If you’re looking for more motivation, creative ideas, and social networking with other scrapbookers, Digital Scrapbook Playground is where you want to be. Created by Heritage Makers consultant Wenda Top, this interactive site allows you to share your project and template ideas, get feedback, and make new friends. Plus, you can participate in Digital Survivor, a creative layout challenge that pushes your creative skills to their best.

Digital Survivor is in its third season with the Clue challenge. The fun starts when participants create their creative profile with an alter ego (ex. Ms. Maple). Then, they follow the weekly layout challenges (each week you can find a new link that connects to the weekly challenge’s information) and bonus round challenges. After each challenge, participants post their layouts, view other participants’ layouts, and vote on the layouts they like the best (each participant receives three votes).

There are no art restrictions; it’s all about being creative. And with so much art in the Art Catalog, you have a million design possibilities. Create your challenge layouts on any project type. Then just download a preview, crop if necessary, and post on Digital Scrapbook Playground. (Digital Scrapbook Playground does suggest that designing on a 12×12 scrap page is best, but if you’re looking to create a bigger project, you can just as easily create your layout in a storybook or on a canvas.)

Anyone can participate in the contest. All you need is a Heritage Makers Studio account. And if you don’t have one, Digital Scrapbook Playground recommends that you get in touch with the consultant or person who referred you to their site. (For consultants, this is a great way to introduce new clients to the world of storybooking with Heritage Makers.)

You don’t have to be an expert to play the game. Season one’s contest winners were actually a tie between an advanced player and a beginner. Really, the best thing about the contest is getting positive feedback and getting new ideas on layouts and techniques.

Join the fun at www.digitalscrapbookplayground.com.

Comments or thoughts? Please share below.

Storybooking Clue, contest, Digital Scrapbook Playground

It’s that time of year again when we are looking for our Best of Heritage winners. This special contest is a chance for you to show off your storybooks and projects and tell us why you feel it deserves recognition.

In the past we have awarded for Best 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.

Here’s at sample of a great submission for the NEW Studio Showcase Project category.

Precious Daughter
By Barbie Gordon-Carroll

This project is an 8×20 Canvas I made for a birthday gift for my granddaughter along with two 8×8 canvases to group together and hang on her bedroom wall. The sizes are so perfect to hang in a child’s bedroom.

Two days before her birthday she called to wish her Papa (Nev) a Happy Birthday and then asked to talk to me. When I came to the phone she politely reminded me that it was her birthday in “just two more sleeps” and of course I excitedly told her that I knew it was. And then she asked me, “Uma, did you make something for me?” Those words were magic to my ears—not did you “buy” something for me, but did you “make” something for me! It thrills me to know that our products are of the highest quality and because of Studio we can create gifts and keepsakes for loved ones that we know are priceless when they hold them in their hands.

Of course she was thrilled to hear that I had “made” her a very special birthday gift, and I told her that it was beautifully wrapped up and ready for her to open on her birthday.

Needless to say, she really loves her canvases and loves to show them off to her friends. The expression on my little granddaughters face says it all. She is a sweet contemplative child and her loving nature is reflected in her face.

I am so grateful that as a Heritage Maker I am able to make beautiful gifts for my family and build self-esteem in my grandchildren, while preserving life’s precious memories and moments.

See a preview of Barbie’s project here.

You can also find Barbie’s project in the Template Gallery (Template ID: 28556).

Company News Best of Heritage, contest, story

My 10 year old daughter was assigned a science project at school. The assignment was to create a book that consisted of parts of the body with each letter of the alphabet. She and her best friend asked if they could make the book with Heritage Makers. Of course, my response was yes!

For weeks they worked on compiling the information and pictures for their report. I was very impressed when they stated that they wanted to create this book “on their own from scratch.”

So they began working together to create the pages! They finished the book with very little help from me and now we are anxiously anticipating the arrival of the final project! It just goes to show that anyone, of any age, can create a successful book with Heritage Makers! I think it is an A+! I can’t wait to see what the teacher’s response is.

See the Science Project here.

With Heritage Makers, the possibilities for your own creations are endless. Start a project from scratch or pick from our Template Gallery.

Questions, comments, or similar stories? Please share below.

Stories and More

This is the perfect time for all of us to stop and think about our impact on the environment. What changes can we make in our everyday lives to help protect the Earth? Recycled grocery bags? Riding a bike to work? Planting a tree? Remember, it’s the little things every day that really add up.

At Heritage Makers, we are also doing our part to lessen our environmental footprint.

Did you know Heritage Makers is FSC certified? That means our paper comes from FSC-certified, well-managed forests, recycled material, and/or controlled wood. Basically, we support the re-use of forest resources which helps to reduce the pressure on natural forests.

With Heritage Makers, you get a tangible memory your entire family can enjoy…with the least possible environmental footprint.

So go ahead-save a tree, go digital!

Visit our website at www.heritagemakers.com

Company News

What is the best kept secret? Last Christmas Heritage Makers  consultant Tricia Carleton learned exactly what the best kept secret is as she helped a mother and daughter make recipe books for each other as a surprise. Can you imagine how they felt as they opened each other’s gifts on Christmas morning? These two women truly knew how to celebrate each other.

By Tricia Carleton

A couple of years ago a friend of mine, Cara, introduced me to her daughter, Julie, saying
that she might be interested in making a book. Several months later, I met her, Julie, again at a networking event. I had a sample of my cookbook there. She told me she might want to make one, but said I couldn’t tell her mother because she wanted to make it for her.

Later I contacted her and she bought three cookbook credits. It took her a little while to get the recipes, photos, and other info she needed together. She called to set up a time with me to help her get started. After about an hour or so, with the assistance of her tiny dog, I felt she was good to go. She felt comfortable, too, and only had a few questions along the way. (She was also making one for her mother-in-law.) I had to be careful, every time I saw her mother, not to inadvertently say something that would let her know I’d seen her in any way connected to Heritage Makers so she wouldn’t get suspicious. 

About two weeks before the Christmas deadline, Cara called me. Julie had been at her house for dinner the night before and was asking her questions about recipes and relatives. Julie wouldn’t tell her anything she wanted for Christmas, so she thought a cookbook would be perfect. I asked what she had in mind, to be sure it wouldn’t be exactly the same, and was satisfied it wouldn’t. 

I proceeded to help her, praying their paths wouldn’t cross and they wouldn’t both want to come to the same Digicrop!  Julie was set on her own, so I proceeded to help Cara at my home. Cara had just left and Julie called, ready to publish hers! I walked her through the process and we were good to go. I told Cara that I would proof hers and order it for her, as she was pressed for time. Then we waited. 

I kept thinking it would be great to be a fly on the wall on Christmas morning when they opened their gifts.  Then, I started wondering if it would be possible to get photos. I tried to get a message to Julie’s husband through a mutual friend about what was about to happen, but it did no good! Cara said he didn’t take photos, but it was perfect anyway!  She said she opened hers and then Julie opened hers, not knowing as Cara did the irony involved. She said she was very pleasantly surprised and they both laughed at the coincidence. Cara also said there were only about ten recipes in the two books that were the same! They both did a great job and were pleased I’d kept their secret so well.

See Cara’s book to her daughter here

See Julie’s book to her mom here.

Celebrate the women in your life with a recipe book, photo book, or storybook. Try one of our many templates and get started today.

Storybooking

Mother’s Day is the perfect time of year to celebrate the women in your life. And no matter how you celebrate, the message always communicates clearly. Just take the following for example.

Aldine Allen knew just how to celebrate her mother last Christmas. She created a book of all her father’s stories he wrote to her mother. She celebrated not only her father’s beautiful work, but also his love for a special woman.

By Aldine Allen

My father is a prolific writer.  He has enjoyed writing stories for many years. For several years he, along with my mom, wrote a Christmas Story for the grandchildren every year.  He would make copies and send them to each of his six children to share with their children during the Christmas holiday.

Recently he has tried to have some of his writings published, but no company would do it. The main reason I became a distributor was so I could publish some of his stories for him. The first one I published was “Jar of Tears” which is a beautiful story he wrote to my mother, telling of the happy and sad tears that they have shared throughout their 69 years of marriage.

I sent them the book for Christmas and I am excited for them to open it and realize one of his stories has been published. I sent a link to many family members and three of them also wanted a copy. Of course I made one for me, too, to share with my customers at my workshops.

I have almost completed his compilation of Christmas stories in a 12 x 12 book and I am excited to get it published. I love Heritage Makers and the opportunity it has given me to publish some of the stories my father has written and to share them with other family members.

See the book Aldine created here.

Celebrate the women in your life with a storybook, card, or canvas. Try one of our many templates and get started today.

Storybooking

Celebrating women in your life can be done many different ways. But it’s always nice to come back to family. Robin Kingsbury did just that by celebrating her grandmother as a gift to her mother. She put together the following book with her grandmother’s talented writing pieces. And you bet her mother loved the gift.

By Robin Kingsbury

The main reason I created the book was to put as much of my grandmother’s pieces of writing into one complete collection for our family to enjoy.

My grandmother had always enjoyed writing and dabbled in short stories and poetry all her life. Although she never finished high school, she did go on in later years to get her diploma and even attended a local college when she was in her 70’s. My mom had all of her journals so I simply went through them and either added photos to illustrate the poem or incorporated pictures of her on the pages.

This experience brought me closer to my grandmother again. I could almost hear her voice and her words brought back tons of childhood memories. Of course, my mom cried when she opened it at Christmas and even had to wait a day or two to really sit down and look at it carefully.

Since then, we have ordered more copies for my aunt and uncle so they would have their mother’s writings to share with their families as well. This book has been one of my favorite Heritage Makers projects so far!

if you need any more info I’d be happy to give more details, but this is pretty much how it all came about.

I hope others enjoy looking at it!

See Robin’s book here.

Celebrate the women in your life with a storybook, card, or canvas. Try one of our many templates and get started today.

Storybooking gift, mother's day, women

Congratulations to our Template Gallery Scavenger Hunt winners:
Lizz Desser
Karen Stucker
Michelle Bedard

The answers to the hunt are as follows:

Glam Wedding Love
Designed by: Jayme Kunnath
20×8 Gallery Wrapped Canvas
Template ID: 29730

Dear Daughter
Designed by: Emily Yasgar
8×8 Scrapbook Page
Template ID: 28304

Sisters
Designed by: Roxanne Dukeshire
24×18 Landscape Poster
Template ID: 30303

Football Birthday Invitation
Designed by: Kari Pieratt
5×7 Invitation: Portrait
Template ID: 25993

Butterfly All Purpose
Designed by: Colleen Lemke
5×7 Greeting Card: Portrait
Template ID: 28436

Hope you all enjoyed searching for these templates and found some great project ideas. Have any ideas you want to share or thoughts on the scavenger hunt? Comment below.

Company News

These are simple words with a huge impact. Imagine all the stories that children want and need to hear about their mother’s life before having kids. Her whole life has been one incredible adventure, with experiences growing up, going to school, working, falling in love… Imagine how much closer a child and mother can become with such a story.

Heritage Makers consultant Melodie Jones witnessed first-hand just how powerful such a story is for the whole family.

By Melodie Jones

I had jury duty during December and January and so, of course, I shared Heritage Makers with my fellow jurors. One woman, Dee, we thought for sure was going to be excused as she had an adult disabled daughter that she helped take care of… But she wasn’t.

We became friends and I showed her a book template in our catalog called Before I Was Your Mom. She got very excited because her daughter, Mary, had an 11-year old son that only knew his mother as disabled and bed-ridden. Dee took the catalog home to show Mary who then helped Dee choose photos and what to put in the book. Mary was very excited to finally have this book to show her son that she wasn’t always disabled.

I scanned all the photos for Dee then helped her upload them into her account. We scheduled a time when Dee could come to my March workshop so she could finish her book and get it ordered. One week before the workshop I got an email from Dee. Her daughter had suddenly passed away the week before, but she wanted me to know that she still planned on coming to the workshop to finish Mary’s book, which we did.

Dee ordered the book on a Wednesday, and she received it on Saturday. Dee called to tell me how beautiful it was, and how much she appreciated my help, and that now she knows why she was put on jury duty: to meet me so I could help her make Mary’s book. She was so happy that Mary knew about the book before she passed away, and Dee was so happy to be able to finish it for Tyler, Dee’s grandson.

Celebrate the women in your life with a storybook, card, or canvas. Try one of our many templates and get started today.

Have other great Mother’s Day ideas? Please share.

Storybooking book, mother's day, template

Although a mother is special in oh so many ways, there are other people to be celebrated this Mother’s Day. Think of grandma, aunt, sister, friend. Let them know how special you know they are.

Deb Jones did just that last Christmas. With a simple scrap page, she showed her sisters exactly how she felt about them.

By Deb Jones

For Christmas this past year I made tiles for both of my sisters, using the 12×12 scrapbook page as my palette. My sisters are both very special to me; one is a year older, the other five years younger. We are very close, but rarely see each other as we live in different parts of the country.

I wanted to capture our lives together, so I made two different tiles, one as babies, the other as adults. We’re very different from each other, but love to be together. So I chose the saying “Sisters are different flowers from the same garden” for the baby pictures.  I used the saying “Sisters are forever friends” for our adult pictures because it said in one sentence all of the sentiment I feel for my sisters.

The tiles turned out beautiful; decoupaging the scrapbook page onto tiles was very fast and easy. I bought small gold tripod stands to sit the tiles on. My sisters loved them.

Celebrate the women in your life with a craft made from a scrap page, card, or poster. Try one of our many templates and get started today. (Use search words such as: craft, tiles, clock, etc.)

Storybooking crafts, friends, mother's day, sisters, tiles