"History will be kind to me because I intend to write it."

(Winston Churchill said that.)

One of the enormous benefits that Heritage Makers digital storybooks offer over the traditional "photo books" you might see around is this:  THERE ARE NO LIMITS ON TEXT.  You can write as much text as you can fit on a page.  (There are also no limits on the amount of photos you can put on a page, but that's a blog post for a different day.)

What this means is that the story behind the photo, the reason it was taken, can be recorded without restriction.

This also means that you can create books that are largely text.  Heritage Makers, from the beginning, has never been a "photo book" company.  You can add photos, yes, even a lot of them, but we're all about the STORIES behind the photos.  Tell an adoption story, a love story, a survival story, or a life story.  As Mr. Churchill said, history will be kind to you if YOU are the one recording your personal history.

"You can make yourself life forever through writing.  Do not pass through life without leaving something behind for others to learn from your experience--even if no one but your children read it.  You may discover a you you've never known."  ~Antwone Fisher

Writing your own life story is more important than you think.  It has real benefits to you personally--take a minute to learn about them at that link.

Whether you are writing about yourself or someone else, there are a LOT of templates available.  Remember, too, that Heritage Makers templates are FULLY editable, so you can change anything you want.  Of course, you can create any book yourself instead of using a template, if you prefer.

As you get started on a life story, you might also appreciate a Story Map!

Story Maps are just PDF files that give you step-by-step instructions, with prompts, ideas, and an outline.  Access the Life Story Map here.

2023 UPDATE:  Heritage Makers and Snap2Finish became YPhoto under Youngevity (which purchased Heritage Makers in 2013).  YPhoto uses only templates, so the creativity showcased here is no longer available there, and they also no longer have capability to print previously-created projects like these from the old system. YPhoto is not a photo storage site like Heritage Makers was. 

Best-in-the-industry quality and permanent cloud photo storage with guaranteed privacy are required for anything recommended here by Photo & Story Treasures, so we highly recommend Forever for:  

·        creative digital scrapbooking applicable in a variety of photo products using Artisan software

·        easy photo-memory books using free AutoPrint and Design & Print software programs

·        private, permanent, secure, and guaranteed photo and video cloud storage (triple-backed-up and bank encrypted)

·        white glove digitizing services for old memories like VHS tapes, slides, old scrapbooks (scanning), 8mm film, audio tapes, and much more

Learn more here to  find similar products at top-quality with a 100% satisfaction guarantee.  The heirloom-quality legacy storybook below is just one example.

Tell your story!  Record the life story of a loved one.  Get started right here!  It's a priceless gift to your family!

Be sure to check out the current sales and this additional savings option, too.  If you have any questions, just contact me!

How to find MONEY for Memory-Keeping

This is a continuation of the previous week's post which talked about finding TIME for memory-keeping.  This post was updated in 2024.

The results of my recent poll here on my blog (asking for the biggest obstacle to preserving photos & their memories) had MONEY coming in second.  38% of my poll-takers said money is their biggest obstacle to memory-keeping.

On Pinterest, a hashtag I often use is #icanhelp.  It's one of the things I love most about what I do!  I really LOVE helping people preserve their photos and memories because they are irreplaceable.   

First shoes = $20

First day of school clothes = $40

First bicycle = $100

Photos and memories of those events preserved so they can be easily accessed and loved = PRICELESS

So let's brainstorm some ways to take out the money obstacle so you can preserve those priceless photos and memories!  

Let's start with how many things cost $30.  Here's what my brainstorming comes up with:

• 2 tickets to a movie without popcorn
• a just-released hardbound book 
• almost a pair of jeans
• 3 or 4 12-packs of Diet Coke/Pepsi/pick-your-poison
• 5-ish trips to Starbucks (mmmm... peppermint hot chocolate)
• one of my favorite scented candles
• a manicure

This is a list of things that are obviously great, right?!

You know what else costs $30?  

One month of Forever Club (which is free to join, and you can quit/re-join any time).  Here's what you get for your $30:

• 5% off Forever products and services (so, technically, your $30 actually gets you more than $30 worth!)
• $30 to spend on Forever products  (i.e. memory keeping!  If your desired book/item costs more than $30, just stay on Club another month because your Forever Club Dollars never expire.  This means you can save up over time to purchase larger items!)
• highest-quality memory-keeping around!!  
• guaranteed photo privacy (not the case with most online photo companies)
• one more perk with photo storage--I'll explain that below.

Or use your $30 towards Forever services like the Forever Box (digitizing VHS tapes, etc.) or Forever Storage (for photo, video, audio, and PDF files, guaranteed for your lifetime + 100 years) or for Artisan (digital scrapbooking software).

If you do purchase permanent Forever Storage and you're a Club member for 3 consecutive months, you get additional storage free!  (I do this, and even though I'm taking more pictures, I don't think I'll ever have to buy more photo storage ever again!)  The $30 Club gives you 1/2 GB every 3 months, the $60 Club gives you 1 GB every 3 months (and on up), but you can also combine Clubs (like if $90/month is your sweet spot, join both $30 and $60, and the you'll get 1 1/2 GB of free storage every 3 months).

I hope this brainstorming is helpful.  I know money is always a consideration in life, but in my years of being a Photo & Story Treasures consultant, I've often been surprised to see what people who tell me they don't have enough money for memory-keeping end up spending their money on.  Sometimes just stopping to reconsider things can be helpful.

There are two other ways to save money on Forever products & services, too!  Deals (sales) and Referral Rewards:

I recommend those three savings methods to everyone!

One other option is to not *save* money for memory-keeping, but instead *make* money for memory-keeping.   

Trust me, you DO NOT have to be a salesman (hello, how do you think *I'm doing this?? ha) to be a memory-keeping consultant.  You just have to be passionate about memory-keeping (or willing to learn).  My consultant team (Team Wise: The Rising Phoenix) is a really low-pressure place to be.  I'm just here to help.  Learn more about making memory-keeping your business (side gig or full-time work) here.

*Here's my story of being an introvert in an extroverted direct-sales world.

The great thing about any money you spend on memory-keeping is that it is an investment.  

In 10 years, you won't remember the movie you spent $30 on, and in 3 months the scented candle will have lost its scent.  But memory-keeping is actually investing in your family, creating priceless connections, raising self-esteem, and even increasing happiness.  

Actual miracles can happen through memory-keeping.  Read more, including studies done on the subject, by clicking right here.

So don't let money be an obstacle to memory-keeping any longer!  Use the 3 (or 4) savings methods mentioned here, then get started at this link.

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How do you find TIME for memory-keeping?

I ran a poll here on the blog for about six weeks, asking what the biggest obstacle is to preserving photos and the memories that go with them.

61% of you said TIME
38% of you said MONEY
And, wouldn't you know, 0% said INTEREST.

A hashtag I often use is #icanhelp.  It's one of the things I love most about what I do!  So let's see how I can help you today!  

You have the interest in preserving your photos & their memories, so let's get you the time.  (We'll talk about money next time.)

First off, it's important to remember that nobody ever "finds" time for anything.  We don't often have 6 extra hours or 2 extra days with nothing to do.  We MAKE time for everything we do.  

I attended a women's conference back a thousand years ago when I was in college.  One of the things that was said was:

"If we didn't have too much to do, we wouldn't know 

what was important."  -Jeanne Innoyue

Don't read on too fast here.  Think about that statement.  We are meant to prioritize.  And it's hard, I know.  I am SO there.  But when we have to prioritize, we learn more about what is really important.  

So let your photos and their memories be important, because you already know they are.

Remember this graphic I posted a few months ago?

One of the things that stuck out to me the most when I did the research for this graphic is that we would have 5 more hours a week if we just stayed away from Facebook.  (approximately)  Or how many more hours if we didn't watch so much TV?  Now, I'm not saying that you should give up Facebook or TV, but what if you just cut your time in half?  Or what if you just took 2 days off from Facebook or TV or sports?   

And how about that 90 Minutes For Life idea?  What if you just spent 15 minutes a day with your photos and their memories?  I must say, too, that once you get in the habit, it's easy to keep doing.  

Enlist help if you need to!  Find a memory-keeping buddy who needs time to scrapbook (or storybook) just like you do and report to each other.  Find a family member who can work with you.  

I know a gal who is a business coach, and one of her fabulous tips that she repeats a lot is:

"If it takes more than 15 minutes, it should be on your calendar."  

I can't even tell you how quickly my calendar fills up.  I'm (mostly) a SAHM (a complete misnomer because I'm not home that much!), and usually when someone asks me if I can do something next week, it's already full.  So I can tell you that this tip is absolutely true.  

I LOVE memory-keeping, and it is SO EASY because I have a method that works so well for me, and I could happily spend hours and hours doing it.  But when my calendar gets full and I have a memory-keeping project I really need to get done, I put it on my calendar.  Thursday afternoon I am spending two hours on this book, period.  Then I just don't schedule things over it!  It's how I prioritize.  

I have too much to do, just like you, so this is how I make sure the important things get done:  calendar it!

How many of the ideas I've gone over so far sound good to you?  Which ones would especially work for you?

I have a lot more tips for simple steps to memory-keeping right here, too.  See which of them help you the most.  

One of the best things I do to make sure my memory-keeping gets done is I work with other people.  You can work with me and our little memory-keeping community if you like (it's so fun!)--just check that link to see what's coming up.

Whatever you do, when you work with someone else, it's easier to get things done because you've committed to another person that you'll be working at the time you've reserved on your calendar. 

Which of these ideas and tips will YOU use to MAKE time for memory-keeping?  

Be a Heritage MAKER, not a Photo Keeper.

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Christmas cards & letters MADE EASY!

It's that time of year!  Such a fun time to send and receive greetings to and from loved ones. 

Let me help you ENJOY December!  Get in your Heritage Makers account now and get those cards or letters done in a snap so they're ready to go out before the busy-ness hits later on. 

UPDATE 2021:  You're invited to the Umpteenth Annual Online Enjoy December Card Party!  Click there for all the details, and join us!

2023 UPDATE:  Heritage Makers and Snap2Finish became YPhoto under Youngevity (which purchased Heritage Makers in 2013).  YPhoto uses only templates, so the creativity showcased here is no longer available there, and they also no longer have capability to print previously-created projects like these from the old system. YPhoto is not a photo storage site like Heritage Makers was. 

Best-in-the-industry quality and permanent cloud photo storage with guaranteed privacy are required for anything recommended here by Photo & Story Treasures, so we highly recommend Forever for:  

·        creative digital scrapbooking applicable in a variety of photo products using Artisan software

·        easy photo-memory books using free AutoPrint and Design & Print software programs

·        private, permanent, secure, and guaranteed photo and video cloud storage (triple-backed-up and bank encrypted)

·        white glove digitizing services for old memories like VHS tapes, slides, old scrapbooks (scanning), 8mm film, audio tapes, and much more

Learn more here to  find similar products at top-quality with a 100% satisfaction guarantee.

________________________________________________

Gotta run...  I have some super cool ideas for my own Christmas greetings this year!

How to Give Gifts That Won't Be Re-Gifted

This post was updated in 2023.

Raise of hands--who would like to give amazing gifts (that are sure to be loved and not re-gifted) without the hassle of going to the store???  How great would that be??  Well, you're in luck because I'm about to tell you how.

These gifts are meaningful, personal, and never-to-be-forgotten.  They are guaranteed to not be re-gifted!

From photos and memories of a special event preserved in professionally-designed pages (even if you're "not a scrapbooker") to

a personalized notebook (hardbound or spiral-bound) where you can choose lined, dotted, blank, graph, or bullet journal pages.

How about some more fun and fast ideas?  Printed at the highest quality in the industry?  Yes, please!  

You can find coaster sets, steel water bottles, mugs, ornaments, cards, calendars, and many more possibilities at the Design & Print-- a free software program by Forever.  Even memory books come together quickly using the beautiful (free) Design & Print templates.  Each template for any of these items has photo and text place holders that you just fill in!  It's so quick and easy.

And let's be real--who COULDN'T use a "10 reasons I love you" book?  (Find the neutral template here and the pastel template here.)

To be guided right through a few more fun and fast ideas, step by step, have a look at my previous Fast, Fun Friday! events right here. 

And here's a special one I just made (2023).  My daughter is one of the hardest workers I know, so when she graduated from college we took her on a trip of her choosing.  She chose Ireland--a place she'd dreamed of going, and a place that I never knew I wanted to go.  It will always be in my heart.  It's the most beautiful place!  So I made her a plush blanket with pictures from our trip.  I can't believe the vivid colors of this gorgeous blanket showcasing some true favorite moments and locations.

Note: There are many awesome blanket templates in Design & Print, 
Forever's free software, but I created this using Artisan, Forever's 
digital scrapbooking software so I could use my own font for Ireland. 

This is the preview of my blanket before printing.

Another one of my favorites for a fast but top-quality gift is the Tabletop Panel.  It is a lovely way to showcase photos, but it has another pretty great feature.

It has a glossy surface, so you can actually write on it with a dry-erase marker!  I absolutely love my meal planner Tabletop Panel!

Let's get this show on the road!  Here's all you need to do to make unforgettable, beautiful, high-quality, personalized gifts.  Get started with these three steps:

1. Make a list of family members and friends you'd like to give gifts to.  Dream big!  Gift-giving with Photo & Story Treasures means you can give something really special.  Club means you don't have to pay for it all at once!
2. Next, explore lots of ideas here and see the different possibilities for printing meaningful gifts here, from an "easy-button" publishing platform to a quick & simple template platform to a fully creative and flexible digital scrapbooking platform.  It doesn't matter which one you choose because all the projects you print are heirloom-quality and include a 100% satisfaction guarantee.
3. Don't miss additional savings, too!  You can see current Deals (sales) here.   (And this is another fabulous option for more savings.) 

Give yourself a couple of weeks for printing and shipping.  I love doing this at Christmastime because I get all my "shopping" is DONE in November, which means I can relax in December!!  

Now THAT'S a great idea!

Don't hesitate to contact me with questions!  I love helping people create and give such meaningful gifts.  Check out the Christmas in September plan for more ideas and savings.

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