Memorial Scrapbook Photos: Memorial Memorabilia
Yesterday I started assembling the memorial scrapbook for my mother, who passed away on December 26, 2021. These photos document some of my materials and construction process.
This black 3-ring binder will hold the scrapbook pages. It's a Pen Gear binder, 1 1/2" inches wide with D rings and a capacity of 330 pages. The chipboard stiffening the covers is made from 100% recycled paper. I like using recycled things when I can, though I didn't set out with that in mind; it's just what was available this time. The outside is covered by a clear plastic sleeve that's open at the top, so I can make front, spine, and back inserts for it. Inside, the front and back covers each have a pocket of clear plastic. I stuck the memorial bookmark in one.
I like this style of binder for scrapbooking because:
* It's cheap, unlike pricey scrapbook albums. There is no reason scrapbooking has to be expensive, or any other type of journaling for that matter.
* It's readily available from most grocery stores or office supply stores, and comes in a variety of base colors. (Most of mine are black, white, or blue; here I chose black for memorial purposes.) Finding a fancy scrapbook album usually requires visiting a specialty scrapbook store or ordering online; general craft/hobby stores are hit or miss depending whether they support scrapbooking as a hobby.
* The 3-ring feature makes it quick and easy to add, remove, or rearrange papers. Most scrapbook albums use a post or strap system that is a nuisance to manipulate. They're meant to build once and stay put. If you want a flexible mounting system, pick something with snap rings; they come in multiple styles and sizes.
* The cover sleeve makes it completely customizable. I like making my own covers.
* I prefer working with 8 1/2" x 11" size to the 12" square size more common in scrapbook albums. I find the smaller size more comfortable to handle because I have a small body; the larger size is often unwieldy for me. Also, it's more important to have a larger size if you plan to scrap lots of large pictures. I mostly scrap poetry. In this case, I'm scrapping memorial memorabilia. I will be adding plenty of pictures, but many of them are older and smaller. Also, I have some really awesome paper, which means I'm happy to put fewer photos on those pages to show off more of the paper, without having an album so big that I have to put it on a table to view it.
* Using page protectors rather than solid scrapbook or photo album pages means that I can put whatever pages I want into them -- plain printouts, cardstock, photo paper, or a mixed-media combination. I only scrap flat (paper, stickers, etc.) or near-flat (brads, ribbon, etc.) materials. If you prefer the lumpy-bumpy style of scrapbook or art journal, you need to choose designed for that.
Black 3-ring Binder
Among the loose memorabilia I have to work with are the Celebration of Life program and the memorial bookmark. The program in a small single sheet of plain paper folded in half. Mom's name and picture appear on the front, with my poem "Gone to Seed" and the event program on the inside. This is nicely done and easy to preserve. The memorial bookmark has the name and picture on front with the obituary on back, and is laminated in thick clear plastic so it's stiff. I really love this thing; it's a beautiful bit of memorabilia that could be used to mark a guestbook (Dad has that, along with another bookmark) or a scrapbook like I'm using it. My one regret is that the bookmark is trimmed so closely, there isn't enough room at the top to make a hole safely. It would be nice to add a ribbon tied to the binder rings, to make sure that the bookmark says put. I may see if I can find a way to fasten something to the top, but I'm hesitant to mess with it.
Collecting memorial memorabilia is pretty popular, so it's nice to see a funeral home that puts some serious effort into making nice ones. I've seen people who had a whole box of that stuff from all the funerals they had attended. It's quite valuable for several sectors:
* Genealogy and family history, so you can cross-check what happened when to whom using solid source documents.
* Historians, especially in the funerary field, who like to see how customs change over time.
* Curators or collectors of ephemera in general, because often this stuff just gets thrown away.
So those are reasons why I wanted to include these pieces, aside from personal attachment.
I'm using Staples clear sheet protectors. These are letter size, slightly larger than 8 1/2" x 11" to hold that paper. They're top-loading, 2.4 mil thickness. They're archival quality: PVC-free, latex-free, acid-free. The box I bought holds 200; they come in various amounts. I like buying them in large amounts because when I'm sitting down to work on a project, I tend to make lots of pages at once. The last thing I need is to run out in the middle, and maybe not find the same brand/style.
If you only make a few pages, you might be happier with a packet of 10-20 sleeves from a scrapbook store, which does have the advantage of offering more different styles such as foldouts (I did buy a packet of those that's around here somewhere) or card-sized pockets. Buying the right craft supplies means knowing what you need for the projects you do and the way you like to work. That requires paying attention to what works or doesn't for you, and what things you find annoying so you can try something else in the future.
On the right, you can see the empty page protectors waiting to be filled. I took a bunch of them out of the box at the same time and loaded them into the binder. This way, I don't have to keep going back to the box to take them out one at a time; they're already there when I need a new one.
Open Binder with Memorial Materials
I had a challenge in displaying the Celebration of Life program. It's a small sheet of paper folded in half, printed on both sides. So I didn't want to stick it down and hide either side. It's considerably smaller than the 8 1/2" x 11" page protector, so I didn't want to just drop it in there loose. A single frame would either let the program slide out of it, or require using adhesive directly on the program, which I didn't want to do. (I am much fussier about certain types of archival memorabilia than I am with poetry or other stuff that's just printed out at home.) Ultimately I decided to use a double frame.
Here I'm working with black cardstock in 8 1/2" x 11" size. I measured the flat program, marked the cardstock with pencil, and cut out the middle. This would've been a lot easier if I'd found my craft knife; I wound up doing it by hand with scissors. (If you need to do a lot of cutting like this, get a good straight or rotary craft knife. I don't do much of this type, which is why mine is ... somewhere ... in a bookcase worth of craft materials.) I cut two of these. The hole is ever-so-slightly smaller than the program, so when the layers are all fastened together, the two halves of the frame will trap the program between them. If I'd been thinking a little better, I could've made a third frame to help hold the program between the other two, but what I have seems to be working.
I used my Zero Hero Centering Ruler CR-18 to center things and mark lines. This is a clear plastic craft ruler with 0 in the middle and 9 inches to each side. The opposite edge has centimeters. In the middle are several lines and holes that are very useful for aligning things
Black Cardstock Frame
Once I had both frames cut out, I centered the program (opened flat) and placed double-sided photo squares around it. Then I put the second frame on top and stuck them together. This way, the program is held in the middle, visible on both sides.
I'm using Canson double-sided photo squares for this project. These are sticky on both sides. They peel off a long backing tape, and the top side has its own little tab that peels off when you're ready to attach the upper layer of your project.
Black Cardstock Frame with Adhesive Squares and Program
The front of the finished page has the flat program in its black cardstock frame, showing what was originally the front and back cover of the folded program.
Black Cardstock Frame with Program Front
The back of the page shows what was originally the inside of the folded program. The left side (inside the front cover) has my poem "Gone to Seed" while the right side (inside the back cover) lists the sequence of activities.
Black Cardstock Frame with Program Back
This page has a background of black cardstock. I cut out Mom's obituary and the newspaper header with its title and date. The header provides additional contextual information that is useful for archival purposes, without having to write or print something from a different source. Newspaper clippings are informative, but often people just clip out the one thing they want and it doesn't necessarily tell which paper it came from or when.
Newsprint is tissue-thin paper full of lignin and acids, printed with smudgy ink. It's made as cheaply as possible because it's meant to be disposable. This makes it very difficult to preserve. Newsprint tends to turn yellow and brittle very fast. However, placing it in a scrapbook with archival materials can slow this process. Lignin-free, acid-free background paper and page protectors help. So does storing it in a closed binder away from damaging light. Another option, especially with modern high-quality equipment, is to scan the original and put a copy of it in your scrapbook. Most people want to scrap the original though.
Black Cardstock Background with Newspaper Cutouts
I also scanned the oak tree page from Prairie Moon Nursery. This company sells all kinds of wildflowers and a few other native species; this is the first time I've seen them offer oaks. I ordered one of each of the four varieties: bur oak, chinquapin oak, red oak, and swamp white oak. I had intended to print out the page yesterday. Then I decided that I would rather wait until the trees arrived, so I could write a header to include the planting date. So this is a page I'll add later.
Oak trees grow throughout most of America. Where they grow, they tend to be the most valuable trees for wildlife because they host by far the largest number of other species. One oak tree can host 532 caterpillar species, 280 other insect species, 147 bird species, 120 mammal species, and 60 species of reptiles and amphibians. For comparison, white willow hosts about 200 insect species. It's good to have diverse trees, because that expands the total wildlife species served -- but oaks give the most bang for your buck. If you only have room for one tree, plant a native oak species suited to your locale.
All four of the above species are native to Illinois in various densities and ranges. I'm not sure exactly which will do best here. If I'm lucky, all four will survive; but I'm pretty sure that at least one of them will make it. I'm also not sure what species our mature oak is. I know I have a red oak sapling that's about head-high, planted for Earth Day several years ago; and I think there are a couple other oak seedlings scattered around.
Mom loved nature, trees, and gardening. We have lots of trees in our yard. I remember planting Arbor Day trees when I was little. I have no idea how many of them survived to be part of the current population, but I'm sure of two: the big silver maple between the house yard and the south lot, and the oak tree near the end of the driveway. That oak tree is precocious; it started dropping acorns before it was 20 years old. Many oaks don't bear until they're 50; some start around 20-25. Few bear earlier than 20, and only a handful do so before 10. Oaks are a long-term investment. Their average lifespan is 150-300 years, depending on the species, with the oldest ranging up to 400. So I think this makes a good memorial.
Sunset Funeral Home also manages a memorial tree program, and 5 trees were donated there in Mom's memory. That doesn't specify the type of tree, though.
Prairie Moon Nursery Catalog Oaks Page
Another thing I did for the scrapbook was print out Mom's obituary from the Sunset Funeral Home website, complete with the tribute wall. The printed obituary is easier to read than the newsprint, more durable, and includes a small color portrait. The tribute wall includes messages from friends and family, along with notations of who sponsored memorial trees. I didn't scan or photograph these pages because it's easier to see them just by visiting the original website.
So that's the start of my memorial scrapbook assembly. I'm pleased with what I've done so far, and I have lots of ideas for further pages. After seeing someone else's collage journal, I'm thinking about doing something like that with pictures from extra plant catalogs, because Mom loved gardening. These early pages are primarily black-and-white because they present the formal memorial items, but I have a lot of more colorful materials for later. It's a fun project that makes me feel like I'm accomplished something constructive.
One challenge I encountered in preparing for this project is the paucity of materials designed for memorial pages. Lots of people scrap this topic, but there aren't many papers or embellishments for it. The only ones I could find this time were Christian ones that didn't suit at all, though I've seen other things in the past. Instead I found a package of black-and-whtie papers, some other thematic papers, and a couple different sets of stickers that I really like.
An advantage to memorial crafts is that they encourage you to work through your feelings in a structured manner. You have a particular time and place to work on this stuff, so it's less likely to spurt out at inopportune moments. If it does, you can tell yourself, "Now is not the time for this. I will deal with it later." That's okay because you actually have a "later" slated for it, not just stuffing it hoping it'll go away. Put it in your planner if that helps, or just remember to set aside time for it. Journaling is a great choice of memorial craft, because you can work with words, art, photos, or any combination that feels right to you. There are lots of other options, though, so pick whatever you like.
Crafting also tends to be a bit less intense than the notorious "sit with your feelings" excercise, which if you last more than 5 minutes you're doing really well. If you get overwhelmed while crafting, you can always pause and do something else until you regain your emotional equilibrium. The craft project will wait patiently until you're ready to pick it up again.
Another advantage is that memorial crafts help you remember the good times. You may be working with memorial memorabilia that can be very challenging to handle, especially early in the grieving process; but you're probably also working with lots of materials from earlier, happier times together. You may have photographs, letters, award ribbons, or other fun stuff. This helps cycle through different emotions, or mixes of emotions, so that you're not feeling exactly the same thing all the time. A solid block of sadness is more likely to crystallize into complicated grief and not get better. The natural process of mourning gradually breaks up the grief with other types of feelings, until the happy memories outweigh the sad ones. So memorial crafts are one of many ways you can help that process keep moving forward.
Then of course, after you finish a memorial project, you have a lovely item for keeping memories alive. This is nice whether you keep it private or share it with other folks. Such things are especially a boon to family historians or genealogists when pulled off a shelf many years later. And at the time, you usually don't know what random bit of family history might turn out to be relevant to the larger stream of historic events; that tends to come to light only after many years. Scrapbooks and other family crafts occasionally land in museums for that reason.
Mostly, though, we just make these to keep the memories alive.
This black 3-ring binder will hold the scrapbook pages. It's a Pen Gear binder, 1 1/2" inches wide with D rings and a capacity of 330 pages. The chipboard stiffening the covers is made from 100% recycled paper. I like using recycled things when I can, though I didn't set out with that in mind; it's just what was available this time. The outside is covered by a clear plastic sleeve that's open at the top, so I can make front, spine, and back inserts for it. Inside, the front and back covers each have a pocket of clear plastic. I stuck the memorial bookmark in one.
I like this style of binder for scrapbooking because:
* It's cheap, unlike pricey scrapbook albums. There is no reason scrapbooking has to be expensive, or any other type of journaling for that matter.
* It's readily available from most grocery stores or office supply stores, and comes in a variety of base colors. (Most of mine are black, white, or blue; here I chose black for memorial purposes.) Finding a fancy scrapbook album usually requires visiting a specialty scrapbook store or ordering online; general craft/hobby stores are hit or miss depending whether they support scrapbooking as a hobby.
* The 3-ring feature makes it quick and easy to add, remove, or rearrange papers. Most scrapbook albums use a post or strap system that is a nuisance to manipulate. They're meant to build once and stay put. If you want a flexible mounting system, pick something with snap rings; they come in multiple styles and sizes.
* The cover sleeve makes it completely customizable. I like making my own covers.
* I prefer working with 8 1/2" x 11" size to the 12" square size more common in scrapbook albums. I find the smaller size more comfortable to handle because I have a small body; the larger size is often unwieldy for me. Also, it's more important to have a larger size if you plan to scrap lots of large pictures. I mostly scrap poetry. In this case, I'm scrapping memorial memorabilia. I will be adding plenty of pictures, but many of them are older and smaller. Also, I have some really awesome paper, which means I'm happy to put fewer photos on those pages to show off more of the paper, without having an album so big that I have to put it on a table to view it.
* Using page protectors rather than solid scrapbook or photo album pages means that I can put whatever pages I want into them -- plain printouts, cardstock, photo paper, or a mixed-media combination. I only scrap flat (paper, stickers, etc.) or near-flat (brads, ribbon, etc.) materials. If you prefer the lumpy-bumpy style of scrapbook or art journal, you need to choose designed for that.
Black 3-ring Binder
Among the loose memorabilia I have to work with are the Celebration of Life program and the memorial bookmark. The program in a small single sheet of plain paper folded in half. Mom's name and picture appear on the front, with my poem "Gone to Seed" and the event program on the inside. This is nicely done and easy to preserve. The memorial bookmark has the name and picture on front with the obituary on back, and is laminated in thick clear plastic so it's stiff. I really love this thing; it's a beautiful bit of memorabilia that could be used to mark a guestbook (Dad has that, along with another bookmark) or a scrapbook like I'm using it. My one regret is that the bookmark is trimmed so closely, there isn't enough room at the top to make a hole safely. It would be nice to add a ribbon tied to the binder rings, to make sure that the bookmark says put. I may see if I can find a way to fasten something to the top, but I'm hesitant to mess with it.
Collecting memorial memorabilia is pretty popular, so it's nice to see a funeral home that puts some serious effort into making nice ones. I've seen people who had a whole box of that stuff from all the funerals they had attended. It's quite valuable for several sectors:
* Genealogy and family history, so you can cross-check what happened when to whom using solid source documents.
* Historians, especially in the funerary field, who like to see how customs change over time.
* Curators or collectors of ephemera in general, because often this stuff just gets thrown away.
So those are reasons why I wanted to include these pieces, aside from personal attachment.
I'm using Staples clear sheet protectors. These are letter size, slightly larger than 8 1/2" x 11" to hold that paper. They're top-loading, 2.4 mil thickness. They're archival quality: PVC-free, latex-free, acid-free. The box I bought holds 200; they come in various amounts. I like buying them in large amounts because when I'm sitting down to work on a project, I tend to make lots of pages at once. The last thing I need is to run out in the middle, and maybe not find the same brand/style.
If you only make a few pages, you might be happier with a packet of 10-20 sleeves from a scrapbook store, which does have the advantage of offering more different styles such as foldouts (I did buy a packet of those that's around here somewhere) or card-sized pockets. Buying the right craft supplies means knowing what you need for the projects you do and the way you like to work. That requires paying attention to what works or doesn't for you, and what things you find annoying so you can try something else in the future.
On the right, you can see the empty page protectors waiting to be filled. I took a bunch of them out of the box at the same time and loaded them into the binder. This way, I don't have to keep going back to the box to take them out one at a time; they're already there when I need a new one.
Open Binder with Memorial Materials
I had a challenge in displaying the Celebration of Life program. It's a small sheet of paper folded in half, printed on both sides. So I didn't want to stick it down and hide either side. It's considerably smaller than the 8 1/2" x 11" page protector, so I didn't want to just drop it in there loose. A single frame would either let the program slide out of it, or require using adhesive directly on the program, which I didn't want to do. (I am much fussier about certain types of archival memorabilia than I am with poetry or other stuff that's just printed out at home.) Ultimately I decided to use a double frame.
Here I'm working with black cardstock in 8 1/2" x 11" size. I measured the flat program, marked the cardstock with pencil, and cut out the middle. This would've been a lot easier if I'd found my craft knife; I wound up doing it by hand with scissors. (If you need to do a lot of cutting like this, get a good straight or rotary craft knife. I don't do much of this type, which is why mine is ... somewhere ... in a bookcase worth of craft materials.) I cut two of these. The hole is ever-so-slightly smaller than the program, so when the layers are all fastened together, the two halves of the frame will trap the program between them. If I'd been thinking a little better, I could've made a third frame to help hold the program between the other two, but what I have seems to be working.
I used my Zero Hero Centering Ruler CR-18 to center things and mark lines. This is a clear plastic craft ruler with 0 in the middle and 9 inches to each side. The opposite edge has centimeters. In the middle are several lines and holes that are very useful for aligning things
Black Cardstock Frame
Once I had both frames cut out, I centered the program (opened flat) and placed double-sided photo squares around it. Then I put the second frame on top and stuck them together. This way, the program is held in the middle, visible on both sides.
I'm using Canson double-sided photo squares for this project. These are sticky on both sides. They peel off a long backing tape, and the top side has its own little tab that peels off when you're ready to attach the upper layer of your project.
Black Cardstock Frame with Adhesive Squares and Program
The front of the finished page has the flat program in its black cardstock frame, showing what was originally the front and back cover of the folded program.
Black Cardstock Frame with Program Front
The back of the page shows what was originally the inside of the folded program. The left side (inside the front cover) has my poem "Gone to Seed" while the right side (inside the back cover) lists the sequence of activities.
Black Cardstock Frame with Program Back
This page has a background of black cardstock. I cut out Mom's obituary and the newspaper header with its title and date. The header provides additional contextual information that is useful for archival purposes, without having to write or print something from a different source. Newspaper clippings are informative, but often people just clip out the one thing they want and it doesn't necessarily tell which paper it came from or when.
Newsprint is tissue-thin paper full of lignin and acids, printed with smudgy ink. It's made as cheaply as possible because it's meant to be disposable. This makes it very difficult to preserve. Newsprint tends to turn yellow and brittle very fast. However, placing it in a scrapbook with archival materials can slow this process. Lignin-free, acid-free background paper and page protectors help. So does storing it in a closed binder away from damaging light. Another option, especially with modern high-quality equipment, is to scan the original and put a copy of it in your scrapbook. Most people want to scrap the original though.
Black Cardstock Background with Newspaper Cutouts
I also scanned the oak tree page from Prairie Moon Nursery. This company sells all kinds of wildflowers and a few other native species; this is the first time I've seen them offer oaks. I ordered one of each of the four varieties: bur oak, chinquapin oak, red oak, and swamp white oak. I had intended to print out the page yesterday. Then I decided that I would rather wait until the trees arrived, so I could write a header to include the planting date. So this is a page I'll add later.
Oak trees grow throughout most of America. Where they grow, they tend to be the most valuable trees for wildlife because they host by far the largest number of other species. One oak tree can host 532 caterpillar species, 280 other insect species, 147 bird species, 120 mammal species, and 60 species of reptiles and amphibians. For comparison, white willow hosts about 200 insect species. It's good to have diverse trees, because that expands the total wildlife species served -- but oaks give the most bang for your buck. If you only have room for one tree, plant a native oak species suited to your locale.
All four of the above species are native to Illinois in various densities and ranges. I'm not sure exactly which will do best here. If I'm lucky, all four will survive; but I'm pretty sure that at least one of them will make it. I'm also not sure what species our mature oak is. I know I have a red oak sapling that's about head-high, planted for Earth Day several years ago; and I think there are a couple other oak seedlings scattered around.
Mom loved nature, trees, and gardening. We have lots of trees in our yard. I remember planting Arbor Day trees when I was little. I have no idea how many of them survived to be part of the current population, but I'm sure of two: the big silver maple between the house yard and the south lot, and the oak tree near the end of the driveway. That oak tree is precocious; it started dropping acorns before it was 20 years old. Many oaks don't bear until they're 50; some start around 20-25. Few bear earlier than 20, and only a handful do so before 10. Oaks are a long-term investment. Their average lifespan is 150-300 years, depending on the species, with the oldest ranging up to 400. So I think this makes a good memorial.
Sunset Funeral Home also manages a memorial tree program, and 5 trees were donated there in Mom's memory. That doesn't specify the type of tree, though.
Prairie Moon Nursery Catalog Oaks Page
Another thing I did for the scrapbook was print out Mom's obituary from the Sunset Funeral Home website, complete with the tribute wall. The printed obituary is easier to read than the newsprint, more durable, and includes a small color portrait. The tribute wall includes messages from friends and family, along with notations of who sponsored memorial trees. I didn't scan or photograph these pages because it's easier to see them just by visiting the original website.
So that's the start of my memorial scrapbook assembly. I'm pleased with what I've done so far, and I have lots of ideas for further pages. After seeing someone else's collage journal, I'm thinking about doing something like that with pictures from extra plant catalogs, because Mom loved gardening. These early pages are primarily black-and-white because they present the formal memorial items, but I have a lot of more colorful materials for later. It's a fun project that makes me feel like I'm accomplished something constructive.
One challenge I encountered in preparing for this project is the paucity of materials designed for memorial pages. Lots of people scrap this topic, but there aren't many papers or embellishments for it. The only ones I could find this time were Christian ones that didn't suit at all, though I've seen other things in the past. Instead I found a package of black-and-whtie papers, some other thematic papers, and a couple different sets of stickers that I really like.
An advantage to memorial crafts is that they encourage you to work through your feelings in a structured manner. You have a particular time and place to work on this stuff, so it's less likely to spurt out at inopportune moments. If it does, you can tell yourself, "Now is not the time for this. I will deal with it later." That's okay because you actually have a "later" slated for it, not just stuffing it hoping it'll go away. Put it in your planner if that helps, or just remember to set aside time for it. Journaling is a great choice of memorial craft, because you can work with words, art, photos, or any combination that feels right to you. There are lots of other options, though, so pick whatever you like.
Crafting also tends to be a bit less intense than the notorious "sit with your feelings" excercise, which if you last more than 5 minutes you're doing really well. If you get overwhelmed while crafting, you can always pause and do something else until you regain your emotional equilibrium. The craft project will wait patiently until you're ready to pick it up again.
Another advantage is that memorial crafts help you remember the good times. You may be working with memorial memorabilia that can be very challenging to handle, especially early in the grieving process; but you're probably also working with lots of materials from earlier, happier times together. You may have photographs, letters, award ribbons, or other fun stuff. This helps cycle through different emotions, or mixes of emotions, so that you're not feeling exactly the same thing all the time. A solid block of sadness is more likely to crystallize into complicated grief and not get better. The natural process of mourning gradually breaks up the grief with other types of feelings, until the happy memories outweigh the sad ones. So memorial crafts are one of many ways you can help that process keep moving forward.
Then of course, after you finish a memorial project, you have a lovely item for keeping memories alive. This is nice whether you keep it private or share it with other folks. Such things are especially a boon to family historians or genealogists when pulled off a shelf many years later. And at the time, you usually don't know what random bit of family history might turn out to be relevant to the larger stream of historic events; that tends to come to light only after many years. Scrapbooks and other family crafts occasionally land in museums for that reason.
Mostly, though, we just make these to keep the memories alive.