31 Days :: Treasuring Handwriting
This is the 13th day in a series: 31 Days of Memory Keeping. Check out all the posts here.
Did you hear that more and more schools are no longer teaching cursive? I think that is so sad.
As I strive to document my family’s stories and memories, I try to incorporate handwriting whenever possible.
My memory keeping posts for the past few days have all been handwritten, journaling projects.
I love that each item (my kids’ journals, the quotable kid book and my story journal) all are extra special because they are done with my own handwriting.
I also am a big believer in incorporating handwriting into my scrapbooking. I rarely, if ever, use a printer to type my journaling. I also sometimes slip in notes from Matthew and Elias’s coloring. The work of their hands is an important part of our family’s story.
My Project Life albums include the daily journaling cards that I write on. While I have trouble keeping up with the cards, I know that they are a very important element to the album.
Next week I will be talking about perserving cards and letters. These items are extra special to me because they contain handwriting from a loved on.
Today, write something! Your handwriting is a legacy of love.
And if you haven’t done so, be sure to order your free journal from Paper Coterie!
This reminds me of one of the sweet blog posts by Sandy at the Reluctant Enterainer – after her Mum passed away she found a box her Mum had labelled in the garage and used the handwriting to create a memory plate – it’s such a lovely post, I think you’d enjoy it if you haven’t seen it already:
http://reluctantentertainer.com/2010/12/classy-memory-plates-heirlooms-and-stencils/
I ordered my journal last night! Can’t wait to get it! Thanks!! 🙂
I have become so inspired by your memory keeping posts. I have a 7 month old son, and it wasn’t until he came along that I started thinking about how important it is to preserve memories for him to have when he’s older. Thank you so much for doing this!
I’m on a personal mission to bring back handwriting! I can picture in my mind the varying nuances of all 4 of my grandparents’ handwriting….will my son be able to say the same? Sadly, I doubt it. But he’s going to know mine and my husbands!
On the topic of handwriting, I heard a discussion on the radio yesterday with a teacher and a psychologist and both were speaking about how the actual process of learning to write is extremely important and helps develop brain pathways that are important in personality formation. Not to mention the ability to create one’s own unique signature, which will probably remain an identification marker even in the future. I thought it was an interesting conversation and I, honestly, felt relieved that I am living in a country where my children must learn cursive writing. I am sure that my writing says something about who I am (I always wanted that nice round “cutsey” writing style with little hearts to dot my i’s, but I just couldn’t do it – my writing is angular and I’m sure that a graphologist would be able to make something of it, but it looks like me – really)
At http://www.fontifier.com you can turn your own printing into a font for ONLY $9. LOVE LOVE LOVE using this for my journaling in my digital scrapbooking!
My son is 8 and learning cursive but I know that a lot of schools aren’t teaching it anymore and it’s sad. I’ve had several friends in the northeast say that they aren’t teaching it there. He’s fascinated by it, and I think it’s because it’s so uncommon now.
I actually really wanted to do a digital baby book (because I am a control freak and I want all the things important to me in the book and not just the standard prompts and also because I know I wouldn’t get a paper scrapbook done for years and years otherwise. Digital is just easier for me to keep up with because I can work on it any time I have a minute without pulling out all my equipment. However, I agree with you on the handwriting – so I actually found a website where I could make my handwriting into a font and I am using that for my daughter’s baby book! I am really excited about it. It’s still in my writing, but in my neatest writing because I tend to get sloppy the more I write, and it’s digital. 🙂
I love handwriting too. Of course I really don’t like my own handwriting but I do value it’s meaning to the people I am journaling for, so I never use the computer. I took a photo of a cheque my Grandfather sent me. It’s the last thing he wrote to me and I value that it has his proper signature on it.
I saw the comments about turning your handwriting into a font and absolutely agree. Another idea for us digital scrapbookers is to scan in handwritten notes and pieces of artwork.