Crafting Your Family Heritage
April 4, 2009 by Mary Emma Allen
Filed under Home & Living
Preserving your family heritage through art and crafts, along with writing, provides great enjoyment. I’ve long been interested in learning my family stories and have developed workshops to teach others how to do this.
Image: sxc.hu
Along with writing them down you can:
- Make quilts and wall hangings with photos, related scenes and activities, or fabrics from family clothing.
- Develop scrapbooks about family events.
- Preserve documents along with photos in collages, books, and on fabric.
- Write books that relate family stories and add illustrations. I’m working on a picture book about my Uncle William “Buffalo Bill” Mathewson.
- Develop fiction stories inspired by those of your family. The life of Great Great Grandmother Cynthia, who lived during the Civil War era, would make an exciting novel.
- Create a shadow box with mementos such as buttons, beads, jewelry, and awards. For instance, I’m putting together a collage of my uncle’s military metals and memorabilia.
Do you have any techniques you’re using to preserve your family heritage?
