A Memorial Scrapbook
to keep your memories alive
If you have lost someone close, or even a beloved pet, have you considered making a memorial scrapbook in their honor?
Whether they left you recently or some time ago, committing the memories that you have of them into a scrapbook can provide an outlet for your grief, after all losing someone close to you is the hardest thing to come to terms with. You may well find that you can only manage to work on your book on your "stronger days", perhaps creating a less emotional project alongside.
A memorial scrapbook for a family member
Documenting the life of someone dear to you, and bringing together a memorial album in celebration of that life can help to support you and keep the happy memories alive in your heart.
This is perhaps especially important if you nursed your loved one through a terminal illness and shared hours of pain with them. It is too easy to think of those moments rather than the good times which came before. I am sure that the person you have lost would rather you remember times of joy, rather than grief.
To help bring back those happy memories it is best not to create all your pages on black paper, but to inject some colour into your album. For some pages, however, black will be appropriate and you may like to digitally alter some photographs so that they are black and white for that section.
Choosing a front cover
This is perhaps one of the most difficult decisions to make.
Some ideas would be to use a memorial photo that was displayed at their farewell ceremony, or a photograph of something that they held dear, such as their favourite animal or hobby. If they were creative you could perhaps use something that they made, for example a piece of cross stitch, a painting or even a poem they wrote. If they were taken from you before the project was completed you may even like to add the final stitches or details yourself.
Ideas to include in your memorial scrapbook
Some details about your loved one will stay with you forever...the colour of their eyes or hair, times you spent together on holiday or at special events whether it was just the two of you or as part of a group. But other memories can sadly fade. These are the things that you will want to include in your scrapbook pages.
Things like their favourite...
- Meal...why they liked it, when they first ate it
- Tipple...maybe only enjoyed at Christmas
- Walk...maybe a route you shared when taking the dog out for exercise
- Season...why they liked this time of year
- Scent...perfume, aftershave or shower gel
- Piece of jewellery...one they wore often
- Song, music or hymn...and what it meant to them
- Author, book or genre...what did they like reading
- Phrase...something they repeated often
- Routine...something done every day, or week
- Hobby or pastime...be it crosswords or cardmaking
- Holiday destination...where they always wanted to visit
A person's life is so extensive, even if extremely short, that you will probably think of many more pages to add to your memorial scrapbook. So how will you know when it is complete?
It may just feel right to stop. Whether you have included everything you can think of, or you are ready to move on, listen to the voice inside you that says, "It is finished." Remember you are creating a record of your memories of a person, not documenting every aspect of their life. It can be easy to take your scrapbook "off topic" and if you find you have done that, perhaps those pages would fit better in another book?
Lastly, don't forget to include quotes that mean something either to yourself or to the person you lost. Maybe there are song lyrics that they loved or that meant a lot to you both? Maybe you could use them for your last page?
Don't set a time limit on completing your memorial scrapbook. It will take as long as it takes. Then keep it safe, to show your children or grandchildren when they are old enough to want to know more about that special person that you have so lovingly featured.
You may be interested in our interview with Renee Wood, the owner of The Comfort Company, who provides gifts for people who have lost loved ones.
Have you created a memorial scrapbook?
If you have created a special scrapbook in memory of a loved one, why not upload one or more pictures for others to view. Tell us why you created the pages and what they mean to you.
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Zachary Strong
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Hi , my name is Karen Coultas. On October 21st 2000 I gave birth to a beautiful healthy baby boy, and we named him Zachary Michael Strong.
Zachary ...
