[SandiC.]

Ok, tell me if I'm taking on too big a project, but this idea sort of percolated its way to the surface and I'm considering it, seriously. But in order to do it I would have to drop a lot of smaller projects, fewer challenges, etc.

I want to leave my kids and grandkids a book about me. Sometimes I don't think its until later in our lives that we really appreciate our parents and their lives. I wish I knew more details of my mother's life and she's no longer here to tell her story. I want to tell my kids and grandkids my story, visually as well as with words. I'm thinking of doing a photo book/scrapbook about parts of my life that were important to me. I have a series of letters my mother wrote to me while she was expecting...a treasure and makes me cry every time I look at them. Throw in a couple of baby pics and I've got the start of my book. I don't think I need to do it in chronological order, just do a 2 page layout as pictures or events surface.

I think this will be my 2013 project, with a few current events thrown into the mix. Any ideas or thoughts are really most welcome.

[AggieB]

What a great idea! Your kids or grandkids will appreciate it someday and you will enjoy the project, I'm sure, which is reason enough right there. I'm looking forward to seeing what you come up with. And maybe you can work some of your pages into a challenge or two (although probably not the speed scrap, ha-ha).

[BarbaraC1977]

I think it's a MARVELOUS idea! My father tried to get someone to write his story while in his 80's, including bumming around the country for two years during the depression, living in a tent winter & summer to get healthier, in Tannersville, NY, as a child, etc. Despite all the stories I know, I wish he'd been able to do so. Same for my mother, who died much younger.

I'm thinking that I might try to do some of this, too. Maybe start with a double layout for each "period," e.g. high school, living in place xyz, etc. Then if there's lots of detail, go back and add pages for that timeframe. You go, girl!

[SandiC.]

BarbaraC1977, on 01 January 2013 - 12:30 PM, said:

I'm thinking that I might try to do some of this, too. Maybe start with a double layout for each "period," e.g. high school, living in place xyz, etc. Then if there's lots of detail, go back and add pages for that timeframe. You go, girl!

That's pretty much the way I thought I'd work it too. I've actually got a folder on my desk now. A couple of significant photos in there already and starting an outline of what I want to include. I need to start now before there's a lot more to add. LOL. Seems like time is flying by these days and I'm not getting any younger (well, except I think I'm entering that famed second childhood).

And yes, I think some of the challenges will be doable with this too.

I'm looking through my stash for album templates to help speed the process along. Plenty to choose from.

[BarbaraC1977]

As I download Jen's great new club, my mind is continuing to work on this idea. I think I need to keep a notebook of ideas. For each period, I can fill it out with: School, Family Life, Work (even part time, like babysitting), Social/Recreation, Faith. What other big categories can you think of?

[Nica]

I think it's a fabulous idea! I was in a book store over the holidays and saw a journal along those lines. I liked the prompts, but thought it would be much better in scrapbook form. I'll see if I can find it and post a link here. I can't wait to see what you come up with.

[Nica]

Here it is on Amazon: My Life, My Story: A Mother's Legacy Journal

[JenniferZ]

Can I just tell you what a wonderful keepsake and gift this will be for your children and grandchildren!?!?

Last year, at my grandparents' 60th anniversary party, my grandmother presented all of us (her kids, grandkids and great-grandkids) with our own binders of mementos she has collected from our childhoods, stories she remembered about us and photographs. She also made a binder of herself, one of my grandfather, a binder highlighting their educations and careers and another about their farm, which they purchased in 1972 and spent a lifetime rebuilding and restoring. She included genealogies, photographs, stories and documents. Some of the stories are funny, others are sad, but all of them truly paint a picture of our family and its history.

The binders she prepared are chronological, and are not digital (most are photo copied items/photos slid into page protectors), but they are treasures nonetheless!

This is a fantastic project and a wonderful legacy -- can't wait to see how your project develops!!

[SodScrap]

Fabulous idea!! I don't really have any thoughts/suggestions specifically right now. You go girl!

[SandiC.]

BarbaraC1977, on 01 January 2013 - 01:04 PM, said:

As I download Jen's great new club, my mind is continuing to work on this idea. I think I need to keep a notebook of ideas. For each period, I can fill it out with: School, Family Life, Work (even part time, like babysitting), Social/Recreation, Faith. What other big categories can you think of?

Oh, travel.....

My outline sort of evolved with milestones....starting school, graduation, wedding, babies, etc, but the themes of where I lived seemed important and marked transitions in many other ways....work, friends, activities, church, etc.

Nica, thank you for that link. I'm going to have to check it out. A book like that would surely help speed the project along.

Jennifer, what a treasure you have! This is pretty much what I had in mind.

I can already think of some scanning I have to do....lots of work ahead, but hopefully my family will appreciate it someday.

Thanks for the encouragement everyone, this is getting exciting.

[Cheri T]

I think it's a fabulous idea! What a treasure it will be for you and your whole family. I've worked very slowly on something like this for myself in between working on modern projects. I need to get back at my baby book again this year. I've subscribed to this thread to make sure not to miss any ideas!

My favorite project to date was a big thick scrapbook I did of my grandmother's childhood. I interviewed her several times, borrowed photos and memorabilia to scan, etc. She had lots of photos b/c her father and aunt both loved photography. I also did a scrapbook of my grandparents' lives together for their 60th anniversary. That was back in my paper scrapping days and I paid a semi-local scrapbook store to scan all the pages on their oversized scanner so I could burn the images to discs for my aunt, uncle, and cousins. Lots of family history all in one (or two;) books!

[B&K Mom]

Fabulous idea, Sandi. I hope you will share these with us too as they evolve. My parents gave my brother and me a disc with scans of all the slides they took starting with their engagement until I was about 9 yo. They are precious. When my parents came to visit this past fall, I had the chance to "interview" my Dad about the ones he took in Vietnam during the war. I used my iPhone and recorded them as voice memos. It came out great! I got to ask clarifying questions and some of the questions I have wanted to ask for years (he never really talked much about Vietnam). I still need to transcribe it (and send the recording to my brother...bad sister...lol).

Anyway, all that to say that your project sounds FANTASTIC! Blessings on you as you walk through your life in this way.

[englishrose]

Oh Sandi this is such a god idea! I have been giving this some serious thought for a week or 2 now, but am a bit over-awed by the size of the project. I wonder if there's a way to use the forum to share ideas, keep each other motivated?

[Cheri T]

englishrose, on 01 January 2013 - 04:34 PM, said:

Oh Sandi this is such a god idea! I have been giving this some serious thought for a week or 2 now, but am a bit over-awed by the size of the project. I wonder if there's a way to use the forum to share ideas, keep each other motivated?

To keep myself from being overwhelmed with heritage projects, I have bitten things off in small chunks - one layout at a time - one set of photos at a time. If you have a few minutes to scan things, put them all in a folder specific to your project, or even in subfolders as above (babyhood, childhood, school, wedding, etc). Start a Word document that lists stories and journaling. When you think of a new story, insert it in the document in chronological order. After you've scrapbooked that story, change the color of the text to reflect you've already done it, in case it's 3 years before you pick the project up again and you can't remember. Um, yeah, that would be me, lol. Same thing with the photos - once they are scrapbooked, mark them somehow so you know, without having to look through all the layouts, whether they are done or not. And share with me how you do that, b/c I still struggle with that one, lol! DH doesn't want me to move the photos into a "scrapbooked" folder within each heritage folder I have, b/c that will mess with the backup system and probably have it backing the photos up multiple times (he already has a backup for the backup, so we don't need more).

If you know you want to use a specific product with a specific set of photos, save a copy of the preview of the collection/item with that set of pics to remind yourself.

Just a hodgepodge of tips I can think of off the top of my head!

[Florida granny]

I think it's a fantastic idea, Sandi! My daughter-in-law gave me a "Grandmother Book" when she had her first child (my first grandchild). The book had prompts and a space for writing info. The prompts were things like school memories, Valentine's Day (did we make our own?, etc.), winter outdoor fun, and more. I added stuff like Girl Scouts, who my friends were... Mostly I think it's good just to write down where you were born, which schools you went to, which church, and the addresses of where you've lived. You also know stuff about your parents and perhaps grandparents that you could add. Names of cousins... the list can just keep going.

Fortunately, I typed all the "Grandmother Book" info into Word, then just printed and literally copied and pasted it into the book. That way it's still on the computer. Maybe your project will motivate me to add the photos I've been promising myself to do for several years now. It would be interesting to know if anyone else is working on this type of project. As Hilary suggested, it might be fun to keep a Forum thread going to see what people are doing.

Good luck!

[BarbaraC1977]

Another reference: Leaving a Trace, the Art of Transforming a Life into Stories, by Alexandra Johnson. It looks like there's a Kindle edition, as well as print.

[ScrapGram]

I gave my Grandmother a Grandparents book many years ago and she completed it for me. None of it is digital, but it is a real treasure. Last Christmas, my daughter gave me a similar book and I decided to put it in digital scrapbook form. It has a lot of prompts that I will use for pages. (I am planning to cite this book in my final product.) I decided to also do a page for my husband, so the finished book will be about both of us, not just me. In 2012, I only did about 6 pages, but it is a start. Since my grandson is only 2, I figure I have a little time. I was able to work one of the layouts into one of the challenges here. I also just signed up for a class on line about doing a book about yourself. I figured it would make me do more since I paid for the class. Good luck and we will have to compare notes!

[ArizonaAngel]

Sandi this is a wonderful (ambitious) idea! As scrapbookers and in some cases family historians, we should all remember to include our own lives!

[CRS]

Wonderful idea, Sandi!

[PolkaDot]

What a great idea, Sandi, and what good suggestions and ideas you have here.

I come from a long line of "secret keepers." Very little information was ever passed along from one generation to the next. Growing up in such a culture makes it hard to share information, but writing it would be a good idea. I'm sure you often think about or make reference to important events in your early life. I like your idea of recording "as things surface." How much fun will it be for your children to read these things later?!

[Reminiscing]

I think it's a wonderful idea and I think the key to success, based on my experience with Project 365 and other memory-keeping projects, is to remember that any little bit is better than nothing. So as long as you keep working on it and don't give up, it's great!

Good luck!

Thanks everyone for the ideas too.

[goodqueenbee]

GREAT idea... I have been working for years on OUR STORY, and use the challenges that come along to add to the pages. I already wrote out the gist of the story in a document format for reference and move photos into and out of the working folders as I use them, and file the finished pages in a different folder as they are completed.

Fun ahead...

[elibar]

Ro has a couple of products that have a lot of journaling prompts:

ScrapSimple Digital Layout Album Templates: 12x12 My Life 1
ScrapSimple Digital Layout Album Templates: 12x12 My Life 2
ScrapSimple Digital Layout Album Templates: 12x12 My Life 3
ScrapSimple Digital Layout Album Templates: 8.5x11 Legacy Planner Mini

[Nica]

elibar, on 02 January 2013 - 12:40 PM, said:

Ro has a couple of products that have a lot of journaling prompts:

ScrapSimple Digital Layout Album Templates: 12x12 My Life 1
ScrapSimple Digital Layout Album Templates: 12x12 My Life 2
ScrapSimple Digital Layout Album Templates: 12x12 My Life 3
ScrapSimple Digital Layout Album Templates: 8.5x11 Legacy Planner Mini

Elisha, these are awesome. Thanks for pointing them out.

[SandiC.]

elibar, on 02 January 2013 - 12:40 PM, said:

Ro has a couple of products that have a lot of journaling prompts:

ScrapSimple Digital Layout Album Templates: 12x12 My Life 1
ScrapSimple Digital Layout Album Templates: 12x12 My Life 2
ScrapSimple Digital Layout Album Templates: 12x12 My Life 3
ScrapSimple Digital Layout Album Templates: 8.5x11 Legacy Planner Mini

So glad you brought these up! I think I have them all! Will go find them...I think they are on an EHD.

[SandiC.]

Ok, I've started....don't have a page made yet, but wrote a paragraph about when I enlisted in the Air Force. I have a picture of me in basic training. It was during basic training that Richard Nixon resigned and the sergeant let us have the evening free to watch the historic event on TV. Something we ordinarily wouldn't have been able to do. Its that sort of detail I want to include. So...one photo and one story.....done.

[Deb C.]

Oh, Sandi, I LOVE that idea. What an ambitious project, though. But, somehow, I think you will get it finished.

Would love for you to keep us updated. Show us your layouts, etc. Maybe that would inspire some of the rest of us to do the same.

You, too, Barbara. Sounds like you are wanting to do the project also. It would be fun to watch your progress.

[LenaLotta]

What a wonderful idea!
I plan to make a photo story for my sister for her 50th birthday in October. The idea was to only use photos and turn them to a movie with Photo story, but now I'm inspired to add more scrapping to the project!

[Kate Davis]

Cheri T, on 01 January 2013 - 04:51 PM, said:

To keep myself from being overwhelmed with heritage projects, I have bitten things off in small chunks - one layout at a time - one set of photos at a time. If you have a few minutes to scan things, put them all in a folder specific to your project, or even in subfolders as above (babyhood, childhood, school, wedding, etc). Start a Word document that lists stories and journaling. When you think of a new story, insert it in the document in chronological order. After you've scrapbooked that story, change the color of the text to reflect you've already done it, in case it's 3 years before you pick the project up again and you can't remember. Um, yeah, that would be me, lol. Same thing with the photos - once they are scrapbooked, mark them somehow so you know, without having to look through all the layouts, whether they are done or not.

It is probably a bigger task than one year, because everything I've read in the past suggests that once you start thinking about your past you remember more and more so the project keeps growing... but anything is a start.

I agree with Cheri that you should have a system and add to it as you have the thought or find the relevant pictures etc. The filing method Cheri suggests is similar to the one in digiDoer eBook: School Year and Nano Collection, although it is aimed at school memorabilia it is a similar type of project so you may find it an interesting read. I remember reading a story about a person who wanted to write their autobiography and commented to a friend that he didn't know how to start. He explained that when ever he remembered something he would write it on a bit of paper and put it in a box file. His friend pointed out he had already done the hard bit and he just needed to organise his bits of paper into chronological order and he was done. I have no memory where that story was but it has stuck with me as I loved the idea of doing the hard bit of a task without realising!

If you are able, you may want to print out the layouts as you go and put them in a file. It will give you a sense of achievement, but also if you encourage your children to look through it, it may lead them to ask questions that you would never think of.

A few years ago we bought my mother in law How to Write Your Own Life Story: The Classic Guide for the Nonprofessional Writer: Amazon.co.uk: Lois Daniel: Books. She was interested in writing a record for her children and this was the only book I could find that did not have the focus on publishing the book. When I last spoke to her about it she said she had been working through it and found it useful.

I will be interested in seeing your layouts. I have 20 years worth of journals that I want to do something with at some point, and I think it could be interesting to associate them with photographs, but I'm focussing on the present for my scrap pages at the moment.

[SandiC.]

Kate Davis, on 03 January 2013 - 04:23 PM, said:

Cheri T, on 01 January 2013 - 04:51 PM, said:

To keep myself from being overwhelmed with heritage projects, I have bitten things off in small chunks - one layout at a time - one set of photos at a time. If you have a few minutes to scan things, put them all in a folder specific to your project, or even in subfolders as above (babyhood, childhood, school, wedding, etc). Start a Word document that lists stories and journaling. When you think of a new story, insert it in the document in chronological order. After you've scrapbooked that story, change the color of the text to reflect you've already done it, in case it's 3 years before you pick the project up again and you can't remember. Um, yeah, that would be me, lol. Same thing with the photos - once they are scrapbooked, mark them somehow so you know, without having to look through all the layouts, whether they are done or not.

It is probably a bigger task than one year, because everything I've read in the past suggests that once you start thinking about your past you remember more and more so the project keeps growing... but anything is a start.

I agree with Cheri that you should have a system and add to it as you have the thought or find the relevant pictures etc. The filing method Cheri suggests is similar to the one in digiDoer eBook: School Year and Nano Collection, although it is aimed at school memorabilia it is a similar type of project so you may find it an interesting read. I remember reading a story about a person who wanted to write their autobiography and commented to a friend that he didn't know how to start. He explained that when ever he remembered something he would write it on a bit of paper and put it in a box file. His friend pointed out he had already done the hard bit and he just needed to organise his bits of paper into chronological order and he was done. I have no memory where that story was but it has stuck with me as I loved the idea of doing the hard bit of a task without realising!

If you are able, you may want to print out the layouts as you go and put them in a file. It will give you a sense of achievement, but also if you encourage your children to look through it, it may lead them to ask questions that you would never think of.

A few years ago we bought my mother in law How to Write Your Own Life Story: The Classic Guide for the Nonprofessional Writer: Amazon.co.uk: Lois Daniel: Books. She was interested in writing a record for her children and this was the only book I could find that did not have the focus on publishing the book. When I last spoke to her about it she said she had been working through it and found it useful.

I will be interested in seeing your layouts. I have 20 years worth of journals that I want to do something with at some point, and I think it could be interesting to associate them with photographs, but I'm focussing on the present for my scrap pages at the moment.

I have done a basic outline of major times in my life and then I can add the details in under these headings. So far I've written 4 stories and made notes about what I can include on the LO and ideas for the LOs. And I actually started one double-page spread. And that's just a couple of days worth. It took me about 10 minutes to write the story. Found a few more old photos that sparked another thing to consider including. As I come across these I'm dropping them into folders all in one place so once I actually start compiling them, they will all be handy. Like almost any writing, knowing what to delete is the hardest. I also have about 20 years of journals I've been going through. Scanning any pages that have anything worth saving. There are some very private things in some of those journals that I don't want to have my children burdened with after I'm gone (long time I hope), so I'm destroying some of the old stuff. But saving the good stuff and the stuff that I think the kids should know. I do not necessarily believe in full disclosure with ones children, but I do want them to know a lot. LOL