Heritage Makers Debbie Rasmussen, Heidi Arvae, Karie Sigua, Laura Rytting, and Chris Crandall hosted a fabulous “Christmas in July” digi-crop. It was a lot of fun, with many projects getting underway! With the Christmas music blasting, projects being created, and eating treats it certainly was a great time. Check out some of the fabulous pictures from the event.
If you’re in the Utah area, be sure to check out one of these amazing digi-crops. You can find information here.
With Christmas in July in full swing, we’ve been finding lots of great wrapped canvases in our template gallery. Take a look at some of our favorites here.
8×20 Shadow Flower
You could even publish this one without any personalization! It’s quick and easy!
Family Canvas Poster
MC Savannah Collection
Heidi’s B’s
If you like what you see (which we’re sure you do) be sure to take advantage of the incredible Christmas in July specials. See the specials here.
Heritage Makers Playing Cards were featured on Utah’s Studio 5 today! Write your stories with creative Heritage Makers products! There truly is a story inside each of us!
Just released…beautiful new art! Check out the 4th of July collection, Kindergarten Kid, Calendar Essentials, and more! You’re going to love this new art…especially with our awesome Christmas in July specials.
While you’re at it, how about celebrating freedom with some incredible Canada Day and 4th of July templates. Check out some of our favorites.
It’s time to celebrate freedom! Here at the Heritage Makers home office, we’re getting excited for the upcoming July 4th holiday. Help us celebrate! Show us the freedom themed storybooks, greeting cards, photo books, canvases, and posters you’re making! To help you get into the spirit, check out some of our favorite from the template gallery.
If you have something to share, give us a link in the comment section and we’ll post it here on the blog!
Summer is in full swing! That means sunshine, longer days, watermelon…and lots of photos! When you head out on your summer adventures, you want to make sure you really capture the moment perfectly. With the bright sunshine and clear days, you’ll need to know a few pointers to take great summertime photos. Here are 4 tips to help you:
1. Warm up the photo. Sounds a little silly, right? Warming up a summer photograph? But it’s true. The harsh summer sunlight, especially in the afternoon, can put a bluish tint on your photographs. This blue tint can actually make your photos look cold. Warm up your photos by changing your camera’s settings. All you have to do is change the white balance setting to “cloudy.” The cloudy setting will compensate for the blue tint of the filtered sunlight.
2. Watch the light. You’ll hear photographers tell you to look for the light. But looking for the light doesn’t mean looking for the light source. What you want to pay attention to is how the light is falling. Are there shadows? Is it early morning? Dusk? Pay attention to the light and adjust your settings accordingly.
3. Look for inspiration. If you pay attention, inspiration is everywhere! Look at the work of other photographers, go online, and study photography books. You can check out magazines, websites, and even personal photo albums for your own inspiration.
4. Put your photos in a storybook. Once you have captured all of those fun summertime moments, but your photos in a Heritage Makers storybook. You can feel the warmth of summer all year long with a storybook!
Now, get out there and start taking photos! Take the kids to the pool, go on a hike, or relax on the beach! It’s time to take advantage of the long days and warm nights.
It’s the Summer Solstice today. That means, 15 hours of glorious daylight time! It’s so exciting to have longer days, more time with our families, warm weather…and of course, more Heritage Makers fun.
To celebrate the First Day of Summer, here are some fabulous canvas projects to make to brighten your home. Enjoy!
Summer has finally come! With the sun shining and longer days, it’s time to go outside and have some fun. Do you have a family reunion planned this year? How about a road trip? Visit to the zoo or the park? We know you have a lot of incredible plans for the summer months with wonderful memories awaiting. Don’t forget to take your camera along on all of your adventures to document the moments. And when you’re done, put together all of your summertime photos in a great storybook or canvas.
Take a look at some of our favorite templates for recording those “fun in the summer sun” days.
Submission sample for Best Life Story Project category.
By Liz Thompson
My submitted project is a collection of a late father’s memories and insights about life, along with memories of him from numerous family members and friends, all pulled together so his three children would know and never forget their father. The children watched him struggle with Lou Gehrig’s disease and finally succumb to it.
Tom was a very strong man in his values and insights on life. He was very active in his community and left an impact on every life he touched.
Tom’s widow, Cathy, interviewed Tom during the last few months of his life so that his children could learn more about him. Cathy reached out to Tom’s family and friends after he passed and requested they answer a few questions about Tom and share their thoughts so she could pull it together for his children. It was too emotional of a project for Cathy to put in a book, so she requested that I do it.
Tom’s children received this book on the second anniversary of his death, November 4, 2009, and were overwhelmed by it. Many other family members received a copy at Christmas last year. Words cannot adequately express the impact it had.
Tom Hopkins, though I’d never met him, has had a profound impact on me. From the day I met Cathy and she told me the story, through the many long hours of reading and copying into the book, and through Tom’s thoughts—the thoughts of his family and friends—I experienced a wide range of emotions and a warmth toward this man. I am truly sorry I had never met him. His courage, strength, and wisdom replay in my mind on a regular basis and have impacted how I handle some of life’s challenges. If I’m ever feeling down, I just need to read a few pages of Tom’s insights and everything is immediately back in perspective, including my faith that God has a plan and everything will work out.
The deadline for Best of Heritage is almost here and we want to make sure you have the chance to enter your project in our Bes of Heritage contest. It’s the perfect opportunity to show off what you do with Heritage Makers.
This year the categories are a bit different. In the past we have awarded for Best of Heritage Past, Present, and Future. But with our growing storybooking numbers and product line, we’ve decided it’s time for a fun change.
This year we are featuring the following project types in the Best of Heritage contest:
Best of Heritage Categories: (projects that are story oriented)
Best Life Story Project: life history, family heroes, overcoming adversity, healing story, etc. Best Special Event Project: reunion, birth, wedding, anniversary, birthday, vacation, sports season, school year, party, graduation, retirement, etc. Best Tribute Project: any project that is intended to strengthen relationships and/or build self-esteem (eg. “What I Love About You”).
NEW! Studio Showcase Project: (projects that are decorative in nature) a canvas, poster, greeting card, scrapbook page, or any craft or home décor item using Studio
Check out Best of Heritage on the Reunion site for more details on how to submit your project. The deadline for all entries is June 15.
