What’s more metaphorical than a newborn baby in front of freshly bloomed flowers?  What a beautiful way to create a photo keepsake or gift, to commemorate your baby’s arrival this spring. A simple wicker basket with a special blanket laid down inside would make a nice prop for such a photo shoot. It doesn’t even matter if your baby is asleep or newly wide-eyed. The natural light and blooms will make a picture such as this a family favorite for years to come.

Another spring-time renewal is the picnic. No more picnics in front of the television set; it’s time to picnic under the puffy clouds of spring. This setting calls out to be documented, whether it’s in an album or for scrapbooking.  It’s the perfect natural backdrop for a portrait of your children sitting together, eating, laughing, playing, and enjoying the day.

Some tips for making your spring-time photos flourish:

1. Take photos in the early morning hours, before the sun is at it’s highest.
2. Create “catch light” in the eyes of your subject by making sure the sun is behind you.
3. Coordinate your childrens’ outfits and stick to non-busy, distracting styles of patterns.
4. Be sure to capture your child’s energy by taking shots that are everyday but extraordinary.
5. Snap that camera a lot; you are obtaining images that will last a lifetime.

Celebrate this season of renewal, abundance and love with some new family traditions. Here are seven ideas:

1. Create a kindness wreath for your front door. Begin with a small, plain wreath. A week or two before Easter, distribute 10 or more ribbons in bright spring colors to each family member. Whenever someone reaches out to another in kindness during the week, another ribbon is tied onto the wreath.

2. Fill a wicker basket with handmade cards featuring cheerful messages and perhaps a small gift or two. Leave the basket anonymously on a friend’s doorstep, along with a request that they empty the basket and do the same for someone else.

3. Sit down with your children and each create a special collage or drawing that depicts what Easter means to each of you. The artwork can become a permanent part of your family’s Easter decorations. Before they go into storage at the end of the season, scan them or take a photograph so you can record the artwork in your family journal or scrapbook album.

4. Videotape (or audiotape) young children singing a fun seasonal song. These renditions of “Little Bunny Foo Foo” and “Here Comes Peter Cottontail” will be treasured for years to come. Make copies and send the tapes to family and friends whom you can’t be with on Easter.

5. When it’s time for your annual Easter get together, present each guest with a 6×6 or 8×8 sheet of cardstock and ask them to handwrite a message especially for the Easter holiday – perhaps ways that they are feeling joy, gratitude, or hopefulness. Snap a photo of each guest and create a simple (and quick) mini scrapbook album as a keepsake, featuring one page for each guest – with their photo and Easter message.

6. Make a Garden Journal. Cover an ordinary dime-store composition book or journal with spring patterned papers or magazine clippings of your favorite flowers. Now record the process of creating your family garden this year. Make sure to include pictures of each of you working in the soil. Don’t forget the journaling – and lots of flower pressings.

7. Buy or make handmade Easter greeting cards and send them to friends and family. Make a point to send out at least seven cards this season to people with whom you’d like to create a deeper friendship.

May these ideas for Easter family traditions spark more ideas that you can use throughout the year to celebrate the beauty that comes to us through friends and family.

About The Author
Susie Cortright is the founder of Momscape.com as well as Momscape’s Online Scrapbooking Magazine and Momscape’s Organic Living Channel – all of which celebrate the simple splendor in our everyday lives. Visit her site today to subscribe to her free weekly newsletters featuring fresh new ideas and inspiration.