Not so long ago, the way to hold onto memories was to create photo albums and scrapbooks. Today most people use apps like Facebook and tag their photos. Online backups keep photos safe indefinitely. I could go on, but you get the idea.
The next logical question would be, what if the worst happens and all is lost? No online backup. No Facebook app. Nothing online at all. Yes, I have been reading fiction about having no power. Basically, the apocalypse.
I was given an Amazon gift by Amazon – no idea why they gave it to me – and I used it to buy sets of books for my Kindle. More than one set was about “the worst happens and there is no power,” anywhere of any kind.
No zombies – just no power. Many would say that having no power is worse than dealing with zombies. But I digress…
As someone who likes crafting, I thought I would take the best of both worlds and blend them together to make something tangible. That way if the worst happens, I will still have some memories.
My husband and I started taking selfies. It was actually his idea. I am surprised that I did not think of it myself. Anyway, I like to do things myself rather than taking advantage of a service like Shutterfly.
I have a handy app on my phone that allows me to print photos to my printer. So, when I take a selfie, I edit it a bit if necessary, then I just have to print it out and place it in an actual memory book.
You can call it a scrapbook or a photo album or whatever name you want to apply to it. The point is, I have a backup copy of my photos, and I can embellish the pages in whatever manner I like.
There are so many options to choose from for making a memory book. I have a Cricut machine and a sewing machine. I also have local shops nearby that carry all kinds of supplies at reasonable prices.
I have a reputation of never buying anything at full price. It has to be on sale, clearance or at the Dollar Stores or I don’t buy it. If you don’t already know, after Christmas is the best time to buy wrapping paper and gift bags. Everything is on clearance then.
You can create your own embellishments as well. I have done many of them myself. For example: Buy a package of sticker stars and add glue and glitter or whatever else you can think of that you would like.
One advantage to making your own memory book is that you can design it according to your preference. You are not limited to those pre-made photo albums or scrapbooks. You can create and display your own style.
This is one of those subjects that one could go on and on about, but I won’t. I will leave it here.
If you enjoy being creative and making your own embellishments, great! If not, there are many ready-made options to choose from at very reasonable prices. Either way, save your memories and have fun doing it! You never know when the apocalypse might hit. Will your memories be safe?
How do you preserve your memories? Do you trust online backup storage, or do you prefer hard copies? How creative do you get with your memory books? Please share with our community!
Tags Arts and Crafts
Dear Cheryl,
This is a great article to help us do some creative work with our photos. Everyone is a photographer now, right?
I agree with your other commenter that iCloud storage is a great way to never lose one’s photos. For my part, I create Albums in my photo Library. I do a separate album for each trip we take; albums for my hobbies, including running, working out & training; gardening; fashion; any issues related to my children; holiday pics, etc..
When I feel inspired, I get a whole bunch of shots printed and make a scrapbook. These books are a treasure to me and I hope my kids and grandchildren will look at them fondly after I am gone.
Thanks for the great info and inspiration! About a year ago my Samsung phone acted up (blue screen) suddenly. I fiddled around and got it back, but it went out again. Of course we were on vacation, but the great guy at a Verizon store helped me as best he could. However we couldn’t get the phone back on. I left with a new iPhone. Using a customer service bot that evening, I was able to transfer a lot of stuff to the new phone but, after several hours, the photos wouldn’t move. The transfer process would time out. They were on the Google cloud and to this day I pay to keep that cloud storage. I would love to create some tangible photos! Thanks again.