Keeping Memories Alive

I am an avid memory keeper.  My memories are my treasures, my keepsakes.  For this reason I am also an avid photographer.  I am by no means a professional, but I love to take photos of nearly everything that is a part of my life or my families life.  No matter how trivial the photo may seem, each one is important to me because it represents something that has played in part in my life.......whether it is big or small.

So, I am always open to new ideas for ways to catalog, display, and preserve my memories.  I journal, scrapbook, and take thousands of pictures.  I came across a cute idea from 7 Gypsies - a card catalog of memories!  The basic idea was that you create a section in the "catalog" for each month of a year.  Then, you place note cards in for each month.  Write the month and year on top of the note card and then as moments "crop" up, you can jot down the specific date of the event and a short note.  You can also add any photos or other memorabilia.  I use colorful paperclips to attach photos/mementos to that specific years note card(s).  At any rate,  I really loved the idea so I decided to make my own version.  I personally think it turned out pretty great!

Here's What You'll Need:
*I got a small wooden crate from a local craft store.  The one I opted for will fit a standard note card(as seen in photo at right).
*Wood stain - available at home improvement stores and some crafting stores.
*Paint brush to apply stain to wood
*A drawer pull
*Various embellishments for outside of crate and for the individual monthly dividers.  I used a wide variety of items including metal  embellishments, paper, stickers, and rub-ons.  Let your imagination be your guide.
*Double sided tape
*Liquid Nails - or other permanent glue
*Memory envelopes(mine are two large ones that I can put small items in.  They are part of the SmashBook line of products).
*Lots, and lots of note cards
*Archival safe pen
*Colorful paperclips
*Tab dividers
*Your choice of scrapbooking papers for each month.

Put It Together:

This project is a process of following your minds "eye" and letting the creative process take you where it will.  Once I gathered my supplies, the first step was to stain the crate.  I put a trash bag on the patio and stained the crate on that so I didn't spill any on the flooring.  Once the crate is stained, allow it to dry completely.  While the crate is drying you can begin decorating the month divider cards.  To do this, I took a standard note card and applied paper to the card that I wanted for that month.  I attached mine to the note card with the double sided tape.  Now add any rub-ons, stickers, or other embellishments to the front of each months note card.  I opted to use letter stickers to write each month on the card and then coordinated with embellishments that seemed appropriate for that month.  Most crafting stores have a great selection of scrapbooking/memory keeping supplies.  I typically use JoAnn, Michael's, or Hobby Lobby.  When your crate is finally dry,  you can add any embellishments to the front, sides, or back.  I only decorated the front.  I found a great drawer pull at Hobby Lobby and added a few metal items such as a "clock"(representing time), a key, and metal disc that says "wander", and such.  I also had a great ticket that I added along with a butterfly and rhinestone "squiggle".  I didn't really have a specific plan in place for the box or monthly note cards.  I just added items until each thing seemed "right" to me.

This was the finished product from the front!  It fit  the perfect feeling that I wanted for this memory keeper.  Truly use your imagination, your personality, and follow your creative energy.  There is no wrong way to do this(well, at least I don't believe so).  Once the crate is finished and the monthly note cards are decorated, I simply added a clear tab divider to the top of each month so it would be easier for me to distinguish where each new month began.  I chose to leave them empty, but you could add a month or designs to the little inserts and add them as well.

As you can see from the photos I have posted of my own little project, I really did use a wide variety of items to decorate the outside of the crate and each months cards.  I tried to have fun going through my crafting stash to find items I could use.  (It also helped me weed out some items I wouldn't use on any project either so I could donate them to my daughter's class).

The end product was great!  It turned out perfectly for me!  I may start making these as gifts too.  I have filled cards with specific dates and memories.  I don't use one card for each memory/date.  I just write the date and jot down a note about what happened that day and if I have room below that for another entry on a different day, then I keep adding until the card is full.  I have also attached game tickets and other memorabilia to the cards.  I think years down the road, it will be fun to look back and go over what we did through the years!