Christmas in July! Are you Ready?

by Cynthia Coulon, Mar-Com Manager

Has anyone asked you lately if you’re ready for the holidays? It might seem like a silly question in the middle of summer, but it’s really worth considering. Now is prime time to make your gifts and greetings list and to start accumulating all the publishing points you’ll need for your meaningful Heritage Makers holiday projects!

Enjoy looking through the templates below and get inspired to make this year's holiday season extra special with heart-felt gifts and greetings, seasonal decor, and more.

Make Holiday Cards as Unique as You Are
We have so many fabulous greeting card and invitation templates, the problem won't be finding one you like, it will be choosing which one you like the best! Below is a festive grouping of 5 x 7 invitations just to give you a small taste of what we have to offer.  With our new rounded corner and matte finish options, now you can add even more style to your holiday cards!



“Joy & Peace Basic Portrait” by Michelle Bell, template 100653; “Year in Review–Red” by Michelle Bell,template 100733; and “A Blue & Red Christmas” by Anna Gehmlich Bates, template 108685.

Studio makes it easy to create coordinating holiday pieces like the holiday greetings and thank you cards below. These very merry templates are very quick to personalize and will be an extra special way to share your love and thanks with friends and family this year. Complete your coordinated set with matching address labels!


“Merry Little Christmas Card,” “Merry Little Christmas Thank You,” and "Merry Little Address Labels," 5 x 7 invitations and address labels by Kari Pieratt, templates 98783, 98784, and 98785.

Make Your Cards Talk
This year, add an extra special touch to your gifts and greetings with the fun application of QR Code technology! QR Codes are scannable by most cell phones. The codes link to unique URLs on the web—so you can send people directly to videos, slideshows, audio files, etc., that you created and uploaded especially for them. The holiday greetings below are great examples of placing QR Codes on cards. Lynda Angelastro, the designer of the snowman card below, made a unique holiday greeting video for each of her grandchildren and uploaded them to YouTube. She then generated QR Codes for each video and put the codes on her holiday cards. Think of all the creative and fun possibilities with this technology!  Check out this article for more information about using QR Codes on your HM Projects.



“HM Bring on Christmas QR” 7 x 5 invitation by Roxanne Buchholz, template 97322; “Young Man Holiday QR” 6 x 4 greeting card by Lynda Angelastro, template 97710;  “Warm Wishes” 8 x 4 photo card by Michelle Bell, template 97500.

Make Fun Holiday Home Decor

Bring some extra cheer into your home this year by personalizing some of our 11 x 14 holiday prints. Here are just a few of our favorites below.



“Santa’s Beard Countdown” 11 x 14 Print by Kari Pieratt, template 90921; “Christmas Subway” 11 x 14 Print by Cynthia Coulon, template 97144; “Christmas Joy Subway Art” &“Merry & Bright Subway Art” 11 x 14 Prints by Kari Pieratt, templates 97429 & 97430; “Oh Christmas Tree” 11 x 14 Print by Roxanne Buchholz, template 96174.

Add More Heart to Your Holiday Tree
Our customizable, double-sided Keepsake Ornaments are a wonderful way to celebrate holiday firsts, family events, and more. They make meaningful and lasting gifts as well. Below you'll see just a small sampling of our templates, and of course, you can always choose to make one completely from scratch!

“Our First Christmas” by Brittany Hutchings, template 94969; “HM Naughty or Nice Penguin” by Roxanne Buchholz, template 94979; “Baby’s First Christmas” by Anna Gehmlich Bates, template 92871; “Pennant Christmas Keepsake” by Kari Pieratt, template 97927; “HM More Wag Ornament” by Roxanne Buchholz, template 97252.



Make Fun Tags and Crafts
We've got lots of scrap page templates designed to be used for cute holiday gift tags and other crafts. Here are some especially fun templates brand new to the Gallery.


“Soda-lighted” 12 x 12 Double-sided Scrap Page by Cynthia Coulon, template 109376


“Holiday Dough v.2” 12 x 12 Scrap Page by Cynthia Coulon, template 110125



“You’re Getting Muffin” 12 x 12 Double-sided Scrap Page by Cynthia Coulon, template 97140



“Christmas Nativity Blocks” 12 x 12 Scrap Page by Marin Barney, template 110554

This article was just a small taste of the many holiday templates available to you as you prepare for the upcoming season. Remember, larger items like Storybooks, Canvases, Metal Prints, and Brag Bags make very meaningful and totally unique gift items for those you love. When you take the time and make the effort to personalize these keepsake projects, you can be sure that you'll be creating a gift that will keep on giving for years to come!

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Your Style, Your Way: American Hero

by Roxanne Buchholz, Studio Creative Team Manager
It’s time to celebrate freedom—the perfect theme for this month's Your Style, Your Way design map challenge!
Our military heroes are close to our hearts and in our minds as we look forward to patriotic holidays and celebrations. Remembering our heroes is a way of giving thanks to those who have changed our lives through their selfless actions.
Take a look at what our Studio Creative Team members have come up with this month. Each member was given the same 12 x 12 gray-scale scrap page “American Hero Design Map,” template 108103 and asked to put their own spin on the project while maintaining the same text and photo placement.




“American Hero by Shanna,” by Shanna Vineyard, template 109203
“American Hero by Sandra,” by Sandra Dovre, template 109187
“American Hero by Kari,” by Kari Pieratt, template 109031
“American Hero by Roxanne,” by Roxanne Buchholz, template 108970
“American Hero by Michelle,” by Michelle Bell, template 109069
“American Hero by Cynthia,” by Cynthia Coulon, template 109044

How will you honor the military hero in your life this year? Find inspiration in our many templates in the Template Gallery or use this design map to create a tribute uniquely your own. Take a few minutes and let your hero know how grateful you are for their service and dedication.

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Template Spotlight: Mother's Day Projects

by Lynda Angelastro, Studio Product Manager

Making Mom’s Special Day Memorable
This Mother’s Day, take the opportunity to let the mom in your life know how much she means to you and her entire family. Send the thoughtful and personalized gift or greeting you know will bring a smile to her face and tears to her eyes. Heritage Makers products make it easy!
  
Say It With Photos
Send a card that features Mom's favorite children or grandchildren, and she’ll treasure it forever. Template 61575 is a 7 x 5 greeting card called “Mother’s Day Card” that was designed by Julie Young. Template 58099from Roxanne Buchholz is called “Mother’s Day Cluster Pink” and features a photo Mom will display long after the holiday is over.

  
Say It in Updated Style
Let her know what an exceptional mom she is with this contemporary-styled card from Anna Gehmlich. “One of a Kind MOM” is a  4 x 6 greeting card, template 104952. It opens up to show a photo greeting on the inside of the card. Even, the back of the card, shown here on the right, tells mom how special she is to you.

Say It Your Way
Go to the Template Gallery and put “mom” or “mother” in the search box and you’ll find hundreds of templates, many of them cards, to tell your mother how much you love her this Mother’s Day. Shown here from left to right starting on the bottom are templates 54770, 85162, 57827, 21401,83852, 56584, 67560, 85812, 58021 and 29595. You’re sure to find the perfect card for all the moms and grandmas you want to honor this spring.



Say It with A Tile
For a perfect Mother's Day gift or project from the kids, make one of these 8 x 4 photo card tiles. Start by personalizing either “Mom's Day Tile in Blue” (85226) or “Mom's Day Tile in Pink” (85300) by Lynda Angelastro. Then buy a single, heavy-duty 12 x 12 self-adhesive laminate floor tile from your local home improvement store. Leaving the backing paper on the tile, score at 4 inches deep, across the front of tile, and then snap to break cleanly. Score again at 8 inches across to make an 8 x 4 inch tile. Peel paper off back (exposing the adhesive) and mount 8 x 4 photo card onto tile. Sand edges and display on super small size metal easel. These instructions are repeated inside the template.


Say It With A Canvas
Make a special piece of home décor with Mom's family name or loved ones on it, and she will absolutely LOVE it! Shown here from left to right, starting at the bottom are some of our favorite home decor picks for Mother’s Day: “HM Family Photos Collage” by Roxanne Buchholz, 20 x 8 canvas, template 93775; “Our Family HOME” by Cynthia Coulon, 12 x 12 canvas, template 92182; “Jade Name Canvas” by Lynda Angelastro, 12 x 12 canvas, template 100512; “Sunny Daze Canvas” by Karilyn Pieratt, 20 x 8 canvas, template 90495; “Sweet Ellie” by Roxanne Buchholz, 24 x 20 canvas, template 106068; “HM We are a Family” by Roxanne Buchholz, 8 x 20 canvas, template 87594; “HM Make Me Laugh Canvas” by Roxanne Buchholz, 8 x 20 canvas, template 97686 and “Be The Good” by Cynthia Coulon, 8 x 20 canvas, template 93054.

  
Say It With A Purse-packable Book
“100 Things I Love About You, Mom” is a 7 x 5 storybook, template 56347, by Studio Product Manager Lynda Angelastro. With only one photo of mom accompanied by 100 snippets of text telling just how much she means, it’s an easy-to-make book packed with meaning and memories. In a similar vein, but more contemporary style, is “100 Reasons Mom is Queen” by in-house art director by Marin McKay Barney. Search fortemplate 106264 and you’ll find this pocket-sized treasure, designed especially to have input from more than one family member.


Say It With A Bigger Tribute Book
Is this the year you really want to “wow” Mom? If it is, use one of our easy-to-finish life storybooks like this 11.5 x 8.5 one from Michelle Bell. “Mom’s Life Story,” template 53766 documents this mom’s life for a gift that cannot be bought at any price.

Make Mom’s Day Memorable
Use your creativity and Club HM to make YOUR Mom's day a memorable one this year. You know there is nothing that would please her more or make her prouder than a gift you’ve crafted yourself! Get started today!

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Your Wedding: A Reflection of You

by Roxanne Buchholz, Studio Creative Team Manager

Your wedding is a once-in-a-lifetime experience; a day filled with love, laughter, and tears of joy. You are going to be surrounded by your loved ones and, most importantly, getting married to the love of your life. All of these elements create a unique story that is truly yours and should be reflected in your selection of wedding stationary, décor, and gifts.

Today, we are swooning over “Chalkboard Floral,” a lovely new wedding suite by Senior Creative Team member, Kari Pieratt, featuring the newly released “A Romantic Day” art collection. Retro yet modern, these templates are so easy to customize, beautifully designed, and memorable, to say the least.

 

To start it all out, every bride and groom will need “Chalkboard Floral Engagement” 7 x 5 invitation, template 119829 and “Chalkboard Floral Save the Date” 7 x 5 invitation, template 119822. As an alternative, “Chalkboard Floral Save the Date” 8 x 4 photo card, template 119828 is also available. To celebrate the bride, “Chalkboard Floral Bridal Shower” 7 x 5 invitation, template 119830 will be the perfect party invitation for a fun and casual girls’ get-together.

Four to six weeks before the big day, beautiful and memorable wedding invitations will need to be sent. “Chalkboard Floral Wedding” 5 x 7 invitation, template 119821, is right on trend with this chalkboard design that serves to highlight the bold, modern florals in tones of yellow and teal.

And don’t forget “Chalkboard Floral Address” return address labels,template 119834 and “Chalkboard Floral Thank You” 4 x 6 invitation,template 119831. To remember the special day, Kari has even designed a “Chalkboard Floral Wedding” 16 x 10.5 French-line metal print, template 119836, to show-off a favorite wedding photo personalized with the couple’s married name and wedding date.

In addition to the stationary and home décor, Kari has gone one step further and designed a coordinating guest sign-in book “Chalkboard Floral Guest Book” in the traditional 11.5 x 8.5 storybook, template 119832, as well as the lay-flat 11.5 x 8.5 storybook, template 119833. Wedding guests will enjoy writing special messages of advice to the bride and groom as they begin their journey together. And the collection doesn’t stop there. Look for a new wedding storybook coming soon to complete the set!

New to the Template Gallery this month are several new contemporary 11 x 14 prints by Roxanne Buchholz, which would be perfect as a framed wedding gift or as an anytime addition to your own home décor. These two templates can be customized to fit any state or province and color scheme of your choice. “State of Marriage – Vertical,” template 119774and “State of Marriage – Horizontal,” template 119775.

 

For a more traditional wedding aesthetic, “Bride and Groom Photo Grid,” 20 x 20 wrapped canvas, template 119779 and “Beautiful Things,” 20 x 16 wrapped canvas, template 119879, both by Roxanne Buchholz, will leave a lasting impression in your home with their elegant and romantic styling.

From the engagement party to the wedding and beyond, Heritage Makers has all the templates and products to help you make a big impression with your special event. Explore all that our Template Gallery has to offer, be inspired, and create that once-in-a-lifetime wedding that is truly a reflection of you.

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Template Spotlight: Yearbooks & Teacher Appreciation

Whether you’re recording your child’s school year, congratulating a graduate or thanking a dedicated teacher; April is the time to start bringing school projects into full focus. Heritage Makers offers beautiful yearbooks for every grade, meaningful gifts or greetings for the graduate and one-of-a-kind teacher appreciation gifts. Let’s take a look at a few examples in each of these areas.

      

      

Yearbooks to Remember
From pre-school to graduation, every grade and experience is something to be preserved and celebrated. Ask any grandma and she’ll tell you, you may THINK you’ll never forget your child’s performance in the school play or his third grade best friend; but memories fade fast. As a parent, one of the greatest legacies you can leave your child is a record of his or her younger years. Roxanne Buchholz has an entire line of 8 x 8 yearbooks that span pre-school to high school. You’ll love how easy these books are to use and how they coordinate with one another so you can make one each year. Those shown here are “HM Kindergarten Yearbook,” template 81118; “HM 1st Grade Yearbook,” template 56434; “HM 2nd Grade Yearbook,” template 56433; and “HM 6th Grade Yearbook,” template 25798.

  

Words of Advice for the Graduate
Looking for a classic gift of wisdom and encouragement that can go with the graduate as he or she starts her life journey? Sandra Dovre’s “A Bit of Advice-Son,” template 34717 and “A Bit of Advice-Daughter,” template 34832 are Heritage Makers projects that celebrate the occasion and become lifelong keepsakes.

   

A Memento for the Graduate
One of the simplest graduate gifts you can create is a framed 11 x 14 “Graduate Subway Gift.” Template 84423 is by Lynda Angelastro and can be customized with appropriate school colors, name and initials along with the graduate’s name. Buy a large frame at the hobby and craft store that is matted for an 11 x 14 photo. Use a 40% off coupon and a good frame should be well under $20. With your Club HM membership, you’ll be createing a wonderful, original, personalized gift that’s also very reasonably priced!

  
Teacher Appreciation Time
At Heritage Makers, there are a many a one-of-a-kind ways to tell your child’s teacher “thank you.” Try these two ideas from Sharon Macfarlane. They are made on simple 7 x 5 Invitations that can be hole punched and attached to a beach bag for the “Teacher Fun-in-the-Sun Kit,” template 83307 or to any kind of container for the “Teacher Movie Mania Kit,” template 83309. Instructions are included on the reverse side for teacher to use an assortment of small gifts for a day at the beach or the movies. The reverse side also includes a place for a “thank you” from your child.

  
  

Group Teacher Appreciation Gifts
If you’re responsible for gifts for all the teachers in the school or want to say thank you to several of your children’s teachers, try these fun ideas from Roxanne Buchholz. “HM POP-ular Gift Tags” template 86184 and “HM Smart Cookie Gift Tags,” template 86183 are each designed especially for teacher gifts. Each card of these decks can be personalized on the front side to make up to 54 custom labels for cellophane bags of gourmet popcorn or cookies. Personalize with the name of the teacher and the child, or the class if it’s a group gift. If you’re using the gifts tags on cello bags of cookies, make the cookies from any recipe that stores well for a couple of days. For the popcorn tags, use your family’s favorite gourmet popcorn recipe or try the ones we show here.

LIME POPCORN
3/4 cup popcorn
1/4 cup olive oil for cooking popcorn
1/3 cup butter, melted
3 teaspoons freshly squeezed lime juice
1/2 teaspoon lime zest
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
Pop popcorn in hot-air popper or in olive oil in large lidded pan on stove. Mix together the butter, lime juice, lime zest and salt. Put popcorn in large, lightweight paper bag and pour over popcorn. Shake until popcorn is coated and moist. Line a cookie sheet with foil and spread popcorn evenly. Heat oven to 300 degrees and bake popcorn for 5-7 minutes until dry.

WHITE CHOCOLATE POPCORN
Two 3 1/3 ounce bags microwave popcorn
6 ounces white chocolate chips
Pop popcorn, remove unpopped kernels. Melt white chocolate in a double boiler or in the microwave. Place popcorn in large bowl or on cookie sheet. Drizzle melted white chocolate over all and refrigerate until hardened. Break up into smaller clumps before bagging.

Heritage Makers offers gifts and greetings for every school occasion. To find templates for commemorating your child’s school year, gifting a graduate or saying “thank you” to your child’s teacher; simply head to the Template Gallery. Search on “school,” “teacher,” “graduate” or “gift” to find well over a thousand perfect present possibilities for your school needs.

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Your Style, Your Way - Happily Ever After Canvas Design Map

by Roxanne Buchholz, Studio Creative Team Manager

With the traditional wedding season quickly approaching, Studio Creative Team member Cassie Balser challenged the entire Heritage Makers Studio Creative Team to come up with a customized 20 x 24 wrapped canvas based off of her grayscale design map, “Happily Ever After Design Map,”template 119800.

Starting with a neatly organized grid, each designer was able to take this simple grayscale design and customize it to fit her own personal style. From Sara Wise’s whimsical, retro design to Michelle Bell’s elegant, transitional canvas, each designer’s personality really shined through in this challenge. With over 100,000 embellishments and papers in Studio, the possibilities for theme, style, and color are endless. Let’s take a look at each of the designer’s canvases below.


“Happily Ever After Design Map,” template 119800 and “Happily Ever After by Cassie,” template 119801



“Happily Ever After by Sara,” template 119607 and “Happily Ever After by Kari,” template 119799



“Happily Ever After by Michelle,” template 119891 and “Happily Ever After by Roxanne,” template 119853



“Happily Ever After by Leanne,” template 119767 and “Happily Ever After by Brooke,” template 119655

All of our wrapped canvases are on special this month with an additional 10% off at check-out, so think about those home décor projects that you’d like to get done. Are you or someone you know getting married this year? Or do you have special photos of your family that you’d like to make into wall art for your home? These canvases make lasting impressions, so get started on yours today. With our wide selection of templates and grayscale maps, you should be able to find the perfect fit just for you.

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Template Spotlight: Easter and Spring

by Brooke Mehr, Studio Product Assistant

Spring is nearly upon us, and with that comes the wonderful holidays of Easter and St. Patrick's Day. In this article, we will share some of our favorite Spring and Easter templates and hopefully inspire you to create some projects of your own to celebrate this glorious time of year.

Metal prints, canvases, and 11 x 14 prints are an excellent and simple way to add a fresh touch to your home decor for Spring. Below, we have a lovely new metal print template that would be a beautiful addition to any home for Easter.
 

“I Know That My Redeemer Lives” 16 x 10.5 French Line Metal Print by Brittany Hutchings, template 119505.
 

Subway art is very popular right now and most of these fun templates can be very quickly and easily customized by simply changing out your family name before publishing. There are several themes and styles to suit any occasion or decor.




“Icons of Easter”, template 119533 and “Hoppy Easter”, template 119534, both 11 x 14 Prints by Kari Pieratt.




“Easter Egg Word Art”, template 104956 and “A Bunny's Easter Word Art”,template 104953, both 11 x 14 Prints by Anna G. Bates.




“Sweet Easter Subway”, template 119786 and “Christian Easter Subway”,template 119785, both 11 x 14 Prints by Brooke Mehr.




If you don't celebrate Easter or are just looking for decoration for other Spring themes, there are plenty of other templates to suit your needs. Here we have “St. Patrick's Day Subway”, template 119783 and “Spring Subway”, template 119784, both 11 x 14 Prints by Brooke Mehr.


Also check out these fun 12 x 12 Scrap Page templates. Individual scrap pages are a wonderful way to document any holiday or special occasion and these templates make it simple to remember your family's Easter festivities.



“My first Easter” by Brooke Mehr, template 105835 and "Eggstra Special Easter” by Shanna Vineyard, template 104710.




If you are looking for a way to spread a little Easter cheer with someone special this year, look no further than these cute 8 x 4 Photo Card templates! “Happy Easter, Peeps!” by Cynthia Coulon, template 109704and “Happy Easter” by Sandra Dovre, template 104990.
 

However you celebrate Spring, be sure to check the Heritage Makers Template Gallery for fun and easy to customize templates that will boost those celebrations into cherished memories. Check the Template Gallery frequently for new templates added every day!

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