Get Inspired! 8 Last-Minute Holiday Heritage Craft Ideas
Looking for last-minute holiday heritage craft inspiration for over the holidays? Here’s a round-up of some of my favorite heritage and holiday crafts made by myself and Gems listeners. Make a gift for yourself or someone you love!
8 Last Minute Holiday Heritage Gift and Craft Ideas
1. Heritage Christmas Stocking
Watch this 2-part video series on my YouTube channel about how I created a homemade stocking that celebrates all the moms who came before me. It’s a crazy quilt design with embroidery and photos I transferred to fabric. Here’s a handout with instructions.
Christmas Heritage Stocking by Lisa Louise Cooke
2 – 4. Heritage-themed jewelry (3 ideas!)
There are SO many wonderful ways to wear our family history. Click below to see examples and instructions for each of these three ideas:
- A single clip-on earring becomes a hair tie.
- A pendant necklace featuring an old postage stamp references my family history.
- A charm bracelet made with tiny framed photos of loved one.
5 – 6. Heritage Christmas Ornaments (2 ideas!)
Heritage Picture Frame Ornament
- A picture frame ornament has black and white photos inserted in the openings of small wooden craft frames. The frames are painted frames silver and hung with simple metallic twine.
- The gorgeous ornament shown here, made by professional genealogist Amy Urman, was featured in Genealogy Gems Premium podcast episode 15 (Premium website membership required to access–but you can look at it here for free!). Amy takes old glass and crystal and scrapbooking paper and solder and creates these one-of-a-kind holiday tributes to her ancestors.
7. Heritage Calendar
Ring in the new year by making a calendar packed with family photos and even birthdays, anniversaries or other family celebrations. This was another great idea sent in by one of our listeners!
8. Holiday Heritage Wreath
You can make a family history-themed wreath with tiny photos of loved ones intertwined in the branches, so that the faces of your loved ones can be part of your holiday celebrations. Click on the link above to see inspiring photos and find a link to a 4-part video tutorial.
More Holiday Heritage Craft Ideas from Genealogy Gems
Lisa Louise Cooke’s Pinterest Board: Family History Craft Projects
Inspiring Ways to Capture the Non-Genealogists in Your Life, available to Genealogy Gems Premium website members
Heritage Stocking Stuffer: Make Sweet Memories by Wrapping Them Around Chocolate
Free Video: Powerful Google for Genealogy Search Strategies
Boost your Google search skills with this free video class on Google for genealogy, presented at RootsTech 2016 by Google expert Lisa Louise Cooke.
“Everyone should be using Google to search for their family history!” That’s Lisa Louise Cooke’s mantra. Google reaches deep into so many different kinds of content on the internet. Google search tools help us discover ancestors’ names mentioned online; locate records we need; and discover historical details, images and maps that help us better understand their lives. And Google is FREE.
But Google works best when you follow a well-executed search methodology, just like in other aspects of genealogy research. At RootsTech 2016, Lisa taught a powerful and popular Google search for genealogy methodology class to a packed audience in a session that live-streamed around the world. Watch her dynamic, informative class below for free. Kim wrote in to say that the class “was the best one I’ve seen thru the free streaming [RootsTech]….Thanks for sharing free content with those of us who can’t afford to spend any money on genealogy.”
This class content comes from Lisa’s book, The Genealogist’s Google Toolbox (2nd edition). In it you’ll find all you need to know to take your hit-and-miss online searches to a powerful, proven search methodology for finding your ancestors online–and everything else you’re looking for! There are step-by-step instructions, screenshots and powerful examples for topics such as basic and advanced Google searching, Google Books, Google Earth, Google Scholar, Google Alerts, Google Translate and even YouTube.
More Google for Genealogy Gems
Keep learning from Lisa! Click below to read more proven Google search methodologies for genealogy.
7 Google Search Features You Should be Using
2 Mysterious Deaths in the Family? Time To Google Them!
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How to Create Captivating Family History Videos Episode 3
In this blog and video series I’m showing you how you can create captivating videos about your family history quickly and easily with Animoto. In this final installment we will put the finishing touches on your video and produce it.
In Episode 1
…we laid a foundation for the family history video that you are going to create. Watch Episode 1 here.
In Episode 2
…we set up your free Animoto account and
- selected a style and song
- imported all your great photo and video content
- added some text and
- reviewed our video’s progress
It all comes together so quickly! Watch episode 2 here.
Watch Episode 3 below:
Further Editing
You may notice when you previewed your video that the timing needs a little adjustment because its moving a little too fast or too slowly. You can fine tune the speed at which the images are shown and the length of the song by clicking the Gear icon in the upper right corner of the editor (just above the images). In the pop up window you can trim the song and slide the lever to change the pace. When you’re done, click Save and preview the video again to see the changes. Sometimes adding or subtracting images will also help perfect the pace.
Settings
Before you produce your video, be sure to click the Settings button and take a moment to review the title of your video, how your name appears as the producer, and add a date if you want. You can also add a description, which I highly recommend because it helps the people you share the video with understand what they are about to see.
Call to Action
Another really cool feature in the settings is the Call to Action button. A Call to Action invites your viewers to do something, such as:
- visit your family website or blog
- visit your family Facebook group (which is a really neat idea, especially when you’re organizing a family reunion)
- complete a questionnaire about the family history
There are so many ways to engage your viewers! Animoto allows you to add a Call to Action button to your video at the end that you can link to any where you want to take them on the web.
To add your Call to Action, click to check box for Show Call-to-Action button. Then type in a name to label your button such as Visit our Family Reunion Facebook Page. In the field next to URL, type in or copy and paste the website address. For example: www.genealogygems.com. Click the Save button, and your call to action will appear on your video.
Producing Your Video
After making your edits and previewing your video one last time, you’re ready to produce it. Click the Produce button, which will take you to the Produce Video page. Here you have one more opportunity to edit the title, producer name, date, and description.
On the side bar you can select the resolution size of your video. Producing your video can take a few minutes and depends on the length of your video. The good news is that Animoto will conveniently send an email to notify you when it is ready.
Your final produced video will appear on its own page where you can view it again. You’ll see another link along the side for Video Settings. Click it and you will find additional settings that can now be customized. One important setting is Privacy Options, which lets you to designate whether or not you want to allow viewers to comment on your video or be able to share it on social media. When you’re done, click Save to go back to the video page.
Sharing your Family History Video
Your family history video is now ready for sharing, and there are loads of options available. You can share by:
- sharing a link to the video
- uploading it to YouTube
You can also post it on your own website by copying the Embed code and pasting it into the source code of a webpage on your website. Click the More button and you’ll find many more social media options for sharing your video. I would also highly recommend that you download a copy of the video as well to your computer for permanent storage.
Continuing with Animoto
Once your free trial is over you will have to subscribe to Animoto if you wish to continue creating videos. There are many options to choose from so you can find the one that fits your needs.
If you only need to make one or a couple of videos at a time, you could do all your planning before making a purchase. Then you can purchase one month’s Personal use of Animoto. If you have several or ongoing projects, purchasing the 1 year subscription saves quite a bit compared to the monthly subscription. Plans include unlimited HD video creation and sharing. Click this link to go to Animoto and click Pricing at the top of the page for all your options.
Think of the Possibilities!
You could create videos for:
- weddings
- birthdays
- holidays
- graduation parties
- family reunions
- retirement parties
- genealogy society events
- your genealogy website or blog
- tutorials and classroom teaching
- your facebook page
…the possibilities are endless! Click here to start your free Animoto trial. And I’d LOVE to see your family history videos! Comment below and include a link to your video.