Attention All Scrapbookers...

Anyone out there having a hard time keeping up with your blog???

Anyone out there having a hard time keeping up with your scrapbooking???

I've never been good at scrapbooking, but I was always pretty good at keeping up with my blog....until this summer.  According to my blog, I'm still stuck back in May.  I'm not sure whether it's lack of motivation, lack of time, or a combination of both, but I have been really lousy at keeping up with my blogging this summer, and that's a bad thing, because my blog is my family's journal.  It's what I use to document our lives over the year.  Last year I made our Basically Balser's book  to highlight our year and relied heavily on my blog to complete my pages for each month.  This year that could be a little bit of a problem considering 3 months out of the year seem to be missing!

But...thanks to Heritage Makers and Heidi, I may have a solution to my problem.  Heidi did a post a while ago about using the Heritage Makers 12 x 12 scrap pages as blog posts.  She used templates from the template gallery to make her pages, and then posted them to her blog as her actual blog posts.  (Then, of course, she ordered them to have an actual copy for herself).  She said in less than 1 hr. she made 8 pages....8 posts!  How's that for being productive!

To top that off, Heritage Makers has just released a new product:  the 12 x 12 post bound album.  A completely customizable album for all your 12 x 12 scrap pages.  You design the front and back cover (so no more ugly generic picture albums), and use scrap pages to complete your book.

Here's the best part (for me at least)...all of those scrap pages that I will be posting to my blog to document our activities over the year can just be ordered and put in the cute customizable album...and my book will be done!  So, all of you blog to bookers out there, here's your solution:  Use HM to design your blog posts, design your post bound album, & have your pages published and printed....Voila, completed book & preserved memories in no time flat!

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

Easy Peezy Lemon Squeezy

When people see the beautiful books that I've made through Heritage Makers, one of their first comments is, "I could never do that."  My response is, "Oh yes you can...you're selling yourself short!"  Allow me to give you a few pointers that I have learned in my short time with Heritage Makers:

1.  Use the Creativity of Others!

I. Am. Not. Creative.
There I said it.  I've gotten it off my chest.

One of the best things about Heritage Makers is that you don't have to be creative...you can use other "creative" peoples ideas!  (Which is what I do most often)  Between the art gallery and the template gallery I've covered all my bases, and my projects end up being just what I want them to be.

2.  KISS...Keep It Simple Sister!

Projects do not always have to be complicated.  Ideas do not always have to be complicated.  Not everything you do has to have beautiful embellishments or cute paper with it.  In fact, I think that some of the cutest things are the simple things....which in turn makes them very easy!  Heritage is a million everyday moments....let those million everyday moments make up the storybooks (or projects) that you do because that is YOUR life!

3.  Just get it done!

Just start by doing a general outline of what you want to do.  Get your pictures on.  Write your text.  Once everything is in, actually completing your storybook doesn't seem like such a daunting task.  If you sit there and look at a blank page, it's easy to become overwhelmed.  You can always change the paper out, swap embellishments, or tweak the layout until you have it just have you want it...the key is to have something to start with!

4.  Let your pictures tell the story! 

A picture is like a thousand words...or so they say.  Sometimes it's best (and easiest) to tell your story with more pictures and less text.  You need to include some text to remind you of what is happening in the picture (another favorite saying by one of our company founders goes something like this:  "A picture without a story is a memory lost"), but that doesn't mean that you need to go on, and on, and on, and on....with your text.  Let your picture tell the majority of the story, and let your text be the background.  (With that said, there are certain storybooks that you'll do that you'll need to let the text tell the story and the pictures be the background...but we'll talk about that later *wink wink*)



I took my own advice, and used these tips to complete this storybook in about 3 hours.  Yes that's right...cover to cover in about 3 hours, give or take a few minutes.  I actually completed the whole thing at a digi-crop that I went to last weekend.  (It wasn't the template gallery, but all the wonderful women and their great ideas that inspired me (Tip #1)...And I won a prize for completing the most pages that night.  Yay me!).  I had a 7x5 book credit that I needed to use before it expired, and honestly, I had almost given up hope that the book would get done.  I could not think of anything to storybook about.  Then July hit!  It's one of my favorite months of the year.  It's filled with birthdays, holidays, our anniversary, and just all out summer goodness...life, love, and freedom, so that's what I decided to do my book about. (Tip #2)  Once the idea came, everything else was really quite simple.  Because the book is smaller, I let the pictures tell the story (Tip #4) and used very little text.  I also used a very simple layout....not a lot of frills or embellisment.  I finished the book and then went back and tweaked little things on each page until it was how I liked it. (Tip #3)  Voila!  Finished book....memories preserved...and I still have time to play with the kids (or more likely, clean the house)!  I ordered it on Monday...it's supposed to get here today!  Can't wait!

So what are YOU waiting for???

A Quick Project

Looking for a quick way to decorate your bare walls??

Here's a quick and easy project.  This particular project is done with the 24 X 18 inch poster, but you could use any of the sizes that HM offers:  the new 11 X 14, the 12 X 12 scrap pages, the 8 X 8 scrap pages, etc, depending on what you want to do with your wall.  I love the vinyl lettering, but it doesn't transfer from room to room, and I like to change things around a lot, so this type of home decor is easy and transferable.

Design your poster/scrap page using pictures, quotes, etc.  Then once you've received your order, mount it on foam board with double-sided tape, photo adhesive, or modge podge, and mount it on your wall with picture hooks.  Easy.  Of course, you can get more elaborate with it: ribbon, embellishments, etc., but sometimes SIMPLE is better!

Here's an example of the poster that will be going up in my daughter's room as soon as I get it, but there are tons of clever templates already in the template gallery, and I'm sure many of you are much more creative than I am!  These projects are simple and inexpensive, and can add just the right touch to any room!

PS.  If you're interested in this particular poster, leave me a comment or shoot me an e-mail.  It's not in the template gallery, but I've got it, and would be happy to share it with you :)

A Team Project

My wonderful hubby has quietly sat back and watched me create all my little HM projects for our family.  He is my proof-reader, and my general layout analyst...BUT until recently he has not gotten any more involved than that.

Last month I had a few credits that were about to expire, so I got busy making a few different projects.  I knew that I wanted to make a book about us (me & Kenny), but try as I might I could not decide how I wanted to do it.  Then inspiration struck!  I decided to do our book as a "He Said, She Said" book to tell our kids (or whoever wants to read it) our story from "the beginning."  The same story, told from each of our perspectives.   I wasn't sure if Kenny would go for it or not, but after he saw what I wanted to do he jumped on board.  He wanted to make sure that the "real story" came out!  LOL!



I now hold in my hand our book...both sides of the story, and I think it turned out pretty good (however my proof-reader did miss one spelling mistake).  It tells our story perfectly, and I think our kids will enjoy reading it.  Kenny even enjoyed it so much that he started working on a book of his own!

So what about you?  Do your kids know "your" story?  How would you tell it?

Home Decor

This will be a quick post...

It's been a while since I've had a chance to showcase any of the projects that I've been working on lately, but I wanted to show you the canvas that I just got in the mail yesterday.

I haven't had the chance to make a canvas with Heritage Makers yet.  Partly because I thought they were expensive (which I found out wasn't true, HM prices are very comparable and even little cheaper than other canvas prices) and partly because I really couldn't figure out where I wanted to put one.  BUT, after getting my 1st canvas in the mail yesterday, I'm hooked!  I love it.  It turned out great!  My poor pocketbook is going to be in trouble!  I'm already trying to figure out a nice configuration for a collage of them on my walls.

If you are looking for a great way to add a little something to your home, go to featuringfamily.com and check out Heritage Makers.  A canvas is just one of the things you could make.  You'll be able to make just what you want, with the colors you need, at an affordable price.  (In reality, the prices for an HM canvas are very comparable (even a little cheaper) than a lot of places that I've seen.)

Happy decorating...and happy heritage making!

Spring Cleaning??

Spring cleaning with HM

March has almost come and gone and spring is (hopefully) on its way. Usually, when we think of spring, we think of flowers, fresh air, gardening, barbeque… maybe even spring cleaning.

Of course, we don’t like that last thought. Spring cleaning means work. However, there is one part of your spring cleaning that can be fun: cleaning out those stories. We know you’ve got them hidden somewhere. Maybe it’s that long forgotten childhood story. Maybe it’s your love story. Or perhaps your vacation story. Whatever your story is, one thing is for certain; Heritage Makers can help you with this kind of spring cleaning. Here’s how to start:

Write it: You can start writing in Studio editor or from a word document. At this point, don’t worry about how it looks on the page. Just get the story out there.
Add pictures: Choose your pictures and decide how they will fit with your story. Then easily upload the images to Studio.

Layout: If you started your story inside Studio editor, you may want to decide if you are using a template or starting from a blank project before starting your story. At this point, you will want to make sure to spread your photos and words throughout your book. Basically, decide where everything will fit.

Design: Add embellishments and backgrounds to your story. Give your photos frames or borders. Maybe add a little drop shadow to make your images pop. Just have fun designing your book for you.

Review: After you have all your words, photos, and embellishments where you want them, go through each page to make sure spelling is correct, everything fits on the page (keep a 1/8 inch margin on the outside of each page), and each page includes all the special little touches you want.

Publish: All it takes is a click of your mouse.

Really, in just a few steps your story spring cleaning will be finished. Then, all you have
to do is sit back, relax, and wait for your story
to come.

Spring Decorating

The warm weather has got me itching to do something around the house.  I think I'm going to ignore the spring cleaning because let's face it, it's not very much fun.  I like the end result, but I'm not a big fan of how it gets that way.  I'm still hoping for my fairy godmother to come an bibbity bobbity boo my house clean!

Instead of cleaning, I've decided to decorate!  I've got a few things in mind...and I'll post them as I finish them, but I thought I would post my current project:  A Heritage Makers Canvas!

Heritage Makers has the best canvas'.  They come in a variety of sizes, and you can customize however you like.  So, I made two...and now I need to decide which one to get (right now).  Leave me a comment and let me know which one you think I should get!  (Eventually I'm sure I'll end up with both of them...but for the time being I can only get one!)

So...if you're tired of spring cleaning already, but still need to change something to welcome in spring, try making a canvas.  Your walls will thank you!