DIY Bridesmaid and Bride Shirts

A great DIY project for bridesmaids! It's quick, easy, and WAY cheaper than ordering from online stores.

I found the custom monogram template from weddingchicks.com- an DIYers dream website with printable templates and beautiful wedding inspiration.

Items needed:

• Avery Light T Shirt Transfers- 1 sheet per shirt, pack of 6 sheets were $12.
• White T Shirt or Tank Top- I got my shirts at Old Navy for $6 each.
• Iron with NO water and steam set to OFF
• Pillow Case to protect ironing surface

Let's get started!

Customize your monogram and bride images. I used deep ocean and the date line for "Bridesmaid". When the image opens, right click and save the file to your desktop.

Flip the image horizontally before printing. The words should look backwards when you print them so when you place them face down on the shirt it will be correct. Print a test on regular paper to make sure the image prints correctly. -------->

Put the Avery transfer in your printer (make sure it's facing the right way) and print your image.

Cut out the image.

Heat up the iron and lay your pillow case on a hard surface (not an ironing board). When the iron is nice and hot iron all the wrinkles out of the pillow case.

Use a lint roller to remove any fuzz or threads from the front of your shirt. Iron the shirt and make it all nice and smooth, then lay your cut out image face down on your shirt.

You're ready to start the transfer magic! With even and consistent pressure, press the iron onto the back of the avery transfer and shirt for 3 minutes.

Allow the shirt to cool down for 5 minutes.

Peel off the back of the transfer and viola! You have a beautiful custom shirt!

Library of Congress: Stories from the Veterans History Project

I am in the process of scanning and organizing some of my grandfather's old pictures from his time in the army during WWII. There are pictures from army reunions he attended with my grandmother and quite a few from his time at Fort Dix in the 1960's. Unfortunately, both he and my grandmother are passed away so I can't go to them with my questions. Instead I do what I know best, scour the internet for clues.

This is how I came to find The Veterans History Project. The project "collects, preserves, and makes accessible the personal accounts of American war veterans so that future generations may hear directly from veterans and better understand the realities of war." They have a section called Stories from the Veterans History Project where there are hundreds of first person veteran interviews you can actually listen to! The veteran's stories cover WWI, WWII, Korean War, Vietnam, Afghanistan, and Iraq. I could listen to the voices of these heroes for hours. * I had to download real player to listen to the audio.

Do you know a veteran? Why don't you participate and help share their story!? Check out the participation guidelines for conducting interviews. It's rather simple and could be a very special way to preserve your family history for many generations to come.

Tombstone Tuesday: Calvary Cemetery -The Graves Have Eyes

For some people, cemeteries are creepy- but not to me! I find them fascinating! On a recent trip to Calvary Cemetery in Queens, NY I saw something I've never seen before at any other cemetery...actual pictures preserved right on the tombstones. When walking through a cemetery I often wonder about the lives of the people buried beneath me. A picture on a tombstone really brings the name and tombstone to life!

For some of these people, I wonder if these could potentially be the only known picture left of them. This has taught me a lesson, finding an ancestor's grave could yield amazing results. Especially for those in my tree who I have no picture of. I never would have thought a tombstone could preserve an image as well as these have. And many of these pictures are almost a hundred years old (according to the death dates).

The picture to the left is of Carmela Mancino, born-1884 died- 1925.  

Click to enlarge the pictures.

One grave in particular really stuck with me, that of Rosaria Fidanza. She died when she was just 22 years old. Below is her grave and picture. There will be a follow up post on Rosaria with more information. I couldn't help myself and did a little digging on ancestry.com for more of her story.

The translated inscription says: "Erected by Nicola Fidanza, in memory of his adorned wife Rosaria Fidanza. Born Buttafuoco (maiden name) August 25, 1903 Died December 6, 1925"

This is Giuseppe Blanco who died in 1925 at the age of 31.

Have you seen this trend before? Calvary Cemetery is a catholic cemetery with a high population of Italian burials. In the section I was exploring (First Calvary Cemetery, Section 6B) the pictures were predominately found on Italian tombstones. I don't know if this is an Italian trend, a period trend (many died around 1925), a catholic trend, or a trend specific to this cemetery or tombstone designer- but I love it!! I would be so happy to find a picture of my ancestor on their tombstone. I'll be keeping an eye out for this trend in other cemeteries. I'd love to hear any stories you might have relating to pictures and tombstones!

New Year, New Goals

Happy New Year!

I hope you all had a happy and healthy holiday season. We're now in a tough time of year, the holidays are over and we are all feeling bloated and tired from all the fun we had. The pressure is on to start this new year with resolutions.  I usually love morning talk shows like The Today Show and The View, but these past 2 days I've been hit over the head with resolutions for health, exercise, and organization inspiration. They really know how to make you feel bad about your eating and exercise habits. I don't usually make new years resolutions, do you?

This year I've decided to make a list of goals for my genealogy pursuits of 2012. Staying organized and on top of all the different aspects of tracing my family tree is a challenge. Some of the most interesting and exciting parts of the pursuit can be pushed aside and forgotten with every new lead or uncovered story. So hopefully as the year goes on you'll find follow ups and items being checked off this list. Not to mention many intriguing stories, new friends, and revelations along the way!

- Continue the Daughters of the American Revolution application process, I'm still on the very first step. (2 months and still no response...)

- Take a trip to Greenwood (Knights of Pythias Cemetery) in Philadelphia, PA to visit the Wright plot and have a grave marker added.

- Research the family table that was passed down to me and get it checked out by an expert to authenticate the family history timeline started by my gg grandmother.

- Organize my grandfather's papers and medals from WWII.

- Unfortunately I won't be able to make the reunion of the 324th Infantry in September, so I hope to schedule a time to skype with the group to hear their stories and share my grandfathers pictures.

- Take a trip the Pennsylvania Archives in Philadelphia to get birth/marriage/death certificates for Grimm, Nolen, Snyder, and Wright families.

- Preserve my Franks family daguerreotypes. 

- Take a trip to Bordentown, NJ to meet my long time pen pal and fellow Wright researcher Sue. We share a very elusive ancestor, Joel Wright (b.1782 d. 1854), and he has been driving us crazy for years. I hope 2012 is the year we will break through this brickwall. 

Well there you have it, I'd LOVE to check all of these off by the end of 2012.

Thank you to everyone who read and supported my blog in 2011! I am so thankful for all of you who commented, got in touch, and shared stories to help me conquer my pursuits. A major goal of this blog is to chart my course through genealogy, history, and it's impact on my life. But hearing from YOU has been, by far, the most rewarding part of it all. Thank you and cheers to a fantastic 2012!