Credits:
Artful Starter No3 by The Nifty Pixel and Lynn Grieveson Designs
Hygge Collab by NBK Design and Joyce Paul
Photography Quotes No. 2 by Sabrina's Creations
Text: 358 Words
1. Create Visual Reminders: My memories are so much more real when I can look back at photographs. I see the look on faces, the objects in a room, the weather, and the time of day. I love looking back on events and vacations and remembering the stories. To me, the stories are better told on a scrapbook page than as individual photos.
2. Gather the Stories: So many names, dates and events are lost. I remember sitting over a box of photos with my grandmother. She looked at each image and shared her memories—who she was with and what she was doing. Unfortunately, these were never written down and when she died her memories went with her. I want to record as much as I remember and gather the stories from my father and other relatives, so they are not lost. Recently, I opened a scrapbook with pictures I made forty years ago. But I hadn’t written anything down with them. My memories are dim. How I would have loved to have known the thoughts of my younger self. So many times, I think, “if only.” If only I had written down or video recorded the memories. If only my mother had written her thoughts and feelings. If only someone had taken a photo of that day.
3. Preserve and Organize the Images: So many of my childhood photos are damaged from being thrown into boxes or stuffed in the back of drawers. The images are yellowed, stained and faded. Bringing them into the digital world, repairing them, and adding important meta data brings me joy because I know they will last for future generations. The images can be easily copied and shared so no one person is the keeper of the memories. (And with digital, I can use a computer instead of paper! I don’t like crafts!)
4. Show Love and Encouragement. I make scrapbooks for others. My daughter knows more about her early childhood because I put her pictures into scrapbooks. I wrote about her accomplishments, her emotions, her friendships. I create books to memorialize special events like graduation to give encouragement and inspiration.
