Family ties: capture your legacy with altered art

Expression, Jan-Feb, 2005 by Pat Herring

For decades I've collected photos and mementos from various life events and those of my children and grandchildren. When I had filled an entire volume of scrapbooks, I set my sights on finding interesting and creative new ways for my photographs to tell a story.

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One rainy Sunday, I stumbled upon quite a find at a local flea market--an antique camera, nearly identical to one my father had when I was a young girl. Memories of my childhood came flooding back to me. Summers at the beach, favorite Aunts coming to visit, family Christmases together--all occasions captured in black and white by my father and his camera. By implementing the camera, I found a new way to create a wonderful keepsake and reveal my family history.

Within one of these cameras lies the history of my mother's family, the Fedor's. A miniature handmade book, each page with its own theme, tells the family legacy. Since I finished this project and displayed it on my coffee table, not a single person has come into my home that hasn't asked me about it--even the plumber! What's best about it is that several of my young grandchildren expressed an interest in their family history for the first time.

While browsing on eBay one day, I came across another antique camera, which inspired me to create an alternative storyteller. The photos are displayed like a fan in this accordion-style camera. The camera captures the story of my mother and the pictures displayed show her in different stages of her life. Since my mother passed away four years ago, this is truly a sentimental favorite and a tribute to her. I keep this on my desk in my office as a reminder to the person that inspired and encouraged me most in my life.

Memory boxes are also a wonderful way to capture the family legacy. The large memory boxes are ideal for use as a conversational piece on a coffee table or an eye-catching centerpiece. The smaller memory boxes are ideal for holding mementos from a special occasion and are also a wonderful way to give a gift--they're actually a gift in themselves!

The larger memory box is filled with four origami storybooks, two of them depict stories of my family, the third is an open journal for adding thoughts or future photos I might come across, and the fourth is a holder for ephemera and keepsakes.

The small memory box holds three smaller origami storybooks. One features family weddings, a second is all about my mother, and the third chronicles the car my mother had while she was growing up. Because my boxes are about remembrances of things past and family heritage, I stained them to look "antiqued."

The best thing about creating a memory box is that there is no right or wrong way to do them. Simply unleash your creativity and see what you come up with! When searching for materials for your boxes and even while looking for antique cameras, search for hidden treasures in your family attic and comb through garage sales and flea markets.

INSTRUCTIONS

Memory Boxes Remove the front hardware from the box if possible. This will make it easier to stamp later. Sand the box, dowel caps, wheels and finial. Wipe with tack cloth. Seal with Delta All-Purpose Sealer. Let dry. Sand again if needed. Prepare your worktable for painting. Apply gloves. Pour a small amount of Delta Antiquing Gel in Brown on a disposable foam plate and paint on entire box. If you choose to have the box darker, repeat the step. If your box becomes too dark you can remove the excess gel with a clean cotton cloth. Let dry. Stamp one area at a time with the Marble Cube (Side C only) using the Distress ink pad in Vintage Photo. Dry to touch. Apply gloves and gently pat the stamped area with a small amount of Delta Satin Varnish using the flat side of the white nylon brush. The vintage ink will slightly run or become muted and blend with the gel area forming the new faux finish on the box. Let dry. Apply additional stamping until the desired design and coloration is obtained. Varnish and dry between coats. Continue on the entire box. The Memories Black ink is the accent so stamp sparingly using Side C of the Marble Cube stamp. This ink is permanent so it will not run. This final stamping gives the box the finishing touch. Let dry. Apply several more coats of varnish. Dry thoroughly between coats. Do the same process for the remaining items for the boxes and replace hardware onto box. Glue the wheels to the bottom of the larger box forming the feet and glue the finial to the top of the larger box. For the smaller box, glue the dowel caps to the bottom of the box for feet.

Origami Storybooks For the cover, fold one sheet of 8 1/2" X 11" card stock in half the short way. Open. Fold left and right side to the middle line. Open (paper is now folded in fours). Fold the two short side edges down approximately 1/2 inch. (Diagram 1) Fold down the corners to the first folded line on all four corners. (Diagram 2) Fold both side sections to the middle. (Diagram 3) Flip paper over and fold the top down approx. 1 inch creating two corner pockets. (Diagram 4) Bring up the bottom corners and insert into top corner pockets. (Diagram 5) Fold and crease bottom seam. Fold book in half. Choose which will be the front cover of the book, the pocket or the corner pocket side. For the smaller storybook covers follow the same instructions except the card stock for the cover is 8 1/2" X 7" and the sides and corner pockets are folded down approx. 1/2 inch.