Posts Tagged ‘heritage’

project life for heritage photos

Wednesday, February 13th, 2013

When it comes to memory-keeping and doing something with our photos, most of us think about the hundreds or thousands of recent digital images from our life. But what about those heritage pictures that so many of us are fortunate to have inherited? When it comes to preserving those photos, I am definitely a fan of slipping those precious photos into pockets as opposed to using glues or tapes that permanently adhere them to traditional scrapbook pages.

I am often asked about a heritage edition of Project Life. Yes, we’re working on that. Yes, it will be awesome. No, I am not able to tell you the timing on that just yet. In the meantime, I do think that getting your heritage photos into a Project Life album is most definitely a wonderful idea and you definitely have some options – with or without an official Heritage Edition. One option is that you use only the Photo Pocket Pages and nothing decorative whatsoever. That’s about as classic and timeless as it gets. Another option is that you choose a Project Life Edition that best suits the photos you’re working with.

The Olive Edition of Project Life, designed by the one and only Heather Bailey, is delightfully beautiful and while many see how it’s perfect for their photos of various themes, we were thrilled to get the following note from Catherine Davis the other day. (sharing the following with her permission of course)

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Catherine writes:

Here’s what I did with the Olive Kit. I LOVE THIS. I got the kit yesterday and thought that the prints in the kit reminded me of 1940′s dresses. Then a light bulb went off. I have a bunch of photos from my Mom’s side of the family that have sat in a memory box for years. (Most of these are just color photocopies that I took pictures of for this project.) I focused a spread on my sweet grandmother and I’m just bananas over having these few memories in one place. Bananas!! The only embellishments I used were two little buttons because she loved to sew. Sniff!

Thank you YET AGAIN for all of the inspiration!

I’m getting requests from aunts, uncles and more family for copies of these spreads so I think I’m onto something. Maybe I should just say, “the Olive Kit is on sale Thursday, folks!”

Have a great weekend,
Catherine

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Did you catch the end of her note? Catherine knows something that many of you also heard via facebook, twitter, or instagram. Tomorrow is Valentines Day and we have a very special gift for our customers! Beginning around midnight tonight (Wednesday going into Thursday) Eastern Standard Time all Olive Edition items are going to be on sale for a limited time. The Core Kit, Designer Dividers, 12×12 Designer Paper, and the Album. All things Olive at 20% off through Monday. Check back tomorrow for more Olive inspiration. Aaaaand a giveaway.  ; )

ValentineSaleTeaser

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Posted in products, scrapbooking | 33 Comments »

reader writes | Project Life nearly 100 years ago

Thursday, September 8th, 2011

Dear Becky,

I just had to take a moment to share a fantastic discovery I made today. My parents (who are in their mid-70s) are finally retiring, and have decided to sell their house, buy an rv, and travel. As the only daughter, it’s now my responsibility to keep all the family photo albums and heirlooms that have been passed down.
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This afternoon I began sorting through some of the items from my maternal grandparents. It has been an amazing experience. Apparently they both believed in documenting life, and they saved every postcard, letter, diary, and so on that they ever wrote or received. Going through some of their items today has been a trip back in time! I know how important the idea of documenting our life story is, and I just wanted to share that I apparently come from a long line of “Project Life”-ers, even if they didn’t have the materials back then to archive stuff properly. How wonderful it has been today to share all this rich history with my own children! How much more poignant because I never met my maternal grandfather (he died many years before I was born), but in his mementos today I have felt him very near to me.
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I wanted to share a few of the things I’ve come across today. I’ve attached a photo collage that includes (clockwise from top left): all the bills/receipts for the building of my grandparents’ farmhouse, two tickets to a 1920 dance, a receipt for $20 for payment of the doctor’s fee for delivering my mother (at home on the farm), a giant wallet containing all my grandfather’s crop locations for each year (he meticulously drew each year’s crops out on paper and listed how many bushels he got of each), my grandfather’s driver’s license from 1941, a grocery list, and my mother’s and grandmother’s war ration books from WWII. I also found post cards and Valentines my grandmother received (from 1909-1930), my grandfather’s war registration cards for WWI and WWII, and even the straight razor he used to shave with (still in its original case)! All in all, this has been an unbelievable adventure today.
As I’ve looked through all this priceless documentation, I am almost transported back in time to the early 1900s. And I am once again mindful of just how important Project Life is. Documenting everything, including the mundane everyday things that we don’t think are important (like grocery lists), will one day paint a picture of us for the generations to come. How awesome. So thanks for being such a big supporter of all of us who believe in documenting our life story. You rock!
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My name is Sabrina Pobst, and I live in Oran, Missouri. And I love Project Life and what it has done for me. Amen.  : )

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Posted in scrapbooking | 42 Comments »

a legacy of creating

Friday, April 22nd, 2011

This quilt was a gift David and I received for our wedding.

The creator of this piece? My Grandma Johnson.

Grandma always had a room that was filled to the brim of fabric. She spent so much of her life sewing, hand-stitching, and creating countless pieces. She was the best back-scratcher and arm-scratcher. She was cuddly. She washed my hair in the kitchen sink with the dreamiest strawberry-scented shampoo every time I stayed the night at her house. She was incredibly generous and giving of her time and skills.

She initialed and dated everything she did. And taught my mom to do the same. And so I’ve always known that’s just what you do when you create something.

Recently as I was putting the quilt away after another one of the kids’ backyard picnics, I noticed her initials there in the corner that I haven’t noticed in a long time — and it hit me. My children, who use this quilt often, have no idea that their Great Grandma Johnson created this quilt. She passed away before any of our children were born. She’s not here to share her stories anymore. That’s my role. How is it possible that I’ve not thought to tell them?

Lately I have been so focused on the here + now that I’ve neglected focusing on the legacy that came before us. I so needed this reminder. I need to share old pictures with our kids more often, to tell them more stories about their heritage.

Appreciate the PAST. Make the most of the PRESENT. Live for the FUTURE.

I’m resolving to be better about actually showing my appreciation for the past by sharing those stories + pictures that we have. This is how we pass on the legacy of those who came before us. And all of this makes me even more grateful for my efforts in documenting life here + now. This is our legacy.

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Posted in family & children, giving | 26 Comments »