Sharing Your Story For Generations

Do you have any photos stored in away in a shoebox and have no idea who is in the photo or when it was taken?

While looking through my grandma's tattered, mildew stained scrapbooks, I realized that almost every photo was deteriorating and fading.  All of the memories that she wanted to share would be gone in the next generation.  Some of the items in her scrapbooks were already ruined.

In the past, products used for scrapbooks were not safe for photo preservation.  People thought they were cataloging their life.  But, most of them did not journal, did not include dates and also didn't tell who was in the photos.  They made these books with the intention that they would show them and then the people who looked at them would remember the stories as they listened.  They didn't take into account that the products they were using would damage their photos, newspaper clipping and postcards.  Nor did they think they might forget the stories themselves, or even worse, they might not live to tell every story.

Most scrapbook products today are acid free and lignin free.  This is important bcause when an acid product comes in contact with photos it migrates, causing permanent damage and decay to the photo.  Newspaper clippings contain a high amount of lignin which causes yellowing and discoloration.  It is worth purchasing these products because trying to repair or correct photos damaged from acid and lignin can be costly and most of the time the damage is irreversible.  The craft industry spends over a billion dollars a year developing products that are safe for photos.  Some offer buffered pages that can remove high levels of lignin from newspaper clippings and make it safe to put them in a scrapbook with their photos.

The idea of documenting the events of their lives for themselves, but also for future generations is important to those who scrapbook.  They see their lives as a never ending story that they want to share with their children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, and so on.

How do you do this?  By putting your photos in a scrapbook, using safe products, journaling the story and including the dates and those who are in the photos.  Locks of hair, postcards, coins, etc can also be included in a scrapbook.  These are a great way of telling the story using physical items.

Some scrapbooks are very detailed and some are very simple.  It really doesn't matter how complex the layout, as long as you get the story on the page.  You can use stickers, colored papers, and even use different colored pages in your albums.  You can choose any style of album you like.  You are not limited to a few items.  The choices have always been endless.  Even the scrapbooks of the past could be quite complicated. 

Scrapbooks are not only popular in the U.S.  They are companies that service Canada, Germany, Japan, the U.K., Austria, Australia, Taiwan, Mexico, New Zealand, Puerto Rico and South Africa.  After all, every memory is precious.

In years past, people made scrapbooks as a hobby.  Today, that is still true, but it is also a billion dollar industry.  Crafts stores and specialty scrapbook stores carry a large range of supplies that are competitively priced.  If you want to you can even attend parties and retreats where men and womn get together and put scrapbooks together.  Yes, I said men.

Don't want to play with paper and stickers?  Are you too busy to craft?  Today, your computer can even help you tell your story.  You can download your digital photos or a photo CD on to your computer and using a photo program you can make a "digital scrapbook."  You drop and drag your photos onto the templates of your choice, do some journaling and the book is processed and sent to you via snail mail. 

Don't know where to start?  Don't fret!  There is help available.  The internet, your local craft stores and even the newspaper contain all the information you need to get started.  There are also over 90,000 independent consultants worldwide that have been trained to teach you how to scrapbook.  These consultants have the knowledge, experience, time saving tools and safe products that you will need.  They offer classes, free of charge, and will even come right to your home!

If you don't want to learn how to scrapbook yourself, why not hire someone to do it for you?  A hard core scrapbook maker will take on this challenge with a smile.  They love what they do, and it is important to them. 

Have you shared your stories with someone?  Are you confident they will remember the details?  You can be sure if you document your family history in a scrapbook.  People will always have photos,  always share stories about them and no matter how the method of photo taking changes, scrapbooks will continue to share your stories for generations.