Heritage Album...

I can finally check this off my "To Do" list. (yea!)  It has been something on my to do list for over two years....it's a heritage album for my mom.  About two years ago, my mom gave me a box of old photos and I told her I would like to make her a heritage album. I had been inspired by my friend Pat, who had created a heritage album for her mom. So, I started to work on it. I would work on it, stop...take it up again...stop...and finally I told myself I would finish it and give it to my mom for Christmas (2011) Didn't happen. So I thought I would give it to her for Mother's Day...nope. So I told myself NO MATTER WHAT...it will be her birthday present...DONE!!! (yea!)

It ended up being two albums...believe me, I would have been good with just one album!

It begins with the Shane side of my mom's family. I love this paper!  When the book is opened, it is a WHOLE TREE!!

This is the oldest family photo I have..Joseph Menardi. 

This is his daughter Francis Menardi...she married a Shane and that it where it all began!
I would love to know more about Francis.  She lived in Minnesota and when her husband died, she went to Los Angles, CA. She passed away in Berkley.  Would love to know why she went to LA and what she did while she was out there!

Most of the pictures were ones that my grandma (my mom's mom) had saved.  She also saved copies of the obituaries. 

Most of the album I used Bo Bunny's vintage double dot paper (loove it!!) and Simple Stories Documented collection.

I used a 12 x12, We R 3-ring album. It made arranging and rearranging the pages in the album super easy!! (especially when you think you are done and then find 50 more photos that you somehow overlooked!)  I also love the WE R page refills. So many options to use!  Here I used the 6 x 6 page protectors, which were absolutely perfect for these pictures. (these pictures where from a family album that my great great great grandpa made for his wife while in the Civil War...how romantic!)

This is one of my favorite photos of my great Grandma Thome. 

She is enjoying a cigarette and a beer at a family picnic!!  There was a lot of my great grandma Thome in my beloved Grandma Shane.

I used LOADS of 4x4 page protectors, too.

This is my grandma's sister, Alice, celebrating her 91st birtday.  The 4x6 page protectors worked well with this series of photos.

This is my favorite photo of my Grandma Shame. (miss her!)

More 4x4 pictures!

This is my mom opening her heritage albums on her birthday.  She had NO idea that I had been working on these.  She knew I had the photos, but basically had forgotten about the two year old project.

I was SO happy to pass these on so my mom can enjoy them and I was done with them!!

PS - A HUGE thanks to all my scrapping friends that put up with me while completing these albums!!  For all the times I said, "OMG...just when I thought I was done..I FOUND MORE PHOTOS!!"  or "I've GOT to get this heritage album done!"  And for Sam, he was my little cheer-leader through this entire process and bless his little heart to sit down and look at my album when it was done...and acted like he was interested!! 

PSS - All papers, page refills, albums and adhesive can be found at Memory Bound!!!