Happy Sunday! My name is Melissa (yzerbear19) and I am really excited to talk about two of my favorite hobbies: scrapbooking and researching my family’s history. I love combining the two, but it can be a challenge at times without pictures to use or documents that are poor quality. I want to provide a few tips on how you can scrap your family’s history.

I started researching my family’s history in September 2009 using Ancestry.com . I highly recommend Ancestry.com for anyone interesting in researching their family’s history. You can sign up for a free two week trial. There is so much information there. You can create your own family tree for free, but to review any hints or documents you will need a membership. Another great site to find information at is FamilySearch.org . This is a completely FREE site and I have found some incredible documents here such as the death certificate for my Great-Uncle Bruce who was killed when he was only 4 years old.

I knew from the beginning of my search that I wanted to learn more about my Dad’s side of the family. I already knew quite a bit about my Mom’s side of the family so I tried to focus my research on my Dad’s side, particularly my Great-Grandma Frieda. When I started researching my family all I knew was her name and that she died when my Grandpa Paul was a little boy. It took some time and patience, but eventually some key information from a distant cousin on Ancestry.com helped me to answer some of the questions I had about Frieda. I scrapped the story in this layout, “Uncovering the Past.” I used a screen capture of my Ancestry.com family tree as well as an old photograph my Mom had found while cleaning.

Uncovering the Past

When scrapbooking my family history layouts I love to use vintage feeling embellishments – old papers, postcards, keys, film negatives, lace, doilies, etc as well as natural elements like flowers and leaves.

In April 2012 my Mom, my sister Melinda, and I went to La Porte, Indiana in search of more information about Frieda. From my distant cousin I had learned where she was buried, but still didn’t know how or when she had died. Our first stop of the trip was the La Porte County Historical Museum which had a genealogy research room. I had hoped that they would have copies of obituaries and I was in luck! I scrapped the discoveries I made in this layout “Finding Frieda.”

Finding Frieda

With this layout I recreated the marriage registry and obituary. I wasn’t allowed to copy or photograph the original marriage registry so I copied it down exactly like it was in the book so I could recreate it in Photoshop when I got home. It isn’t the original document, but it’s pretty darn close. I used a font that was similar to the original so that it would look as closely like the original as possible. I had the copy of Frieda’s obituary that we got from the historical museum, but it was really poor quality and wouldn’t scan well. I decided that in order to use it on my layout that it would be better to recreate it. I typed up the text and formatted it the same way and used a similar font. I then created a paper that looked like newsprint and grunged the edges a bit to make it look a little worn. I again wanted the journaling to be the focus.

Inspired by all the new discoveries I was making I actually created a whole genealogy inspired kit called “Find Your Roots”. I used that kit for this layout, “The Harrold Family.” One of my favorite pieces from the kit is the Family Group Sheet. I loved how it turned out and it allowed me to put all of the key genealogical information I had for my Mom’s family on my layout and it doesn’t make it look crowded. This is a layout that I can print out and put in my genealogy binder or frame to hang in my home. I plan to do a similar layout for my Dad’s side of the family.

The Harrold Family

Another item I created for my kit was a pedigree chart. I created this layout with that pedigree chart. It looks so much prettier than the ones I’ve printed from my Family Tree Making program. Again it is something I can print out and display.

My Pedigree Chart

If you are lucky enough to have an original document that is of a good quality, be sure to use that. With this layout I used the images I have of the 1940 census for my maternal grandparents. The journaling includes some of the interesting facts I learned from the 1940 census.

The Harrold family in 1940

Here are some tips for scrapping your family’s history:

1. Focus on the story. Use this as a way to document the journey of finding your family. You don’t need photos or documents. Let the story be the star. Part of the fun of researching your family’s history is the search, of finding that elusive relative or document, so be sure to tell that part of the story as well.

2. Use vintage inspired elements. My favorite elements to use are old looking papers, envelopes, postcards, tickets, labels, etc. Natural elements are also a great choice. I really love using pressed like flowers like your ancestors would have used in their own scrapbooks.

3. Use genealogy documents like pedigree charts and family group sheets on your layouts. Often when you print these documents from a family tree program they are quite boring looking and just a bunch of facts, but you can provide the same information on your layout and have it look so much more interesting.

4. Recreate documents when necessary. If you have a document that you want to use but the quality is too poor, the writing illegible, or you can’t photograph it, use your scrapping skills to recreate it. Use a worn looking piece of paper and add your text. Use an old typewriting font. Use spills to make the paper look more worn and old. Try using different blending options to get different effects.

5. Have fun!

I went through the store here at ScrapMatters and found some great vintage kits and elements:

• Saturday Flea Market by Amy Stoffel (LINK: http://shop.scrapmatters.com/saturday-flea-market.html)
• Unforgettable design team collab (LINK: http://shop.scrapmatters.com/unforgettable.html)
• Vintage postcards by Amy Stoffel (LINK: http://shop.scrapmatters.com/vintage-postcards.html)
• Vintage bits 1 by Amy Stoffel (LINK: http://shop.scrapmatters.com/vintage-bits-1.html)
• Vintage office papers by Amy Stoffel (LINK: http://shop.scrapmatters.com/vintage-office-papers.html)
• Sentiments of Yesterday by Amy Stoffel and Creations by Rachael (LINK: http://shop.scrapmatters.com/sentiments-of-yesterday-by-amy-stoffel-and-creations-by-rachael.html)

I hope the tips I have given will help you to start scrapping your family’s history! You can visit my blog for more tips and ideas.

Melissa

Wow, I can’t believe that September ends tomorrow!  Time sure flies when you’ve got a gallery full of beautiful layouts to looks at! It can be difficult to pick layouts from the GSO thread for this post, so I’m making easy on myself and am showcasing the first six chosen this week…

Our first GSO, by Stefanie (Eyeore), was selected by Oriana. She liked how Stefanie placed the elements and also her great journaling!  I have to agree that the composition is super!  The columns make for easy readability and the clusters add just the right touch of interest to her layout.

Next is another photoless layout!  This one, by IntenseMagic, was chosen by Tamara (StudioCappuccino). Tamara said, “I love loads of journaling and photoless pages!! “  The story here is fantastic and the border layering and word arts are great!

Now we go from photo-less with lots of journaling to a beautiful, non-journaled layout!  Amber chose this layout by Tanya (tanyariley) and said, “I’m SO in love with how incredibly soft this page is.. from the photo treatment, to the elements she used.. it all just flows so effortlessly.”

Amber also chose this next layout by Yolanda (y baros) and said, “how can you not love a page with as much attitude and sass as this?! Love all the clustering, and I’m always a sucker for lots of patterns on a page.”  I really like the colors and how Yolanda cropped her photo!

Next is a beautiful heritage layout by Melissa (yzerbear19). Tracey selected this layout for GSO and said, “You made historical cool. Love this!” If you ever need inspiration for a heritage page you need look no further than Melissa’s gallery!

Lastly we have a challenge layout by Victoria 32. The monthly challenges are a great way to accumulate points towards shop discounts here at ScrapMatters. When Michelle chose this layout she said, “WOW!!! Loving the inspiration Victoria32 found in challenge 24….”  The photo of the colorful boats is great!

Don’t forget to check this GSO thread to see the others nominated this week! The layouts are linked to make it easy for you to leave love on these wonderful layouts!

~Dolores

We are sad to say goodbye to Maaike of Find Your Bliss Designs. She’s been faced with some difficult trials in her life right now and unfortunately designing is what had to give.  We will miss her terribly, but wish her the very best as she moves forward.. Her entire store is 60% off thru Sept. 30 so be sure to grab what you’d like before it’s gone for good!

This layout just captivated me and I couldn’t stop looking at it.  It almost has an optical illusion effect with all the stripes and layering.  The depth and dimension are just amazing!  Congrats to tanyariley for being this week’s LOTW winner!

To leave her some love, you can click the image. =)

This layout was made with the Breaking Free Bundle by Stolen Moments.  The image is linked if you’d like to see more layouts created with this gorgeous collection!

I often hear people comment on blurry backgrounds in photos and wonder how its done. If you’ve been wondering the same thing, these tips will help you out!

Zoom in. One thing that will help your photo have a blurrier background is to zoom in. (Hint: This only works with optical zoom, not digital zoom. For instance, zooming in on your phone camera will not blur the background more.) These two photos were taken from the exact same spot, with the exact same settings. The only difference was that I zoomed in closer in the second one. (I gave them the same crop for comparison.) You can see that the background is just a little bit blurrier in the zoomed in version.

(None of my kids were willing participants, so I had to kidnap Mr. Potato Head.)

Get close. This might sound the same as zoom in, but it’s not. Zoom in with the lens on your camera, but also get physically closer to your subject.  In these two pictures, all my settings were the same, including the focal length (how “zoomed in” I was). I just got a little closer in the second one.

Use Portrait Mode. Most cameras have a “portrait mode”. It is usually represented by a picture of a lady with a hat on. In this mode, your camera will usually choose settings that blur the background better than it would in auto.

Use a large aperture. The aperture setting is the most important setting for determining the blurriness of your background. If you are not comfortable using your DSLR in manual mode, you can choose “aperture priority” mode, which is usually represented by the symbol “A” on the selection dial. You will want to choose a large aperture. Remember, the larger the aperture is, the smaller the number is. Your number will be around f/5 with the kit lens, and even lower with other lenses.  The lower the number (or larger the aperture), the blurrier your background will be. In these two pictures, you can see the difference that aperture makes.

Now, experiment with some of these tips and see how they affect your photos. If you end up with some images you love, create a layout with them and post them in the gallery. We’d love to see them!

A House is Not a Home

by Debby

My parent’s house has been a part of my entire life. My paternal grandfather had the house built for his family in 1930. We still have the blueprints and paperwork that shows it cost him a little over $6000 to have it built during the depression. My father moved into the house when he was two and he lived there until he married my mother in 1948. They moved to a little, post-war tract house several miles east. That is where my sisters and I lived when we were little.

We visited our grandparents often, spending the night, celebrating holidays and birthdays. In 1963, when my grandparents retired and moved, we moved into their big house. We were so excited to move into Grandma and Grandpa’s house. It was so big compared to our little house. It had stairs, a big yard, 3 bathrooms, and it had two bedrooms for my 2 sisters and I instead of just one. This is where we “grew” up. This was our home. This is where so many of our childhood memories were formed. My sisters and I all lived there until we got married.

We continued to celebrate holidays and birthdays at my parents home.  We all still lived very close and visited our parents often. The house became synonymous with Christmas morning. with stockings stuffed by my Mom and hung from the big mantle. It was easy to still feel that magic of Christmas there. Our daughters grew to love the house as much as we did.  They spent even more time there than we had when it was our grandparent’s house.There were other fond memories made in that house. My older sister, Kathy and I always had camellias on the table for our birthday dinner in February. Camellias from the garden that my grandparents had planted when my father was a little boy. My younger sister, Janet and I played the piano that had been our grandmother’s. We loved playing wedding and cutting my Mom’s prized hydrangeas as our wedding bouquet.  There was the neatest little courtyard that we loved to make tents on with all the blankets we could find and camp out. The breakfast room table was the site of many a rowdy game of multi-player solitaire between my mom and sisters. We would all giggle ourselves silly until my dad escaped upstairs.  And the big dining room table was used for jigsaw puzzles. Hundreds of them!

In 2003 when my Dad died, he died in the home he had lived nearly his entire life, with his whole family at his side. After he died, my Mom did not think for a moment of moving out of their home, even though it was so big and hard for her to manage.  Christmas was still spent with her with the stockings hung from the mantle. In 2008 she lost her long battle with cancer.  She died on December 26 after we all spent Christmas with her at the house.

My sisters and I inherited the house and none of us were interested in living there.  My oldest niece and her family lease the house from us with hope of buying it some day. She could not stand the thought of losing our family home. Nobody wanted to think about how things would change without it.  She hoped that we could still have those family celebrations there for the holidays.

For me it was not the same anymore, it was not our home with both my parents gone. It was someone else’s home now, where a new family will make their memories. We still go there for family celebrations. We’ve always rotated those celebrations from home to home, so it would be natural for us to still go there. And my niece has her own children now, so of course we go there for her little girl’s birthday parties. We are making new traditions for Christmas though. I have not felt like going there for Christmas.  I know my niece was originally disappointed and I feel a bit like a scrooge.  In part that was why she wanted to hang on to the house.  But for me my home is not just a place, it is people that make it a home.  For me, a house is not a home.

Monday ONLY!! Select items are 50% off!! Visit the ScrapMatters Shop for more details!!
*Sale runs 12am-11:59pm ET. HURRY! What are you waiting for!?! *

Until next week, much love and scrappiness from:

Today we are going to get to know one of our ScrapMatters Girls, Amanda DawnRN. I asked Amanda to tell us a little about herself and shared a lot!

“My name is Amanda, aka Amanda DawnRN in the scrap forums,  and I just turned 33 in August. I’m married to my high school sweetheart and we have 2 children. My oldest is a daughter,who will turn 7 on Halloween and my youngest is a son who just turned 2 on 9/11. I have lived in Florida all of my life but have ventured from city living as a child to country living as a teen and landed back in the city as a college student and decided I like the city best.  I have been a nurse for over 13 years. I recently transitioned from a high stress and overworked job as a hospital case manager to an awesome job working as a medical review nurse from the comfort of my home office.

My hobbies include scrapping and cruising the galleries leaving love and in the forums meeting new people and chatting with the members. I also enjoy photography, being outside, and lots of family time. I love relaxing and trying to keep up with all those new fall shows collecting on my DVR too.  I’m a big yard sale and consignment sale addict. I have recently wondered across lots of local yard sale groups on Facebook and have made some great deals thus far. I also like to participate in local consignment sales both as a seller and a shopper. I am that crazy lady that gets there an hour or more early to wait for the doors to open to grab the best deals. I usually gross about $400-500 in sales myself and frequently spend most of that at the same sale.

I have been scrapping since my teen years. I transitioned to digital in 2008. I applied to creative teams very quickly to support my addiction and was luckily accepted to a few. Most of my pages are of my children and family. My children are more fun than I ever thought kids could be and they give me lots of fun moments to scrap.  I like to create All About Me pages too. I don’t really have a style per say but I am addicted to templates and usually start my layout with one. I also love scraplifting other layouts that inspire me. Since the birth of my son and my 2 year venture with a demanding job I have been in a scrapping slump but am hoping as things have begun to settle down I can make a little more time. It’s hard to have some many ideas in your head for a page and not able to sit down and do it.”

This was one of Amanda’s first layouts.  It was created for a creative team tryout and won her a spot. The little one in this layout is her daughter when she was  about 2 and a half.  She sure has Mommy’s eyes!

I asked Amanda to talk about how she found ScrapMatters and then she gives us all some pretty sage advice about backing up our memories!

“I wandered across ScrapMatters only months after I ventured in the digital world. I found the site after coming across Britt-ish Designs. By the age of 3 my daughter had already been to Disney several times so I had a million photos to scrap and her designs were perfect. I have been on many Creative Teams that have made a visit as a designer at ScrapMatters. I really don’t have a favorite designer but I stuck around at ScrapMatters because I really like the wide variety of designer styles and really love the supportive and creative atmosphere.

The most important thing  I have learned in my several years as a digital scrapper is to back up my memories. It took several near misses, loss , recovery hours and fear of heartbreak from losing memories. With my 3 scares with 1 hard drive and 2 external drives thus far, I was lucky enough only to lose a month or so of memories . I got smart and signed up for an online back up and now I love the peace of mind. So that is my most important piece of advice is to find a back-up that works for you and stick with it because the precious memories we create and document can be gone in a flash.”

Since Amanda told us she liked to do All About Me layouts, I was glad she shared this one about

her changing hairstyles through the years. Here is what she had to say about it.

“This is the last layout I’ve completed and it has become my favorite:  Right now I am in the process of letting my hair grow out some so it is neat to look at this and see all the styles I have had over the years.”

Thanks, Amanda! I love getting to know the people I spend time with at ScrapMatters and I hope everyone says hi to Amanda when you see her in the forums.

I’m so glad you’ve stopped by to see this week’s Gallery Standouts on this first day of autumn!  It’s always tough to highlight just a few of the masterpieces we have in the GSO thread, but I’m sure you’ll agree that these are all fantastic!

This layout by clemmon03 is so gorgeous that it was nominated twice!  Her use of patterned papers is fantastic and the word art tucked in the cluster is a nice touch! And to quote Amber, “those clusters are just yummy!”

This is just one of the layouts by Nadia (swastinadia) in this week’s GSO thread!  Here she mimicked the beautiful background paper by clustering blossom branches and flowers on top!  Check out the nice touch the sparkles add to this beautiful layout!

Jaye also has more than one layout nominated for GSO this week!  Here she blended the background of a precious, large photo to create a fabulous layout!  I love the arrows pointing to the photo and nostalgic journaling!

Joanne4211 is new to ScrapMatters and is treating us to her daughter’s wedding album!  The blended photo of the couples’ hands is awesome under the bride’s vows!  The paper strips and clusters accent this lovely layout perfectly!

Next we have a super layout by Terin (scrappyfrog) that is oh so precious!  We can only imagine what wish he was making before blowing on the dandelion flower!  I love the photo crop, fun metal border, and of course, the awesome cluster!

Last is this amazing layout by Jenni (Ozegirl)!  It’s hard to put into words all the fabulous parts to love here because every time I look at it I find something else that wows me!  The extraction, the framing, the photography, the title work, etc…all amazing!

If you liked these, make sure you stop by the GSO thread for even more Gallery Standouts full of inspiration and wonderfulness! Clicking on the layouts above will take you to the gallery, where you can leave love for any or all of them!  Then you can go out to enjoy the first day of fall! 

~Dolores