There was one more story that didn't make it into the orignal Coping With Loss article (posted Friday), and it was this story that inspired me to create an album for a friend of mine after her father passed away.
Two years ago, a regular Simple Scrapbooks contributor named Amy had written in to tell us about a close friend of hers who had tragically lost her 2-year-old daughter to a sudden illness. Feeling so helpless in the face of her friend's terrible loss, Amy was doing everything she could to help. The grieving mother gave Amy an assignment, "Don't let me forget any of the memories. That's your job."
The first thing Amy did was to create a very simple album, with one spread for each family member to share just one favorite photo plus a few handwritten memories. The album was designed with papers and products that suited the little girl's tastes and personality perfectly. Amy's friend was immensely grateful for the gift, and she was grateful to Amy for telling her to take her time filling the album. She could add to it whenever she was ready, and Amy would be there to help.
This story came to my mind just after Thanksgiving last year, when a good friend's father died of a stroke while the family was up in the mountains cutting down their Christmas tree. Her father was an incredible man, and I felt deeply for my friend. I decided to follow Amy's example and create an album for my friend and her children to commemorate their father and grandfather.
I pulled a picture from the funeral program and slipped in the cover window of an 8 x 8 Pioneer photo album.
The funeral program itself went on page 2.
On pages 3-4 are two large pockets, where words shared at the funeral can be saved. The eulogy, the life sketch, remarks shared by a pastor or other religious leader, lyrics to songs that were sung or performed, or even a CD recording of the funeral.
The tan band of paper is attached to this page only with brads on the outside corners. The cream card you see is 6 inches wide and 8 inches tall, but I folded it in half (to 6 x 4) and slipped it over the tan paper. My friend can record a few memories on the front of this card, and continue with more memories on the inside of the card (I stamped additional lines inside for this purpose). Or she can add extra photos inside the card if she wishes. (The "K" is the first letter of my friend's first name.)
On the facing page, my friend can put one favorite 4 x 6 photo on display. I included a white card to show her exactly where to put it.
On her husband's page, I included a portrait-orientation white card to illustrate how to incorporate a vertical photo.
And there's a spread for each of my friend's three daughters.
In the back of the album, there are a few extra blank pages for anything else my friend would like to add: photos, additional memories, memorabilia, etc.
Products used: Pioneer photo album • patterned paper, accents (C-Thru Ruler Company) • lined stamp (BoBunny) • large monogram stamps, small alphabet stamps (Technique Tuesday) • brown ink (Close to My Heart)
