Ancestors

This mini album was recently published in the Create: Vintage magazine.

I combined pages from two Melissa Frances chipboard albums I had in my stash, and overly embellished each page to create an old, collected feel for the book.

On the cover, I used old lace trim, a crochet doily, vintage millinery flowers, and other embellishments to set the tone.

On the inside pages, I added old family photos with a little history about each person. This is my mom as a baby.

And my dad:

I found photos of ancestors through distant cousins online and from ancestry.com. This was my great-grandfather, whom my father never even met, nor did we know (until last year) that he was buried in my hometown where my family still lives.

Another great-great-grandfather, who served in Civil War. I was even able to find a list of all the battles he fought in.

More ancestors from my grandmother's side. Her family lived in the same two counties in New Jersey (and helped establish Salem County, NJ) for more than two centuries.

My favorite photos of my grandmother:

My grandfather and his siblings. A large version of this photo hung in my grandparents house until the end. It is a favorite, and I was so happy to find a third cousin through ancestry.com who could email a copy of it to me.

My grandfather, the sailor.

This book has become a treasured heirloom that I plan to pass on to my Lily Munchkin when she's all grown up, but I won't rush that!