Crafting Reunion Scrapbooks

Summer is primetime for reunions. Whether you are attending an annual family get-together or that all-important 20th high school reunion, the special moments shared at the events can be treasured for years to come by crafting a scrapbook. If you are just getting started with scrapbooking and are looking to create an album to store all the precious memories made and shared at your summer reunion, my best tip: Keep it simple. Avoid trying to bite off more than you can chew, otherwise your memory album will end up looking like a mish mash of odds and ends. The trick … Continue reading

Great Genealogy Gifts to Give and Get

The other day, I received an email that made me laugh. The email was from Ancestry.com, and the title of the email was “Ancestors Make the Perfect Stocking Stuffers”. Obviously it was an email designed to advertise gift memberships to Ancestry.com, but it still made me giggle as I pictured adults walking into their living rooms and seeing the ghosts of long-deceased relatives sitting in Christmas stockings hung from the mantel. Okay, so I have a very active imagination, but there really is truth in the notion that beginning and expert genealogists alike might appreciate a gift membership to Ancestry.com … Continue reading

Birthday Scrapbooks Preserve Exciting Memories

Everyone loves birthdays, especially when the guest of honor is a young child. Proud parents are likely to have pages and pages of pictures of their little ones’ parties from that all important first birthday and onward. As a family history enthusiast, it may be nice to pull together a collection of birthday pictures and stories from a group of individuals, such as all of the cousins on one side of the family. Whether for a group or an individual, a birthday scrapbook containing pictures and stories from their parties over a span of years is sure to be a … Continue reading

Traditional Family Scrapbooks

In my last post I shared my master plan for creating an unconventional family scrapbook. Obviously, if you are not Japanese and you don’t plan to marry someone of Japanese descent, then you probably won’t take much away from the layout ideas I recommended yesterday. Today I figured I’d stick with page design ideas for more conventional family scrapbooks. At some point, most scrapbookers consider compiling a memory book filled with information about their families. Features could include items, from family photos and important documents to heirlooms and other treasured keepsakes, that have been passed down through the generations. While … Continue reading

Home School Blogger Spotlight: The Book Chook

Based in Australia and authored by Susan Stephenson, The Book Chook, is a delightful blog dedicated to children’s literacy. Susan is a Kindergarten teacher who describes herself as a reading mother hen to her little chicks in the classroom. Hence, the name The Book Chook, as “chook” is what many in Australia call a hen. I love the name of this blog. I find it memorable and quite adorable. The Book Chook is a blog that is easy on the eyes and invites you to sit down and enjoy a book or two. You are introduced to quality children’s literature. … Continue reading

Salem Ridge Press Answers the Call for Wholesome Books

Established in 2005, Salem Ridge Press mission is to revive quality wholesome children’s books the entire family can enjoy. Salem Ridge Press is bringing back books from the 1800’s and 1900’s to this generation of young readers. Solid “living books” should never go out of fashion. If you seek to bring your kids great literature you can trust then give these books a chance. Salem Ridge Press offers books in different genres such as historical fiction, allegory, adventure and young readers. They also carry plenty of historical fiction books that focus on church history. A great feature on the site … Continue reading

Now That Would be Great to Scrapbook About!

Do you base your decisions on what to do on how great it would be to scrapbook about it? Do you ask your child to perform a cute task well beyond exhaustion in order to properly record it and photograph it? Do you keep your camera on you while strolling though your home so you will not miss any cute moments? Do you buy cute scrapbooking paper and plan an event so you can use it? I will be the first to admit that a cute layout and page came before the event. I will not go so far as … Continue reading

Pregnancy Resources: Internet vs. Books

There are tons of pregnancy books out there, and I have even reviewed a few on this blog, but does a woman really need to buy a book when there is so much information available online? Well… yes and no. In my opinion, both internet resources and traditional pregnancy books have value. The internet is full of information, most of which is free, and is easily searched for specific answers. The sheer volume of pregnancy resources online is also its pitfall, however, since it is so full of duplicate and inaccurate information, which can be a pain to sift through. … Continue reading

New Genealogy Blogger

Hello, my name is Jacky Gamble, and I am a genealogy addict. I am also the newest genealogy blogger at Families.com. I have already posted a couple of blogs here, but before I go any further I should tell you a bit about me, and why I chose to blog about genealogy. Genealogy is one of my passions. I began researching my own family tree back in 2003 because I was curious to find out how many relatives were in my mother’s family (her grandparents had 11 children, and their children had children, and so on). I wasn’t expecting to … Continue reading

Creating Photo Books

If there is one thing in my home that I truly treasure it is the pictures of my children. I have spring babies so in just a couple of months all three of my children will be having birthdays. My baby is turning 11. My only daughter will be 13 and my oldest son will be 16. I can hardly believe it. One of the things we always do to celebrate their birthdays is to bring out their old picture albums. I started scrapbooking when they were babies so I have a few but as the years went on and … Continue reading