Show And Tell

Here's one of the first scrapbook pages I ever made. Jenni and Karen on Brighton Pier...like it says... and no dates as I didn't do that at first, nor any meaningful journaling either. I did try to be witty with the hat question though. Both photos were taken on Brighton Pier but a couple of years apart I would guess. I don't know because, sadly,  I didn't record those facts. Even then, Karen had her own sense of style i.e. the sunglasses!!

Being nosy, I was wondering if you would 'Show And Tell' one of your first layouts for others to see. It does make you realise how far you have come with the hobby. Perhaps from drab, uninspired LO's like mine here, to hopefully, something more interesting and engaging for others to see. Maybe you've always been a Scrapbook Star and even early layouts were prize-winners?

It helped me to assess my layouts then and now and recognise what elements have changed over time to give me my personal style.

Starting out I found 12x12 a frighteningly large space to fill, but now I tend to use up all of the page and rarely leave 'white space'.

Starting out I didn't tell the stories or add dates often enough, now I consider that the whole point of scrapbooking!

Starting out I used every colour cardstock possible on LO's, but now I have a preference for blue.

Starting out, if I did any journalling it was usually hidden somewhere on the page, now I am happy for people to see my comments (though I am not always happy with my handwriting efforts!)

Go on, let's see one of your original scrapbook pages. After all, you've seen mine!

If only....

My mother must be the only member of my family left for me to introduce.

This is one of the few 'old' photos I have of her. She's sitting on the steps of the cottage in Wavendon where she lived when newly married. My older sister Maureen is sitting on her knee. I don't know the exact date. Perhaps it was 1954 when Maureen was two years old.

Why don't I have any early photos of Mum? Because there are none.

She was born in Jarrow, County Durham. Her family was poor and apparently her father took part in the Hunger Marches from Jarrow to London in the late 20's and early 30's. Mum was orphaned when she was four by the death of both her parents; her Dad from alcohol-induced liver disease and her Mum from cancer. She was put into a childrens' home and was eventually adopted by a miner and his wife who didn't have children of their own.

After the war, Mum joined the Land Army and was sent to Woburn in Bedfordshire where she met my father who worked in an Ironmonger's Shop. One day she asked him to mend her bicycle and the rest, as they say, is history. I do have later photos of Mum, from her wedding day onwards.

Mum never talked about her past. I didn't even know she had a brother and sister until I was 10 years old! Everything I know about her younger days has been told me by my father. My own childhood memories of her are her quick temper (she chased my sister and I around the dining table with a leather belt if we were naughty) and the way she said whatever came into her head before thinking it through. The one piece of advice I remember her giving us children was, 'If you can't hit 'em, kick 'em!'- a legacy from her upbringing I guess.

Mum is 79 now and has Alzheimers Disease. She is deteriorating rapidly and cannot remember the names of family members who are alive, let alone those who have passed away. All her childhood memories are gone forever.

That's the main reason I scrapbook: to pass on the story of my family before it is forgotten, for my children to know where they came from, for them to have a record of their early years, and for them to know what makes me 'Me'.

If only I had asked Mum years ago all the questions I would dearly love to ask her now.

If only someone had recorded her family's story too.

Jenni's Rules

My older daughter, Jenni, is a scrapbooker like me.

I did this layout in 2006 when she was aged 16, and we both did our scrapping sat on the floor of the Lounge!

It's a tongue-in-cheek page about how she does her Scrapping and the main feature is a matchbook which I created to contain 'Jenni's Rules'. The book opens up and the pages fold forward to reveal her rules one by one:

Title Page - Rule Book

Rule One- spread out and make as much mess as possible

Rule Two - have the radio or TV on in the background

Rule Three - Have Fun!

Final Page - a photo of Jenni and the comment 'making memories'. 

This page is one of my favourites because it shows how alike we are, not just in looks (I'm a lot taller and wider!), but in our interests. She likes scrapbooking, reading and cooking, as do I. But she's far more outgoing and talkative! She's great fun to be around.

Jenni's off to University in September and we'll miss her.

By the way, if anyone's interested I can post the template measurements I used for the matchbook and how to assemble it. Just leave a comment below.