Fun Expressions Blog

Mother's Day Memories

We all have our own traditions for Mother's Day. We also have fond memories from our childhood about past Mother’s Days. One of mind is of going to church with my mom every Sunday, but on Mother’s Day Sunday the minister would ask all the Mothers to stand. As they stood, an usher would bring around a special gift to them. I remember looking up at my mom who was smiling so big, so PROUD to be a mom and I remember thinking WOW- someday that is going to be me. Someday I am going to get to stand up and be recognized on Mothers Day.

That someday is here. I am a mommy, and this Sunday I will get to stand up at church with all the other moms and look beside me and see a smiling little face. I will be waiting on a seed packet, which is my churches special gift to mothers. That way my son and I can plant those seeds, nuture them, and watch them grow. I must admit the best part of getting to stand with all the other mothers is looking at my little boy smiling up at me.

This year, remember to add to your Mother's Day thoughts to your All About You Album. What are your memories of past Mother's Days, your memories of when you were little, and your memories since becoming a mother?  Remember to include your traditions, and what you hope to make into new traditions. Journal about what it means to you to be a mother, or how much your mother, or grandmother means to you. The ALL ABOUT ME album is meant to share your thoughts, and your feelings, and your memories.

Best Way to Save Photos?

The Mad Cropper (whose blog name makes me smile everytime) does some linking around on what is the best way to save photos. The verdict? According to some, printing out your digital photos on archival paper is better than keeping them on a CD or DVD. Read more on the site.

Scrapbooking for Soldiers

The Leaf-Chronicle has a very poignant story about military wives creating elaborate scrapbooks for their husbands who are at war, many of whom are missing out on the early years of their children's lives:

This is Scott Casner's second trip to Iraq, but Amy hopes it will be his last. Her husband is 19 months away from retirement. In the meantime, she will continue to chronicle things like Jordan's first cakewalk and Olivia's first singing performance so Scott can feel, so far away, like he's right there with them.

Common Photograph Problems and Concerns

There are several common concerns that arise when finding, sorting and organizing older family photos. Here are the top five concerns for most family genealogists and scrapbook enthusiasts:

• Broken, torn, or cracked photographs: If the primary support of a photograph sustains serious damage, place it carefully in a polyester sleeve with an archiva board support. If a photograph has a flaking layer or surface treatments, such as the pastel coloring, place it in a shallow box. Do not use pressure-sensitive adhesive tapes to repair torn photographs. Consult a Photographic Materials Conservator to perform repairs. You might also be able to restore the photo with digital technology.
• Soiled photographs or negatives: Brush soiled photographs carefully with a clean, soft brush. Work from the center of the photograph out, toward the edges. Do not attempt to clean photographs with water or solvent based cleaners, such as window cleaner or film cleaner. Improper cleaning of photographic materials can cause serious and irreversible damage, such as permanent staining, abrasion, alteration, or loss of binder and image. Consult a professional photographer or digital enhancing professional for help.
• Photographs or negatives adhered to enclosures: High-humidity environments or direct exposure to liquids can cause photographs to adhere to frame glass or enclosure materials. This is a very difficult problem to resolve, and great care must be taken to reduce the possibility of further damage. If a photograph becomes attached to adjacent materials, consult a professional Photographic Materials Conservator before attempting to remove the photo. It may be possible to make a copy of the photo through digital scanning or photography.
• Deteriorated negatives: Chemical instability is a major factor in the deterioration of early film-based materials. If film-based negatives are brittle, discolored, sticky, appear wavy or are full of air bubbles, separate the negatives from the rest of the collection and consult a Photographic Materials Conservator or professional photographer. A conservator will be able to help identify these materials and make recommendations for their safe storage and/or duplication.
• Broken glass negatives or ambrotypes: Place broken glass carefully in archival paper enclosures. Use a separate, clearly marked enclosure for each piece to reduce the possibility of scratching or further damage. Consult a professional Photographic Materials Conservator for assistance.

Care of Photo Memorabilia

• Hold photos so that you are only touching the sides to prevent oil and dirt from transferring from your hands to the photo.
• Keep photos out of direct sunlight. Keep in a place with moderate temperature, avoiding extreme heat or cold. Avoid placing anywhere with high humidity, because moisture isn't good for photos.
• Use acid-free paper when matting a photo or placing onto a scrapbook page. If possible, store in an acid-free container. Store your acid-free scrapbooking papers with the same care as your photos.
• Always take black and white photos in coordination with color photos at major celebrations and family events. Take a few black and white candid photos of all family members and friends, since black and white photos have a longer life than color photos.
• Take some photos too. Store onto a CD or DVD. The current life of a CD (compact disk) is 100 years, and you can't get more acid-free than digital! It's also a smart idea to scan important family documents and store on a CD or DVD.
• Make sure that photo albums and page protectors are polyester or polyethylene. Do not use anything made of poly-vinyl chloride, also known as PVC. And avoid placing photos in "magnetic" albums. Ifyou are trying to remove photos from this type of album, you may want to go to a professional photography shop for help.

Keeping Track of Memorabilia

1. Keep a log of all photos/events that you have a copy or negative of. If there is more than one family historian, make sure everyone has a copy of the photos. There may be photos of ancestors that you don't even know are still in the family's possession. One of my most exciting discoveries was that a cousin had a beautiful photo of our great-great grandfather. Until I started circulating photos within the family, most of us thought that no photo of our great-great grandfather existed.
2. Keep an inventory of all family heirlooms, and list who currently has each item. Try to keep a recorded history (the story and details) of family heirlooms too. A recorded history could let future generations know that a family quilt sewn by Aunt Isabella in 1965 was to celebrate the birth of her daughter, and that the fabric came from the pajamas of the older siblings.
3. Create a family timeline. Starting with the oldest know ancestor, come forward in time noting family and world events. A timeline can bring better understanding of what your family members were experiencing in the world throughout their lives. For example, your grandmother may have seen many exciting changes in the world, like getting a phone, being one of the first families to have a TV, and watching man step on the moon for the first time.

The First Rule Of Genealogy

Genealogy is one of the leading hobbies in America. Genealogy is defined as the documented record of a family, including ancestors and descendents. Most of us can recognize a family tree and we can all learn more about keeping our family history alive by using some of the guidelines both professional and amateur genealogists follow.

The first rule of genealogy is simple: Don't do what can't be undone. Exactly what does this rule mean to you and me? Take a look at this list of don'ts:

1. Don't cut or crop any old photos that don't have a negative. Only cut or crop copies of a photograph.
2. Don't write on a photograph in dark permanent or water-based ink. Water-based inks can bleed or run if wet, which can harm the photograph. If you must, use only pens designed to write on photographs.
3. Don't laminate any original documents or photographs. You can't undo lamination without harming or destroying the paper or photographs. Make copies and laminate them.
4. Don't write or make notes on any paper documents. Even pencil marking that can be erased might harm the document.
5. Don't eat or drink near any documents, photographs or memorabilia. Accidents happen, and the result can be permanent damage to your family treasures.
6. Don't staple, fold, or paper clip important documents. Store flat and protect edges and corners.

Preservation Copying

No matter how well any paper or photographic item is stored, eventually the item will degrade to the point where it is either prohibitively expensive to repair it, or where repair is no longer possible. When this point is reached, copying is the only practical way to preserve the material into the future. Although modern copying technology can preserve items otherwise destined to be lost, most copying technologies do not reproduce the original item with total accuracy. Small amounts of definition and clarity are lost each time an image is copied. This loss of clarity becomes more pronounced over several generations of copies, as you may have encountered when you've made a copy of a copy. Digital technology is the only current way to create an exact duplicate of the original; however, because digital technology is stored in electro-magnetic media, it is susceptible to very rapid decay. Despite its limitations, copying is the only practical way for the layman to preserve many items.

• Paper items can be either photographed or copied using a photocopier. The image placed on paper by a photocopier is very stable, however, care should be taken to place the image on good-quality paper. Acid-free paper is a must. Paper marked as photocopier paper and loaded into most commercial coin operated photocopiers is usually of poor quality.
• When photographic copies of documents or photographs are made, care should be taken to select a photographer experienced in copy work. Copy photography is as much an art as a science, and an experienced hand will obtain the best copy image.
• Contemporary color photographs of significant importance should be copied within twenty-five years after they are taken in order to preserve their original color hues.
• Material that has been glued in scrapbooks is very difficult to copy. Usually the only solution is to destroy the scrapbook or the scrapbook page in order to make good copies of the attached items.

Preserving Family Memorabilia for Generations

An important part of scrapbooking is preserving family photos, documents and keepsakes. Often, the negatives of older photographs have been lost or misplaced over the generations. It's important that you preserve any original photo that does not have a negative. Make a copy of the original for use in your scrapbook.

Documents like wedding certificates, birth announcements, even passports add so much additional information to your scrapbook that each deserves be a part of a family scrapbook page. So you can make copies and include them, or have large original documents reduced to a more manageable size.

We usually think of how important preservation is with our older photos and documents, but forget that the photos you take today will someday be "older" photographs to your children and grandchildren. Be sure to select photographs of key milestones and carefully keep the photos and negatives together.

Stay tuned for more information and some top tips from the experts on how to persevere your family treasures in the next few days!