| What is a genealogy scrapbook? A genealogy | | | | always go out and get more paper or stickers. |
| scrapbook is a scrapbook designed to trace your | | | | Consider the types of embellishments you'd like to |
| family's tree through pictures and photos handed | | | | add and spend your money on those. In a |
| down from generation to generation. Photographs | | | | genealogy album, the types of embellishments are |
| are quickly being replaced by digital images and | | | | extremely important; you want to be able to add |
| photos from our parents and grandparent's era | | | | that "aged look" to enhance the photos you are |
| are beginning to deteriorate, even with the best | | | | using. |
| of care. If they are not taken care of and | | | | Once you have purchased some basic supplies, |
| treated well by storing in maintained scrapbooks, | | | | get out your pictures. Don't forget to ask family |
| these pictures they will be lost forever. | | | | and friends if they have any old pictures you can |
| The first step to creating a heritage album is | | | | go through that they are keeping in a shoebox |
| choosing the actual album. The album should | | | | somewhere. Find the pictures you want to include, |
| reflect the contents you plan to put inside. | | | | and then take them to a store that has a |
| Consider a high quality album in deep rich tones | | | | one-hour-photo. Most one-hour-photos have a |
| for your heritage scrapbook. You may want to | | | | machine that allows you to scan a picture and |
| consider an album that uses top loading pages, | | | | reproduce it. Do this for as many of the pictures |
| because you never know when you will find or be | | | | as you can, because chances are the old |
| given a new photograph that fits somewhere in | | | | photograph is already starting to fade and decay. |
| the middle of your book. Top loading pages make | | | | By making a copy of it, you can preserve the |
| it easy to change the order around when needed. | | | | photograph for several more generations. We are |
| Once you have chosen your album, it is time to | | | | fortunate that black and white photographs are |
| choose your paper. Always use acid and lignin free | | | | more durable than their color counterparts, but if |
| papers in your scrapbook to preserve your | | | | you do not take the time to preserve them now, |
| photographs. Since your heritage photographs are | | | | you will eventually lose them. And by making |
| most likely going to be black and white or sepia | | | | copies, you can give the originals back to the |
| tones, choose colors that will interact well with | | | | people you got them from. |
| that color palate. Cream, burgundy, navy blue, | | | | When you start to assemble your genealogy |
| gold, silver, and other rich tones work best in | | | | scrapbook, you are embarking on the creation of |
| heritage albums. If you are going to use patterned | | | | what will hopefully become a family heirloom |
| papers, make sure that the pattern has an | | | | passed down through generations. Do your |
| antique look to it, otherwise it will clash with the | | | | research and find as many names and dates as |
| overall theme of your scrapbook. | | | | you can about the people in the pictures. Write |
| Before you start a genealogy scrapbook, check | | | | the information down and keep track it in the |
| your supplies and make sure you have enough | | | | book. Remember, this project is more than just a |
| paper on hand, but also avoid the temptation to | | | | scrapbook, as your book will be a valuable |
| run out and buy everything in sight. Should you | | | | keepsake for future generations. |
| need to top up your supplies later on, you can | | | | |