Happy Halloween...genealogy style^_^

Well, I thought I would stop by to wish everybody a happy Halloween, and I couldn't help but create a ghost family tree:

By the way, did you know that Halloween means Hallows Eve (the eve before the Day of the Dead, on the 1st of November), and its origins are Celtic?
2,500 years ago the Celtic people from what is now the UK celebrated New Years Eve at the end of the summer, not in December, and for them this day was the 31st of October. For some reason, the Celts thought that on this day the spirits would come out of their tombs and walk the earth. To scare off the spirits, people decorated their houses with bones and other scary objects that would ward off the spirits. 
Nowadays, Halloween is most celebrated in Anglo-saxon cultures where people dress up like monsters and fantasy creatures and do Trick-or-Treating.  Most homes, as you may have noticed, put a Jack-o-lantern outside on the doorstep.
I must say that while I knew about Halloween when I was in Italy, unless you knew some Americans or English people, nobody would celebrate it. The day to put your mask on is  "Carnevale", instead, which comes 40 days before Easter, but I will talk about this when time comes.
It is indeed  incredible how things might change in just a few years though...
From what I have noticed, many people in Italy now celebrate Halloween too.
So, wherever you are, whether you celebrate it or not,

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

Treasure Chest Thursday: 10/29/09 : Creating my family jewels

Ever since I heard of Treasure Chest Thursday I have been  thinking about my family treasures:" Should I post about my mother's necklace ,my grandma's earrings or my childhood jewelery first?",  but then I just felt that my first Treasure chest Thursday, should be about my most valuable and precious treasures: my children.

They are all to me and nothing is nearly as important as them. For them I would give up all my other family treasures, if I needed to.
Well, since they are my jewels, I have decided to wear them!
It surely helps that one of the new Heritage Makers Product is a photo bracelet, so I created mine:

Isn't it cute? I like that I can add any embellishment I want, so as you can see, I put the letters to form the word mom in between the pictures of my kids.

They ship with the pictures already inserted, so I won't have to go crazy messing up the picture until it works!

You need to know that since I got children I have lost most of my interest in wearing jewelery, especially since my sweet babies have been pulling each and every necklace and earrings I was stubborn enough to wear, so I have just given up, but this bracelet looks sturdy enough to withstand my "hurricane" boys! Because it is backed up by the heirloom warranty, I know that should something happen(should my baby happen!) I can order a new one for half the price!

I am going to order this bracelet this week, with all the other projects I have been working on!

I can't wait to wear it!

Stay tuned as I will report to let you know if it survived my baby!;)

Treasure Chest Thursday is a daily blogging theme used by many genealogy bloggers to help them post content on their sites.

My child is a VIP!

Since board books have come to be, I have been wanting to create one for my child, and the "I am a VIP" template was just perfect for my Jacob.
He is my middle child, he is 3 years old and sometimes I see that he feels like he is not as important as his big brother who goes to school or his little brother, whom I am still nursing and consequently gets lots more mommy and me time than Jacob does.

So, I started creating this board book starting from the template, and made the appropriate changes to fit it to our family.
This morning Jacob saw what I was working on, and he was so excited because there was a  book that was all about him.
He asked me to see it over and over, and I couldn't say no, seeing his smile and joy when turning every page through the project viewer. He kept saying" It's all about me, it's all about me!!!".
We went through each page, he told me who everybody was, and I helped him remember the cousins who live in England. I hope this will help him think about them more often, maybe even getting closer to them.

I told him he would then be able to really read it all by himself soon, and he asked if the book was in the garage. He just wanted to have it at once!
I had to explain him that mommy needed to add a few more things and then she would publish it and we would have had the book here in just 2 weeks.
I am so happy I decided to create this board book, if Jacob is so excited by just seeing it on the computer, can you imagine how happy he will be when he will have the book in his hands and will be able to bring it with him everywhere and show it off with his friends? I can see him going to his Nana and saying:"Look Nana, it's all about me!"

He will also be able to remember about his nonno Oreste, my dad, whom he never saw in this life, but we firmly believe he was with him before he was born and inspired us to "do what we had to do" to have Jacob come into our family. That's why Jacob's middle name is Oreste.

I don't know who is more excited about this book, if it is me or Jacob!;)

6 days storybook gift sale!

You have been looking at them, you have been thinking of them...
Finally you can get all your story booking credits at the best price of the season!

Begin your holiday fun with a celebration. Celebrate the year, celebrate life, celebrate getting your holiday shopping done early this year!

For 6 days only (Oct 24-29) you can save big with the lowest prices on our three packs of Storybooks.
Storybooks make the best gift to celebrate the loved ones in our life.
With a huge selection of beautifully designed templates, they are also easy and fast to create.
Celebrate with:

• a family yearbook
• a vacation storybook
• a baby book
• a family cookbook
• a life story
• an "how we celebrate" storybook

Find a complete list of  perfect story booking gifts by searching CELEBRATION in our online Template Gallery.
This is really the best time to get your Storybooking done, but hurry, you have time until October 29th at 8 p.m. EST to contact me so that I can put your order in for your favorite storybook offers!

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You can get a free Publishing account by signing up at http://www.preservemyheritage.com and start creating unlimited projects at once!

Want more? Check out our incredible host rewards and fantastic package deals!!

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Holiday shipping dates

A lot of you have been asking about when is the last date to complete and publish a project in order to be guaranteed to receive on time for  Christmas, so here you go!

Order your Heritage Makers gifts by the date below in order to receive items by December 24, 2009.

Canada

Storybooks:

November 30 (First Class)

December 3 (Standard)

December 7 (Express)

Other products:           

November 30 (First Class/Direct Ship Cards)

December 3 (Standard)

December 7 (Express)      

United States

Storybooks:                

December 2 (Ground and Priority)

December 7 (Two-day)

December 10 (Next day)

Other products:           

December 11 (Ground and Priority)

December 14 (Direct Ship Cards/Two-day)

December 16 (Next day)

Get your projects going!;)

It's never too early ...

...or too late to help your children remember each of their family members and how much they mean to them!
I have been pretty sick this week, I still am, but I just couldn't stand not being able to work at any project, so I decided to go for something simple.
I looked in the template gallery, and I found the perfect template for a swatch book for my sweet Luca.
He is 14 months old, and I think he is ready to start learning about his closest family members, both the ones who live here in America and the Italian ones who are living in England.
The template I found  was so perfect I didn't have to change much: it took more time to decide which pictures I wanted to use than to actually create the swatch book!

There are pictures of when he was born, pictures of his mamma and daddy, his brothers, his nana and granddaddy, his great grandparents, his nonna Rita, and also his nonno Oreste, (he will never meet him in this life, but I know he met him before coming here on earth, and he will meet him after this life), and then there are pictures of cousins and aunts.

I am really proud of the final result, and I know I will enjoy countless moments going through this swatch book with my boy, and also having to ask his brothers to bring it back;)
Not to count the fact that I have been able to produce something even if I was so sick I couldn't think!

Thank goodness for templates that help me feel accomplished no matter what!

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You can get a free Publishing account by signing up at http://www.preservemyheritage.com and start creating unlimited projects at once!

Want more? Check out our incredible host rewards and fantastic package deals!!

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Hero DVDs can do a lot for your family

I was looking into the Heritage Makers business blog and I found this entry that I thought was really enlightening on the value of the History Hero DVDs.

I couldn't say it better, so I am just transcribing it exactly as it was written by Hallie Redd.

"I wanted to share my experience with the History Hero DVDs. I was not sure I thought they were a great addition to our products when they were released. I bought a set last month so I could have them and use them for my family and as the [sample] product. What I found out amazed me!
All three of my kids from Jaxon, who is 12, to Mckell, who is 6, are fighting over whose turn it is to "pick" the hero to watch. I have to admit it is now a family affair. I have learned so much about each person in the DVD. And to make it even better, there is an adventure quiz at the end that has three separate quiz levels. Well, we have to do all three levels and see who knows the most.
I am really inspired after seeing the results. My kids love it. They are learning and we are spending quality time watching something that matters. I would much rather have them watching how Galileo did not give up, even after 50 years of trying vs. Transformers! We have watched five DVDs and the kids can hardly wait for dad to come home to watch another one.
Hallie Redd"

I am not one that likes to have her kids in front of the TV, I prefer them playing outside or reading a good book, but when they can make good use of technology with an interactive DVD, I am more than happy to let them do it!

If you are a grandma or a granddad and  want to do something really special and useful for your grandchildren, this is what you have been waiting for. Even if your children/grandchildren don't like cartoons, they will like these DVDs because they are much more than that, and you will enjoy witnessing the progress they will make while they learn about important History Heroes and events.

Discover the Hero in your child

A child is always a hero to his parents, but sometimes it might be a little difficult to remember it!

Too often our children don't realize the huge potential  in them, and we look for ways to help them recognize their value, but it is not a easy task.

When this morning I found the template for the History heroes book which  complements the history heroes DVD  that are now offered by Heritage Makers in partnership with Nest entertainment, I couldn't help but start one for my own child!

 

What a great gift for any child, a book where he can see that he has the same characteristic as Christopher Columbus, George Washington, Alexander Graham Bell and many others.

He/she will be able to see that he is indeed a hero in your eyes, and will be able to walk confidently through every challenge in his/her life!
I prefer my children to watch DVDs about History Heroes and learn something from them instead of  watching useless or violent cartoons all the time! With a storybook about them and how they relate to each History hero whose story they are watching in TV, I cannot go wrong!

Click on the image above to know more about the whole DVD- storybook offer.
This Christmas you can give your child a gift that he/she will cherish forever and that will give him a boost in life!
Now this is a way to improve your future family history!^_^
Want to create one for your child?
Just contact me and I'll get you started in a jiff!

UPDATE: History heroes DVD are not offered by Heritage Makers anymore, but the template for the books are still available in the template gallery, so if you own or plan to buy the DVDs online, the book is still a wonderful way to help your child discover what makes him a hero.

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You can get a free Publishing account by signing up at http://www.preservemyheritage.com and start creating unlimited projects at once!
Love my Creative Genealogy templates and ideas? 

My HM club members can have their favorite template transferred to their account for personal use, or  can have it completely personalized by me for them  for a reasonable fee.

Want more for less? Check out our incredible host rewards and My Club HM!

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Fill your home with inspiration.

I have been having some fun creating some home decor using scrap pages and cards filled with inspirational words and phrases that can be framed, modge podged on tiles or wooden blocks or any other thing you can think of!
Here you can see a few examples:

Let me know if you would like to get started on your own home decor or also create home decor to give as a gift for Christmas or even a house warming gift.

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You can get a free Publishing account by signing up at http://www.preservemyheritage.com and start creating unlimited projects at once!

Want more? Check out our incredible host rewards and fantastic package deals!!

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Becoming Italian word by word

You''ll never know what treasure you will find when you start looking online for something that is difficult to find! Well, I think I found one!
During my quest for Italian word art, I stumbled upon this blog that made me forget my research for quite a while, since I had to read and read and read.

Becoming Italian word by word

The blogger, Diane Hale is the Author of "La Bella Lingua: My Love Affair with Italian, the World's Most Enchanting Language".
When introducing her blog, she proceeds to apologize for any strafalcioni (gross blunders), but I believe she does a superb job at talking about Italian language and culture, and that her blog might be a great starter for people that want to learn Italian language going through its culture first.

I already forwarded the link to the blog to my husband, who in 6 1/2+years of our marriage has yet to learn Italian at a deeper level than the phrases I shout to my children when they don't behave or when it is time to come to the table and the ninna-nanne (lullabies) I sing them at night.

On her last post she reminds the readers that October is Italian Heritage month.
This makes me think that I was even more inspired in searching for Italian word art and then starting creating it my self, so I want to thank her again for her blog and the bits of Italian language and culture she shares   that are so dear to my heart.

 

I highly recommend this blog to anyone that wants to know a little more about Italian culture and language, and also to Italians that like me are married to Americans and want to sparkle their interest and love for this wonderful language, and get them to study it more!

Italian word art

If you have been looking at my profile or at any of my genealogy trees, you know that I am Italian.
I am a proud Italian. I love everything Italian, and love my mother language.
I have been looking around for some Italian word art, but I haven't found much, so I have decided that I am going to start creating my own.
After all, this is just another way to preserve and share my heritage.
These are my first attempts:

I think we all know what this means, but just in case, the translation is LOVE.

Love, true love grows and becomes deep with time, nor ends with life

Loving you is like the breath inside me:
I cannot live without you.
And a little freebie for you, if you like Italian word art too:

This means beautiful baby (girl).

If you would like me to create some Italian word art for your own layouts or create a whole layout for you, contact me as pricing varies on a per project basis.

You can also upload these word art and layouts in your Publishing account , even add your own pictures if you like and have them  professionally printed in gorgeous papers, storybooks, canvases, or posters to frame and hang in your home, or I can do it all for you!

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You can get a free Publishing account by signing up at http://www.preservemyheritage.com/ and start creating unlimited projects at once!

Want more? Check out our incredible host rewards and fantastic package deals!!

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A Heritage calendar

As a genealogist, I like to be reminded of my roots in every way, and I do my best to make sure that my family, particularly my children, have the opportunity to think of their ancestors as often as possible.

I had been thinking for quite a while about a Heritage Calendar that would feature specific members of our family tree each month, and for some reason, when I saw the new collections and the new 11x16 size calendar I felt inspired  to finally create it!

Here is my work in progress:

 

The next page will be my husband and I (the parents), then my husband's parents, then mine, and so on, until we reach the 4rth generation, and since there will be some pages left, I will probably make various collages of uncles, aunts and cousins, and the pictures I have that are from the 5th generation and going back. I am going to put some inspirational family quote on each page too.
This way each month we will be focusing on a branch of our family tree.
This will also be the input for another project that I have been procrastinating for too long: A Heritage book, where the story of each member of our family tree will be shared and preserved that we may all remember who we are and who we came from.
I will have to plan some time to start interviewing my husband's parents and grandparents, but then I really need to go back to Italy and talk with the last aunt that I have left on my dad's side, and with my mom's family, because I feel an extreme need to preserve not only the names, but the history of my whole family...
If you are blessed enough to have your family close by, I encourage you to find the time, call them, go visit them, make questions, and start your own Heritage calendar/book.

Publish your story for less!

Great news! For the month of October, you can publish your story on a 8x8 hard bound archival quality storybook for only $39.95!

If you haven't started to collect your story yet, don't worry, the story book credit is valid for at least a year and you can find great ideas to help you write your story with our storymaps!
Don't forget that  if you are a new customer,  with your first purchase you are eligible for a free month of Premier membership, which gives you access to 40000+ digital art , over 1600 templates and much more! This is an opportunity you really cannot miss!
Contact me to take advantage of the pick of the month!

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You can get a free Publishing account by signing up at http://www.preservemyheritage.com/ and start creating unlimited projects at once!

Want more? Check out our incredible host rewards and fantastic package deals!!

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Take a look at the new digital art!

New month, new art to get you creating at your heart content!
Here is the free BASIC art that you can use by just signing up for a free BASIC account at http://www.preservemyheritage.com/

Want more? Here is the new premier art, available to premier membership accounts:

Our digital Art collection keeps growing and growing!!!

What's your choice? FREE basic art (abt 2000 pieces with a few templates) or GET IT ALL (40000+ pieces and hundreds of templates) with a Premier membership?

If premier is your choice, contact me for the best deal!

Have fun!

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You can get a free Publishing account by signing up at http://www.preservemyheritage.com/ and start creating unlimited projects at once!

Want more? Check out our incredible host rewards and fantastic package deals!!

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