It's Beginning to look a lot like...

It's snowing here in Calgary, a LOT! And what better time to start thinking about the upcoming holidays than when it LOOKS like Christmas outside? :)

We just got our annual family photos done, just in time for the snow and the Christmas-card-feelings... and I've been playing around :)

Check out this Igloo Christmas Card I just had accepted to the gallery!


If you want to use it, it is Template ID: 96770 in our Template Gallery! You can find all of my templates by searching "spackman" in the search field :)

There are lots of beautiful Christmas (and other holiday) cards just waiting for you to customize and use this winter! And as always, if you need any help, just give me a shout!

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Template Spotlights: Faith and Inspiration

Spring is a time of inspiration for many people, and an important time for many different faiths. No matter what inspires you, you’ll find products in our Template Gallery which can be easily adapted as reflections of your family’s values or beliefs. From tiles to canvases and books to cards, the possibilities are endless.

“Inspirational Tiles” by Margaret Barrett (Template ID 51533) is a collection of inspirational quotes made from a 12 x 12 scrap page, cut into squares, and mounted on 6 inch tiles. This beautiful set can be used together or divided up and given as individual gifts. Our examples use quotes from Theodore Roosevelt, Judy Garland, Gandhi, Albert Einstein, Colin Powell, Booker T. Washington, and others. You can use those quotes provided, or find your own favorites in the “Quotes” tab in Studio.






Our beautiful 20 x 8 Wrapped Canvas titled “Breathe” by Wendy Bailey (Template ID 41825) is a great reminder to each of us in our busy lives to take a moment and enjoy. Featuring the famous – and relevant – quote, “This is not a dress rehearsal,” this contemporary and colorful design is both visually stunning and emotionally calming. A great addition to a kitchen, bath, or common area in your house, you can customize the colors to fit whichever room you choose.


With a wonderful quote from Walt Disney, our “Dream” 18 x 18 Wrapped Canvas Deep by Tanja Rigby (Template ID 45179) is sure to remind your son or daughter of the importance of believing in your dreams. Part of our “ready-in-an-instant” collection, this piece is perfect in a teen’s bedroom, family room, or the den. You can leave it as is, or take five minutes to change the colors to match your décor.







Another 20 x 8 Wrapped Canvas, “Become,” by Cassie Balser (Template ID 51633) features a beautiful quote that encourages you to live as you want to become. A contemporary design and colorful flowers make this a perfect gift for older teens, college students, and others who are beginning a new journey in life.


Designed by Tanja Rigby, “Peace” (Template ID 45069) is a striking visual presentation of a favorite Old Testament verse from Psalms. Colors can be changed to accommodate décor for this large 20 x 20 Wrapped Canvas.











“Serve the Lord 1” and “Serve the Lord 2" (Template IDs 51770 & 52809) are variations from the HM Signature Templates which draw upon the classic Old Testament verse “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Version 1 features a traditional Christian design, while Version 2 substitutes the LDS temple for the cross. Beautifully done in lighter shades, this inspiring quote is a constant reminder of what your family holds important.

Designed by Lynda Angelastro, this “Jewish Proverb” 12 x 12 Scrapbook Page (Template ID 52730) is a meaningful statement of a universal sentiment: Light is not recognized except through darkness. This beautiful image can be done on a ceramic tile as well.

Heritage Makers has a variety of ways to celebrate important religious observations your family may celebrate. Baptisms, christenings, Bar and Bat Mitzvahs, or First Communion events can all be made more special with a beautifully designed card or invitation.


“Boy 1^st Communion Invite” designed by Elise Mills (Template ID 28806) is an elegant and appropriate way to recognize a special young man on this important day.



The two baptism cards designed by JoEllen Scott "Baptism Card" (Template ID 6213) and "Boy’s Baptismal Card" (Template ID 6224) can be sent to honor the special boy or girl in your family who is making this important religious commitment.




Jill Means’ “Baptism Invitation” (Template ID 41489) can easily be redesigned to work for christening, blessing, baptism, first communion, or anywhere that a crisp, clean, personalized invitation is needed.















Michelle Bell designed the “Bat Mitzvah Pink Swirl” invitation (Template ID 46615) and also the “Bar Mitzvah Green Blue” invitation (Template ID 46618) with the contemporary 13-year-old in mind. These fun and attractive styles are also meaningful reflections of faith.

 

“On Your Baptism” from Caryn Henriksen (Template ID 46577) is a sweet acknowledgement of the importance of a new family member. It can also be adapted for christenings.

There are many times when inspiration and faith are needed to help guide your family. These positive affirmations and messages of hope and faith can add to your home and reflect your values and traditions. Put up these reminders in your home to strike a chord with your family and bring to mind those things that will give them strength.

If you don't already know how, just ask me! I would be happy to help you, and even get you 10% off your first project.

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Make your own Easter Cards!

It's so yucky outside in Calgary this week, and it's hard to believe that it's almost the end of March! So Gloomy! But here's an idea to brighten up your day: Easter Cards! Get the kids all dolled up in their bright spring clothes and have a mini-photo shoot, and then put those pictures into a beautiful Easter Card to send to your friends and family! Snail Mail is becoming one of those things reminiscent of "days gone by", but what better way to say "I'm thinking about you!" to someone you care about? You can even direct-ship them; no stamps, no envelope-licking, no going-to-the-Post-Office! Check out a few of these fun Easter Card templates (fully customizable, of course!) and if you have any questions, just ask!

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Super Hero Birthday Card

My nephew just turned 10. TEN! I can't believe it. The last time I saw him, he was running around at a family wedding stealing sips of beer out of stranger's cups. Because he was tiny and didn't know any better. So how did he get to be so big?

Anyway, I found this really fun art collection (Action Hero Collection) that would be really fun for a boy's birthday card, and made him a card from US (as proven by our picture in the card!) to HIM (also proven by HIS picture in the card!!!) and had it direct-shipped to him - hopefully way cooler than the average "card-in-the-mail-from-the-auntie-I-never-see" :)

Oh yeah, and this card made it into the Template Gallery :) (template id#53131) Enjoy!

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Happy Birthday Grandma!

My Grandma's birthday was yesterday, and her favorite thing to get is pictures. Which makes HM the perfect match! I started out with Template id#50059, and here is how it turned out:

 

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Happy Valentine's Day!

I found this card in the template gallery (Template ID #51782) and I've been sending it every time I want to send a card to somebody lately, it's just so adorable! And not JUST for Valentine's Day, although that is the theme today!

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Merry Christmas!

Christmas Eve has finally arrived! By way of blog-greeting, here is the Christmas card that I sent out this year! It's a card, family pictures, and annual letter all in one! And the best part (I feel really lazy even admitting this...) I didn't have to do much to get this lovely card sent out. No stamps, no hand-cramps from addressing envelopes, no long lines at the post office! I just used the "Direct-Ship" option that Heritage Makers offers, and they stuffed the envelopes, addressed, stamped, and shipped all of my cards for me! (shhh! Don't tell!)

The Back:

The Inside:

Merry Christmas!

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Playing Cards Ideas

With Playing Card Decks on sale this week, I just thought it would be good to get some IDEAS out there on the many creative possibilities offered by our fully-customizable Card Decks!

A few ideas to get the ball rolling:

• Playing Cards with your own pictures, front & back! 
• Business Cards for your Business (full color, front & back, lots of space!)
• ABC Cards for your little one, with helpful, personalized pictures. 
• Family Game Cards. 
• Gift Tags
• Mini Christmas Cards
• Banners of cards tied together with ribbon
• Tabletop banners of accordion-style cards tied together with ribbon
• Anything else you can think of! 

But check out a few of these awesome ideas for the holidays:
Christmas Tree Decorations, Template ID: 37814

Holiday Gift Bag Tags & Recipe Cards, Template ID: 45812

Even a Mini Gingerbread House, complete with a Gingerbread man! Template ID: 45403

 Have lots of fun getting into the Holiday Spirit!

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Picture a Christmas

A friend of mine had this adorable idea for Christmas cards this year, one that I'm looking forward to trying out next year (once I have a child old enough to do this with!!)

Heritage Makers can help you personalize your cards with family-photos and family-letters all printed right in the card, but take it up a notch in the fun department - have your CHILD(ren) design your card!

Why not get your kid(s) involved in the card-sending fun by having them draw a picture of what Christmas means to them (... maybe give them a little help with the real meaning of Christmas... :)) and then take a picture of the picture, or even better, Scan the picture, and then put it on the front of your holiday card? Then everybody who receives your card will get a taste of what your future budding artist is capable of.

Cute!!! (and yes - stay tuned in Dec 2011 to see what I do with this idea :))

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Christmas Card Crazy!

Get HUGE Savings on your holiday cards this year! And not just any cards - beautiful, customized cards as low as 99cents apiece!

Short on time? Send me the picture you want on your card and I'll even make it for you!

The best part: WE WILL EVEN SHIP THEM FOR YOU! No writer's cramp from addressing all of those envelopes, or having to lick all those envelopes and stamps, no waiting in line at the Post Office, elbowing back crowds of people... And we don't even charge you a handling fee, just postage! (63cents to the US, $1 to Canada)

Ask me for more details before the holidays pass you by! This sale is available through a consultant only until Oct 31!

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Baby's Thank You Card

So we've had this new baby, and people have been wonderful and keep giving us thoughtful gifts! Yay!

The downside to that, though is that then you have to do up all of those Thank You Cards, for etiquette's sake. (just like there is always a silver lining to the bad, there is often a downside to all that is good, right? Like, ice cream goes straight to your hips, laughing too much makes your face hurt, and all good things must come to an end. That sort of thing.)

But yay! Now it's easy :) Especially because I found this completely adorable template in the Template Gallery (template ID: 41340) and added Lydia's baby pictures, and voila! Personalized Thank You Cards delivered right to the person's door!

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Do you know about Direct Shipping?

Did you know you can direct ship any Heritage Makers greeting card, to anywhere in the US or Canada? It’s cheap, convenient, and Oh, so creative! All you have to do is create your personalized greeting card, click direct ship at checkout, and we’ll take care of the rest!

Are you ready to make a greeting card? Check out these beautiful templates. And the best part is you can make any of these cards in less than 5 minutes? Just swap out your photo, add a message, and that’s it!

Are you already thinking about the Holidays? You can even Direct-Ship to lots of people all at once; no writing-cramp, no envelope-licking, and no standing in long lines at the post-office for stamps! The best way to do holiday cards ever!!

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Lydia's Baby Announcement

I've always loved our multi-fold cards, so much fun with more sides!

Check out this adorable Baby Announcement I've made for Lydia! It is a 3-fold card, so it has 6-customizable sides altogether. 

The front:

which opens up to another flap:

and then the inside 3 panels of the card from left to right:

and the back :)

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A Personal Thank You

My husband's grandfather just moved and sent us his special comfy chair for us to use in our daughter's room. Rather than just send a generic "thank you" card, we decided to make a special card that he would cherish - we took a picture of his great granddaughter IN the chair and made a card out of it, and made it a special card "from her" :) What's nice for me in my very pregnant state is that I was able to do all of this from my computer, and have it shipped directly to him!

The outside of the card: (isn't it great? I was able to personalize ALL 4 sides of this card!)

And the inside:

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Reunion Highlights So Far!

Our Heritage Makers Annual Reunion is happening right now in Phoenix, AZ, and with it comes all of our exciting company announcements, including New Products, New Art, and all kinds of other exciting changes! Plus, for those consultants who participate, there are all sorts of fun prizes to be won, spa treatments to be had, shopping sprees to go on, and next year's Cruise announcement to get excited about!

Some of you may be wondering: Why isn't Julie there?? Well, that would be because my baby girl's due date is in less than 2 weeks, and I've already started having contractions! Wish me luck!!

Check out some of my Crazy-Fun Colleagues having a blast - I wish I were with them!!

But back to the point:

Introducing New Canvas Sizes with DEEP SET FRAMES!!! Coming in 2 new sizes; 18x18 and 18x24!

There’s more! What do you do with all of those scrap pages? How about putting them all in a new post-bound album! Introducing the completely customizable HM post-bound album! This item is only available at Heritage Makers.

A new barcoded greeting card machine will help get all the greeting cards out to the right people! And that means we can direct ship family folds now!

Heard about Points? Here’s the information: All credits will be converted to points. You can see when all points expire and how they were used. Save credit cards on file, choose a shipping address, and see when credits will expire. Awesome!

From Guest Speaker Mary Christensen: Direct selling allows you to be anything you want. Our Heritage Makers business is so suited for women. The only way to get what we want is to help others get what they want. We are helping people tell their stories and sharing the gift of heritage.

From VP Chris Lee: It really is a great time to be a heritage maker! We have over 230,000 customers. Since the beginning of this year, those customers have placed over 110,000 orders. In the last year, 750,000 units have been ordered. In our system, 1.2 million projects have been started. Since our beginning, over 46 million photos have been uploaded to our system. Pretty amazing to think about! Think forward to a year or two…think about the incredible successes that are waiting.

I love being a Heritage Maker!! And I'd love for you to join my team! If you want more information, contact me at julie@printedjewels.com or 403-667-5336!

Want to read more about what's going on at Reunion right now? Check out the HM Blog! 

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A Card A Week

By Leslie Dannelly

My husband, Mike, is in the Air Force. Through our 13 years of marriage Mike has spent quite a bit of time away from our family while he serves our country overseas. This past April, we got word that he would be deploying to Afghanistan for a year. We knew he might go this fall for four to six months, but we had no idea it would be in July for a year.

I decided I needed to find a way to help him through this time away from our family. So without his knowing, I emailed his friends and family and asked them to share funny stories and pictures about Mike. There was a “no sappy” rule—the last thing the troops need is sappiness.

I then took those stories and some of my own and made Mike a deck of cards—with enough cards to send him one a week and one for us to hand him when he finally walks off the plane and into our arms! Our three daughters love picking which card to send Daddy each week! It also gives me a chance to share with them all the funny stories of our family and friends.

Besides the cards, I made a business wall calendar for Mike to cross off days. I added some of his favorite pictures and some words of inspiration. We have an exact copy on our wall and our three daughters love crossing off days.

And one other thing I have sent him is a copy of a postcard I originally made when he was in Iraq.

The following is Mike’s words about the projects:

The calendar was something. I really needed to cross off the days during this deployment. But when it showed up, integrated with all of my favorite pictures, it became so much more. I now use it to jot down little notes to better keep track of my experiences over here. Since we have two of them, it’s nice to know that the days are being crossed off at the same time by my girls on the other side of the world.

The Heritage Makers card “Remember Kissing” is one that Leslie sent me while I was in Iraq. It uses a picture we had taken in Florida a few years back. I was very happy to get it in Iraq and just as thrilled this time in Afghanistan. Receiving those perfect memories through photographs reminds me how great our marriage is and helps me press on through tough times over here.

The cards are fantastic. They never fail to bring a smile to my face. Each one brings back memories of various fun and unique experiences that Leslie and I have enjoyed together. They contain memories that are so powerful that I am taken away as if on a vacation for just a moment with every card.

I’m very proud of my husband. He has been in the Air Force 17 years and has served away from our family many times. It does not matter how many times your spouse is deployed, gone is gone and it does not get easier. You just know you’ll get through. I’m so grateful I had Heritage Makers to make my Hero gifts to help Mike with this long year.

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Weddings and Babies

I've been getting invited to lots of weddings and baby showers lately - it must just be that time of year again :)

While I love our Direct Shipping option, sometimes one just doesn't receive notice for some events to give one enough time to design a unique card, have it published, and have it shipped in time!

However, with all of our artistic options, and the fact that our beautiful cards are cheaper than going to the card store, it makes it worth it (and lots of fun!) to publish some generic (but in YOUR style) Wedding and Baby cards to have on hand for these special occasions!!

Check out these beautiful cards that I found (and played with) from the Template Gallery!

Baby Girl Card (template id: 17691)

I liked this one so much that I changed it to make a boy version! (if anybody wants these "altered" cards in their account to publish or further alter, just let me know :))

And then for those impromptu baby showers where the baby hasn't been born yet, and the gender is left to be a surprise... (template id: 20616)

And I loved these 2 beautiful Wedding Cards (template id: 26522 and 34660)

So if you invite me to a Wedding or a Baby shower anytime soon, you might just be getting one of these gorgeous cards attached to your gift :)

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