Childhood
is a veritable treasure trove of memories. It seems but the blink of an eye and
one’s offspring have grown from wailing infants in cots to college-bound
football and girl-crazy young men on the precipice of adulthood (and raring to
go, too). Where did the time go and how often did the batteries fail in the
video camera or the familial photographer have an unsteady hand, so everyone
seemed blurry that wonderful vacation way back when? These questions are
rhetorically asked, but when the children fly the nest time unfolds itself into
a more languorous entity (you did well, it seems to say; here’s a bonus round),
and it is then that those memories collected over the years can be transformed
into tangible keepsakes to pass down through the family from generation to
generation.
#1 The Quilt
There
is perhaps no more American tradition than the quilt. An
historical document in itself, a family quilt is priceless. However, the modern
take on this stretches that concept of history and is, essentially, twofold:
printing photos onto material and then patch-working from there, or cutting up
old baby and childhood clothes to use those pieces (so very full of memories) for
the squares. What better gift to receive then a quilt covered in cherished
photographs of loved ones or a patterning of touch-memory significance? A
sewing machine is a must, but craft stores offer lessons these days and
machines for hire, too.
#2 The Wall-Mounted Collage
Not
everyone is handy with textiles and a needle and thread, nor does the artistic
touch bless the masses. To this end, the collage maker evolved. Man, woman, and child are capable of creating a collage,
blending photographs with souvenirs such as postcards and that gem-colored
wrapper from that delicious chocolate given you so long ago by a child who at
the time would rather have sacrificed an arm than share their candy. Once in
place, additions such as paint and other 3D effects help to make the collage
all the more vivid and eye-catching (though no effort will be needed for the
recipient to recognize the meaning in each parts’ inclusion).
#3 The Scrapbook
Similar
to the collage, is scrapbooking. Though digital scrapbooking is on the rise, tangible, real life scrapbooking is
possible for anyone. Just as apps like Chatbooks have seen the need for faster
photo collation in the digital age of camera phones (and the slow process of
downloading cherished images), scrapbooking harks back to a time when one had
to wait for film to be developed at photographic stores and the subsequent
pleasure taken in finding just the right order of placement in a carefully
chosen album.
Scrapbooking,
indeed, expands on that near-forgotten endeavor and lends itself to
collage-type additions such as old movie theater stubs and bus tickets from
long-ago road trips, while also being open to near quilt-like proportions of
creativity in the option to choose to build the book itself from scratch, or to
purchase one to be filled with your family’s own personal memories to be looked
upon and enjoyed for many years to come.