One day it occurred to me that I was the only one left in the family who knew the facts or stories behind the heirlooms I inherited. That was a scary moment for me. Although I have three children and my brother has two, they haven’t shown much interest in the stories. So, how was I to preserve the stories and random facts I knew? A scrapbook, of course! I chose the small 8.5” x 5.5” three ring style from Hiller, because there are page protectors for that size from C-Line Memory Book. Using my computer I can resize digital photos and scans to fit this smaller scrapbook. Whenever you have a few shots left at the end of a roll of film, take photos of some of your heirlooms. Make sure you also photograph the bottom of each item that has a maker’s mark. You can hand-draw or scan the mark on the bottom, also. I often silhouette the items in the photo. Because the scrapbook is small I think it is important for facing pages to match. Although I try to keep the layouts simple, that does not have to mean boring. My brother is 12 years younger than I am, and those 12 years became very important when we sorted out the family home. Mother took the time to tell me about most of the items, but never told my brother. My brother collected more of my father’s stories. I scrapped some photos of him with items he chose. The journaling here tells the story: “For many years my brother has said he wanted this item. Usually his wife wrinkled her nose but finally, 12/01/2000, I gave it to him after Carrie’s rehearsal dinner. The plate always hung on the wall of my Grandmother Anderson’s house in Gibraltar. “

Knowing how an item was used is important to future generations. In a few cases you might have a photo that shows an heirloom as it was originally used or worn. Besides helping the family, I know from the TV show, “Antiques Road Show”, that such a photo enhances the value of an item. And even if, like me, you’re not interested in sales of any pieces, scrapping a photo showing an item in use with a recent photo of the heirloom makes an interesting page. One example of showing how something was used is with my mother’s high school graduation photo. I have the crystal necklace she was wearing in that photo, so I photographed the necklace and scrapped it with a copy of the graduation photo. When I searched for the high school name and graduation year I found her actual high school annual. There was a treasure of information and images in the book. I changed the layout to the popular Collage Style to incorporate as much as I could. The color choice of peach and beige for the page was from the hand-tinted sepia photo. Sometimes a photo of the original owner of an item will add to the interest of a layout. The story behind this teakettle centers on my grandfather hand-making it for my grandmother as an engagement gift. It seemed their engagement photos would be appropriate to accompany the story and a photo of the actual kettle. I chose a brown with bronze shadow, old-time print to complement the teakettle. Gold photo corners were used to highlight the old photos. Since I referred to my grandfather’s profession as a roofer, a small version of a photo of the shop where he learned the trade was an appropriate addition to the page. Documents are also valuable heirlooms. As with old photographs, never use the actual piece. I had scanned this document to send to a cousin well versed in tracing roots. Here, I reprinted the document in a smaller version and his e-mail response because it was so informative. When I added my own thoughts about the photographs there was more journaling than I wanted on the page. I wanted to include it all, so I printed everything in a 3-column style in Microsoft Word and put the pieces in a vellum pocket. I put this over a background of the Swedish flag. I searched the Internet for information about Sweden and found maps, and a design that enhanced the page. I have thought ahead for my children and for future heirlooms. I created a whole album for my daughter of her wedding gifts. I photographed some as she was opening them and some as they were arranged on a table. The names of the people who gave her the gifts will never be forgotten as the years go by. A second album will be made for baby shower gifts as well. Again, I used a half-size album.

Now, grab your camera, digital or otherwise, and start photographing your heirlooms, present and future!