Scrapbooking the hard stuff.

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Scrapbooking the hard stuff.

Hi all. Looking for advice on scrapbooking “the hard stuff”
I do an annual family album and I usually include a double page spread that includes the hot topics of the day. And I’m pretty ok with memorial pages when it’s someone whose older or suffered from lengthy illness.

But man 2021 -residential schools and the history of indigenous peoples. I had a nephew commit suicide at the age of 14. My dads Parkinson’s forced him off of our family farm. These are hard pages that I’m struggling to do but really want to do.

I like to do a bit journalling with pictures (or news articles) but I’m stuck. Maybe it’s because I’m grieving heavily. But I would appreciate advice on ideas and putting a boundary on pouring my heart out and remembering this is a family album that highlights the whole year.

Thanks I’m advance!

Thanks for posting this Taren! I think it's a good topic to consider, although I have no practical advice to offer. Hopeful some others have some experience.

I'm so sorry. 2021 was so hard. Can you save those layouts for last? I know that when my mom passed away, though after a long illness, I couldn't get myself to put a page together about her for a long while without tearing up. Perhaps put a list together of all the happy traits about your father and/or the farm? Perhaps a list of things you loved about your nephew or traits about him? Focus on the happy? Perhaps these layouts are different from the usual and only include one photo and journaling? Since you feel so strongly about these pages, perhaps let yourself create something different from your normal style? Just a few thoughts.

What family is this for? Like more immediate family or extended? Especially if it’s for your immediate family, maybe you could ask each person about his/her favorite memory of the farm or your nephew, and have the list be the journaling. (I’m so sorry, the latter especially sounds devastating.)

I have done a couple of pages for harder personal events, but aside from losing our dogs since I started the family albums, this was when I was single and I could easily treat it as my own personal journal. Would it help to journal out your thoughts elsewhere, and then glean what you wish to share in the less private album after the brain dump?

I appreciate this idea, thank you! Its a great approach! and yes, maybe I need to accept that while normally I'm "on top of it" - this is maybe a year where I need to give myself some grace and wait until closer to the end of the year to do these pages. Thank you!

Thanks Becky that is helpful. I feel like my albums are a bit of an archive. On one side of the family they never shared stories generation to generation. So while i do it for our immediate family's purpose, the grandparents and my scrapbooking friends like to look at them so I don't want to get too "in the weeds" but also don't want it to ever be interpreted as "hiding the hard stuff" ... but I LOVE the idea of having my husband and kiddo contribute their favourite memories.

@Taren Lynn: I am very sorry smiley to hear about your losses and that you have been having a hard time.

You might want to consider a lil extra album that gives room for a more personal approach and the journaling that you need to do and then you can just scrapbook your regular album with a less heavy heart? smiley

ohhh thats a good consideration too!!! And that lets me get the hard stuff out and keep the family album a bit more high level!

Thanks for the ideas all!