Family Tree Scrapbooking – The Digital Basics
Creating a family tree scrapbook is a fantastic way to display and share your family history. To create a digital scrapbook, one that can also be printed, there are a few things that any researcher should keep in mind when approaching a digital scrapbooking project.
-Equipment: Your family tree digital scrapbooking project will require the use of a few pieces of equipment; fortunately, this digital equipment can often be found already existing in your home. A scanner is going to be one of your most-used tools when scanning and uploading your family photographs, birth certificates, and other important documents. Scanning them not only provides a copy for use in your digital scrapbook, but also provides copy that cannot be damaged by the hands of time the same way that a photograph can be. In addition to a good scanner, a digital camera is another vital tool for your digital scrapbooking project. You may wish to take photographs of your relatives, as well as photographs of any family memorabilia that they may be in possession of. There are also numerous family heirlooms that could be included in a family scrapbook; for example, your grandmother’s wedding ring is a wonderful item to document with a photograph! A dresser that may be sitting in your grandfather’s home might have belonged to his grandfather; items with rich family history behind them should definitely be documented to be included within your digital family scrapbook.
-Restoration: One of the primary upsides to creating digital versions of your memorabilia is that you will have the ability to restore and touch up photographs and documents that may have become faded or damaged with time. There are a few programs available that will help you digitally enhance your materials. Whether it be removing a water stain from a photograph, or digitally replacing faded wording from a handwritten letter, you are sure to find the exact tool needed to restore your digital memorabilia to near pristine condition. While there are certainly expensive options in the way of restoration software, there are also many free or low cost options.
-Creativity: Scrapbooking is a wonderful hobby for those who are artistically inclined; digital scrapbooking will allow hobbyists to be just as creative by offering many of the same methods used to create paper scrapbooks. If you are using family tree scrapbooking software you will likely find that there are several available templates to work with. In addition to the templates built into your software, there are hundreds of free templates available on dozens of digital scrapbooking websites. These templates will, often, work without the use of specialized scrapbooking software which will then allow you to utilize any word processing software to create your digital scrapbook.
-Printing and Sharing: While one of the benefits to creating a digital scrapbook is that you can preserve the history of your family in a digital format that can be stored safely away from possible damage, there are many options for printing your scrapbook. There is no shortage of professional printing companies that will take your completed digital files and print a high quality book that will be suitable for presentation in your home. Another great advantage to digital scrapbooking is that your scrapbook can be easily shared with family and friends via the internet; whether you upload the scrapbook to a webpage, or simply provide them with a copy burned to a CD!
Jeff Sallee is a hopeless genealogy enthusiast and truly enjoys helping others get started in this satisfying pursuit. For more information on his ebook, no-cost mini-course or other family tree scrapbooking articles visit http://www.SecretsOfGenealogy.com where Jeff helps other enthusiasts who want to climb higher into the family tree.









