Everyday Memorabilia

Heritage ATC With Your Ancestors

2006-05-18T20:48:00.000-07:00

Artist Trading Cards are a hot item in the scrapping world. Consider taking your heritage photos and turning them into your own ATCs to give as gifts to your family. The example here is Hazel, my husband's great aunt who never married. Hazel was a beauty and I used the theme of longing for a lost love. ATC are unique expression of creativity and a fun way to share your everyday memorabilia.

Digital kit Gizmos 1 & 2
www.e-scapeandscrap.net

Treasured Photos

2006-05-03T09:27:00.000-07:00

Imagine thinking you know a lot about your parents then finding hidden surprises in photographs. A dear friend of mine is organizing his brothers and sister to put together an album and stories of their parents, both who died in the past two years. He excitedly sent me this picture saying he had never seen a photo of his father at this young an age. It's bent, torn, disfigured--but it's a treasure. He asked older family members what they have in early photos of his father. Now it's become a treasure hunt and a meaningful one to this family. In other eras, photos were not an everyday thing like they are today. Photos of children, especially, were more formal. I love looking at this old picture. He's having it restored but I like it just as it is. It was waiting to be found and treasured, which is just what he and his family are doing.

Seaman First Class

2006-04-23T08:32:00.000-07:00

Memories of difficult times may be hard to share. But in the sharing, heritage is passed from one generation to another. My father did not want to talk of his WWII experiences. They forever left a mark on him. We have this wonderful picture of him, a signal book for the Coast Guard, and his official discharge papers. The one story that is remembered was shared at his funeral last year. These vignettes are ones to treasure because they give a glimpse of the true person.

Seaman First Class George Levi Reeves from Little Rock, Arkansas, served in the U. S. Coast Guard during WWII. He enlisted April 16, 1943, one day before his 18th birthday. Originally hoping to enlist in the Navy, he was turned down after answering that he sleepwalked. When asked the same question at the Coast Guard, he replied a firm, "No!" George drove amphibious landing gear in the South Pacific, piloting the craft onto the beaches for the troops to land. He never forgot the trauma of seeing so many of his companions killed before they could take more than a few steps. He served faithfully and proudly and was a member of the VFW until his death June 13, 2005, at his home in Colorado.

George and Cliffa

2006-04-22T13:28:00.000-07:00

Wedding photos are some of the most priceless momentos from family history. This beautiful couple is my husband's grandparents in their wedding finery. George's high starched collar and Cliffa's hairstyle capture another era. We had this photo for years before we realized our oldest daughter resembled her great-grandmother--the eyes, the dimpled chin, and the mass of hair. That is a treasure to discover.

Digital kits:
Slice of Life and With This Ring
at www.e-scapeandscrap.net

Things That Stir Recollection

2006-04-22T12:57:00.000-07:00

What is memorabilia? Mementos, souvenirs, keepsakes, and treasures, a whiff of aftershave, a pressed flower, a love letter, a baby's knit hat. As Webster says, it's anything that stirs a recollection. It conjures up nostalgia, sentimental thoughts of days gone by when we imagined things were simpler.

I am a scrapbook artist. More specifically, a digital scrapbook artist. Since it is said, a picture is worth a thousand words, one snapshot contains hours of memorabilia. The scrapbooking phenomenon has given us tools to showcase not only our pictures, but our stories through journaling and recording everyday events. It's become the modern diary.

In Everyday Memorabilia, I want to share with you ideas for preserving your precious memories, and, I hope you'll have ideas for me as well. I will also showcase scrapbook kits I have designed either as an independent scrapbook artist or in conjunction with my partners in design, J2K, Julie Mead and Karen Aicken, at www.e-scapeandscrap.net.

My other hat is Kollage by Kay, at www.kollagebykay.com, where I create DVD slide shows for customers.

Welcome to Everyday Memorabilia.