Storybooks To Share

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!

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 7/22 - 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 7/15 - 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!

Gifts & Ideas & Giveways - Check Back Each Day for the Fun!

It's Christmas in July fun at the Storybooks to Share Blog - and you can get great holiday gift ideas, Heritage Studio tips & tricks, and can enter for a chance to win prizes including a 5 x 5 Storybook Credit - one of my favorite Storybooks for gift giving! Here's a fun 5 x 5 storybook I made for my daughter's dance Christmas show - I made one for her, and then by changing out the cover and center photos, I made one for a couple of the other girls at the studio too!

Check my weblog each day Mon-Sat through July  - http://blog.storybookstoshare.com - and I'll have a new tip or idea - and some days there will be chances to win prizes! In fact, to place your first entry into my 5 x 5 storybook credit drawing, just add a comment to this message to say hello!

It's going to be a fun and idea-filled Christmas in July here at the Storybooks to Share blog! Keep coming back to join in the fun!

Tiffany's Tips - Double Sided Scanning

Have you inherited boxes of photos from parents, grand parents, or great grandparents? Did they write on the backs of their photos? Double sided scanning is the answer! Just set up a Personal Scanning Appointment with me and gather all of the photos that have writing on the back that you want to preserve. I'll run them through my scanner, and automatically it will scan both sides of the photo giving you two images - one of the photo, and one of the back with the handwriting. Here's an example of a photo of me with my Mom's handwriting on the back:

Once it is scanned, you can not only use the photo in your Heritage Makers project, but you can use the handwriting as well. Here's an example of a 12 x 12 Heritage Makers Scrapbook Page I created just using a small amount of the handwriting - just the date which I placed under the photo. You can use as much or as little as you want (just use the Crop tool to select just what you need) - and the handwriting and the story is preserved beautifully! Just give me a call if you want to try it out - and I'll show you how it's done!

 

(digital scrapbooking kit from http://scrappersguide.com - "Play" by Amanda Heimann)

Tiffany's Tips - Making a Calendar with a Heritage Makers Template

Heritage Makers templates are so cool! They are beautiful, easy to use, and completely customizable so you can truly make them your own. Watch this tutorial on how to create a calendar using a Heritage Makers template - from simply dropping in your photos to customizing the look by adding elements. The photo shows the finished November Calendar page that you'll make by following the steps of this tutorial.

Watch the tutorial here:
http://www.screencast-o-matic.com/watch/cj6tirnlT

Take a Calendar Class:

To learn more about making calendars with Heritage Makers (including a few tricks about this page that I didn't show in the video tutorial), take my Calendars Class! I am scheduling dates for November now - Call me at (603) 749-9932  or e-mail me at TiffanyBrand@StorybooksToShare.com to choose a date and sign up!

Tiffany's Tips: New Feature - Undo!

Made a mistake while working on your Heritage Makers project? Don't Panic! Just Undo it with our new Undo command! Found under the Edit menu in our Heritage Studio publisher, it will Undo the last thing you did! So, never worry about making a mistake - you can always fix it with Undo!

Click this link to read all about how the Undo command works in our Help & FAQ area.

Happy Storybooking!

Tiffany's Tips - Paste Format

Hey everyone! Welcome to a new section of my weblog - Tiffany's Tips. Periodically I'll post some tips and tricks to help you get the most out of Heritage Studio. Today's tip is a short video tutorial on using one of my favorite shortcuts in Heritage Studio - the Paste Format command. It's a great way to easily copy your favorite formatting from one picture/element to another. Click the link below to watch my tutorial - and leave me a comment and let me know what you think!

Tiffany's Tip for June 17, 2008 - Paste Format