This practical guide shows how to safeguard cherished photo albums, a fragile wedding dress, antique furniture, and numerous other precious family heirlooms for future generations. 160 illustrations, 140 in full color.

Brochure detailing how to care for and preserve personal collections of family photographs, documents, newspapers, and scrapbooks.

"Not just a gift. It's history in the making. Family history is important. Photos, videos, aged documents, and cherished papers--these are the memories that you want to save. And they need a better home than a cardboard box. Creating Family Archives is a book written by an archivist for you, your family, and friends, taking you step-by-step through the process of arranging and preserving your own family archives. It's the first book of its kind offered to the public by the Society of American Archivists. Gathering up the boxes of photos and years of video is a big job. But this fascinating and instructional book will make it easier and, in the end, much better"--

Practical, authoritative advice invaluable to anyone who collects.

For many of us, our home is the center of our life. It is the place where our families meet and mingle, where we share our meals and share our dreams. So much more than just a space to live, our homes offer us a place of comfort, nourishment, and love for us and for our children. In Handmade Home, Amanda Blake Soule, author of The Creative Family and the blog SouleMama.com, offers simple sewing and craft projects for the home that reflect the needs, activities, and personalities of today’s families. As Amanda writes in the introduction, "As a crafter, I’m always looking for the next thing I want to make. As a mama, I’m always looking for the next thing we need—to do, to have, to use—as a family. The coming together of these parts is where the heart of Handmade Home lies." Filled with thirty-three projects made by reusing and repurposing materials, all of the items here offer a practical use in the home. From picnic blankets made out of repurposed bed sheets to curtains made out of vintage handkerchiefs, these projects express the sense of making something new out of something old as a way to live a more financially pared-down and simple life; lessen our impact on the earth; connect to the past and preserve a more traditional way of life; and place value on the work of the hands. Also included are projects that children can help with, allowing them to make their own special contribution to the family home. More than just a collection of projects for handmade items, this book offers the tools to create a life—and home—full of beauty, integrity, and joy. Projects include: • Papa’s Healing Cozy: This hot water bottle cover becomes a simple way to offer comfort to a sick child • Baby Sling: A simple pattern for an object that offers so much to a small child—refuge from the world and a place to lay their head next to a parent’s heart • Beach Blanket To-Go: Repurpose old sheets to create the perfect picnic blanket for special outdoor meals • Cozy Wall Pockets: A creative solution for storing a child’s small treasures Pattern templates for Handmade Home

For thirteen-year-old Ellsworth, family has always been just him and his dad. That’s all Ellsworth thought he wanted. But then the dreams start. Dreams of houses surrounding a beautiful green square. Suddenly a letter arrives, inviting Ellsworth to a home he doesn’t remember: the Square in Smith Mills, New York. A home with a hidden treasure only a child can uncover—the last treasure of John Matthew Smith, the family’s eccentric patriarch. But there are other things hidden in the Square. Can Ellsworth set these ghosts to rest and uncover the family’s last treasure—or will the secrets of the past haunt him forever?

Families are one of society's oldest and most resilient institutions. From the beginning of human life, people have grouped themselves into families to find emotional, physical and collective support. Although in recent years social commentators have predicted the demise of both marriage and the family, they not only survive but continue to change and evolve. Family Treasures is a tool for all different types of individuals and families to better understand the qualities of strong families: appreciation and affection, commitment, positive communication, successful management of stress and crisis, spiritual well-being and enjoyable time together. Written in conversational style, Family Treasures empowers families to assess their own strengths and to develop a plan for building upon their successes. Within each chapter are family inventories and a variety of family-tested activities that can be used to enhance the quality of the family. "Family Treasures is one of those great resources that has strong research at its base and can be used by a variety of disciplines. The assessment tools and activities can be readily used by professionals and families to strengthen family relationships." Linda Skogrand, Ph.D. Assistant Professor Extension Specialist Utah State University