her mission to change Peppermint and Steph’s views.
Joining the Discussion:
Chelle’s Creations
Peppermint Granberg
Katie Nelson
Steph
From the Show:
- Relating to Your Relatives
- Listen If You Want to Learn
- Play it Again with a Heritage Photo
- Heritage Scrapping
- My Parents Were Awesome
- Scrapping Your Family Tree
- Requesting Military Service Records
Picks:
Chelle: Ancestry’s 14-day trial membership
Peppermint: Avocado App
Katie: Proust
Steph: by Pixelgarde, Inc. and
Sponsors:
For the best deal in digital scrapbooking, become a member at TheDailyDigi.com.
Hey, y’all! I’ve done family history for decades (yes, I’m old) and I have a few comments. Yes, the internet is amazing but remember that the real world is where most of the interesting stories live. Mine all the information you can find at home and from the relatives and internet contacts and then make careful plans and hit the road! Learn where your family lived at every time period you can and then hit the courthouse, the historical society, the genealogy society, the library, the archives for every location. An important point for new researchers to bear in mind is that the world has not always the way it is now – especially counties were different sizes and names so records may be places you don’t expect. Also cities sometimes have redone their street names and numbers and the address you have for great-great-ever-so-great-grandpa may not be at the same location where the address is today. Consider joining your local genealogy society, even if you don’t have any research to do in your area, just to learn research techniques. Interviewing a relative who had a lot of family stories wasn’t getting me too far so I asked him for one tidbit and I’d go find records about it. Eventually he told me that his aunt was “dating” her husband’s brother and challenged me to prove it. I couldn’t find a source for dating records but I did find a newspaper article about his suicide that started out “Eluding the frantic grasp of his sister-in-law” … he jumped off the bridge – which was close enough for us! The juiciest stories I have learned about my family from records are from newspapers (mothers of the bride that didn’t get to go to the weddings because they were in jail for making moonshine for the receptions), court records (the drunken fence-post fight where the combatants ended breaking each other’s arms), coroner’s reports (poor great-great-grandpa was crushed when his brick hauling wagon ran over him), and prison records (great-uncle the charming con-man forger). I envy those just starting down these roads because you have so much to learn and find ahead of you!
I’m listening now:
1. Who Do You Think You Are: Yes, that is the family history show about celebrities. I think you can watch the episodes on You Tube. I’d recommend watching the Helen Hunt episode first.
2. Ancestry.com: I’ve been connecting up with distant, distant cousins on this site and I recently found my father’s cousin because I have the cousin’s parents’ wedding album – so I’m getting in touch with him now to get it to him – I haven’t seen this person in the family since I was 2 or 3 and I’m 42 now! And his daughter has the same first and last maiden name as mine and we are the same age so I’m looking forward to reconnecting with her.
3. I listen to Geneology Gems with Louise Cook (I might have her name wrong) – but she has a podcast that is easy and enjoyable to listen to with basic tips for beginners in family history.
4. I also do an album called “The Century Scrapbook” and I’ve been making one page per year for the years 1900 to current; I think I have about 30 or so pages done so far. The format is 8.5 x 11 in a regular notebook (I’m a paper scrapbooker – but this project could be done digitally – and I often photograph or scan my layouts and then create photo books and turn them into digital ;). This project also allows me to just do a little bit of family history at a time and it has been so much fun and easy to do. I just use a photo or a date or something as a spring board to make a page and I feel good that I’m at least doing something now.
5. I scrapbook my heritage photos the same way I scrapbook my photos now most of the time – in other words I use the same type of style I use now; but sometimes give the pages a heritage look depending on the photo and my mood at the time. I don’t think you have to do heritage photos in a heritage style scrapbook.
Interesting show this week. I thought I’d jump in with some “traditional” heritage style supplies to answer Steph’s question late in the show. First, Studio Manu @ Scrapbookgraphics specializes in all sorts of vintage type items that work really well for heritage pages that you want to look vintage. In addition, I’ve purchased some items from Heritage Scrap which has several designers who specialize in that style. I love to use the older, vintage style products on my heritage pages. But, I’ve also done a few pages with any old supplies and love those too.
Re sharing photos with family – I set up my parents each with their own dropbox acct and set up their phones to automatically upload photos to dropbox. Then I shared those photo upload folders with my own dropbox acct. That way I get a copy of all the photos they take without them actually doing anything at all. Similarly my mom gets all my photos with no effort on my part. It works well but if you’re family is not tech savy it is probably just easier to set it all up for them
Great advice Anna! I just need to set these things up for my family, because it won’t happen otherwise.
Thanks for a great show – I loved this topic, because I’ve recently started working on a family history scrapbook for my kids. There are so many relatives, on both sides of our family, who they never got to meet, and someday I want to be able to show them pictures and tell them a little about those people. I’ve actually never met their grandparents on their dad’s side of the family, because they passed away long before I met him. I’ve been asking relatives for pictures and information about them, because I know someday my kids will want to know why they only have one grandma and grandpa, and they’ll want to know something about who their other grandparents were. On my side of the family as well, there are people who have passed away but were very important during my childhood, and I’d like my kids to know something about who they were.
Anyway – while it might not be as “fun” to put together a heritage album as it is to scrap cute pictures of my kids goofing off, I really think it will be something valuable to them when they are older. People like to know where they came from, and I also think it’s a great way to get kids interested in history – when they are learning about World War II in school, I’ll be able to show them pictures of family members whose lives were completely changed as a result of the war.
Thanks for a great show!
Great episode!
Several shows ago you mentioned a scanning service that you were happy with and where you could keep photos in order. I have 30 years worth of photo albums to scan, don’t want to do it myself but really want them to stay in order. Thanks for the help!
Both Steph and I love scanmyphotos.com
Here’s a post on The Daily Digi about them /scan-my-photos/
Thanks for another fun show! I just wanted you to know, Katie, that even if I think I am not interested in the topic, I still want to listen to the show. That would never deter me. You all make it fun and I learn and am encouraged. Thank you. Also, another person who is interested in “Heritage Scrapbooking” is the one who has inherited boxes from parents and grandparents, on both sides! Someday……..
I took a heritage class from Ali Edwards (Big Picture) and her main things was . . . “What do you wish you knew about . . . ” What questions are your kids going to wish they about YOU?? Then we proceeded to lay out our own personal album with this question in mind. What a journey!
I agree that if you don’t know anything about your family, you want to know! I had to figure out my family history from using the internet & world history! It was an exciting journey. And I did find family links online who had photos and information. Neat!
Thanks for checking out that Photo Notes App! I will give that a try.
There’s an app that’s been on my “when I care about heritage scrapping” list that really intrigues me. It’s called Story Tree. It’s available for iPhone, or also just on your computer via their web page. It made it seem like you could ask questions and then they could respond with video, pictures, or text. I loved the idea of sending questions and then watching the videos of grandma or grandpa actually telling the story.
And Peppermint, your husband sounds like mine. A cheapskate. Does yours listen to the Clark Howard podcast too? Has he looked into prepaid data plans? That’s how my husband finally got his data plan. Anyway, we did get that Avocado app (upon his insistence) but we haven’t really gotten into a rhythm of using it. It’s super fun to give hugs (you hold the phone to your chest until it vibrates) and kisses (you poke your finger all over their face and kisses pop up).
Thanks for another great show that got me through shoveling the 6″ of snow we got last night.
We’re on a business plan with my parents, so he can actually get a data plan through them for less money than the prepaid ones – and he still doesn’t want to spend the money. Plus he’s all “I can’t fit a smartphone in my pants pocket” – he really likes his flip phone. When that Razr finally kicks the bucket he’s going to have to make some tough decisions. Not many companies make thin flip phones anymore!
Love Katie’s take on why some might be more interested in heritage scrapbooking – I can totally relate.
Also, I’m glad to have listened to the entire show, because I definitely learned about how our stories are all intertwined and perhaps scrapbooking every day life stories still involves bringing in some of the back story from our heritage. Thanks for another great show.
Great show ladies!! This has really inspired me to get it moving! I know that my kids love to listen to stories even NOW (they are 5,7,& 9) about their Dad I & our first date ect…
A few shows ago you were talking about radlab vs lightroom. I just wanted to throw out there that radlab stuff (from my understanding after i read about it on their website) is technically not “actions”. They are called stylets, which means that they work in PSE! Also in PSE10 & up you can do layer masks just like in regular photoshop. You may want to throw that out there to the listeners because it seemed like no one was quite sure if PSE could do those things.
As I write this I realize how sad I am over Patties death. I feel I knew her well because of her passion for scrapping. Even though we never met I could have sat down with a cup of coffee and we would have had a great conversation. She gave us a gift by sharing her life through her pages. She was creative, fun, loving, and an inspiration to many women. We all will miss her.
I actually groaned a little when I heard the topic but I kept listening because I always learn something. I realize that, like Peppermint, I always thought of the Heritage layouts as the ones with sepia tones. I love my history but I am so busy trying to catch up with my family’s current layouts that I can’t get to those yet. After this show though I can’t wait to try some layouts every once in a while about the stories of our family’s past.
Does anyone have any tips for getting pictures from family? I happily give the picture files to any family who asks for them but getting pictures from everyone else is so hard.
I was worried that people would groan, but I’m so glad you listened! It is hard to get pictures from family. I think it helps if you have an excuse and can say you need them for a special present or event for someone. Other than that, I guess just polite persistence?
Loved the shows ladies. I just can’t figure out why you wont answer me when I talk to you during the show
For the listener who asked about an easier way to get Instagram photos, I found a little something. I download my Instagram photos using instaport.me. Today I discovered under the advanced features the option to download photos I’ve liked or photos with a specific hashtag. Seems like either of those options might make it much easier for her!
You are going to have to talk a little louder Katrina!
Great show today as always. I was surprised to find that the heritage topic would be one that people would groan about – it had never occurred to me that some thought of that as only sepia tone pages – who knew! I few years ago I took Ali Edwards Yesterday and Today class and it revolutionised how I look at those old family photos. I have since made many layouts with photos of the current generation alongside those from our family past. I didn’t know my great-grandfather but when I can put his photo on a page alongside my son with them both sitting the same way suddenly I have a lot to say! I’ve done lots like that now (none in sepia
and my boys love it – such a powerful way to show them they are part of this family and those who came before them are still part of who they are – even though they never met. I just love it, so I guess I owe Ali a debt of gratitude for making heritage scrapping something I love. Thanks for a great show ladies!
I took the Yesterday and Today course from Ali as well and I agree that it gave me a real appreciation for all types of heritage scrapping.
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I loved listening to this program! My husband’s dad’s family is really large and very connected. When both of his grandparents died a cousin with young children ended up with all the photos thinking some day she would be them in an album. Well, I didn’t have any kids and was curious about my husband’s family so I took on the project. It is all in paper form and I have grand plans to make it digi some day (but now I have the kids LOL)! The oldest photo in the book is a postage sized tin-type from 1885 that I scanned and printed large for the book. This family loved photos so there were many from the early 1900’s. I scanned each and every one of the photos that are in the book which was an enormous project itself and any family member who wanted a copy of the photos got a CD. I met his relatives through letters from the elderly aunties and emails from distant cousins, newspaper articles, teaching licenses, diplomas and funeral cards. It was a wonderful experience. You may wonder why I did it for my husband’s family and that is because we have lots of photos from my dad’s family, but no one living to tell us who anyone is. My mom’s family was not big into photos, but she put what she has into a book and talked with my grandfather before he died about his family. If any advice I can give is some day someone is going to want to know who is in photos and if you know organize them someone or write a journal listing who is in them. There will be future generations who are interested.