Storybooks To Share

Thank you!

I just wanted to say "Thank You" for joining me at my blog for Christmas in July! I hope you've found some good ideas for your stories!

I wanted to let you all know that I've been a bit under the weather this week, so I haven't yet drawn my 5 x 5 Storybook Credit winner. Be looking next week for the announcement!

In the meantime, if you missed any of my posts & the chances to enter the drawing, feel free to go back, read them, and add your comments. You'll have all weekend to get your name in, and I'll announce the winner on Tuesday!

Thanks so much for your business and for sharing your stories!

~ Tiffany

Tiffany Brand, M.Ed. - Your Story and Photo Preservation Expert!
Storybooks to Share, LLC - Heritage Makers Independent Consultant
TiffanyBrand@StorybooksToShare.com
My Heritage Makers Site: http://www.StorybooksToShare.com
News, classes, ideas, specials, and more at my weblog:  http://blog.storybookstoshare.com
(603) 749-9932 or (603) 534-3655

Find me on Facebook and Twitter

Want a little . . . place an order!
Want a Lot . . . Host a Storybooking Party!
Want It ALL! . . . Join My Team!

Christmas in July Heritage Makers Idea for 7/28 - Templates for All Seasons

I love it when I find a gem of a template in the Heritage Makers Template Gallery. I love a simple and elegant design, that I can easily adapt to my story. I found this gem today while looking for a template to hold photos of this summer's adventures. It's an 8 x 8 storybook template called "Summertime Fun" and you can preview it by clicking here. I love how the pages are simply designed - with just a couple of papers on a simple background with an embellishment. But the fun thing about Heritage Makers' templates, is that I can swap out the papers to work with a completely different theme - and create yet another amazing storybook from the same template.

All you have to do is find the new papers and embellishments you want in the Art Collections tab - then on your page, click on the artwork you want to change - you'll see a square pop up that says "Drop Photo/Art Here to Swap." Then go to the Art Collection tab and drag the new art on top of that square - and the new art takes the place of the old! It's so easy!

Here is an example of the pages as shown in the Summertime Fun template:

And then here's a more "Wintery" version - I just swapped art from the "Let It Snow" collection - and now we have some beautiful winter pages! (and look, I even flipped one of the photos sideways since that was the type of photo I had!) So easy!

Versatile Templates - and you can only get them here at Heritage Makers!

Happy Storybooking everyone!

~ Tiffany

Tiffany Brand, M.Ed. - Your Story and Photo Preservation Expert!
Storybooks to Share, LLC - Heritage Makers Independent Consultant
TiffanyBrand@StorybooksToShare.com
My Heritage Makers Site: http://www.StorybooksToShare.com
News, classes, ideas, specials, and more at my weblog:  http://blog.storybookstoshare.com
(603) 749-9932 or (603) 534-3655

Find me on Facebook and Twitter

Want a little . . . place an order!
Want a Lot . . . Host a Storybooking Party!
Want It ALL! . . . Join My Team!

July 30th - Last Day for Christmas in July Orders

Heritage Makers' amazing Christmas in July Sale is almost at an end!

I hope you have enjoyed reading my tips and tricks all month long. If you missed any, here's a recap of all of my posts so far (there will be a couple more coming this week too - so keep checking my blog - http://blog.storybookstoshare.com ):

• Buy 3 get the 4th Free Christmas in July Sale Flier
• Magnetic Wall Calendar
• Ask Those Important Questions
• Creative Motivation
• Game Time!
• A Passion for Story
• Calendar Creativity
• Sending Cards with the Heritage Makers Address Book
• A StoryPurse!
• Double Sided Scanning
• Simple or Step It Up!
• Don't Wait!
• Glowing Title

Hopefully you've learned about some fun holiday gift ideas and some Heritage Studio tips and tricks!

I've received the official word from Heritage Makers Home Office that the low prices offered in the Buy 3 get the 4th credit Free sale will not appear again before the holidays. Therefore, if you are planning to create gifts for the holidays, you must purchase your credits now to get the lowest price. I am entering my last orders of the month on Thursday evening July 30th - all orders must be received by 7pm that evening to get the July pricing on Storybooks, Greeting Cards, Calendars, Posters, Card Games, Cookbooks, and Scrapbook Pages.

Our 3-Months of Premier Special is also expiring this month as well - for only $29.95 you can get three months of access to our Premier Artwork Library with over 40,000 pieces of beautiful art to use in your projects. This gives you plenty of time to complete your holiday projects with artwork to make them shine!

Please let me know if you have any questions at all, or would like to set up time for me to assist you with your projects or scanning. I'm here to help you every step of the way!

Thank you & Happy Storybooking!

~ Tiffany

Tiffany Brand, M.Ed. - Your Story and Photo Preservation Expert!
Storybooks to Share, LLC - Heritage Makers Independent Consultant
TiffanyBrand@StorybooksToShare.com
My Heritage Makers Site: http://www.StorybooksToShare.com
News, classes, ideas, specials, and more at my weblog:  http://blog.storybookstoshare.com
(603) 749-9932 or (603) 534-3655

Find me on Facebook and Twitter

Want a little . . . place an order!
Want a Lot . . . Host a Storybooking Party!
Want It ALL! . . . Join My Team!

Christmas in July Heritage Makers Idea for 7/27 - Glowing Title

Today's idea is a simple tip for using Drop Shadows in Heritage Studio. Drop shadows are used on elements on your pages to give them dimension - to make them actually look like real objects that are casting a shadow. When you add a drop shadow to an item, it automatically chooses black as the color, since that's what you would expect a shadow to look like. However, you can also have lots of fun by choosing other colors and adjusting the sliders to achieve different looks.

In the title of the layout below, I changed the color of the drop shadow to white, increased the distance, and dropped the intensity. It adds a "glow" to the title to help it stand out.This works really well on objects that are placed over dark backgrounds. Try it out! If you do, I'd love it if you would send me an image of your page - I'd love to share it here on my blog! (to send me an image of one of your pages, just click the "Preview" button while editing your page and click the Download button. Save the file to your computer and then attach the file to an e-mail message to me.)

Don't forget to comment on today's post for another chance to enter my 5 x 5 Storybook Credit drawing. And if you wish to take advantage of the lowest multi-credit prices available before the holidays, our Buy 3 Get the 4th Free sale, please have your order in to me by 7pm Thursday July 30th.

Thank you & Happy Storybooking!

~ Tiffany

PS - Freebie Alert! If you like my Camp Seawood 12 x 12 Scrapbook page, I can send it to you to use as a template so you can swap in your own photos (you must have Heritage Studio Premier to access it). Just post a comment that you'd like a copy and I'll transfer it to your Heritage Makers account!

 

Christmas in July Heritage Makers Idea for 7/24 - Don't Wait!

Well, yesterday we had a great Christmas In July Digi-Crop! We got some scanning done, worked on our books, learned some new storybooking techniques and had a great time! It feels good knowing that we're getting our gifts and projects completed and our stories preserved! I like working on my Holiday Gifts in the summer, because I'm not pressured by a deadline when all of the craziness of the holidays is going on at the same time. It's quite relaxing - and we had a lot of fun sharing our pages and our projects.

So, my advice to you is - don't wait! Start your holiday gift projects today when you have time to gather your photos and stories. Last night I was working on a cookbook of favorite family recipes. I was going through my recipe box, but I was also taking notes about favorite recipes that I needed to gather from other family members - recipes from my Mom, my Aunt, and more. I was also looking through my photo albums for pictures of family dinners, favorite foods, and gatherings that remind me of some of these recipes - my grandmother in her kitchen wearing her apron (who's pies were legend at church fairs - they always sold out before the fair even started!), my brother and I and our favorite birthday cakes, the 4th of July parties with our special grilled spicy shrimp...lots of recipes and memories that I want to preserve and pass on to my kids. I'm really enjoying creating this book, especially because I don't feel rushed! But I know I'll have it done in plenty of time to give it to my family for the holidays.

But, I'm buying my Cookbook credits in July - Why? Because the Christmas in July sale offers the LOWEST PRICES on multiple-credit packages of the year! These prices WILL NOT be back again before the holidays - so if you are giving the gift of story this year, you should definitely purchase your credits now! 

This is the LAST WEEK of the Christmas in July Sale - Click Here to see the flyer with all of the packages available. Make sure you get your order in before these prices are gone, and then let me know if I can help you in any way to get your projects completed. You can come to a digi-crop, or just make a one-on-one appointment - I can help you every step of the way. And when you finish, you'll have the most special and personal gift, guaranteed to be adored by your family!

So...DON'T WAIT! Call or e-mail me today! - Oh...and don't forget to comment on this post for another chance to win a 5 x 5 storybook credit - I'm drawing the winner next Thursday July 30th! So hurry and comment today - and feel free to go back and comment on my other Christmas in July posts to get more entries! And tomorrow is your last chance to drop off your photos or schedule a ScanParty to get my low $.15 per scan pricing for "Get 'em Scanned Week"  - So many specials...don't wait or they'll be gone!

Happy Storybooking!

~ Tiffany

Tiffany Brand, M.Ed. - Your Story and Photo Preservation Expert!
Storybooks to Share, LLC - Heritage Makers Independent Consultant
TiffanyBrand@StorybooksToShare.com
My Heritage Makers Site: http://www.StorybooksToShare.com
News, classes, ideas, specials, and more at my weblog:  http://blog.storybookstoshare.com
(603) 749-9932 or (603) 534-3655

Find me on Facebook and Twitter

Want a little . . . place an order!
Want a Lot . . . Host a Storybooking Party!
Want It ALL! . . . Join My Team!

Christmas in July Heritage Makers Idea for 7/22 - Simple or Step it Up!

I love how flexible Heritage Makers' templates are! One template can have completely different looks for different projects! It's one of the things that makes our Heritage Studio Publisher and Template Gallery so unique! Take a look at these two examples - both are two page spreads from 8 x 8 books created with the Simple Simon Template from our Template Gallery.

For this spread, I simply used the template pretty much as-is - I dragged in my photos, and typed in my text. I did make two adjustments to the template - I made the text box smaller since I only had a small amount of writing I wanted on the page, and I added another text box for a title. Very simple - very Fast!

For this spread, I stepped it up a notch! I found a Premier artwork collection I liked, the Kiddie Christmas collection, and I dragged up backgrounds and embellishments & arranged and cropped them on the page. I also made my text box tilted and changed the font to look like handwriting and searched for a piece of "notebook paper" artwork to place it on. Exactly the same template, but a completely different look! That's the fun of Heritage Makers' templates!

Have you "stepped up" a Heritage Makers template? Try it...and send me an image of your pages - I'd love to share them here on my blog! (to send me an image of one of your pages, just click the "Preview" button while editing your pages and click the Download button. Save the file to your computer and then attach the file to an e-mail message to me.)

Anyone who adds a comment to today's post will get another entry into my 5 x 5 Storybook Credit drawing, and anyone who sends me an image of a page you've created will receive an extra TEN entries!

Have fun Stepping Up your Heritage Makers Templates!

~ Tiffany

Tiffany Brand, M.Ed. - Your Story and Photo Preservation Expert!
Storybooks to Share, LLC - Heritage Makers Independent Consultant
TiffanyBrand@StorybooksToShare.com
My Heritage Makers Site: http://www.StorybooksToShare.com
News, classes, ideas, specials, and more at my weblog:  http://blog.storybookstoshare.com
(603) 749-9932 or (603) 534-3655

Find me on Facebook and Twitter

Want a little . . . place an order!
Want a Lot . . . Host a Storybooking Party!
Want It ALL! . . . Join My Team!

Christmas in July Heritage Makers Idea for 7/21 - Double Sided Scanning!

Two of my absolute favorite things about my Scanning Service:

• Speed Speed Speed! - Put a stack of photos in the top, and seconds later the digital files are on the computer...Sweet!
• Double Sided Scanning! - Handwriting on the back of your old photos - no problem! Scan double sided, and both are preserved!

Why do you need the speed? Well, if you've ever scanned photos on a flatbed scanner, you know how tedious that is - place photo on scanner, press scan button, scanner previews the scan bed, finds the photo, then performs the final scan. One minute later - you have One Photo Scanned. Ugh! With my High Speed Scanning service, you get excellent quality scans in a fraction of the time! Instead of one photo in a minute, you can have 30 photos scanned! Your time and your photos are precious - my Scanning Service is the way to go!

Why do you need double sided scanning? It's just as fast, and you can preserve that special handwriting on the back of your photos. I've just been scanning my grandparents' travel photos from the 1970's, and my grandfather loved to write all the details on the back of his Polaroid prints - the date, time, landmarks, and often he made colorful comments! I definitely want this preserved in his own handwriting! And, it takes no added work or time - I just put the stack in and click double sided scanning - the scanner automatically scans both sides of the photo...AMAZING!

Here are a couple of pages from a 8 x 8 Storybook I'm making about my grandparents - and on them I've used both the photos and the handwriting on the back. Click on the photo to see it larger. The handwriting certainly helps to tell the story, don't you think?!?

This week is "Get 'em Scanned Week" my incredible sale on scanning! Just give me a call and arrange to bring your photos over or drop them off - they'll be scanned in no-time and you'll have the peace of mind knowing your photos are safely preserved and able to be copied for any family members who want them! Or book a ScanParty for August, and I'll extend my sale pricing for everyone at your party - and you can earn free scans for yourself!

And a special BONUS for my blog readers today - as usual, add a comment to this message and you'll be entered into my 5 x 5 Storybook Credit drawing. But, also, anyone who comments on my post today will receive 50 free scans when they bring their photos in for my "Get 'em Scanned Week" sale or host a ScanParty in August! Wow!

Don't let your photos fade! Get them scanned today!

~ Tiffany

Tiffany Brand, M.Ed. - Your Story and Photo Preservation Expert!
Storybooks to Share, LLC - Heritage Makers Independent Consultant
TiffanyBrand@StorybooksToShare.com
My Heritage Makers Site: http://www.StorybooksToShare.com
News, classes, ideas, specials, and more at my weblog:  http://blog.storybookstoshare.com
(603) 749-9932 or (603) 534-3655

Find me on Facebook and Twitter

Want a little . . . place an order!
Want a Lot . . . Host a Storybooking Party!
Want It ALL! . . . Join My Team!

Christmas in July Heritage Makers Idea for 7/20 - A StoryPurse!

I'm always on the lookout for other products that go great with Heritage Makers projects - I keep finding great products that become greater with the addition of photos and a story! My latest find are bags with photo pockets! I always have a book or photos with me, and these bags are a great way to show off my latest pictures. Carry one of these bags and you always have a story with you to share with family and friends! And they make an amazing gift for Grandma, a New Mom, or Anyone! Here are a couple of my favorites:

This cute bag I got by hosting a Design-Your-Own-Purse Party. The company is Bella Donna Couture and I got to pick my bag size, all of the fabrics and ribbon, and I could add a photo window of any size I wanted! This one holds a cute Heritage Makers 5 x 5 Storybook - great for a new Mom or Grandma's brag book (in fact, this company even makes Diaper Bags too - what an amazing New Mom Gift!)

This little purse has a 7 x 5 sized photo window on each side - just the same size as our Heritage Makers Postcards and Invitations. Just design a couple of Postcards with your photos and beautiful Basic or Premier artwork and you turn your purse into a work of art featuring your own photos! And, if you create a Heritage Makers Invitation, you can place a design on both sides, so you can swap sides with the seasons! Make one with spring/summer photos, and the other size with fall/winter photos - very versatile! - and Heritage Makers lets you give it the personal touch!

Give me a call or e-mail if I can help you create your own photo and story gifts! And call now so you don't miss the great prices with our Christmas in July Sale!

Have a great day & Happy Storybooking everyone!

~ Tiffany

Tiffany Brand, M.Ed. - Your Story and Photo Preservation Expert!
Storybooks to Share, LLC - Heritage Makers Independent Consultant
TiffanyBrand@StorybooksToShare.com
My Heritage Makers Site: http://www.StorybooksToShare.com
News, classes, ideas, specials, and more at my weblog:  http://blog.storybookstoshare.com
(603) 749-9932 or (603) 534-3655

Find me on Facebook and Twitter

Want a little . . . place an order!
Want a Lot . . . Host a Storybooking Party!
Want It ALL! . . . Join My Team!

Christmas in July Heritage Makers Idea for 7/16 - Sending Cards with our Address Book

Did you know that your free Heritage Makers account comes with an Address Book? It's the fast and convenient way to send your cards! Just log in to your Heritage Makers account. From your My Studio page, click "My Account" and then at the top of the page click "Address Book". You can enter your friends and family - anyone you'd like to send a card to. Heritage Makers will directly ship any card you create to your recipient in a beautiful individually addressed envelope with your return address on it! You can send out cards individually for a special occasion like a birthday or anniversary, or send out your entire batch of holiday greeting cards, all without ever having to lick a stamp! Just create your card and choose Direct Shipping when checking out - then pick your recipient(s) and off it goes!

And the best part is, your friends and family will receive a card custom designed by you - a much more personal touch than a generic greeting card! You can include photos, artwork, and any special message you wish! I've even scanned in my own handwriting for cards! Or choose one of our templates from the Template Gallery to give you some creative inspiration!

Here is the Holiday Card I sent out last year - it's a Heritage Makers Invitation - which is a double sided postcard that comes in an envelope. I designed the first side with my family photo, and the back side has pictures and captions about everything we did in 2008. I entered my addresses into my Heritage Makers address book and had all the cards sent out automatically! What a time saver & my family and friends LOVED them!

And, of course, all of our Cards, Postcards, and Invitations are on sale in our Christmas in July Sale! Get a great discount and get your cards done early! Imagine how great you'll feel if your Holiday Cards are done and ready to be mailed with a click of a button - another item checked off your Holiday List! I can help you get it done - just call or e-mail me and you'll be on your way to a Stress-Free Holiday!

I hope you are enjoying my Christmas in July tips this month! Please write me a comment and tell me what you like, or feel free to request something in particular - I'd love to hear what you'd like to see here on my blog! And, each post you comment on will give you another entry in my 5 x 5 Storybook Credit Giveaway! I'm off for some fun family time for the next couple of days, so be on the lookout at the end of the weekend for my next post!

Have a great day & Happy Storybooking everyone!

~ Tiffany

Tiffany Brand, M.Ed. - Your Story and Photo Preservation Expert!
Storybooks to Share, LLC - Heritage Makers Independent Consultant
TiffanyBrand@StorybooksToShare.com
My Heritage Makers Site: http://www.StorybooksToShare.com
News, classes, ideas, specials, and more at my weblog:  http://blog.storybookstoshare.com
(603) 749-9932 or (603) 534-3655

Find me on Facebook and Twitter

Want a little . . . place an order!
Want a Lot . . . Host a Storybooking Party!
Want It ALL! . . . Join My Team!

Christmas in July Heritage Makers Idea for 7/15 - Calendar Creativity!

I give Heritage Makers calendars to my family as a gift every year. In fact, my Mom checks in with me just to make sure that I'm still doing it - she has pretty much told me that I *will* give her a new calendar each year with photos of the kids...it's mandatory!! :) It's a good thing that Heritage Makers Calendars are so easy and fun to create!

Here's a picture of my parents and my daughter with the calendar I created for them for 2009. February is Alexandra's birthday month...and if you notice on the calendar, I placed a tiny photo of her on her birthday square! Isn't that a fun idea? It's a unique touch you can easily add to your own calendar with the Heritage Studio Publisher!

To help you create a beautiful calendar for your family, here's a video with some how-tos and ideas on putting one together - including how to put a little photo on a special date! Enjoy!

Click Here to watch the Heritage Makers Calendar Video Tutorial.

And don't forget, this month calendar credits are Buy 3 Get the 4th Free, so you can easily make multiple copies for your whole family! With this sale, each calendar is only $22, which is an amazing deal for this truly unique gift! As you watch this video, you'll see how creative you can get with the Heritage Studio Publisher - it goes well beyond what you can get with those bargain copy-shop one-size-fits-all photo calendars. It's simplicity and creativity you can only find with Heritage Makers!

You must buy your calendar credits this month to get the sale price, but you have plenty of time to create your calendar before the holidays! Call or e-mail me to order your calendar credits today!

Have fun creating your calendars everyone! And remember, add a comment to today's post for another chance to win a 5 x 5 Storybook Credit! Happy Storybooking everyone!

~ Tiffany

Tiffany Brand, M.Ed. - Your Story and Photo Preservation Expert!
Storybooks to Share, LLC - Heritage Makers Independent Consultant
TiffanyBrand@StorybooksToShare.com
My Heritage Makers Site: http://www.StorybooksToShare.com
News, classes, ideas, specials, and more at my weblog:  http://blog.storybookstoshare.com
(603) 749-9932 or (603) 534-3655

Find me on Facebook and Twitter

Want a little . . . place an order!
Want a Lot . . . Host a Storybooking Party!
Want It ALL! . . . Join My Team!