About all the vintage children's artwork my mom saved...

[cynatnite]

Yes, she saved a lot of it! I can't believe the stuff I'm finding as we go through her things.

I wanted pictures for a montage video plus I'm setting up a station of sorts at the house with photos, letters, and other memorabilia of all of our family lives after the service on Saturday.

Anyway, it occurred to me to scan the old artwork we did as kids and make a photo book. There is enough. Some of it I'll have to take down to Office Depot or something because it's too big for the scanner on my printer. But I think it would be a great way to save that stuff.

On a side note, her and my grandmother saved EVERYTHING. It's great to find old letters from the 40's, 50's and onward. But still, the cremation contract from the early eighties when my great-aunt passed away? Seriously? That's not even the half of it. 1969 tax returns. Most of the photos have no names on the back and the old ones from before I was born I mostly don't have a clue about. There are old crochet books from the 50's, sewing patterns dating back to then to the 70's. This isn't the half of it. There is more in the shed which I won't have time to touch until later, I don't know when.

Anyway, it's an idea that dawned on me. I think people would like it.

[ploppy]

1. A photo book

is a great idea. It's so thoughtful and will bring back memories for all.

[Frustratedlady]

2. Great idea, particularly if they are signed so you know who drew them.

I am hoping to make a photo album of my husband's family of photos the kids have never seen, plus a cookbook of several relatives' old recipes. I don't know if I'll get those done by Christmas, but I'm hoping to do so.

BTW, those sewing patterns and crochet books are sought after. I've sold tons of them at garage sales or online. Also, Pillsbury Bake Off cook books and cook books for various products (baking powder...J-ello, etc.) or appliances like Frigidaire just so they are clean and not torn. You'd be surprised at what people collect.

It's quite a job. Good luck!

[flamin lib]

3. My Dad was a family farmer in the '40s-'50s.

He got his GED in his late 40s because he wanted his children to get an education and believed in leading by example. The chore of going through his papers fell to me.

I found his tax returns from 1965, the year he bought me a car for my senior year in HS. He paid $600 for the car. His total declared income for that year was . . . $600.

There are treasures buried in those scraps of papers. If you can save and share them it is a worthy endeavor.

My old homeplace burned to the ground with all those memories in it a few years after Dad died.

[jmowreader]

4. You got a cellphone or a digital camera?

Why not take the large pieces outside and photograph them?

[LakeSuperiorView]

5. Picasa, although Google stopped development on it, is good for old photos of people.

It does a good job of recognizing faces, meaning that it will show you the same person in different pictures. Start with adding the people that you do know and pretty soon you recognize others via context. I just scanned over 600 slides from when I and my siblings were children, to add to the negatives from my grandmother that I scanned years ago.