Temple Canvas

I want to share a project with you. I photographed a couple of weddings at the temple last summer. The temple is a very meaningful place for me and for my family. It is a representation, to me, of my belief that our family can be together forever.

So, when I was looking through the photos from one of these weddings and came across a favourite, I decided to make it into a canvas through Heritage Makers. We didn't have a photo of the temple hanging in our home yet, and I liked the idea of having one displayed that I had taken, of the temple where we were married.

So, here it is:


I'm really happy with it! :)

The Oma Book

About 6 months ago I embarked on a project.

I had known for years that I wanted to document the stories of my Oma (my dad's mom)'s life. She grew up in Holland and emigrated to Canada when my dad was very young. She lived through a war. She's a spunky woman with a ton of stories. It needed to be done, and I wanted to do it.

Finally, in May of last year, I heard about Heritage Makers. I became a consultant and I started planning my project.


Here's what I did:

1. Together with my dad, I used Heritage Makers' "Life Story" Story Map (a collection of questions/topics to focus on in tellings someone's life story), to interview my Oma. He videotaped each of our interview sessions.

2. I started listing to the video & typing out the stories. (I included notes & questions about the spelling of Dutch names & places, and other details)

3. I would send my typed stories to my parents to review & they would take them with them on dinners out with my Oma, have her read them and correct them and add details.

4. I borrowed photo albums from my Oma & spent some time scanning old photos.


5. I chose an 8.5x11" storybook template from Heritage Makers that I liked the basic look of and went to work uploading photos and organizing them with their stories, into the template, and then altering it as I went.

6. I had family members review the final edit before ordering the book & counting down the days until its arrival at my doorstep!

I was so happy to see the completed project & to be able to give it to my Oma for Christmas. I could see that it meant a lot to her, and it means a lot to her family (each of her children got a copy).

I am so grateful for this wonderful keepsake that I will have to always remember my Oma's life, and that I will be able to share with my children and tell them her stories as they get older.

Personalized ABC Book

I made this ABC Book for my girls, from a Heritage Makers template. It was so easy to do - just upload your photos, change a few of the words, and publish! I love it!

Can't wait to show you a similar project that I should be receiving in the mail any day now!



(You'll notice my little product notes in the photo- if you didn't arleady know this, I'm a Heritage Makers consultant ;) So, if you want to make your own, you can sign up under me & I'm here for you when you have questions- just shoot me an email! :)

And if you're interested in becoming a consultant, let me know & I can send you some great info! :)

Want an extra entry in this week's giveaway? Become a follower & comment on this entry to let me know you did! (Or if you're already a follower, let me know! :)

Personalized Bracelet- Last Chance!

I recently received my personalized keepsake bracelet from Heritage Makers!
I really love it!


I wanted to share it with you now because Heritage Makers has decided not to sell photo jewellery much longer (at least for now). So, August is the last month to order! They're having a sale as well, so it's the perfect time, and last chance to get one for yourself! If you're interested, there is also a necklace available (with 1 or 3 charms, and you can order extras).

If you want to order one, just click here to sign up for a free account & get started, or send me an email & I can help you out! :)

Playing Cards

This was my first Heritage Makers project!



I made this deck of cards for Vanessa, from her engagement photos.

I'm so happy with the way that they turned out!

I used a template for these that was originally for recipe cards- I love how easy they are to change into what you want!

If you'd like to try your hand at making some of these cards, click this link & sign up for a free basic account to give it a try!

If you love them as much as I do, you can get a great deal on playing cards this month with Heritage Makers' Christmas in July Sale! (Send me an email if you want details! raisingmemories@gmail.com)

Sharing Time

I loved this button headband idea from last week's Sharing Time- and I love that you can involve your daughter in the project!


And this DIY Bikewash? Awesome- looks sooo fun!!

Heidi's Heritage Home

I found out about Heritage Makers at a conference for Women in Toronto. I was able to meet Heidi Arave there and have since spoken with her on the phone. She's great! Here is a short video of her, showing how she has used Heritage Makers to decorate her home. There are some great ideas in it- I love it! Take a look & see what I'm talking about :)



If you're interested in checking Heritage Makers out, click on this link to look around!

Heritage Makers

I'm excited to tell you my news!

I've become a consultant for Heritage Makers!

It's really a cool company and when I started learning more about it, I got more and more excited about it. I have a love for creating and documenting memories. I've been doing that through the things I've shared on this blog, and I've been capturing as many memories as I can with my camera- for my own family and for others. But now I'm excited to add another piece to that!

I love the products from Heritage Makers!
Keep reading if you want to know what you can do with them!


Photo Storybooks
"Photos without stories are just memories forgotten"
Isn't that true? How many times have you looked back on a photo from years before & wondered what was going on?

What I like about Heritage Makers' books compared with the others I have tried:
- they focus on telling stories
- they have tons of scrapbook elements
- they have tons of ready-to-go (yet editable) scrapbook-y templates (so you don't have to spend forever to make it look cool if you don't want to!)
- you don't have to be scrapbook-y if you don't want to either- your books can be simple and classic, too!
- there is complete freedom as far as your layouts go- yay!!


Canvases
That picture is of the canvas I just posted about of ours, so it's not actually from Heritage Makers, but you can get wrapped canvases just like this one and in various sizes, from Heritage Makers- and the prices are excellent! I'm so excited about it & can't wait to choose something to have made into a canvas!


Jewellery!
I'm really excited about this, too! Heritage Makers has bracelets and necklaces with your own photos on them!


Playing Cards
These cards get me so excited because I've been wanting to design a deck of memory cards for a while now, that would be personalized with the pictures of my neices, nephews, and other relatives. We have a lot who live far away so it would be a fun way to remind my girls of their cousins, aunts, and uncles who are far away, and for them to feel less distant!
Also, these are totally customizable so they don't have to be used as a deck of cards- there are so many fun things you could use them for!

More Stuff, Too!
In the interest of keeping this post from taking over your life, I'll just make a list of some of the other cool products offered:

- personalized greeting cards
- postcards
- calendars
- posters
- spiral bound books
- board books
- and more!

Go, check out my Heritage Makers website now! It's awesome & you won't want to miss it!