September 13

CAPTURED MOMENTS
BY JASIA
A Monthly - Weekend With Shades -






Heirlooms are wonderful. We all enjoy having a piece of the family history to hold in our hands. But not all of our ancestors were of a mind to save something of themselves to pass along to all their offspring. Many of our ancestors only saved one or two things to be passed down among a handful of children and many, many grandchildren. It seems like there are always the lucky few and the wishful many when it comes to inheriting heirlooms.

Creating a digital scrapbook page of a treasured heirloom can be a next-best-thing solution to the problem. If the person who inherited the heirloom photographed it and created a digital scrapbook page with journaling to explain the history behind the piece it could be printed an infinite number of times for all of the children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren to enjoy. It's not the same as having the genuine article, but for those who have a real interest in their family history it can be the next thing.

So where do you start in creating an heirloom page? You start with a photo of the item, or perhaps multiple views of the item. If you have related items, it's a good idea to include photos of those too. Once you have your photo(s) you can choose a background color, or a paper if you to prefer to work with kits. Make sure to leave plenty of room for journaling.

You'll want to write as much as you can about the item including how old it is, what it's made of, who previously owned it, and share a personal story related to the item if you know one. You might want to describe the texture or any noticeable wear marks or signatures as well. The person reading the journaling will not be able to touch the real item or look closely at it to notice fine details. So think about being the eyes and hands for them.

If you use related items on the page, be sure to mention them in your journaling as well. Be careful to avoid using kit elements if possible. They may be wrongly assumed to be heirloom items as well when in fact they are not real at all. Less is more, so don't feel the need to fill the page with doo-dads just to pretty it up. Let the photos of the heirloom items be your focal point and add as much journaling as necessary to share the significance of these items in your family history.

For a really personal touch, consider adding a photo of the person who was the original owner of the item. It will tie the items on the page together beautifully.

Here is a digi-scrap page I created about the clothing my mother made.


There are too many color pallets to make this page coordinate really well, but it was important to me to have all of these items included on the page. The background papers are from the kit "Fitting Room" created by Susan Darter of Raspberry Road Designs .

Have you inherited a family heirloom? Perhaps you would be kind enough to photograph it and digi-scrap it to share with other family members who would appreciate having a piece of their family history.

Happy Digi-Scrapping!