Illustrating Uncle Buffalo Bill Book with Scrapbooking Techniques

I've had great fun illustrating my picture book about my Uncle William "Buffalo Bill" Mathewson using sketches and scrapbooking techniques.  I wrote the story of his life first, then came up with the illustrations.  Since I'd been teaching scrapbooking and family history research, I decided to incorporate some of these art techniques into the art work of this book.

The book initially was written to share with my family about their ancestor.  Then I was asked to share the story of the life of my ancestor who was known as the first Buffalo Bill in the schools.  So I began drawing pictures to accompany my presentations.  These evolved into illustrations for the book.

The original book contains the scrapbooking additions and has somewhat of a 3-D effect.  This comes through fairly well when I photocopied the book. Since I self-published the book, I was able to be creative and use some unorthodox techniques.

I'm also making postcards of the cover as promotional pieces.

Be creative with the books you write and publish.  It's such fun.

Uncle "Buffalo Bill" Mathewson Book Finished

I've finished my picture book about Uncle "Buffalo Bill" William Mathewson.  It has been an enjoyable project and is rather unique, since I've self published it.  My first copies were slated for family members, so they will have a record of this unusual man in our heritage.

Books now are available for the public and libraries.  E-mail me at me.allen@juno.com for details.

Book About Uncle "Buffalo Bill" Mathewson Soon to be Published

My picture book about my great, great uncle, William "Buffalo Bill" Mathewson is in the publication process.  I've finished drawing the pictures, enhanced by scrapbooking techniques, and am producing copies for the family first.

As these take shape, I'm formulating how I will produce book for the public and how I'll publicize it.

Book About Uncle Buffalo Bill

Buffalo Bill Book

I'm frequently asked how my children's book about Uncle Buffalo Bill is coming along. It's almost finished. So I'd better have its completion on my 2009 goal list. I've had fun doing collage type illustrations for the book.

I've also been asked if I'll give a talk about Uncle Buffalo Bill for a home schooling organization. I truly enjoy sharing the life of my ancestor with youngsters and adults, to expand their knowledge about the history of the American West.

So....I'll keep you posted.

MEETING MATHEWSON COUSINS

An enjoyable aspect of tracing your genealogy is finding living cousins, those who are descended down different lines from a common ancestor. I've found others who count Uncle Buffalo Bill in their heritage.

Then we aid one another by combining our research and rounding out the story about Uncle William and Aunt Lizzie. We have tales to tell, research to share, and even other relatives to meet.

It's also great fun to meet these cousins face to face as I've done on several occasions. At Christmas time we exchange cards and letters.

My Mathewson cousins, that I've found, descend from Uncle William's daughter. His son had no children before his death in an auto accident.

I've traced family lines from Uncle William's and his sister's siblings, but have not found any living cousins yet. His sister Olive was my great grandmother.

UNCLE BUFFALO BILL MATHEWSON

When I discovered my grandmother's Uncle William was William "Buffalo Bill" Mathewson a world of history and adventure opened up for me. Then the writer in me discovered an exciting person to research and write about.

Uncle William and Aunt Lizzie (his wife) were only photos in Grandma's album. Then I found he had lived an adventurous life that his family didn't understand and probably didn't know about.

So...here I'll relate some of his adventures and discuss the book I'm writing about him.