Author Archives: tellingfamilytales

Gift Idea #5 – Collection of Family Photos

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Most families have someone who is the keeper of the photos. Somehow that task has fallen to me. So last Christmas I gathered up the images I have. Scanned the ones that hadn’t been scanned. Then cleaned them up and label them consistently. I just did the ones connected with my mom’s parents from their childhood through their deaths. I cut DVD‘s for my mom’s siblings. For all of my cousins I sent a link to the SmugMug gallery that I set up with the same photos. That way they can get access to and download them as desired. This is a great project because it gives everyone access to those precious photos plus it distributes copies in more places to make sure they are preserved in case of disaster. An added bonus is that now they don’t have to come to me when they want a photo.

My advice on a project like this?

  • Pick a time frame. Don’t feel like you have to do it all. Make it something doable. You can always add to it later.
  • Pick a logical naming convention.
  • Make sure you scan them at 300 dpi or higher. If it is a really small photo I like to do 600 dpi or more so that it can be blown up larger than the original.
  • For long-term storage tiff is a better format than jpeg, because jpeg is a lossy compression and over time with opening and saving and opening and saving you lose data. But most people are more comfortable with jpegs. So you could scan as tiffs and then save a copy to jpeg for sharing with your family.
  • Find an easy way to distribute them among your family.

 

Gift Idea #4 – Personalized Planner

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Last year I made one of Blurb.com‘s weekly planners for a friend. It turned out really nice with a photo for each month and the front and back covers. This year they have even more options and with their BookSmart tool it is an afternoon or evening project. There are other planners out there that you can customize with photos but in my searching I didn’t find one that will let you add important dates.

Of course you can design your own planner from top to bottom in Adobe InDesign but that isn’t an afternoon project and BookSmart gives a surprising amount of control. Which ever route you take I think it would be fun to put together a family planner with historic photos and important dates from the past. Click on the image below to a Blurberati Blog post about their weekly planner.

Gift Idea #3 – Infographic

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When we think of doing a history of someone it usually feels like an overwhelming project that we just don’t have time for, especially when it comes to the holiday season. So I suggest taking on a bite sized project of an infographic about an ancestor or family member to give as a gift. Infographics are a way to communicate some of the more important information about something in a quick to understand way. You can put it into a frame or turn it into a tradition and pick a new person each year and give each person a binder or scrapbook to collect all the info-graphics in. I did a post about the infographic I did for my mom for Mother’s Day. It will help you get started. You will need to gather some information about the person and a few photos or other images. Clip art can also be helpful. Just have some fun and see how this project can come together.

Mother’s Day Project for Iris

I found this example of a family infographic today. It is pretty cool because it is customizable and comes in three colors schemes and five sizes. If you want a family infographic but don’t want to tackle the design yourself this is a great option.

“by the numbers” by Kristen Smith at minted.com

 

Gift Idea #2 – Family History Conference

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If someone in you family would love to expand their knowledge on how to do family history why not give register them for a conference or a class on family history. If you are the one, then why not give it to yourself for Christmas! There is a great one here in Utah in March called RootsTech. I went last year and loved it because it has so many different kinds of classes from the technology side to traditional research. They have added a new “Getting Started” that is only $19 for a one-day pass. Full 3-day Passes are now $149 with the early bird discount. If Salt Lake is too far away for the budget, then do some research and find a local class or conference you can give. What better way to help tell your families tales than to learn how to find more family members to tell stories about. Maybe I’ll see you at RootsTech.

 

Gift Idea #1 – Have an Ancestor to Dinner

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This idea is inspired by the tradition of having a special birthday plate that is only used on birthdays by the person whose birthday it is. In my version wrap a special plate, either one you already have or one that you make or buy just for this purpose. Then you have a family dinner and set an extra place at the table with this plate. During the meal you talk about the ancestor or family member that is the special guest for dinner. Someone could be ready with stories about you special guest or family members could share memories about that person, depending on the situation. You could even invite someone to come in costume as the ancestor and play the role for the night.

These special dinners could be held monthly or on or near the birthday of the ancestor or whatever works for your family. You could place card by the special plate with the guest of honors name and a photo would be a nice touch. If you know a favorite food of the guest, it would be fun to serve that as part of the meal. This is just a starting point. The same idea would work for living members of your family and use it as a way to honor the talents and accomplishments of the guest of honor.

If you Google custom plates there are tons of options of plates you can buy with a family name or other images. There are many ways to decorate a glass or ceramic plate yourself. Below are a few links to give you some ideas and get you started on this project.

Glass Plate Craft

How to Use Porcelain Paint Pens

Decoupage Dinner Plate

Family Name Platter

Etched Glass Dinner Plate

Personalized Melamine Plate

Waffle Book – addition

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Below are the additional pages I added to Waffle’s book to include her time in the high school program.  The first thing I did was to rework the Claraliz page to include the basics of what happened to Waffle after her transfer. Then I all the photos that Claraliz sent me plus a few of my own from Waffle’s first birthday visit and the five days she came for an evaluation. The bit of text on these pages is based on an email that Claraliz sent me when I asked her for memories and stories of Waffle. I ordered the book today, taking advantage of Blurb’s 25% discount code. I’ll be sending this book to Waffle’s new partner for Christmas. I hope she enjoys getting to know more about Waffle’s growing up time.

On September 30, 2011 Waffle was transferred to Claraliz Fernandez to finish raising. She was part of the Salt Lake Tech Guide Dog class for high school students. The students work hard in this class and have to attend for a year before they can get the opportunity to raise a puppy. Waffle remained with Claraliz and was apart of her life and family though out the school year.

Then in July of 2012, it was determined that Waffle wouldn’t be happy being a guide dog. She was evaluated to be a K9 buddy for a blind child but Waffle was too energetic for the kids that needed companions at that time. In August the perfect place was found for Waffle.

50 gift ideas challenge

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I’ve decided to challenge myself to come up with 50 gift ideas that will help you to tell your family tales by Christmas. I’ve done some brainstorming and I think I can do it but it isn’t going to be easy. 50 is just such a nice number, especially in this my 50th year. So stay tuned over the next five weeks and see if any of my ideas give you some inspiration for gifts for your family and friends. I’ll post my first idea soon!

Waffle Book – Claraliz

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On September 30, 2011 Waffle was transferred to Claraliz Fernandez to finish raising. She is part of the Salt Lake Tech Guide Dog class for high school students. These students work hard in this class and have to attend for a year before they can get the opportunity to raise a puppy. Waffle will remain with Claraliz and be apart of her life and family though out the school year. Then in June of 2012 she will get on the puppy truck and return to Guide Dogs for the Blind to complete her training to become a guide dog for a blind or visually impaired person.

This Week in 1856 – Rocky Ridge to Bear River – Mary Taylor

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From John Jacques:

By this time, the shoes of many of the emigrants had “given out,” and that was no journey for shoeless men, women and children to make at such a season of the year, and trudge it on foot. As the emigrants proceeded on their terrible journey, there was no appreciable mitigation of the piercing wintry cold, but its intensity rather increased. The Rocky Ridge and the South Pass were crossed on the 18th of November, a bitterly cold day.

Mary received a pair of shoes from one of the rescuers. Her shoes had long since worn out and she wrapped her feet in canvas from discarded tents.

From John Jacques:

The snow fell fast and the wind blew piercingly from the north. For several days, the company had been meeting more relief teams, which had been urged on by the Joseph A. Young express, and as the company was crossing the South Pass, there was a sufficiency of wagons, for the first time, to carry all the people, and thenceforth, the traveling was more rapid. But it was much colder to ride in a wagon than to follow afoot, and a few of the sturdier of the emigrants preferred to hold on to the wagons and walk behind them. One stubborn pedestrian held out as long as he was allowed to do so. The driver repeatedly urged on him to get up and ride. “Oh, I shall freeze, if I do,” he replied. “Well, we are going to drive faster, and you’ll be left behind,” said the driver. Finally, with such argument, the emigrant was persuaded to get into the wagon. When he was seated, the driver said, “There now, you don’t get out to walk anymore.”

William Bert Simmons, one of the rescuers, put Mary in his wagon. She was semiconscious at times and half frozen.

From John Jacques:

That night, the company camped in the willows at Pacific Springs, about four miles west of the South Pass. The snow was still falling furiously, with one or two feet of it on the ground. Here, Robert T. Burton took charge of the relief companies.

On the 19th, the company camped at Little Sandy, having sage brush for fuel, and on the 20th, on the Big Sandy.

While camping on the Big Sandy, it seemed impossible to get warm, sleeping in a wagon. It was warmer sleeping with beds on the ground, where if the biting, frosty air got the upper hand of you, it could not get the underside of you as well, but it could do both in a wagon.

The handcart company all riding, was now traveling at the rate of twenty-five to thirty miles a day, and my narrative will naturally proceed more rapidly. On the 21st, the company camped at Green River, on the 22nd, near the junction of Ham’s and Black’s forks; on the 23rd, at Bridger; on the 24th, in the cedars on the Muddy, were good fires were had; and on the 25th at Bear River.

At this camp there was an abundance of dry and fallen timber, and great camp fires were made of a cor or more of logs and branches. Here Joseph Young and his brother Brigham were in camp.

Waffle Book – Wonderful

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After all is said and done Waffle is a wonderful girl. She can be sweet and cuddly or she can be willful and frustrating but we love her just the same. She is a bit of a daddy’s girl and listens for the sound of the garage door opening that signals that Bill is home. Then Waffle watches and waits for him to sit down on the floor so she and Casey can get their nightly dose of snuggly papa time.