canvas exchange blocks (or, the coolest thing you've ever seen in home decor)

THIS IS AMAZING.

I know I mostly show you great memory-keeping ideas, photo preservation information, and easy ways to scrapbook digitally and tell family stories with Heritage Makers, but this is way too fun not to share. 

You might already know that in the last couple of years, Heritage Makers has added 2 paper scrapbooking and crafting lines.  One of those lines, Anthology, has quite a bit of crafting & DIY products now, too. 

This is called the Canvas Exchange (from Anthology).  I know it's hard to tell what you even do with that from this photo, but don't worry.  I've got it covered.

That photo is the Canvas Exchange Starter Set.  Next, Canvas Exchange Set 2 came out, and that's what I'll show you here.  I got the block kit separately (the starter set comes with it), which looked like this when it came:

And Canvas Exchange Set 2 was rolled up nicely in this tube.  Here is what the canvas pieces look like:

Few little instructions there, too!

I painted the blocks (with minimal sanding--good news for me since I really hate sanding)!

Once they're dry, I was ready to go.

So the canvas pieces have this sticky backing on them.  But not sticky like you think.  This stuff can be used about 100 times (literally).  Stick on, peel off, replace, exchange.  Repeat.

But the first thing you need to do is cut the long pieces in half so they can wrap around two blocks.

 

Then the rest of the "work" is just peel & stick.   

And a top view so you can see the strips around the side better.

The fun thing about the Canvas EXCHANGE is the exchange part.  Each Canvas Exchange Set comes with 3 sets of canvas.  I personally just store them on a 12x12 page protector for scrapbook pages.  They just stick right on there.

 And they stick to any smooth surface, by the way.  You may notice the long strips missing from the black & cream blocks.  It's because I used it to decorate my laptop.  True story.

I exchanged the "enjoy the ride" for the "be awesome today."  It's going on my piano.  How cute is this?

Because the blocks are sold separately, I could even get an extra set of blocks for a different room!

And just in time for the 4th of July, I got Canvas Exchange Set 3, which I absolutely ADORE!

There's a spring-ish set that says "I love people who smile when it's raining" with companion pieces of a rain boot and flowers.  There's a travel set that says "Adventure is out there" and "let's get lost" with an airplane piece.  Then there's the Independence Day ones with "USA, happy 4th of July" and "The United States of America, independent since 1776," and fireworks.

I LOVE this set!!

Just like the last set, I cut the strips in half first:

 Woops.  The photo is sideways.  At the right you can see the completed blocks.  Remember--I just peeled off the decor from the same set of blocks.  I'm just EXCHANGING the sticky canvas pieces.

And here they are on my piano.

 *adore*

New canvas sets are coming out each month, too, so you can pick & choose and get something you love.  Swapping them out is so fun!  I think my favorite part is that it's cute DIY home decor with next to ZERO effort.

Canvas Exchange Sets and Blocks are available at www.heritagemakers.com/jenniferwise by clicking "products" then "Anthology."  It's fun & easy DIY!

I change lives for a living.

This is what I love about what I do.  So many people have a batrillion digital photos and

1. don't have a good system for actually doing something with them
2. are overwhelmed at the amount of photos they have
3. don't think they have the time to do anything with their photos

Photos need to be held, loved, seen, looked at, and interacted with.  They need to be enjoyed.

And the truth is, we need our photos.  Life at its best is a little rough, don't you think?  But photos preserved are roses in December.  Photos and memories have the power to lift us, to change us.

I love inspiring people to do something with their photos, but mostly I love giving them SOLUTIONS.  Talking about it is great, but unless there's something to SOLVE the issue, what's the point?

I promise you right now that there's no time like the present.  I know that it's tempting to think things like "after the summer is over," or "once I get the yard done" or "after this big thing I have going on at work" or "when my kids get older" or ...   But the truth is that as soon as that one thing happens or gets done, another one will take its place.  I heard someone once say that we have too much to do so that we will learn what's really important.  So please don't get tricked into thinking that some day in the future you will have more opportunities to do something with your photos.  The time is right now.

THE SOLUTION:  A PRACTICAL PROCESS TO DOING SOMETHING WITH YOUR PHOTOS
1.  Choose a memory-keeping solution that works for you.  Click the red tab above called "3 memory-keeping options" to see which one fits you best.  Overall, I suggest Heritage Makers digital memory-keeping because it goes quickly and has fewer steps than paper memory-keeping, and you can make multiple copies, and you can use a template.  My YouTube channel is the the sidebar--check out the video tutorials there and you'll be a pro at Heritage Makers software ("Studio") in no time.  My secondary suggestion would be for people who either already have printed photos that they don't want to scan or people who aren't computer-savvy, in which case I would recommend the Pocket Pages from Anthology.
2.  Make time.  We never "find" time for anything--we MAKE it.  Can you cut out 2 hours of Facebook/TV/etc. time each week?  Can you enlist the help of your kids so it's a project you're doing together?  Can you reserve the same time of the day each week--Sunday mornings or Friday nights--as YOUR memory-keeping time?  My suggestion is to actually put it on your calendar--truly MAKE TIME for your memory-keeping.
3.  Get some help.  Are you a little overwhelmed at how to start?  Is time an issue?  Is money an issue?  Would working with someone else help you DO your good intentions?   I've been coaching people on memory-keeping for over 11 years now, and I've listed several tips in the red tab above called "helpful tips."  See if there's a suggestion for overcoming your particular struggle.  If nothing else, remember that I hire out to make Heritage Makers projects for people.  I can get everything organized and ready for you to finish (with names, dates, memories, etc.) if you prefer.

As a Heritage Makers consultant, I CONSULT.  So don't hesitate to contact me for suggestions, ideas, pointers, or help getting started.  My contact information is in the "contact me" tab above in red.  Or here, too:

Don't let your babies grow up to be jpegs.  Let me help you navigate the world of too many photos and too little time.  #icanhelp

creative business or party FAVORS

There are SO MANY creative and clever and fun things you can do with Heritage Makers labels!  These are nice labels and you can use all the Heritage Makers digital art you want on them!  You can COMPLETELY CUSTOMIZE these labels for your use--business thank-you, graduation party, birthday (party or even invitation!), retirement party, wedding, etc., etc.  I have only made favors from Heritage Makers (regular size) address labels, {which I posted about here}--but if you missed it, you should definitely check it out!!  They are so cute and such a great price!  Today, though, I want to show you some fun thank-yous I'm using for a business event I have coming up that use the large address labels.

This "love potion no. 9" is an address label used for a Valentine's Day gift.  CUTE, HUH??  You can see a lot of examples of fun uses for Heritage Makers large address labels if you go to www.heritagemakers.com/jenniferwise and click "products" then "home and office" then "large address labels" if you just scroll down and look at some of the templates.   Of course, you can use a template or just design something yourself.

You can use the large address labels to just stick on something, of course

 or design them to fold over a little gift bag, like this:

BTW, I saw somewhere that these wrap nicely around Kit Kats, too, if you're thinking of a fun, PERSONAL gift or favor.

I saw a template that was for Tic Tacs!  If you cut these labels in half, they fold over Tic Tacs just right!  So I wanted to give it a try.  I created the labels in my Heritage Makers account, basing them off a template, but changing pretty much everything to match my current business colors and the message I wanted on these favors.  Then I submitted them for publishing in the Heritage Makers system.  They were printed on their awesome printing press and shipped right to my door.

I made two per label, of course, so I could cut them in half and they'd be the right size for Tic Tacs.

Then I just peeled them off and put them on the Tic Tac boxes.

For me, this is a business thank-you.  But this could be used for birthday parties or any number of things.  The digital art that's included with Heritage Makers products is what makes these so fun! 

The large address labels come in a set of 12 for $3.94 (Gold Club price)--though this particular project was 2 per label, so I got 24 out of it.   So each "Tic Tac cover" only cost me 16 cents!  Not bad, right??  Make yours at www.heritagemakers.com/jenniferwise  And celebrate something fun!

getting your Heritage Makers package is just like Christmas

If you have yet to receive a Heritage Makers box in the mail, you are in for a treat.  I'm not exaggerating at all when I say it feels like Christmas.

Heritage Makers is fabulous--you create your own items online in your account using a template or on your own.  Then you submit them for publishing on Heritage Makers' quarter-of-a-million dollar printing press!  They arrive at your doorstep in about 7-10 business days.  You can track your packages online in your account and count down the days until arrival, or you can be pleasantly surprised.  That's what I did this time!  And when the mailman rang the doorbell and walked away, I thought, "Hm.  What could that be for?  OH!  Wait a minute..."

 And that's when I ran to the door.  It really did feel like Christmas morning as a kid.

This Heritage Makers order was mostly business items for myself, but it also included a book I'd been working on for quite a while for my son's 12th birthday--a book called "All About Me."  Yes, I was so excited that I forgot to take a photo of the book itself after I opened it from the wrapping, but the book IS there at the upper right underneath that page that says "Every story deserves a book of its own."  I was SO happy to get that back in the mail for me to give to my son!

The business part of this order was mostly labels.  The ones that say "Although this catalog may be old, take a look and you'll be sold," are DARLING and they make re-using old catalogs look pretty cool.  :)

I was really excited to get my new business cards!!  I love the double-sided ones because I can get more information on them.  Believe it or not, I got three different business cards!  This is my main one:

Heritage Makers (digital publishing, memory-keeping, and storybooking) is my main focus in my business.  I've been doing it since 2005!  In the last couple of years, we've added two paper memory-keeping and crafting lines, and in the coming months we'll add a simpler digital publishing line called Snap2Finish that can create books and other items straight from PDFs, Photoshop, social media, and more.  So my second business card covers ALL the possibilities available to you right at my Heritage Makers website. 

There is SO MUCH amazing stuff to see and know about Heritage Makers that I have a separate business card with just my social media links!

So if you want to brighten your day, order something from Heritage Makers!  I'm serious!  Create something fun or meaningful, a gift or home decor or something for your business.  It's like having more Christmases!  :)

Open your Heritage Makers account at www.heritagemakers.com/jenniferwise by clicking "sign up" at the upper right.  Here's a little beginner video tutorial to get you started:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6-iktLXqj0

These are your photos on a flash drive. Any questions?

Who remembers this?

Well, photos aren't so different.

These are your photos.

 

These are your photos on a flash drive.

 

Any questions?

It seems like so many people these days are so concerned with saving their photos digitally.  They want to make sure they have digital backups in case of a computer crash or hard drive failure.  And this is good!  

But scroll back up and take a long look at that flash drive.  What does that do for you?  Does it bring a smile to your face when you remember that special trip or that wedding?  Are you remembering what it felt like to watch that baby take his first step?  Nope.  It's a piece of hardware.  The pictures are hidden, and they don't have any details with them to help you remember.  So a flash drive does nothing for you.

So here's what we're gonna do.  We're going to preserve the photos digitally but we're also going to PRESERVE THEM IN PRINT.  That's the only MEANINGFUL way there is to preserve photos!  They need to be seen and interacted with, not just stored.

So let's solve this in 3 steps.

#1  Open your account at www.heritagemakers.com/jenniferwise.  Accounts are free.  You can even create your items for free using the Heritage Makers Studio software.  (If you want to use Premier art, you can get it free with Club HM... which also happens to be a free program!  See the Club HM tab in red above.)

#2  Choose the best memory-keeping option for YOU.  Read about the three memory-keeping options offered at my website by clicking "3 memory-keeping options" above in red.

#3  If you are using Heritage Makers digital publishing, upload your photos (see photo below to see Heritage Makers products).  You can see a brief video introduction to Heritage Makers that will guide you through getting started here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6-iktLXqj0

 You can use a Heritage Makers template, or you can create your own products from scratch.  If you would like a little tutorial about using a template, you can find it here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNWCVv9u88M

At my YouTube channel, you can also find additional tutorials (a series) called "Getting Started With HM" that go into a lot more detail about ALL the buttons and things Heritage Makers can do.  Some people prefer just knowing the basics, while others like knowing a lot of tips and tricks and more complicated features.  It can be as simple or as complicated as you want.  And that's the beauty of Heritage Makers.

If you need a little help getting caught up, you might be interested in the "Scrapbooking For Hire" information found at the red tab above.

If you need some tips and helps to get started, the "helpful tips" tab above is an excellent resource, too.

And as a consultant (...you'll never guess...)  I consult!  So I'm always here to answer questions, bounce ideas off of, and give pointers as needed.  You can contact me at the "contact me" tab above.

  

You're starting something amazing!  Getting your photos off your flash drive and into hands so they can be loved is an absolute gift.

fun, affordable, easy-to-store Christmas decor and gifts

Oh, are you in for a TREAT!!  I just made these for a "Christmas in July" event I'm doing. 

Remember when I said that Heritage Makers products are very versatile, and they're fun because you can turn them into whatever you want?

I present to you today (*drum roll*):

Christmas decor made from playing cards.

Yes, I'm serious.

Not like this:

Although you certainly COULD make those for fabulous, keeps-on-giving Christmas gifts.

But today I'm talking about Christmas decor (which could also be given as a gift) from playing cards.  Like this:

 This banner is made from part of a deck of playing cards.  (I actually get 5 of these from 1 deck of cards.)  This would be so cute on a mantel!  (Mine is currently under construction, or I would have taken a picture of it at my fireplace.)

And, of course, they just fold up on each other for easy storage.

And speaking of versatile...  I used the same cards to make a centerpiece for the table.  I just punched the holes in different places and tied with ribbon.

And these, too, fold up nicely for storage.

 The backs of the cards look like this.

This particular design is in the Heritage Makers template gallery, so all you have to do is order it! 

And then I decided to make the same thing in a different style.  So this one isn't in the template gallery, but I'm very good at sharing!  (I can just transfer this project from my Heritage Makers account to yours.)  This message is "Peace on Earth."  Here's the banner version:

 

And here's the table decor version:

 I forgot I was going to try tying this one on the back, but you could do that if you want.

This is what the backs of the playing cards look like. 

And, again, these fold up nicely for storage.

Because a deck of cards comes with 54 cards, each playing card deck you get will make multiple items.  That's why I think it makes a great gift--make one for yourself, give the rest away!  The price can't be beat, either.  The "Be Merry" set has 10 cards, which comes to less than $4, plus the cost of the ribbon.  The "Peace on Earth" set has 16 cards, which comes to around $6.50, plus the cost of the ribbon.  These are fun and easy projects!

#getcrafty

Contact me for details on how to order these fun Christmas decor items!  My contact information can be found at the "contact me" tab in red above.  I also have a Gift Ideas online (or in-person) class where you and some friends can learn about lots of other AMAZING Heritage Makers gift ideas!  Contact me and let's save a date.