When I was a kid I was fascinated by a watercolor painting that hung in our house of a tree with lots of images of my grandfather painted by my dad before I was born. I never met my grandfather and he wasn't talked about very much, but my dad looked exactly like pictures of him, so the mystery of who he was has always fascinated me.
In recent years, my parents have really taken the plunge into discovering their ancestry. It is incredible to find out how far back a family line can be traced sometimes! My dad went from not knowing his grandparent's names to being able to follow the family line back hundreds of years--almost a thousand. My father-in-law has been interested in genealogy for years, so it comes as no surprise to me when lately I find myself thinking about family trees--especially in regards to gifts.
For a while now I've wanted to do some sort of family tree paintings, but couldn't think of a design I was ever interested enough in to actually start. The quest for the unique family tree display is a challenge. There are only so many ways you can lay out your lineage in a chart before it begins getting repetitive!
Recently, an Etsy friend of mine, Lara Braithwaite of BellaPuzzles and BellaPuzzlesToo, who hand makes puzzles (they are so cool!) began listing custom tree puzzles for wedding guest books. The moment I saw the listing all I could think of was how perfect these would be to make into family trees!
An image of the chart (however you wanted it designed) could be printed onto the puzzle or you could handwrite it on yourself adding little doodles or fun facts about each relation as you go. What a wonderful heirloom this would be!
Grandchildren could sit and put them together every Christmas and be able to learn a little about their family's history as they go along. The "fun facts" may even lead to whole conversations and before you know it, you have another person interested in their family history! What better way to engage kids in their ancestry than making it a game?
Lara currently offers the trees with little initials carved into a heart-shaped piece in the trunk, but wouldn't it be lovely to have a family name either carved into the top of the tree or displayed at the base? Really, there are so many different directions you could take this project that you'll just have to contact her and work on your own custom piece. Her demand is high, so if you want to get on her wait list in time for the holidays, now is the time to contact her! I'm looking forward to receiving two of my own in the fall to turn into Christmas gifts (SHH! Don't tell the family!) and will be sure to write all about them when they're finished. For my own, I plan to handwrite the information and add little doodles as well.
If you've never had a chance to see this amazing artisan's work, you should really check it out. She has a great sense of humor and is one fantastically talented lady! Lara's puzzles can be found on Etsy in either of her shops: BellaPuzzles for custom pieces and BellaPuzzlesToo for wedding guest book puzzles. Find out more information about her and her work on her website www.bellapuzzles.com and follow her on facebook for updates and her quirky thoughts.
