I have discovered that my family has mastered the art of it. Scrapping in secret. Hiding the albums. It's so strange to me. I'm always so shy andtimid about showing my scrapbook to anyone... unless they're a scrapbooker too. Here, it turns out my family is full of them, and I never knew!
After my grandmother passed away, I spend hours looking through all the things she had kept. But one particular item captured my fancy to be sure. My grandmother, queen of generic photo albums and standard midwest granny decor, had made a scrapbook for her ideal future home.
She did lots of hand written fonts, which I find quite amusing considering how long I would laboriously sit over her letters trying to decipher her chicken scratch. But the most shocking part of all was how much I loved the interiors she had chosen.
It makes me wonder... did she give up her dreams for her ideal home? Or did her idea of an ideal home simply make the shift from furnishings to family? I'm a firm believer that the two can peacefully coexist. But this puzzles me, how different the grandma I knew was from this highschool girl who was shockingly similar to myself. You can be sure that I will begin investigating Grandma's home decor from the pre-grandchildren days. Maybe there was a super chic lady in her that I totally never noticed.
I also loved looking at her friends' photos and the notes they had written to her. (her picture is on the bottom right of this page) She was a swell friend. And, not to be overlooked, a highschooler who, just like me, practiced writing the name of her beaux and future hubby all over her books. :)
My dad also had a scrapbook around the same age. Shocker! I'll have to share it with you soon.
Soo cool! I'm adopted so I don't have anything like that. Priceless!
Posted by: Denise | March 26, 2009 at 11:28 AM
this is so sweet! I love love love old scrapbooks. and how special for you to have something like this from your grandma!
Posted by: katie | March 26, 2009 at 11:30 AM
How cool. It's in your blood!!!
Posted by: mandie segura | March 26, 2009 at 11:40 AM
so cool! thank you for sharing!
Posted by: chelsea | March 26, 2009 at 12:28 PM
That's very cool!!!
Posted by: Pamela Young | March 26, 2009 at 12:47 PM
that is so awesome! i totally love finding out cool things like that. [unfortunately, my grandma just kept all of her photos in a giant box. but they're still awesome to look at!]
<3katie
Posted by: katie | March 26, 2009 at 01:31 PM
what a great treasure you have found!! I love her hand drawn fonts as well as interior choices.
Posted by: jess | March 26, 2009 at 01:38 PM
what an awesome treasure. love her interior choices as well and hand drawn fonts. i'd love to be so talented.
Posted by: lynn | March 26, 2009 at 02:34 PM
how cool to find such a treasure !!!
Posted by: lilith | March 26, 2009 at 04:26 PM
Now that is just too cool! WHat a treasure!
Posted by: *Paula* | March 26, 2009 at 06:02 PM
this is amazing! I can imagine your feeling it moves me
Posted by: Elisa P | March 26, 2009 at 07:30 PM
wow!
that is cool
and how about that book cover?!?!?
I kinda love it
Posted by: Joanna | March 26, 2009 at 07:31 PM
Wow - what a treasure!
Posted by: Michelle LaPoint Rydell | March 26, 2009 at 10:00 PM
What a treasure!! TFS!
Posted by: Deb Wisker | March 26, 2009 at 10:13 PM
You have your grandma's look about you + how fun to have her scrapbook. I love looking at my grandma's "Treasures of Truth" books. She died when I was 14 and I've tried to get to know her through things she did, i.e. quilting + crocheting. I feel closer to her loving things she loved.
Posted by: mandi | March 27, 2009 at 01:03 AM
wow... love the hand-drawn type and yea, that cover is fantastic!
Posted by: rose | March 27, 2009 at 04:46 AM
what a special treasure! i loved looking at her pages. thanks for sharing. i can't wait to see your dads too.
Posted by: merryheart2 | March 27, 2009 at 06:06 AM
that must have been AMAZING to find.
what freaks me is that I am doing the exact same thing at the moment (and from what I remember reading, you are too!)
I always find it so weird when I hear of other people thinking in the same way I do. You think "how can they it was so many years ago"...
Gosh age and time freaks me out
thank you so much for sharing!
Posted by: reneea anne | March 27, 2009 at 10:07 AM
That is so cool! Isn't it strange when you learn (surprising) things about someone that you thought you knew... I had that feeling a while ago when my father told me what really really happened in his youth. Like I didn't know him before...
Well,
have a really nice weekend
♥
Posted by: Åsa | March 28, 2009 at 04:40 PM
those are incredibly awesome!
Posted by: Bev | March 29, 2009 at 12:07 AM
That's so cool.
I could die.
Posted by: Emilie Ahern | March 29, 2009 at 11:26 PM