Heritage Photos

Last summer, a cousin of ours was going through an old box of photos she discovered in the family home where my grandfather grew up. She allowed me to take the photos so I could scan them and make copies for other family members. I was thrilled!

There were tons of pictures, many dating back to the 1800's. A lot of them had notes about who was in the photo as well as where and when it was taken, or were made into actual postcards with messages written on the back. Many pictures were of friends and neighbors. And sadly, quite a few had nothing written on them at all. My grandfather passed away almost three years ago (at the age of 101) and was the last of that generation, so no one else can identify the people in the pictures. On a happy note, I do have plenty of labeled heritage photos to scrap!



I have been teaching scrapbooking classes at my lss for several years. Last year, one of my classes focused on using heritage photos and scrapping memories from family history. It was so popular, we decided to carry it over into 2009. My challenge in designing layouts for this class is remembering that not everyone is blessed with a vast array of heritage photos. Therefore, I always try to design the layouts so they are versatile enough to work with modern pictures as well.

Here's one I designed for a class coming up on April 23rd using a little bit of everything! It's got a variety of patterned papers, notebook pages, chipboard, flowers, stamping, tickets, metal, and more. I love the eclectic mix and am excited to teach this class!


One tip I must give in working with heritage photos is always, ALWAYS work with a copy and never the original photo. Oftentimes it is the only one left in existence, and it would not be a great idea to cut it up or attach it permanently in your scrapbook. With the options that are available today for copying photographs, there's no reason why you should be altering the original. It's always a great idea to share copies with family members. Not only would most of them appreciate having a piece of their history, but then if the original somehow got destroyed, you would always have a backup.