Customer Reviews

Crafting Your Own Heritage Album

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I've seen several books devoted to the topic of heritage scrapping, but none cover all the details specific to preserving family memories like this book does. The usual information regarding album choice, supplies and terminology are included here. Ms. Braun takes the artform a step further and provides examples and ideas to help make your heritage album more than a simple "photo album." She suggests principles for choosing color and theme and the book has ample illustrations of pages that reflect an attractive style that enhances rather than overpowers these old photos. Use of non-photo documents is well covered, too.

She provides a great deal of information for those who might wish to delve into geneaology as part of their project. Numerous resources are suggested to help the novice explore their family tree. She even has examples of how to handle the "unknowns" you will certainly encounter along the way. She shows a pair of photos, one of her great-great grandmother and an "unknown close friend"--not her great-great grandfather! There's a story waiting to be told there, and what a clever way to include the photo and allow the viewer's imagination free rein.

A match made in heaven.

Family historians find themselves overwhelmed with pictures, documents, newspaper clippings, pedigree charts, etc. What is the point if not to preserve all the work for generations to come? "Crafting Your Own Heritage Album" takes scrapbooking from the cute to the sophisticated and provides a wealth of information for preserving old photos and documents, archival supplies and sources, layouts, journalling, basics of genealogy, and web sites for genealogical research and scrapbooking.

If the end result you want is a timeless heritage album, this is a must-have.

I have been an avid genealogist and family historian for almost twenty years, and this book added a whole new dimension to my favorite hobby. I had never been attracted to scrapbooking before because it just seemed too cutesy. This book demonstrates with gorgeous color illustrations and clear instructions a more heritage type of of scrapbook that I love. I am now working on three memory albums and loving every minute. If you would like to do more with the photographs and documents you've collected in an safe, archival manner, this book will inspire you.

There are already two very good reviews of this book here at Amazon, but I wanted to stress to potential buyers that this is a COMPLETE heritage album resource. This is NOT the kind of book you usually find on this topic -- not only just a book of layouts.

If you've been debating about starting scrapbooking as a hobby and are looking at taking it up to document all your old attic finds, this is the book you want to read. The author begins with a straight-forward introduction to scrapbooking, and shows you the plusses and minuses of various techniques.

If you've toyed with the idea of starting to document your family history past what you already know, this is also a good beginner's resource. She goes on to explain the basics of genealogy and provides several helpful and necessary blank forms for starting your family search.

Not to forget that the meat of this book is devoted to creating your own family history album, and all the special considerations this particular kind of scrapbooking raises. Just what to do with all those antique photos, certificates and clippings, anyway?

This is a very detailed look at the heritage themed scrapbook; plenty of illustrated examples, a friendly DIY read, and I know it helped me figure out just what I wanted to do with all my own family treasures!

A match made in heaven.

Family historians find themselves overwhelmed with pictures, documents, newspaper clippings, pedigree charts, etc. What is the point if not to preserve all the work for generations to come? "Crafting Your Own Heritage Album" takes scrapbooking from the cute to the sophisticated and provides a wealth of information for preserving old photos and documents, archival supplies and sources, layouts, journalling, basics of genealogy, and web sites for genealogical research and scrapbooking.

If the end result you want is a timeless heritage album, this is a must-have.

Most of us have those stashs of old report cards, faded photos, locks of hair tied with a ribbon, and yellowing marriage certificates from other generations. This book gives ideas for pulling those items together in a meaningful album.
The author covers the needed supplies (choice of album, papers, decorative touches) and the pros and cons of each. Journaling is explained and the ways to present your information, documenting the sources and show off your family heritage.
It's a lovely book to get you started or to give to your family genealogist. They will be thrilled with the ideas for preserving and presenting your family memorabilia along with this history.
At the back are helpful forms for a family tree and to track your research. There you also find 3 pages of genealogy resources, 3 pages of scrapbooking resources, a list of websites, and a glossary to help with unfamiliar terms.

As someone who does both genealogy and scrapbooking this book is full of ideas. The ideas given in this book are both simple but yet elegant at times, something that I like.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is into genealogy and wishes to preserve and show off their family photos, stories and heritage.

I'm creating a Heritage album (a long and loving process) and bought several books and mags including this one. BKB provides much sound info re: researching familyinfo and buying basic supplies, but her lay-outs are soooooo boring and depressing - just uninspired! Neither do I like the oddly popular "10,000 themes" lay-outs!! -- too many embellishments and the photo and story get lost, but BKB's examples would never make you want to review her album a second time. She also doesn't deal w/the challenges posed by being a 1st or 2nd generation American and not being able to easily access foregin family records, and how to lay-out pages when you don't have photos (note - do more creative journaling).

Instead I would recommend special issues of Memory Makers (e.g., Sept 2003 "Heritage scrapbook ideas," Memory Makers "Creating Heritage Scrapbooks," and some issues (read before you buy!) of Legacy magazine.

I've been scrapbooking for awhile but when I recently began researching my family history I started looking for ideas to combine the two. This book does the best job of that of any that I looked at. Great instructions for the preservation of old photos and documents. There are also ideas for organizing and incorporating your genealogical documentation into your heritage album something most books on family history scrapbooking tend to ignore. The instructions are concise and to the point and there are tons of layout ideas. For the serious family historian who wants to preserve and attractively display their research, this book is perfect.

I was more than disappointed with this book. I was looking for creativity and new layout ideas and this book did not have it. The layouts in this book were extremly plain, unattractive, and does not attract the eye. If you are an experienced genealogist or scrapbooker, you will be disappointed. Lame info is given: 'include personal stories' and 'pictures of family members with names and relations to you' and 'album should have a sturdy binding'. Well, duh. Then this book doesn't even give creative ideas. If I could give this book less than one star, I would. If you like plain layouts and want an unattractive album, this is for you I guess.