We love to share inspirational links here at The Daily Digi so when I (Katie) found this cool website  My Parents Were Awesome I knew I wanted to post about it. This site was pointed out to me from a fellow classmate in Ali Edwards’ Yesterday Today workshop last year at Big Picture Scrapbooking. The class has ended now, but if it is offered again, I HIGHLY recommend it!  One thing I really learned from the whole experience was to have a greater appreciation for the photos of the past  I just loved looking through all the older photographs that Ali shared with us there.

The idea behind My Parents Were Awesome is that our parents had a life before they were parents, and they were pretty awesome people! It is so much fun to browse through all the photos that have been submitted there and imagine the stories behind them. This helped me to remember that my own parents were (and still are) awesome!

Here are my parents before a school dance when they were in high school. My Grandma had made the dress for my Mom and my Mom created her headband and jeweled belt out of a rhinestone necklace and earrings. For some reason they always had their picture taken in front of the groovy brass plate on the fireplace. This photo was probably taken in 1964 or 1965. That skinny tie is a real giveaway to the time period. They are so young and so cool in this picture!

Ah, the Seventies! This is circa 1972. Love my Dad’s wide tie and long sideburns, and especially my Mom’s frosted hair and Go-Go boots! Note the TV set and the lamp, they are also telling clues to the date. What a shame it would be if this photo was cropped! That would rob us of an important part of the history of this moment in time. We often journal about the people in the picture, but it’s worth mentioning the seemingly small details of the furnishings and surroundings as well. These things all contribute to the story being told.

One of my biggest “Aha!” moments of Ali’s class was when Ali suggested that we shouldn’t do a lot to change older photos. This was sort of a radical idea for me at first because I’ve spent so much of my time over the last few years learning about how to improve my photos by editing them. Once I thought about it though, I really started to understand her point. While it’s fine to clean up some scanner dust, remove red eye, or repair a scratch, consider letting the photo exist as it was taken. It really is a more authentic memory that way.

This is a picture of me with my parents in 1971. I love this photo just as it is. The original finish and coloring of this picture help tell the story. I could sharpen it up and adjust the levels and coloring, but I’m going to leave it in it’s original state. Now, I’m not saying that older pictures should never be edited. I do believe some of them need a little extra help to give them a new life and that’s ok also. The general idea here is that older photographs are beautiful in their own way, and part of the beauty comes from the fact that they are from another time and that means different technology was used to capture the shot.

This new awareness has also changed  how I want to scrap older photos. I want to enhance the story behind them and not detract from it. The beautiful thing about digital scrapbooking is that the sky is the limit when it comes to how we embellish our layouts, but that can also be a problem. Sometimes we can get too caught up in using a new kit or piling on a bunch of fun embellishments only to lose sight of the purpose of the page – the story. If you want to share a memory, let the “awesomeness” of that moment in time shine through on your page!

Template by Darcy Balwin, Papers and heart from Autism World of Wonder Collab. Fonts are CK footnote and Hootie

Here are a few tips to help you scrapbook awesome pages with awesome pictures on them:

• Concentrate on making the picture(s) and the journaling the main focus of the layout.
• Look for kits that complement the photos on your layout in color and/or theme.
• If you are lucky enough to have the people in the photographs still around in your life, take some time to ask them about the details and use their memories for your journaling.
• And finally, don’t forget to tell them that you think they are awesome!

P.S. Congratulations to Tori A. who is the GIFTaway winner for today!  She was randomly selected from those that have purchased THE DIGI FILES so far this month!  THANKS for your support!

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