Like I don’t have enough to do, I’ve decided to make Ancestry Scrapbooks for my grown children. Our family is traced so far back, there are almost 9000 people in our family tree, and when I speak about it to my children, they get that glassy-eyed glaze-thing happening. And it doesn’t help matters that since the early 1500s, most of our family have lived in the southeast part of the United States. You know what they say about the south being all intermarried? It’s true! So, when I try to explain that someone on mom’s side is the sister of someone on dad’s side, I lose the kids. Don’t even try to tell them grandpa’s little sister married grandma’s uncle, making my grandma’s uncle also my momma’s uncle. Forget it. They don’t care.

Well, I want them to care!

So, I’ve decided to put together a fun and colorful book they can look through and connect their own dots. There’s a company called My Canvas, that will make a real printed book. You upload all your stuff, arrange it anyway you want, and for a fairly decent price, they will print a real book. They are beautiful books, but the largest is only big enough for 4 or 5 generations. I think I want a little more.

How about a digital scrapbook from DSP?? You make as many pages as you want, print them, and put them in any book you want.

Check out this cover with all the family names! I’m in love with this!!

Apparently you need a photo program like Photoshop (which I suck at) and a layout program like “My Memories Suite” or “Nova Scrapbook Factory Deluxe.” Then you can purchase page kits online or a whole CD of designs. I don’t know that I want to put time into learning a new program. I think I may stick with the old fashion scrap-booking process. Cutting, gluing, adding embellishments.

…but I do LOVE that cover! I might try it.

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Update Sept 1st – I did it. I buckled under the pressure and bought “My Memories Suite” and tons of ancestry/genealogy/heritage paper and embellishments to play with. I’ll let you know how it turns out! 🙂