Can you name the full names of your grandparents? What about your great-grandparents? Do you know what your great-grandparents looked like? I have always enjoyed history–specifically the parts about how people conducted their lives, what changed the world, and what it was actually like to live in their time. I especially enjoy knowing about my own ancestors. There’s just something so cool about learning that something my great-grandmother did her life has actually influenced my own life. I love hearing the stories and looking at the old photographs. But lately I have been wanting to do more about my family history. I’ve been wanting to make it more real. I decided to create my own Family Heritage Wall. It’s an easy DIY way to make the family who has gone before a part of our lives. Making your own family tree wall is affordable, simple, and a craft you’ll really become connected to.
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One of the main reasons I created this family heritage wall is that I want my children to know their roots. I want them to know the faces and the names of their family that came before. I don’t want their lives just lost in a dusty book somewhere. I want them to know that they were real people who worked hard and lived good lives. I believe that families are forever. I believe that we will see those who have died again someday. So I want us to recognize them and feel connected to them. So here’s what I did:
In our new home all of our walls are white. While I love the brightness it brings, I wanted to add some contrast to all the whiteness. The black and white photographs are perfect for this. I plan to fill up most of this wall with pictures of our ancestors.
Here’s what I did to make this project easy and affordable:
1. The pictures are just copies printed on my laser printer at home. My wall is near a window and I don’t want real photographs to fade. Printers nowadays print beautifully and it’s cheap to make your own copies and you can easily crop it to fit your frame. Many of my family’s pictures have already been uploaded or scanned into our computers. But if I find one that is not, I will scan it, or I will actually take a picture of it with my own camera (cameras are good now too), upload it, and then edit and crop it as needed.
2. I re-purpose old frames, find them on sale, or buy at the dollar store. We are on a budget at our house and frames can get very pricey. I have found some great ones at Dollar Tree, from my own stash, and yard sales. I also will save my craft store coupons to get some favorites that I find there.
I found these darling little oval frames at Dollar Tree. I didn’t want the gold finish, so I painted over them with Sherwin Williams Sea Salt paint that I had leftover from painting my bathroom. When they were dry I used sandpaper to lightly expose the designs and give it an antique look.
And really that’s it! So easy to add your own personality and style and fill your empty wall with a family tree.
Try visiting Family Search and see what you find. They have tons of resources for finding your family roots. It’s free to sign up, and free to use (always). Love it.
So tell me seriously, do you know all your great-grandparent’s names?
