If you have ever been inside an antique store or been to a garage sale, chances are good that you have seen a box of old photographs sitting on a shelf, dusty and forgotten.  You may have looked at those pictures and wondered who those people are and why nobody in the family wanted these old keepsakes.  Instead of wondering about these pictures, you may want to wonder about the future of your pictures and how you can help keep them from becoming dusty relics of a bygone era!  With some creativity and effort you can create a link to the past and the future with scrapbooking.

Scrapbooking is far more than just gluing random pictures on a page and shelving it forever. It is a relaxing hobby that can connect you to the future generations.  What better way to show your children and their children that they are loved and they have a history that is more than just a few dusty letters and unmarked pictures in a shoebox.  Scrapbooking is a great way to take random things and piece them together in a way that is tangible and memorable, creating something that future generations can look at, handle and explore. 

By getting creative with some simple supplies, as basic as some acid-free card stock, photo glue and an archive-quality pen you can journal basic facts about each picture, such as names, dates and places.  With a little more effort you can also record your thoughts and feelings or story behind the events in the photo.  With more detail you can make a better connection with the future.  Describe how you felt, what was funny or sad or touching about this moment?  Your goal is to make the picture more than just a picture but show it off as a treasured memory to be preserved.  When you put a little bit of yourself into the pages you can make the next generation understand you and the experience even more.

When you can make a connection with future generations it is precious because you are ensuring that your memories aren’t dying and that the past is connected to the future.  You are ensuring that these pictures you saved and cherished aren’t going to a landfill because nobody knows who these people are but will be cherished because the future generation can appreciate them for what they mean, not just because they are random faces they may not have met and don’t know who they are. 

Just a little bit of effort can preserve a little bit of you and your memories for the future and will help you to connect with other generations to chare that knowledge with.  With your work you can create a book that will show off the important memories you have and will preserve them for the future.  The next generation will appreciate you for putting names to those faces in the pictures and stories behind those names!