My DMIL died last week. We had already started going through her things. She saved EVERYTHING! We came across a box of valentines she recieved while in grade school in the 1930's. They are dated and most in very good shape. They are from 1933 to 1936. I want to do something with them and thought some of you might be into scrapbooking and would have some suggestions as to how to display them in a scrapbook in such a way as to preserve them. I want to pass them on to my children and grandchildren. They were all fascinated by them since they are so different from what the kids give now. Some actually had moving parts! Any suggestions would be appreciated.

What a great treasure!
I can't wait to see the suggestions as to how to use/display these :D:D:D

So sorry for your loss.

You could have them color scanned and printed on cotton and make quilts with a valentine theme! Then frame the originals up in a shadow box with UV safe glass.
What an awesome keepsake to find. Condolences on the passing of your DMIL.

I have a friend that layed out her childrens valentines cards in the shape of a placemat and the had them laminated to use at her dinner table. It was really cute!!!!

First, I am sorry for your loss.

I love the show Antiques Roadshow and this past season someone brought in a bunch of valentines and other holiday greeting cards, like for halloween and such. Some of them are VERY valuable. You should have them appraised by an expert or at least maybe your local museum could tell you the proper way to preserve them. I do know that laminating them or glueing them to a foundation (ala scrapbooking) dramatically decreases their value.

You can try and locate the clear plastic sleeves ( smaller ones) to put them in or even go to an office supply place , buy the full page sheet protectors , store them in there and put in a binder

I would do collages.

That would make them easy to flip over to see the signatures on the other side. I'm not sure how valuable these would be as they are not in pristine condition. However, they are pretty neat! I'll try to take pictures of some of them and post them.

My mom died last year and when my dad downsized, I inherited their 63 scrapbooks. yes, 63. I too have old greeting cards among the collection. Cards for all the holidays going back to 1950. You are right, those old Valentines are so sweet.

The scrapbooks need to be taken apart and sorted, since they are so musty. And do I really need the receipts for the train my parents took to NY in 1963? But I have saved all the cards, waiting for the right project. I like the idea here of the laminated placemats. Scanning the cards for a quilt sounds interesting, too.

Here is something I had found in doing a search online. Do you remember those little baskets people made years ago out of cards? It's a bit old-fashioned but in keeping with the age of the cards.

http://www.allfreecrafts.com/christm...d-basket.shtml

I realize the names of the sender won't show, but have learned as I go through the monumental task of sorting my parents' accumulation, that I can't keep everything. And the fact is, what matters to me won't mean a whole lot to my grandchildren.