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Preserving family photos through Art

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Preserving family photos and history with scrapbooking and altered art

How many of us have boxes full of old photos that Grandmother left us, or letters, deeds, diplomas and other ephemera, just sitting in the closet? You keep thinking that you will sit down one day and get all of this stuff organized, but you just never get around to it.

The truth is that most of us never do. These family treasures sit in the closet, get passed down, and around, until finally no one knows who those people are, and toss them or put them in an estate sale where they are lost to the family forever.

Let's talk about a fun way to record and preserve these things for our families through the crafts of scrapbooking and altered art. This not only gets these things organized, but presents them in an attractive format that makes them appealing to family members.

Getting Started-Find those photos!

It's never too soon to find those photos your mother has stashed in the closet, or Grandma has in the bureau drawer. Most of these photos were mounted on paper that was not acid free, and every day they remain stored this way, they deteriorate.

Ask family members if you can copy the photos they have. A scanner or copier is invaluable for this and will save you the expense of taking them somewhere to be copied, many times over. You can make as many copies as you need, and you don't have to use the originals. (after copying, store the originals in acid free folders and file away) Be sure to get any notes on the back, or have your relatives help you name the people in the photos.

I've also found Ancestry.com and other genealogy sites to be good places to get photos. Once you locate the distant, unknown relatives, they are usually glad to trade email copies of their family photos for yours to add to their collection.

Once you have your photos, decide how you want to organize them. Are you going to do the genealogy, or family tree, to organize them? I've done that, putting each generation of a family on a separate page, along with any photos available of that generation. Or you can do as I did with the board book, and put each generation in a separate piece of art. It's up to you to decide how you want to do this!

Now that you have your photos, it's time to decide how to do the individual pages-this is the really fun part! So many things are available, it's sometimes hard to choose.

Craft or specialty stores have thousands of things to use to scrapbook-vintage look papers, stickers, chipboard pieces, rubber stamps, metal pieces, charms, embossing materials, and so much more. It's easy to get carried away shopping, so plan ahead for the color scheme, style, page size, so that you have a plan in mind and can avoid costly purchases that end up in a box, unused.

Another option is to look for genuine vintage papers, keys, old jewelry bits and pieces, advertising, postcards and greeting cards, and similar items that reflect the era of the photos on a particular page. You can find these, usually cheap, at estate sales, thrift stores, and in bins at antique shops. There are even people who sell this stuff online, if you are limited in shopping time. If you are concerned about acid content in these old papers, there are sprays available to neutralize them.

A combination of both types of supplies usually works best. Scrapbook papers can be used for the background and vintage pieces added for decoration. You can also paint or glaze your background for added interest.

For supplies and ideas, check our store at www.texastreasures.ecrater.com/

Contents at a Glance

Texas Crafters Treasures-my new store
Using vintage items as embellishments
Make a custom checkerboard
Use postcards for those vacation scrapbo...
Your child-a work of art in progress
Vintage greeting and postcards in art

Unique crafting supplies

I finally got to the point where I decided I need a separate store just for my craft supplies. Texas Crafters Treasures is now open! It's full of vintage and unique items to give your altered art, scrapbook pages, decoupage and assemblages a distinctive look. We offer vintage ephemera and jewelry pieces, rubber stamps, 3 dimensional embellishments, stickers, rub-ons, papers, vintage buttons, eyelets, brads, and lots more. We also have back copies of Legacy and Somerset Studio, as well as crafting books, vintage crochet and quilt patterns. Please visit us soon-we are still listing and 100's more items to go!
http://www.texascrafterstreasures.ecrater.com/

Using vintage items as embellishments

There is a lot of stuff available in retail stores to embellish your scrapbook pages and altered art with, but nothing makes a page or picture look finished like antique items used instead.
It's really not that hard to find these things either. Next time you go to an estate sale, check the kitchen drawers, desk drawers, and boxes of junk in the garage. This is where you will find the old keys, tiny hinges, pieces of broken jewelry, and old envelopes with cards, obsolete postage stamps, and advertising. These things are usually priced really low, in lots, or not at all! The sellers never think that folks will buy this stuff, and will often throw it in with your other purchases for free. Don't worry about what you're going to use it for, just stash it away in your own embellishment drawer and one day it will occur to you, while trying to finish a project-that the old button, decal, or charm you bought months ago is just what you need!
These things are more suitable for use with the old family photos and give your project a look that you will never get, using new items!

Make a custom checkerboard

No, nothing to do with photographs...maybe!

Don't you get bored with those red and black checkerboards? They're so ugly, you don't leave them out...so why not make one to match your decor?
I made the board pictured here with fiberboard and scrapbook paper. In my case, I used a photocopy of leather and denim jeans, but you make it to suit your needs. I drew off a checkerboard pattern and cut paper to fit the squares and the sides and ends of the board. I even used the jeans seams for each end of the board to emphasize the 'jeans' look. Then I stamped the board randomly with western theme stamps and distressed the entire thing with brown ink. Several coats of protective finish and it's ready to go! For extra punch, purchase some of my hardwood unfinished checkers and stain or paint them to match!
But you know..this could be related to family photos...how about mini prints for one of your two colors???

Use postcards for those vacation scrapbook pages!

Try using old postcards for those family album pages. A vintage postcard combined with your new photos adds interest by showing the changes in scenic spots or tourist attractions over the years. Old postcards are very reasonably priced and easy to find online or in antique shops. You can use the picture side, or try using the side with the 'wish you were here' message and postmark on it, just for fun!
Check out our collection of postcards, we just bought a huge lot that we will be adding for the next few weeks!
http://www.texastreasures.ecrater.com/product.php?pid=1890631

Your child-a work of art in progress

Save childhood memories on canvas-you're the artist!

Don't just frame that photo or stick it in an album, make a work of art with it!
The picture here is of an 8x10 canvas board, available at your local craft supply store. I made this for a couple whose son loves to 'play' his guitar and sing country songs along with his dad.
Before you start, drill holes in the board for hanging it later. Then,I first glued on torn and distressed pieces of scrapbook paper printed to look like brown and blue denim, then glazed it with a copper glaze. Then I added appropriate stamps, a photocopy of a vintage guitar string package, a scrap of antique music, and the letters, stamped and cut out of oatmeal colored cardstock. I glazed it again and lightly sanded the lettering. There's even a strand of 'barbed wire' sticker across the corner.
I sealed the photo with acrylic sealer, mounted it on corrugated brown paper bag cardstock, and mounted that on the canvas. Then I added one last coat of clear glaze and a vintage tortoiseshell guitar pick to the wet glaze. For this particular style, I made a hanger by running very fine jute through the drilled holes (find these through the layers with a straight pin) and tied knots to hold it.
You can choose almost any style for this, and finish it in no time to make a great last minute gift for parents, grandparents, or other doting relatives. Have fun!

Vintage greeting and postcards in art

Add a special touch to your scrapbook pages!

Old greeting cards and postcards from the early part of the 20th century have a certain charm that you just don't see anymore. These items are easy to find for reasonable prices, and add a look to scrapbook pages or altered art that you can't get with commercial scrapbook paper.
When I did my sons' school age scrapbooks, I had loads of photos, ticket stubs, and other items to scrap. I also had a huge collection of old postcards! I decided to use the cards that related to their school trips or family vacations on the scrapbook pages. Mounted just like the photos, they are mixed with the ticket stubs, receipts, and notes on the page to give it a truly unique look.
The old greeting cards are great for altered art projects-whether you use the original or a photocopy, they give your project a 'vintage' look that really makes them stand out.
Old cards and postcards are easy to find at estate sales. While everyone else is fighting over the broken jewelry and chipped china, go look in the family office for that box of old letters and cards the owner has saved somewhere. These will usually be very inexpensive and probably sold in batches. So stock up and have fun!

Historical and cultural collectibles

Great things for your vintage photos

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3 Dimensional embellishments

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The gift of handmade Christmas cards

Personalize your greetings!

It's time to get started making Christmas cards! This year personalize your greetings by making cards for those special friends and family members.

Start with blank cards or cardstock. Add pieces of old Christmas music for a background, Christmas stickers, sparkling glitter glue embellishments, even family photos copied and mounted.

You can print out greetings on your printshop, digital scrapbooking program, or even MS word, on the inside of your card before you decorate. Or you can print it on vellum or other specialty papers, and attach it to the inside of your card. You can use photo corners, or Christmas themed stickers, brads, or eyelets for this.

There are loads of Christmas embellishments available at craft stores or you can print out clip art you find online for decorations. Rub on alphabets give your cards a special look as well.

These cards take a little time, but will let the recipient know that you care enough to make a card especially for them! And we have lots of embellishments stocked for you to choose from in our store!

When in doubt, make up something!

Giving old photos a story

Vintage photos-fitting a story to the picture
I love to browse through old photos, and was lucky enough to inherit stacks of them. That doesn't keep me from looking for more, though. I recently found this photo of a group of Victorian girls standing in the yard in front of a large old house. Now I wonder-was this a girl's school, or were they gathered for a Sweet 16 party, a wedding , confirmation, or what?

When in doubt, make up a story and make a piece of art around it! This would look great done on Victorian style papers and laces, with lots of ribbon and charms. And maybe you'll think of something else this many giggly young women could have been up to!

Preserving family photos through Art

Preserving family photos and history with scrapbooking and altered art

Contents at a Glance

Contents at a Glance

Texas Crafters Treasures-my new store

Unique crafting supplies

Using vintage items as embellishments

Make a custom checkerboard

No, nothing to do with photographs...maybe!

Use postcards for those vacation scrapbook pages!

Your child-a work of art in progress

Save childhood memories on canvas-you're the artist!

Vintage greeting and postcards in art

Add a special touch to your scrapbook pages!

Historical and cultural collectibles

3 Dimensional embellishments

The gift of handmade Christmas cards

Personalize your greetings!

When in doubt, make up something!

Giving old photos a story

More Great Ecrater shops!

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