Memoriesaresoimportant.
Havingpreciousmomentsthatyou andyourlovedonescancherishis priceless.
Thisbooklethelpstoguideyouwith ideasonhowyoumightbeableto capturememories.
PleasespeaktostaffattheHospiceif youwouldlikesupportwithcapturing yourmemoriesandtoaccessfurther resources.
Usecolouredinkpadsorpaintstoplacefamilyandfriendsfingerprintson thetree.Youcanwriteyournamenexttothisifyouwishorusedifferent coloursforeachfamilymemberandshowacolourkeyatthebottom. Leavethecentreheartforthespecialindividualtoplacetheirfingerprints inside.
Pleaseseeaboveforexamplesofafinishedtreeandonthefollowingpage youwillfindatreeoutlinetohelpyoucreateyourownfingerprinttreefrom home. www.slhospice.co.uk
Thetemplateonthenextpagecan beprintedontoplaincard.
Petalsareaddedtothetopofthe flowerstemusingfingerprints.Asmall stickongemstoneisputinthecentre ofthepetals.
Youcanthenlaminatethebookmark toprotectit,ifpreferred.Tofinishoff, useahole-punchtomakeasmall holeonthebookmark(usuallycentre bottom)throughwhichtothreadand tieasmallpieceofribboninthe colourofyourchoice.
Thereareacoupleoftemplates belowandonthenextpageorcreate yourown.
l i v e s w e ’ v e t o u c h e d
O u r f i n g e r p r i n t s n e v e r f a d e f r o m t h e
O u r f i n g e r p r i n t s n e v e r f a d e f r o m t h e l i v e s w e ’ v e t o u c h e d
l i v e s w e ’ v e t o u c h e d
O u r f i n g e r p r i n t s n e v e r f a d e f r o m t h e
Youwillneed:
-Apencil
-Plainwhitepaper
-Stickytape
Checkthatallfingersarecleananddry.
Usingthepencil,scribbleasquarepatchon thewhitepaper,goingoverthesamepatch againandagain.
Rubthefingeroverthepencilmark,thiswill makeadarkmarkonthefinger.
Stickthestickysideofthestickytapeonthe fingerprintandgentlypullthetapeaway.
Stickthetapeontoawhitepieceofpaper.
Repeattheprocessusingafewdifferent fingers,oftenathumbwillhaveamore detailedprint.Youwillbeabletoseethe detailunderthestickytape.
Fingerprintscanbesentofftojewellersto makebeautifulfingerprintjewelleryasa foreverkeepsake.
Tellmealittleaboutyourlifehistory;particularlythepartsthatyou eitherremembermostorthinkarethemostimportant?Whendidyou feelmostalive?
Aretherespecificthingsthatyouwouldwantyourfamilytoknowabout you,andarethereparticularthingsyouwouldwantthemto remember?Whatarethemostimportantrolesyouhaveplayedinlife (familyroles,vocationalroles,community-serviceroles,etc)? Whyweretheysoimportanttoyou,andwhatdoyouthinkyou accomplishedinthoseroles?Whatareyourmostimportant accomplishments,andwhatdoyoufeelmostproudof?
Arethereparticularthingsthatyoufeelstillneedtobesaidtoyour lovedonesorthingsthatyouwouldwanttotakethetimetosayonce again?
Whatareyourhopesanddreamsforyourlovedones? Whathaveyoulearnedaboutlifethatyouwouldwanttopassalongto others?
Whatadviceorwordsofguidancewouldyouwishtopassalongto your(son,daughter,husband,wife,parents,other[s])?
Aretherewordsorperhapseveninstructionsthatyouwouldliketooffer yourfamilytohelppreparethemforthefuture? Increatingthispermanentrecord,arethereotherthingsthatyou wouldlikeincluded?
Youmaywanttocreateajournalabout yourlife,orspecifictimessuchasholiday orkeyfamilyevents.A‘lifestorybook’ mightincludelittlekeepsakesina scrapbookstyle.Therearenorulesto makingjournalsorscrapbooks.
Ideasofthingstoinclude:
Informationaboutyourchildhood, whereyouwereborn,yourfamilyand education
Theimportantpeopleinyourlife, marriage,movingintogether,children andpets,jobs/careers
Yourworriesanddreams
Yourillness
Yourfaithorspirituality
Goodpointsaboutyourself...A notsogood!
Thingsyouareproudof
Yourfavouritethings,hobbies interests
Photographs,tickets,cards,ev brochures,fabric,smallkeepsa
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Aboxoftreasuredmemorieseitherofyour ownlifeorthelifeofsomeoneyoulove.It doesn’tnecessarilyhavetobeaboxitcould beabag,basket,glassjaretc.
WhatcanIputinamemorybox?
Letterstothepersonwhowillreceivethe box.
Poems,smallobjectswithmessages
attachede.g.‘thisisastonewefoundon thebeachtogetherin…..’
Personalitemssuchasjewellery,ahat,first babyshoes,lockofhair
Smallpersonalmessagese.g.‘Iremember whenwe…’Ideasoradviceforthefuture e.g.‘Whenyoufeelsad…’
Yourfavouritebook
Afavouritesmelle.g.perfume,aftershave… ACDofyourfavouritesongs
Avoicerecordingusinglaptopormobile phone
Avideoclipofyourselfsavedontoadisc
Tickets/leafletsfromplacesyoumayhave been,photographs
Aportraityoupaintordraw
Certificates
AfavouritemovieonDVD
Specialcardsyoumayhavekept Presents/cardse.g.fortheperson’s birthdayorspecialdatethatyouwillsadly miss.
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Thisisagreatwayofgettingtoknoweachotherbetter,andtoshare somethingaboutyourselfandwhat’simportanttoyou.Drawaheartoruse theprintabletemplateonthenextpage.Drawlinesinsidetoseparateitinto differentsectionsaccordingtothethingsyouloveinyourlife.Colourin eachsectionandthenwritedowneachofthosethingsaroundtheheartor makeanindex.Seeexamplebelow:
Thisisanothergreatwayofgettingtoknoweachotherbetter,ortoshare somethingpersonalaboutyourself.
Materialsneeded:sheetofpaper,anypensorpencilsinanycoloursyou fancy.
Drawaroundyourhandonasheetofpaper.Thenfocussingonyourhand considerwhatithasexperienced,created,touched,achieved.What sensationsareparticularfavourites....warmsand,coolgrass,kneading dough,strokingskinorapet,anotherhandinyours?
Perhapsyouhaveusedyourhandstomakemusic,orbuild,orcomfort others,orbringnewlifeintotheworld.Expresstheseinanywayyouchoose withinyourhandoutlineeitherasimages,words,doodles,oreven poetry...therearenorules.Listwhatevercomestomind.
Maybeyoucangotoaparticularmemorywherethehandshaveplayeda significantpartofyourexperience.Youcouldcreateacollageusingimages tornfromoldmagazines.Mayitbeajoyousreminderofalltheexperiences andsensationsyourlifehastouched.WiththankstoCreativeAlternatives @creatingwellbeingforthisidea.
Takeonecleanemptyjarandfillwithwords thatbringasmile,evokememories,offer inspirationorliftyourspirits.Thendecorate yourjarwithribbon,labels,paintorpaper–thechoiceisyours.
Ideasofthingstowrite:
Positiveorencouragingmessages
Wordsofwisdom
Lovingthoughts
Dreams
Thingsyoulike/love
Thingsyouareproudof
Memoriesthatmakeyousmile
Favouriteplaces
Inspirationalquotes
Favouritelinesofpoetry
Favouritesong
Favouritefilm
Prayers
Favouritejokes
Writeabouthappytimes,thingstoremember,thingsthatwillmakeyou laughorsmile.Writeletterstolovedonestobeopenedinthefuture,oron specialmilestonedates,fulloflove,memories,remindersandperhapsthe wisdomofyourexperience.
Envelopebooksareanicewayofpresentinglettersyoumightwishtowriteto yourlovedones.
Itmayhelptowriteideasdownfirstandthenworkoutwhichorderyouwant towritetheletterafterwards.Youmayknowwhatorderyouwanttowritethe letter.Thereisnorightorwrongway.Itmayhelptowriteitasyouwould normallytalk,forexampleifyouuseparticularslangwordsorphrases includethem.
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Herearesomequestionstohelpgetyoustarted:
Whoistheletterto?Doyouwanttoaddthedatesotheyknowwhen youwroteit?Doyouwanttoletthemknowwhotheletterisfrom?
Ifitisaletterforthefutureitmayhelptostarttheletteroffwithyour name.Doyouwantthemtoopenthisatacertaintimeintheirlife?
Ifsodoyouwanttogivethistoafamilymember/closefriendtogiveto themordoyouwanttoplaceanoteonthefrontforexample:“Dear sonthisisforyoutoopenonyour21stBirthday”
Doyouhaveanynicknamesforthisindividual,ifsowheredidthey comefrom?
Howdidyoumeetthisperson?
Ifthisisforachildhowdidyoufeelwhenyoufirstknewyouwere havingthem?Dotheyhaveastrongpersonality?
Ifsoaretherecertainthingsthatmakeyousmileandthinkofthe person?
Whatspecialmemoriesdoyouhaveandhowdidthey/dotheymake youfeel?
Isthereaspecialphotoyouhaveofthisperson?Ifsoitmayhelpto lookatthephotoandwriteaboutthatdayyoucouldincludethisphoto intheletter.
Isthereaspecialplaceyoushared?Ifsowhywasitspecial?Didyou shareaspecialsongtogether?Ifsowhywasitspecial?
Ifyouwanttolookintothefuturewhatdoyouhopeforthisindividual? Youcouldincludethingssuchas:Career,Marriage,theirchildren. Someindividualsincludesomeoftheirlifestory. Endingthelettercanbedifficult.Ifyouhaveaparticularwayyouboth saygoodbyeonadaytodaybasisusethat.Forexample:‘Chowfor now,Seeyoulateralligator’.Oryoucouldendthisinaheartfeltway suchas:‘Allmylove,Alwaysinmythoughts’ www.slhospice.co.uk
Useovendryclaytocreatefingerorthumbprintpebbles.Oralternatively makeabatchofsaltdoughtocapturehandprintsorevenfootprints.Thereis asaltdoughrecipebelow.
Therearelotsofotherideastobefoundonlineforusinghandand fingerprintstocreatefunartworkforallthefamilytotreasure.Hereareafew examplestogetyouinspired.
Manypeoplefinditcomfortingbeingabletoholdsomethingthatwasonce wornbytheirlovedones.Makingcushionsorbearsfromclothing,blanketsor beddingcanfulfillthatneed.Belowareafewexamples;
