I scrapped a page this week to highlight similar traits that run in families. I chose to spotlight the similarities held by three generations of women in my family -my mother, myself and my daughter. It started out as a sketch challenge. A sketch challenge begins when someone suggests that everyone make a scrapbook page based on a particular sketch that simply shows where to put photos, journaling and embellishments and you take it from there to create your interpretation.
I tried to find photos of the three of us at the same age but I don’t have too many photos of my mother who died when she was 52 and I couldn’t find any of myself as a teen. If I used photos of my mother when she was near my age then Rachel’s would have seemed out of place so I decided to use photos that showed the three of us at different ages that focused on our love of nature and the outdoors. My mother loved growing flowers, especially daffodils and mums. I have always gardened a little – early on it was vegetables but then came along Farmer’s Markets so now it’s mostly perennials and pretty weeds. My daughter bought her first house last year and has been working on her yard this summer and planted some flowers in the front.
The three of us also share the love of animals. My mother and I were always bringing in strays and my daughter just adopted her second dog. We all enjoy cooking. My mother made the best homemade bread and her pie crust was to die for! I’ve mastered the pie crust because my mother told me the secret to really good pie crust is lard and ice cold water. My daughter doesn’t eat much meat so she is always experimenting with delicious recipes that focus on vegetables and pastas.
My mother was always forgetting her words and at times would just make one up when she needed it – we always teased her about that. I am very forgetful and Rachel blames me for her forgetfulness. Her favorite phrase is “Well, I got it from you.”
Even though this layout was a ‘challenge’ in more ways than one, it forced me to record another memory for future generations of my family so that they may understand what made their grandma, great grandma or aunt tick. They may be reminded where their love of gardening or cooking came from.
