Exercise: Think of an event where lots of people were present. For 15 minutes or more, write down reactions you think others would give of the event.

Example: Annual family Christmas party – Me: The basement where we have our Christmas party gets pretty crowded, but that just means there are lots of people to greet and laugh with. Grandpa: My favorite part about the Christmas party is seeing the little ones’ faces as they receive one of my Christmas gifts. Mom: I’m just lucky to find a place to sit and eat my food. Aunt Kathy: I wish I could get more people to turn around and smile as I take these pictures.

Goal: Thinking of the story from multiple perspectives puts a new spin on the experience. Once you have ‘pretend’ quotes from each family member, you can create a fun story. Example: Each annual Christmas party is crowded, with aunts trying to take pictures of every incident, cousins playing games in the small corners of the room, and Grandpa telling crazy stories to little ones as they receive their Christmas gifts.

Studio Tips

Exercise: Grab a photo, any photo. This can be a picture of you at the beach. It can be of a hike you took at Yellowstone. It can be a picture of your birthday party. Or it can be a simple picture of you and a friend.

Now, for 15 minutes, write everything you can about his photo: who’s in it, where does the picture take place, what smells do you remember from when this photo was taken, why did you take the photo, etc.

Goal: Get yourself thinking about the storybooking process. Storybooking is not only about preserving photos, it’s about preserving the whole memory. And without the words, the pictures don’t mean anything to the reader.

See a this example of story and words combined. http://bit.ly/1dKk7Q

Studio Tips

Looking for fun…and quick…holiday gifts? Check out 10 Heritage Makers projects that you can create in just 10 minutes (or less). We’ve put together some of our favorite gifts and templates to show you ways to stuff all the stockings this year.

1. Set of Holiday Tiles                  Time = 1 minute

Holiday tiles are such a fun and simple gift! Go to the Heritage Makers template gallery, search for 12×12 pages, and you’ll find an abundance of fabulous designs. Simply load one of the “tile” templates into Studio, save, and print. It’s that easy.

After you print your 12×12 scrap page, trim to fit a 6×6 tile, mod podge in place, and you’re done. If you want, you can even tie a ribbon around the tiles for a fun gift. Give one tile or a set of 4!

To see a preview of the tiles, go here.

2. Greeting Cards                         Time = 5 minutes

No kidding, you can make your greeting cards this year in only 5 minutes! Send a beautiful, customized greeting card AND let Heritage Makers ship it for you. Simply select “direct ship” and we’ll take care of the rest.

Want to see a beautiful card made with a FREE Basic account? Click here.

3. Gallery-wrapped Canvas          Time = 4 minutes

Create a gorgeous gallery-wrapped canvas. Canvases, in three different sizes, look great on every wall on your home.

This beautiful 20×20 canvas was made with a FREE Basic account? See it here.

4. Deck of Playing Cards Time = 10 minutes

When you use page manager in Studio, a fun family game can be made in just 10 minutes! You’ll spend a lot of time with your family from Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day…why not make that time fun with a unique game! Try Go Fish, “Scum,” or a unique family trivia game.

Here’s a fun “Go Fish” game for a child. Check it out here.

5. Family Fold                                Time = 5 minute

Another 5-minute greeting card, with a twist! This 3-panel family fold makes for a fun and unique greeting card that can be displaying on a desk, in a bedroom, or hanging on the wall.

Check out the family fold here.

6. Joy Journal                                 Time = 2 minutes

Don’t believe you can make a journal in just 2 minutes? It’s entirely possible with this darling joy journal template. Take time everyday to remember the joy and happiness in life. Sounds like a great New Year’s resolution!

See the joy journal here.

7. 11 x 16 calendar             Time = 10 minutes

Try out the new Heritage Makers calendar size. Keep track of your family dates, birthdays, and special occasions. Talk about a great gift for grandma and Aunt Sue!

See the family calendar here.

8. 12×12 scrap page                       Time = 3 minutes

Share your Hanukkah traditions with this scrap page dedicated to the Festival of Lights. This scrap page makes for a wonderful addition to your holiday décor, or can be saved for the scrap book later on. Add your family photos for more personalization.

To see the Festival of Lights scrap page, go here.

9. Clock                                         Time = 4 minutes

Never be late again with this creative clock. This project is a simple twist on the traditional 12×12 scrap page. All you need is a clock face, this darling template, and you’re done!

See the clock here.

10. 6-photo Bracelet                      Time = 5 minutes

Take your loved with you everywhere you go with a stylish 6-photo bracelet. Time from start to finish? 5 minutes! The 6-photo bracelet makes a fabulous holiday gift.

Check out the bracelet here.

11. History Hero DVDs                  Time = 0 minutes

Bonus gift for you! All you have to do to add these History Heroes to your family is simply order. You have a choice of Collection A or Collection B. You don’t have to hit the publish button to get in on this awesome product.

Talk to a consultant to order.

To see more fabulous templates, check out the Heritage Makers template gallery.

Now you’ve got all of your Heritage Makers gifts under control…without sacrificing your time! Take a few minutes to browse the Heritage Makers template gallery to find fantastic gifts for all of your holidays!

Company News, Storybooking

Thank you to all our veterans and troops. Over many decades you have kept us safe. Thank you for being brave. For preserving our freedom. For demonstrating what true honor is. For everything.

Here’s a special card to show our appreciation.

http://bit.ly/471cVH

Company News

Heritage Makers is having a Facebook drawing and all our fans are invited to participate. For you consultants this is a great way to generate more leads and show others what Heritage Makers is all about. All you have to do is tell your friends and clients all about the drawing and tell them they need to become a fan of Heritage Makers to enter to win.

Here’s how it works.

1. If you’re not already a fan of Heritage Makers on Facebook, become one by following this link http://bit.ly/4mwI9e.
2. Copy the paragraph and picture below.
3. Create a Note on Facebook and paste the paragraph and picture.
4. Post the Note on your profile page so others can see it.
5. Tell guests at workshops and other events about the drawing.
6. They have between now and November 29 to become a fan.
7. We will announce the winner for a FREE 20 x 20 canvas credit on Cyber Monday (November 30) through the Heritage Makers fan page.

Copy the following and post it on your profile, your blog, wherever.

Enter to win a FREE Heritage Makes 20 x 20 canvas credit just by becoming a fan of Heritage Makers. By becoming a fan between now and November 29, 2009, you automatically enter the drawing to receive this great addition to your home décor. On Cyber Monday (November 30), we’ll post the winner on our fan page. Don’t miss this chance. Become a fan today by following this link http://bit.ly/4mwI9e!

 

Stories and More

Choosing fonts for your project can be a bit daunting. You want to make sure you pick fonts that go together, and you don’t want to over burden your page by having too many fonts. So, to help you out, we’re providing Fonts 101: a quick tutorial to help you pick the right fonts for your project.

To get started, you’ll need to know the difference between serif and sans serif fonts.

Serif fonts have finishing strokes on the end of the letter, such as in this font. Examples include Garamond and Times New Roman.

Sans serif fonts do not have finishing strokes on the end of the letter, such as the title of this article. Examples include Arial and Calibri.

Now that you know the difference between serif and sans serif fonts, you’ll understand what we mean when we talk about combining the two.

There are two basic types of text you will apply fonts to. One is the title. The other is the body or copy of your story. To begin, let’s talk about the title.

First off, you may have many different titles to deal with depending on your project. If you are doing a poster or a canvas, you will most likely have one title. If you are doing a storybook, you will have the main title of the book and, possibly, sub titles within the book. Make your title consistent to help keep the flow from page to page.

When designing your title, you will want to pick no more than two fonts. As a bit of advice, we would recommend that you do not choose two serif fonts or two sans serif fonts. Mix it up a little. You can choose a fancy font such as Broadway, then add a serif or sans serif font to the mix. Or you can replace that fancy front with a script font such as Shishoni. Or you can go elegant simple and combine a serif and a sans serif font.

For the copy or main text, you will want to choose a readable font. Choose a simple serif or sans serif font, no fancy fonts or script fonts. Good fonts are Garmond, Times New Roman, Avenir, and Trajan. The goal is to help ease the work of your readers. They don’t want to stare at a long piece of writing, trying to figure out what it says, which is what they will do with a script font. (Save script fonts for titles or small pieces of text).

Now you have it. Go ahead and try new title designs. You’ll be surprised at what great designs you can come up with.

Studio Tips

Boxes are always in style because they have so many uses. They become important for storing sentimental letters, collecting little treasure, or keeping candies and chocolates. Of course, with so many uses for a box, come great reasons to decorate. With Heritage Studio you can personalize your keepsake boxes. You only need to follow these simple instructions to create a few beautiful boxes you will be proud to display in any room.

You will need a few supplies to get started:

1. • Special Memories Craft Box: 12 x 12 scrap page template submitted by Heidi Arave (ID 15170). This includes two 12 x 12 scrap pages: the first contains four side strips for the 7” x 7” base and four strips for the box lid. The second contains the 7” x 7” lid top and two tops, eight base side strips, and eight lid side strips for the two 3” x 3” boxes.
   • One 7” x 7” box
   • Two 3” x 3” boxes
   • Scissors
   •  Mod Podge (gloss or matte finish)

* Get boxes and Mod Podge from any craft store.

Let’s get started:

1. Inside Studio Editor, personalize each strip of paper.
   1. You’ll want to keep the same dimensions for each strip of paper. The best way to replace paper is to keep the strip locked in place and drag the wanted paper on top. Just like replacing photos in a template, the paper will automatically take the place of the strip in the correct dimensions.
   2. Replace embellishments to match your desired finished product.
   3. Change the color of text to match your project. Make sure the color is readable.
   4. Publish your project.
2. Once you have received your printed scrap pages, you can get started on applying your prints to your boxes.
   1. Cut out each side strips and box tops.
   2. Apply a layer of Mod Podge to one side of the base.
   3. Press one of the side strips down over the Mod Podged area. If strips are longer than the area of the box applied to (which should be the case with the side strips), cut off the excess after you have applied the strip to the box.
   4. Apply all strips and tops in their proper place.
   5. Apply a layer of Mod Podge over the strips. The Mod Podge will dry clear and give your box a sleek finish. The more layers of Mod Podge you apply to the top, the more protected the box will be.
   6. Let the box dry. Do not place the lid on the box until the box is completely dry.
   7. Do this to all three boxes.

And viola, you’re finished. Set your boxes up for display in any room and begin storing your favorite treasures inside.

Project of the Month

In November, the Heritage Makers Pick of the Month is calendars…now available in two sizes!

Calendars make excellent holiday gifts for friends, neighbors, and family. Order today and get incredible savings on the hottest calendars around.

Want to make an awesome calendar quickly? Check out these fun templates. You can make a calendar in as little as 10 minutes!

Heritage Makers calendar templates

Pick of the Month

Eh, Canadians! We’ve got some great news for you…just released Canadian art! We hope you have a great time designing Heritage Makers themed projects.

 

 No need to feel left out Americans. You can use this cute Canadian art to create fall projects. Perfect for your Thanksgiving table and harvest décor.

Company News, Storybooking, Studio Tips

Oh wow! Heritage Makers just released today the most beautiful new holiday cards. Designer Jill Means shares 24 gorgeous cards for us. And, the best part…they can all be created in Basic, for FREE! Start creating your holiday cards today. Your cards are sure to be hung the entire holiday season.

Here’s a peak at some of the new cards.

To see all 24, go to the Heritage Makers template gallery and search “Jill Means.”

Company News