Vintage Christmas Ornaments

Family Tree Projects & Gift Ideas

By Sue Thornton, Photo Organizing Solutions

 Recent research shows that we take 380 billion photos a year!  We share those photos with family and friends to the tune of 200 to 300 million photo uploads a day!  Amazing statistics, and those numbers will likely increase as we go forward.  Everyone has a camera with them nearly every day, i.e. your smart phone or camera.

For those special people in your life, I recommend several types of projects and gift ideas you can do for your family or friends this holiday season.  Now is the time to start deciding what you want to do this holiday season.  Here are a couple of ideas:

1.        Family Cookbook or Recipe Cards

This is likely one of most overlooked heirlooms in our families.  Special dishes can tell a lot about the people who made them or the regions, cultures or religions they came from.  Collect some of those family recipes which have been handed down and have them put into a digital printed book for each member of your family.  Remember that special cake that Grandma always made for family dinner occasions?  Share with your family.

2.        Photo Calendar

Calendars make wonderful gifts and are easy and inexpensive to create.  You just need 12 photos of your choice.  These are wonderful for family members who live far away and don’t get to see each other very often.  Or you can create a calendar that commemorates your ancestors with old photos, birthdays, marriage dates, etc.

 

3.        Personalized Tree Ornaments

I love this option myself because I can take a favorite photo from years past of my parents, or children, or pets and give those as gifts.  They are fun and easy to make, don’t take a lot of time and are inexpensive.  We do round, rectangle, hearts, snowflakes, oval shapes in aluminum or ceramic.  Check out examples at www.photoorganizingsolutions.net.

I am dedicated to helping you preserve your family history photographs and projects.  Check out my website, www.PhotoOrganizingSolutions.net for more information and sign up to receive my newsletter. 

 

 

Preserve Family Photos & Other Items

Found in my box of 'stuff' from grandparents!

 

A couple of old photo albums of my family.

 

Do you have boxes of older family albums?  Do you want to preserve those items for future generations?  Here are some ways to do this yourself, or even to find someone to help you with the project.

If you have some of the older type of scrapbooks from the 1940’s and the photos are put on with photo corners and descriptions are in white ink, you can still preserve them.  We take those books, scan the entire page and then you can actually make a digital book of those pages.  Easy, and you can then make copies for other family members.  What a great gift to give loved ones about their heritage.

It is so important to scan those pictures and to save them because the longer the photos are in boxes, attics, or garages they will continue to deteriorate.  The other issue is the possibility of losing those photos in case of a home fire, water damage, or other disaster.

Check out my website, www.PhotoOrganizingSolutions.net , and sign up to receive my newsletter. 

Photo Preservation Tips

Two-Step Preparation

Step 1:  Organize Your Photos

Step 2:  Merge, Save, Backup

This sounds easy, right?  Well it can be overwhelming if you have thousands of photos that are printed, on your computer, home movies, or on your smart phone.  Just how do you organize all those places?  A professional organizer can help you get started with this, because you just need a few pointers to start the process.

• Start sorting one box at a time ( don't take on every box at one time, you will soon get bored or frustrated)
•  Put those photos in some sort of order
• chronological
• events
• person
• Put everything in one place so you know where to find it the next time you work on the project.

If you want more information, contact me or check out my website for more information.

Sign up for my newsletter on www.photoorganizingsolutions.net

National Save Your Photo Day - Plan to Stop By

Mark your calendars to come out and learn more about saving your printed and digital photographs.  This is an international initiative for those who appreciate that every life is a story worth preserving and sharing.  Presentations and hands-on workshops will provide education and tools for collecting, organizing and safe guarding photos, documents, and other memorabilia for current enjoyment and for future generations that follow, and to be prepared in case an unexpected loss from large and small accidents, fire, wind and water.

Our local event will be held on September 27, 2014.

 

Where:  Haggard Library

2501 Coit Road, Plano  75075

 

Hours:  10:00 am to 2:00 pm

 

Demonstrations:

• Scanning your photos
• Why back up your photos
• Organizing your printed and digital photos and memorabilia
• Projects you can make with all those wonderful memories, include
• memory books (vacation, family heritage, wedding showers, graduation)
• calendars (for grandma each year; special engagement countdown to wedding; business related (CPA, construction company)
• Use your imagination!

We will have many examples of the types of memory items you can make with your photos, maybe some you have never thought about before.

Check out my website www.photoorganizingsolutions.net for information about my business. 



National Save Your Photo Day - Plan to Stop By

Mark your calendars to come out and learn more about saving your printed and digital photographs.  This is an international initiative for those who appreciate that every life is a story worth preserving and sharing.  Presentations and hands-on workshops will provide education and tools for collecting, organizing and safe guarding photos, documents, and other memorabilia for current enjoyment and for future generations that follow, and to be prepared in case an unexpected loss from large and small accidents, fire, wind and water.

Our local event will be held on September 27, 2014.

 

Where:  Haggard Library

2501 Coit Road, Plano  75075

 

Hours:  10:00 am to 2:00 pm

 

Demonstrations:

• Scanning your photos
• Why back up your photos
• Organizing your printed and digital photos and memorabilia
• Projects you can make with all those wonderful memories, include
• memory books (vacation, family heritage, wedding showers, graduation)
• calendars (for grandma each year; special engagement countdown to wedding; business related (CPA, construction company)
• Use your imagination!

We will have many examples of the types of memory items you can make with your photos, maybe some you have never thought about before.

Check out my website www.photoorganizingsolutions.net for information about my business. 



Summer Time is Fun Time

Vacation time is still in full swing for everyone.  There are so many amazing things to do when the kids are out of school and you know that you are taking photos of each and every fun adventure. 

I was reading an article from Digital Photography School and their challenge this week was to take pictures of different things at the Beach!   What would you take a photo of?  Here are some suggestions:

• the beach and sand
• pathways
• clouds and sky
• rocks
• sea shells
• marine life
• kids playing in the sand
• sand castle

It is amazing the things you can find on the beach when you are really looking!  A few years ago I was in Mexico and took a photo of the beach full of shells.  Had fun with that photo in a scrapbook later when I made a book about that vacation.

#saveyourphotosday  #photoorganizingsolutions
Check out my website for more info www.photoorganizingsolutions.net    sue@memoriesbysue.net

Photographing Fireworks

Nick Kelsh is a wonderful photographer and he gives us great tips on different event photography, so it is not unusual that he would issue this reminder for the 4th of July holiday weekend.

 

 

Photographing Fireworks: A Reminder