We understand that it's difficult to connect and share memories in person at the moment, so we've been looking at ways to use your existing social media networks and apps to stay connected with family and friends.
To help families to record precious memories during these challenging times, we've created two digital versions of our popular 'My Special Memory of You' Cards and 'Share a Memory' Remembrance Cards as free Instagram story templates, which you can share with family and friends online. Use the cards to share special memories of a loved one in your Instagram stories or share them privately via WhatsApp, text or email. You'll find the two remembrance card designs in the Templates story highlight on our Instagram page.
Share a Remembrance Card via your Instagram Stories
If you're not familiar with Instagram stories, here's a step-by-step guide...
First go to our Instagram page @angelanddove and tap on the Templates story highlight above our grid. Tap through the story and you'll see there are two blank remembrance card template designs to choose from.
Take a screenshot of the remembrance card template (on an iPhone hold down the power button and the home button at the same time until you hear a click like a camera shutter) then save the screenshot to the camera roll on your phone.
Next go to your own Instagram page and tap on the blue '+' sign next to your profile picture to create a new story. Then click the square at the bottom left of the screen to view your Photos where you saved the remembrance card template.
Tap on the photo of the remembrance card to select it, then click on the 'Aa' icon in the top right hand corner of the screen to add your own wording to the card. You can choose your own colours and fonts to make it look handwritten or typed, for example.
When you've added your own wording to the card, click 'Done'. Then tap on the 'Send to >' button to publish it to your Instagram stories. That's it!
It will stay visible in your stories for 24 hours before being archived (to view your archive click the three lines menu in the top right of the screen on your profile page, then click on the down arrow to switch between archived stories and posts).
You can choose to share the story with all of your Instagram followers or share it privately with just a few selected people, such as close friends and family.
Share a Blank Remembrance Card Template with Friends
If you're holding a 'virtual' funeral because of the current Coronavirus restrictions, you might like to share the blank remembrance card template with your guests in advance, so they can add their memories to the card and send it back to you.
To share a blank remembrance card template with someone else, tap on the Templates story highlight, as before. Find the blank remembrance card template, then tap on the three dots at the bottom of the page to open the menu. Choose 'Share to...' which will give you the option to send it directly to your phone contacts via text message or email. Alternatively, choose 'Copy highlight link' to copy the url (website address) of the remembrance card template to your phone's clipboard so you can paste it into a text message or email manually.
Add Text to the Remembrance Card from your Photos
Of course, you don't have to share the remembrance cards via Instagram. Once the blank template is saved in your phone's photo library, you may prefer to share it in a private WhatsApp group, by text message or simply email it as a picture.
To add your wording to the blank remembrance card template when it's in your Photos, simply open the photo and tap 'edit', then tap on the 3 dots at the top right of the screen and tap 'Markup'. Then tap on the '+' sign at the bottom right and choose 'Text'. Double tap on the word 'text' then you'll see the keyboard and you'll be able to add your own text to the image. When you're finished tap 'Done' to save it to your camera roll. To remove the text from the photo, click 'Edit' then 'Revert to Original'.
Capture Memories Digitally then add them to a Memory Book Later
While it's not possible to gather family and friends together and share memories by passing round a memory book as you might ordinarily do, this is a useful way to capture memories while they are fresh in people's minds, which could then be handwritten into a memory or condolence book at a later date.
How would you use these digital remembrance cards... would you share memories of a loved one on social media, or ask friends to share their memories with you to ensure they are recorded during this time when it's not possible for people to come together? Or would you be more likely to share them privately with a small group of close family and friends? We'd love to hear how families are adapting to the current situation in creative ways. If there are any other templates you would find useful, do let us know.
