Preserving Heritage

3 generations of Love Template

2011-12-20T14:41:00.000-05:00

I was just looking into the template Gallery, and I found this cute three generations of Love canvas Template.

It made me think of my mom and her mom, and I thought this canvas template would be perfect to honor them.
It took me only 5 minutes to switch the pictures and change a couple things, and I am now really in love with the result.

I am my nonna Michelina's namesake, and I am pretty proud of it... I had been wanting to do something that was specific to me and her, but life has been taking its toll, and didn't quite find the time to make it from scratch, so I am very grateful for this template!
I lost my grandma to stomach cancer when I was 12. It was so heartbreaking seeing her go through all that suffering... I was with her when she passed away, and the memory is still vivid nowadays...
I miss her very much, especially now, during Christmas time, because we used to all go to her house, and enjoy our time together...

I hope this template will help many of you remembering and honoring your grandparents.

May you have a Christmas full of good old memories to remember and new beautiful ones to create.

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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.

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4x8 family circles tree card

2011-12-09T19:54:00.001-05:00

I was working on last minute gifts and I just couldn't resist but making a family tree out of the 4x8 photocard format.
I also had been wanting to make a family tree out of simple circles, and I did.
Here is the final result:

This is a cute little gift that I can give not only to my husband, but also each of my kids, and it will cost me less than $1 each!^_^
I like it so much that it has become my facebook profile picture!

My husband is also getting this cute calendar, to display on his desk at the office:

I am debating if I want to put them back to back and laminate them, or just give them to him separately...
Either way, He's going to love them!
This would make a cute little gift to have at each table at the family reunion dinner, or for each member of your family. If you don't have the pictures, you can just use the names, and maybe birth dates, and they will look great too!

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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Is facebook the only source your future generations will rely on?!

2011-11-29T10:56:00.001-05:00

image source: shoebox.com
This vignette is fun and sad at the same time, but it inspired me to a few reflections...
Today we find ourselves struggling to find info about our ancestors; each and every little bit we find is extremely valuable to us. We look at pictures and we wonder where they were taken, unless we are lucky enough to find info on the back of it, or to have a family member that remembers the story behind it. We try to understand who our ancestors were through the pictures, through their heirlooms, if lucky, through their diaries...
Still, it always feel like we don't have enough information.
Will our descendants feel the same about us?
Many of us share pictures and stories through facebook, blogs and other social networks, but how many of these pictures and stories tell who we really are?

By the time our descendants will come along, there will be so much information that they might actually get overwhelmed if not bored in the end and not be so interested in our story after all.
Even if they are really eager to know more about their ancestors, and will go through our whole facebook account, what will they find? Thousands of links shared? Copy and paste of other people's status? Games played? A gazillion pictures?
Which of these incredible amount of data will really tell what we think?
How will they know what was really important to us? How will they learn from our experiences?
How will they know our testimony?

Even in the cyber era, a book will be the true and tested means to pass our heritage on.
When our children, grandchildren, great grandchildren and their descendants will find and go through it, they will understand that if we took the time to put it together, it must have really been important to us.
Whether it is a hardbound book you publish once a year or every 5 years, a scrapbook with pages to update from time to time, whether it is a collection of your traditions, of your recipes, of your achievements, of your very own spiritual thoughts, or all of these and more, I urge you to start writing your personal story, and take a few minutes every week to describe at least the most important pictures of your life so that your descendants will not have to rely on the cyberspace to know who you are.

Gingerbread Christmas card template

2011-11-22T15:54:00.000-05:00

Every now and then among the thousands of already beautiful templates available in the Template gallery on my website, I happen to find one that is just too gorgeous not to share.
This Christmas card is one of them:

I just love it!
I love the colors, I love the style, and I love that has the space to write a full Christmas letter!
This is a 7x5 Greeting Card, Template ID: 74266.
You can give a better look at it here.
How about a supercute matching address label?

Template ID #63375
These are premier Template, so you will need PREMIER to edit them.
Contact me to ask how you can get a FREE month of PREMIER and you will be able to create this wonderful Christmas letter/card in no time!
And remember, these templates are fully modifiable, so if you need more pictures, you can add them, re-size them, change embellishments, background and add as much text as you like!
If you want to save when you order this cards, you need to have them ready to ship before the 20% off cards offer ends, at the end of November.

This are the holiday deadlines for publishing and ordering your projects in time for Christmas:

Family heirlooms in a virtual Shadow box

2011-11-21T09:00:00.000-05:00

If you have one or more family heirloom, you are one lucky person! Family heirlooms can be any object left from any of your ancestors whether they have been passed down from generation to generation or you plan on passing down to your children.
One characteristic of family heirlooms, though, is that they are unique, so it is impossible to pass the same object to each and anyone of your descendants.
While this is true, there is something that can be done. You can take pictures of the family heirlooms you own, and put them together in a virtual shadow box, that you will be able to share with any other member of your family.
I think this would be a great Family reunion idea.
Each member of the extended family can take pictures of the family heirlooms they own, and they can be shared with everybody else, so that the person in charge can create one or more shadow boxes that will be available for each family member.
One great and private way to do it, is to have a "Family Reunion" free account on www.preservemyheritage.com and have everyone upload their pictures online, so they don't have to stress in case they forget to bring them at the family reunion. You just give each relative login and password, and everybody can have access to it, or anyone can have their own personal account, and then share the pictures with everyone else they desire to share them with.
If you look in the template Gallery, you will find quite a few shadow boxes ideas, like these ones:

Now, the persons that created these shadow boxes, created them mostly to display pictures of people, but I really think they would really fulfill their purpose with actual family heirlooms.
In each shadow box, there could be the picture of the family that owns the heirloom(s), a picture of the original owner, and a picture (or more) of the object.
If this shadow box is intended to be part of a whole "Family Heirloom" Post bound album", then a second page can be created with the memories connected with those family heirlooms.

This would be surely a priceless heirloom in itself that can be "multiplied" for as many members of the family as there are that would love to have it, since you can just make copies of each page and of the post bound album.
This is my first attempt at a family heirloom shadow box:

In case the image above is too small, here is a detail:

I just realized that I have quite a few more family heirlooms that I can display like this...
Taking pictures of your family heirlooms will help your descendants better understand who you are, and what really mattered to you. Start your shadow box today!

Tip: As many of us gather at the grandparent's house this thanksgiving, why not ask your loved ones to show off their heirlooms and offer to take pictures of them to put in a scrap page or a book with the story behind them? If the family members that are coming prefer not to take their heirlooms out of the house, they can just bring or email a picture and share the story with everybody.
What a better way to celebrate the people we are thankful for than preserve their memories!

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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A facebook family history story

2011-11-19T22:51:00.001-05:00

God bless facebook!
Why this exclamation, you might ask;
Well, I have many reasons, and some of them include:
1) Living on the other side of the ocean from my homeland, I have been able to keep in touch with my family and friend.
2) I have found long lost friends from school
3) Through the creation of last name facebook groups and hometown related facebook groups, I have been able to connect to many distant cousins that I would have never found otherwise
4) It allows me to share pictures with my family and friends in a user friendly way.
5) It has been the means through which I got back in touch with a few of my cousins in Italy.
This last point is what is making me jump for joy right now because I have finally been able to have all the pictures and birth dates of the descendants of my maternal grandparents.
Here is the story.
I left Italy for the USA in 2003, and already hadn't seen this cousin of mine for a while as she had left for the North of Italy a few years before, and when she would come to visit her family in my town, she would stay too little for us to get together, so once I left for America, we totally lost track of each other.
Even if I came back to visit a few times, it was never when she was there.
After years and months of patient waiting for her or her siblings to join facebook, it finally happened last year, it was actually her nephew first, and then his father.It took one more year for me to come to the point where I was finally able to get in touch with the one cousin I had been wanting to talk to for more than 10 years!

The first time I asked her nephew for her email address, even if she had one, it was not a working one, so she never responded to the emails I sent her because she never got them!
I also created a facebook group for the descendants of our common grandparents, but that wasn't moving the waters fast enough.
Finally last week I decided to ask again as I was finishing the 2012 calendar for my mom, and the only pictures missing were the ones of this cousin and her sister's family. Luckily her sister had joined facebook the week before, so it was a matter of asking for her FB friendship, and she already had her family pictures posted on facebook.
This one cousin, the one that I really wanted to find, the one that we had so many things in common, and who was born only 11 days before me, as it turns out, she really doesn't like facebook, but fate (or should I say Somebody up there) wanted that her husband had been working in Brazil since September, so they were using Skype to communicate.
Can you imagine me as soon as my cousin's nephew gave me her Skype username?
I was on Skype in 2 seconds!
I sent her a message, the next day she answered, and finally a day later, we were having an hour plus long video chat talking like these 10 years never went by!
But the pictures, no, she didn't have them on her computer, so she got me in touch with her husband and finally, TONIGHT, he sent me his family pictures!!!

Yeah!!! It's complete!!! I can publish the calendar for my mom (and mine too)

(Sorry, cannot show the pages inside the calendar to respect her privacy)

and then, after I get a little of my cousin's family stories, I can complete the descendants book I have been working on too!

Now you can understand why I love facebook so much(starting today Skype too;)).
While sometimes it can get people frustrated, I really believe that facebook has done so much for genealogy and the more people realize how to use it in its full potential, especially using groups for people with the same last name, or that come from the same town, the more long lost cousins will be connected.

Do you have a facebook family history story?

I am a child of God

2011-11-19T07:30:00.000-05:00

I am a child of God, and he has sent me here, has given me an earthly home with parents kind and dear...
I just love this hymn, and so do my children.
It can be appreciated at any age, as it is my belief that we are all indeed children of our Father in Heaven.
I love it so much that I have been captured for a few hours playing with my kids pictures and some of my friend's little girl pictures, around those beautiful words.
Here is the fruit of my work:

Before I show you more, I need to shout a huge THANK YOU to my good friend Becki that has allowed me to use the beautiful pictures she has taken of her gorgeous little girl for these projects, as my boys really wouldn't look so good in "pink";).
Now we can continue...

These can be printed on a 5x7 or 4x6 as birth announcement, or framed and hung in the nursery.

(isn't she just adorable? You can understand why I couldn't stop making more and more of these!)
I also decided to make them in Italian:

but then I was like "Why not in Spanish?"

and then French seemed just perfect for this one:

These are so cute they would look stunning on a canvas too!
Ok, I will stop (for now)^_^
Thinking of someone you would love to give these to as a gift? I can help!

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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Kids family tree placemat games ideas

2011-11-18T08:05:00.000-05:00

My kids have been dieing to be able to use their family tree mats, poor babies, their mamma has been so much busy doing so many things, she hasn't had time to put her ideas into action for a long time.

I finally got around to doing it, and I must say, I am pretty proud of the final result!
Here it is:
A world map where they can point where their ancestors were born, lived or got married.
Since my husband's family was established in USA for at least 4 generations, and mine was all from the same area in Italy, I created 2 games.
This is for the American side:

Here is the version for the Italian side.

Family names word puzzle.

These are the ones I already created for my kids, and I am going to publish in the next few days.
Once I receive these prints, I will match them with each of my kids family tree placemats and then laminate them, so that they can use washable dry erase markers to play the games
A couple more ideas:

Match the couple game, where the child needs to trace a line to connect each husband to his wife.

A family traits matching game, where the kid connects his eyes, nose, mouth, hair etc to his parents and grandparents, to see who looks more like him.

What ideas have you come up with to keep your kids entertained at dinner/lunch time and at the same time nourish their love for their family history?

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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Personalized Children's Christmas storybook

2011-11-16T00:03:00.001-05:00

Traditions are a very important part of a Family Heritage. It is very important to pass them on from generation to generation, but it is also important to create a new one.
We have quite a few Christmas tradition, some from my Italian Heritage, some from my husband's America Heritage, but I really feel that we need to have a tradition that is peculiar to our own little family.
This year I want to start the tradition to read my children a very special book, a Christmas story where they are indeed the protagonists.
I found this template in the Template Gallery,

and I thought this was just perfect for what I wanted to create.
This book is a 8x8 hardbound storybook, which is pretty, but I decided to make mine a soft bound one.
I took picture from the past year, so that the kids will enjoy it even more since they remember a good deal of the experiences we shared in the last 12 months.
I am so glad I found a template that suits my needs, since lately seems like not even a 48 hours day would be enough to accomplish all my tasks and obligations!
The hardest part was choosing the pictures, then I just dragged and dropped them in the Template, tyoed my kids' names, et voila'!

Here is a taste of what my book is going to look like

The boys are going to be so surprised when I will read it to them on Christmas morning!
And a new tradition for the Hall family will be born...

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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Magnetic Family Tree game, revised

2011-11-07T09:24:00.000-05:00

After playing so much with their 4 generations magnetic family tree, I feel that my kids are ready for their 5th generation, which now calls for a bigger board.
So here is a 12x12 page version of it.

I have also decided to have a different board for each holiday, just to spruce things up a bit.
Kids and grown ups will love playing with a magnetic family tree whose theme can be changed according to each holiday. The more they will play, the more their heart will be drawn into the desire to know more about their ancestors.
Here is a possible Halloween Background:

Thanksgiving background

Christmas background:

Valentine's day back ground

St. Patrick day background

Easter back ground.

Independence Day background:

I thought to put together a tree with the flag where each ancestor came from. It just so happens that my ancestors are all Italian and my husband's first 4 generation ancestors were all already established in USA.

Another idea is to have an identical family tree with actually the pictures already on them, so that the kids can compare and see by themselves if they matched all the right ancestors with their place in the family tree.
I will post more backgrounds on the CavaGenealogy facebook page, so be sure to like it to know first hand when I make more!

These12x12 pages can be switched back and forth on a magnetic sheet inserted in a shadow box

or on a 14x14 magnetic board.

You can find the shadow box ready to decorate and the 14x14 magnetic board at Micheal's for $4-$5 if you have a 50% coupon.
The magnetic sheet can be found in any hardware store like Home Depot or Lowe's, but also online in various craft stores for about $6.
I haven't put mine together yet, since I am creating more family tree pages to go with the magnetic tree and I will print a few of the ones that fit my family style most, but I wanted to give you an idea of how it would look inside the shadow box, so I used one of the 12x12 family tree pages I already created and the magnets I had from the old magnetic tree and here it is:

It will need some decoration, maybe I could spray the frame of the shadow box with magnetic paint so that it will hold more magnets, or I could modge podge something related to the various holidays or a quote about genealogy.
I guess I will have to post again when I finally complete my work of art!^__^

Stay tuned!

EDIT: my shipment just came in! The pages are gorgeous! vibrant colors, high quality papers (not to mention acid free and archival quality)... As soon as I add the next generation magnets and paint the shadow box, I will post more pictures!

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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Easy, fun crafty: Notebook covers

2011-11-05T08:54:00.000-04:00

The things you can do with a greeting card!

If you look in the template gallery you will find these template to create 3x5 notebook covers.
Each greeting card will make 3 notebook covers! Easy, fun, crafty and inexpensive, especially if you publish them when they are on sale!
Never underestimate a greeting card!!!

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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A family tree for every season

2011-11-03T08:30:00.000-04:00

I was looking at this acrylic 5x7 photo holder, I have been saving it for I don't know how long for a future project, and decided it was time to do something with it...

The idea came to my mind that it would be cool to use it as a small family tree holder, with family trees that change with the season.
Here is the first card that I created:

Fall/thanksgiving:

I thought having our family name on the back would be nice

and here are the cards I am going to publish soon:
Winter:

Spring/Easter:

a possible back of the card:

Summer:

possible back of the card:

Being able to change the season your family tree is represented in allows you to keep the interest alive in everybody that lives in your home and also in anyone that comes visit!
Think, if you are going to a family reunion, you have a very portable 4-5 generations family tree!
Creating these cards is so easy! And if you publish them during the month of November, you can take advantage of the 20% discount on cards, making them even more inexpensive!
You can get the acrylic frame at any store, I like to get it at JoAnn's or Michael's when I have a 50% off coupon, to save even more!
This would make a very unexpected and appreciated gift for any one this Christmas (not to mention pretty affordable)!

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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4 generations Family Tree Clock

2011-10-31T13:54:00.000-04:00

Family and Family History have something in common, beside the name: they require passion, and devotion. They require TIME.
Remind yourself and your family about this with a Family Tree Clock like this:

It has a family picture in the center with parents and children, with pictures of the grandparents on the 4 sides and then pictures of the great grandparents in place of some of the numbers.
It's a very inexpensive way to express your love for your Family and Genealogy to everyone that is welcomed in your home.

You can find instruction on how to create a clock like this here.
You will also find more clock templates in the Template Gallery on my website, just type "clock" in the search box.
While these templates might be sized for specific clocks, you might just resize their images to make them fit any size clock, up to 12 inches (inside diameter).

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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52 weeks storybook

2011-10-29T08:30:00.000-04:00

Sometimes writing our own family storybook might seem such a huge task, and we end up procrastinating to the point that it might be years before we catch up, if ever...
It might be helpful to take 10 minutes each week to choose your favorite pictures of the week and insert them in a folder called "52 weeks".
This will help you create a storybook based on the 52 weeks of your year, and will help you be on top of it without stressing so much!
If you go to www.preservemyheritage.com and look in the Template Gallery, you will find this very easy to use Template that has a page for each week, with space for photos and text to write your memories of that week.

Here is the cover:

and the preface:

and an example of the pages:

Just choose it as your template, and start adding your pictures and story! It's that easy!
(If you don't have an account yet, just sign up at www.preservemyheritage.com)

Preserve your memories before they fade!

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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Family tree canvas collage

2011-10-27T09:00:00.000-04:00

After creating the 2 sides family tree, I realized that this would be perfect to create any kind of Family tree collage, like this one:

This is another possibility:

Or if you like, you can put together this version of canvas collage:

and make it like this:

or if you prefer the tree canvas to have a border:

and if you want all of them to have a border:

You get the idea!
You really can have lots of fun planning your family tree collage! It will be even better once it is on your wall!

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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25 thoughtful gifts under $25

2011-10-25T11:00:00.000-04:00

Uh oh...We are exactly 2 months from the most wonderful time of the year!
When it comes to Christmas, I always say that gift giving shouldn't be stressing, and more than anything, should be meaningful.
It doesn't really matter if your gift was expensive or not, what really matters is the thought you put in it.
If the gift is also within your budget, well, that's a bonus.
Here is a list of gifts that you can create for less than $25.
Some of them are also under $10, so have fun discovering them!^_^
Some I already blogged about, some I am going to blog about, so bookmark this blog post as I am going to add more links as I think of them! I am probably going to have even more than 25 gifts under $25!

Here is the (ever growing) list!

14x11 posters:

24x18 posters

Keepsake Christmas tags

Mini family tree
Subway art:

Calendars (if you are a club HM member)

3+ generations in a cube:

Cookbook

Set of bookmarks

Family history desktop calendar

Frame-able inspiration

Place mats

(double sided kids family tree mat with games doming soon!)
Versatile greeting cards

Family tree advent calendar:

Scrap pages (including the frame!)

Soft bound books (with CLUB HM membership)

Swatch books

Photo tumbler

Magnetic family tree game

(more possibilities on the magnetic family tree here!)
Heritage blocks

Kids blocks

Photo Clock

Family-faith-friends blocks

Count Down Blocks

Photo holder

Notebooks covers

Home decor tiles

Whatever your choice is, remember that your loved ones will appreciate this gifts because not only they are so beautiful, but especially because every time they will look at them, they will know that you have given them the best gift... The gift of time!

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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Around-the-door Family tree

2011-10-24T07:30:00.000-04:00

Thinking again on how to use your space to make that family tree fit, and because I really feel we should always remember the ones whom we came from, I have given a look at my front door:

Every time we go out of our house we give a look at this wall, even if we don't realize it... Wouldn't it be cool if when we shut that door behind us the last memory is in fact one of the members of our family tree. What better way to help us remember to make our family proud that day?
Since the space is very little, I am "splitting" our family tree by creating these 8x20 canvas prints:

Here is how that door wall could look:

Even better if I added canvases with pictures of our kids on top:

Or even on the sides:

How about adding our Family name on top:

Isn't it cute?

Really, there is no excuse not to have your family tree displayed in some creative way in your home.
We are who we came from, let's always remember it!

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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6 generations typographic family tree

2011-10-22T07:30:00.000-04:00

I have been having request about family trees with just names, so I have been getting ideas by looking around, and among a few ones, I really liked the simplicity and classy fee of the typography family chart by Jill Means design.
I decided to make my own version, and let me tell you, it does take quite some time to make it, but I am pretty satisfied of the result.
I used Photoshop elements, then made a JPEG page that I am going to upload on my website to have then printed. I could print it at home, but I really like the archival quality of the prints I get when ordering from Heritage Makers.This Family tree chart can be used as a baby gift, or birthday gift or for any other occasion, and allows you to list up to 6 generations:

This would look great on a 18x24 poster or canvas, but also a 16x20 canvas or 11x14 poster, or 5x7 announcement.
This is how it would look for a girl:

Here is a possible wedding one:

It can be really made in any color.
If you don't have 6 generations yet, this chart can be brought down to a 5 or 4 generations on a 12x12 page or canvas or also a 20x20 or 18x18 canvas.

So, no need for pictures, you can have a beautiful 6, 5 or 4 generations family tree just like this ones! Just give me a shout if you want to know how!

Please note that due to the nature of names, this is a special project and needs to be adjusted according to the names length, thus I cannot really provide a easy to use template, so I will have to create it for you.

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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Family tree wall

2011-10-20T07:30:00.000-04:00

I have a wall in my house that has a big picture of the Colosseum on it, and while in some way it describes part of my children's heritage (mine), I really want to make that wall our family Heritage wall, more specifically our Family tree wall.
While I wait for my husband and I to find the time to paint that wall, which will be when we will be painting the whole living room and kitchen, I have been scattering my brain.
First of all, this time I will not have a single tree with my kids as the root persons. I have that nicely framed on another wall in the house, but there is a problem: I made it when I only had 3 kids. Now I have 4, and who knows if the Lord will bless us with more.
I have come to realize that those kind of family tree displays are for families that are done having kids, or that don't mind creating a new display each time a new child enters their lives.

So, what to do, what to do...
My solution is to have a family tree for each of the parents and then have a picture for each of the kids hung under the 2 family trees. This way when a new child comes, a new picture can be added, and when the kids grow up, if wanted, their picture can be substituted with their grown up ones.
When they get married and have kids, I can either add more pictures, or substitute with their family picture. (Yeah, I am thinking waaayy ahead!^_^)
As a final touch, the family name can be added.
I am scattering my brain for different ways to assemble the whole project.
Here are the ideas I have been working on:

2 20x24 canvases, one for the family tree with me as the root person, one for the one with my husband as the other root person.
a 8x8 canvas with a picture for each of my kids(4) and a 20x8 canvas with our family name (optional).

Cost as low as $343 (with a Gold HM Club membership) plus shipping, might save 10% more if I publish when canvas publishing goes on sale in December
Should I want these framed the cost would go up
2 20x20 canvases,4 8x8 canvases and a 20x8 canvas with our family name (optional).

Cost: as low as $330 (with a Gold HM Club membership) plus shipping, might save 10% more if I publish when canvas publishing goes on sale in December
A smaller and much less expensive way would be:
2 11x14 posters , 4 8x8 pages, and enough 5x5 greeting cards or 5x7 invitations or 3x3 family folds to fill with the letters of our family name.

Cost: as low as $20 (with a Gold HM Club membership) plus shipping.
I could also use the 4x8 photo card for the letters of the last name,, making it even less expensive.
These can be framed, or modge podged on tiles or wood to give them dimension.

Cost will depend on the sales I can find on frames and/ or coupons I can use.

It would almost be cute if I painted a tree or found something to stencil on the wall, like this:

Once we will finally have this in my house, I think my kids will love it too, because there will be big pictures of them (you know how when they are little it is all about them ) but then there is this big canvas with this family tree, and they will have more opportunities to hear about their ancestors since they will be constantly "looking" at them!
Now, which color should my wall be?

Decisions decisions...

Do you have a Heritage wall in your home?

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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50 Questions Family History interview

2011-10-19T15:29:00.001-04:00

I talked about one way to get started on your Family History by focusing on a special couple or generations, using the Heritage Calendar to remind you every month to focus on a new one.

If you lack of ideas on what to do to start writing about this people, and if they or somebody who knew them is still alive, you might find this 50 question list useful:

What is your full name? Why did your parents select this name for you? Did you have a nickname?

When and where were you born?

How did your family come to live there?

Were there other family members in the area? Who?

What was the house (apartment, farm, etc.) like? How many rooms? Bathrooms? Did it have electricity? Indoor plumbing? Telephones?

Were there any special items in the house that you remember?

What is your earliest childhood memory?

Describe the personalities of your family members.

What kind of games did you play growing up?

What was your favorite toy and why?

What was your favorite thing to do for fun (movies, beach, etc.)?

Did you have family chores? What were they? Which was your least favorite?

Did you receive an allowance? How much? Did you save your money or spend it?

What was school like for you as a child? What were your best and worst subjects? Where did you attend grade school? High school? College?

What school activities and sports did you participate in?

Do you remember any fads from your youth? Popular hairstyles? Clothes?

Who were your childhood heroes?

What were your favorite songs and music?

Did you have any pets? If so, what kind and what were their names?

What was your religion growing up? What church, if any, did you attend?

Were you ever mentioned in a newspaper?

Who were your friends when you were growing up?

What world events had the most impact on you while you were growing up? Did any of them personally affect your family?

Describe a typical family dinner. Did you all eat together as a family? Who did the cooking?

What were your favorite foods?

How were holidays (birthdays, Christmas, etc.) celebrated in your family? Did your family have special traditions?

How is the world today different from what it was like when you were a child?

Who was the oldest relative you remember as a child? What do you remember about them?

What do you know about your family surname?

Is there a naming tradition in your family, such as always giving the firstborn son the name of his paternal grandfather?

What stories have come down to you about your parents? Grandparents? More distant ancestors?

Are there any stories about famous or infamous relatives in your family?

Have any recipes been passed down to you from family members?

Are there any physical characteristics that run in your family?

Are there any special heirlooms, photos, bibles or other memorabilia that have been passed down in your family?

What was the full name of your spouse? Siblings? Parents?

When and how did you meet your spouse? What did you do on dates?

What was it like when you proposed (or were proposed to)? Where and when did it happen? How did you feel?

Where and when did you get married?

What memory stands out the most from your wedding day?

How would you describe your spouse? What do (did) you admire most about them?

What do you believe is the key to a successful marriage?

How did you find out your were going to be a parent for the first time?

Why did you choose your children's names?

What was your proudest moment as a parent?

What did your family enjoy doing together?

What was your profession and how did you choose it?

If you could have had any other profession what would it have been? Why wasn't it your first choice?

Of all the things you learned from your parents, which do you feel was the most valuable?
What accomplishments were you the most proud of?

50. What is the one thing you most want people to remember about you?

This list is from genealogy.about.com

Calendar idea: Baby's first year

2011-10-18T07:00:00.000-04:00

Calendars are very useful as they are, but they are even better when they have extra purpose. One cute idea is to use them to display your baby's 1st year. This way you can then frame the pictures after the year is gone, and/or preserve them in a scrapbook album.

This could be used also to write down all of the baby's milestones, or for any other purpose you might think.
I have noticed that somebody has already had this idea , in fact they already submitted a template to the Template Gallery:

The colors really don't match my baby's personality, so I am making a total new one, which is also an 11x16 calendar.

As you can see the one I am creating for my baby is has the 3 generation page as cover, just so that even that can be framed!

Most of the pages I am creating completely from scratch, or like the cover, I am importing one of my previous projects and modifying it to fit the calendar pages.
For the month of March I have imported a project that seemed just perfect for the month and my baby, and this was the final result:

I am loving going through my baby's first year pictures, he has grown so much!

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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2012 Heritage Calendar

2011-10-14T16:14:00.001-04:00

October is Family History month, and I am always looking for ways to help others(and myself) remember to put down their memories and/or find the stories about their family.
I talked about my idea for a Heritage calendar long time ago, but since I am creating a new one for 2012, I wanted to share this version with you.
The cover was inspired by my very colorful Family Tree:

The idea of the calendar is to inspire me to focus on collecting information about a specific couple or generation each month, so that by the end of the year there should be enough material to put together a 4 generations Family History Book.
On January I have all my children, which, by the way, on the cover are in the watering can as a symbol of their ability to give new life to the Family tree.

February is for me and my husband (perfect, right?;).

March is for their paternal grandparents.

April for their maternal grandparents.

May for their paternal great grandparents on their granddaddy's side.
June for their paternal great grandparents on their Nana's side.
July is for their maternal great grandparents on their nonno's side.
August is for their maternal great grandparents on their nonna's side.
The remaining months can be used to either display the 2nd great grandparents( 4 for each month), or to focus on uncle aunts and cousins (i.e.: September for uncle and aunts on dads side, October for uncle and aunts on mom's side, November for cousins on dad's side, December for cousins on mom's side.).

Once 2012 will be gone by, this calendar can be recycled by framing the picture part of each month and hanging them on a special Heritage wall in your home. I would put the family tree(trim the bottom, where it has the title of the calendar)

in the center, the pages about the kids on the bottom with their parents on the side, maybe uncles and aunts and cousins further down and grand parents and great grandparents on the top, in a family tree manner. If you like you can purchase one of those cute vinyl wall family trees that you can find online, or if you feel up to it, you can paint your very own.

So, start creating this calendar, and even if you don't have all the pictures, that shouldn't stop you, it just means that this is a incentive for you to actually look for those pictures during 2012!

This calendar could be another way to entice your family members, whether their are immediate or long lost cousins, to share the info and picture that they have with you.
Who wouldn't want to be part of such a cute calendar and of a possibly even cuter Family History book?
It would also be a beautiful Christmas gift, especially for family members that don't really use the internet, to share your passion with them, and why not, plant the "genealogy seed" in their heart!

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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Fruits of their Love -AKA- Descendants book

2011-10-14T07:30:00.000-04:00

When working on your family history it is only natural to start with what you know which is usually you, your parents, and when in luck, your grandparents.
Fact is, this is not all your immediate Family History. You are part of your grandparents family tree, you are part of the "History of their Future", and so are any of your siblings and their descendants and any of your cousins, their parents and their descendants.
It will have to come a point when you have all of these Family Histories together, because they are indeed part of your own.

I have decided to create a Descendant book for both my set of grandparents. Each descendant is indeed a Fruit of their Love, a fruit of the Santoriello and/or Iannone Family tree.
Since I am going to share it with my cousins in Italy, it is written in Italian.
It is going to have a page with some genealogical info and some Family History, and a page with the family cluster for each descendant.
Here is how it is going to look:
Nonno Vincenzo Santoriello and Antonia Bottiglieri descendants book:

"I Frutti del Loro Amore" in Italian means "The Fruits of their Love"

My dad's parents had 6 children, and sadly my grandma died of childbirth, together with her baby, hence I put an angel in place of the baby.

This is part of the page with some of the Family history/ wedding and kids birthday info.

Gerardo Iannone and Michelina Sannazzaro descendats book:

My mom's parents had 7 children, and 5 of them had 3 children each who also had an average of 2-3 children each. You can tell that this book is going to have quite a few pages!

Thanks to the import feature I was able to make the pages for my parents and me and my siblings' family clusters only once in one book, and then import it in the other, since we are descendants of both sets of grandparents:

Naturally this is just a draft, but it gives you the idea.
Right now I am creating it in a softbound 8x8 book, but thanks to the new import feature, I will be able to transform it in any format I want:
8x8 hardcover book,
12x12 hard cover book
or if I want to add new family clusters as my younger cousins start getting married and having children, I could create a post bound album to then fill with 12x12 pages.
To make it more portable, I could make a 5x5 book out of it, or even a 5x5 flipbook or swatchbook(I would need more than one since they come only in 10 pages).
As you can see, I have options;)
The best part of these books, though, it is their purpose as a tool to help me entice my cousins and their families to share photos and info that I haven't been able to get yet, and that for sure I will not find in civil or parish records any time soon.
Here is how:

I created a facebook group for the descendants of my grandparents on my dad side, and one for the descendants of my grandparents on my mom's side.

I added any cousin I know on facebook from each line, and I shared a few pages of the book asking for help in finding the missing info.
In just a day, I got some info on my grandparents and a whole video full of pictures that my cousins made for their dad, which has all of his children and grand children. Not bad!
I still need more pictures and info, but I can already see that my idea is working!!!
Stay tuned if you are curious to know when I will have completed my grandparents' descendants books, and which one is going to be completed first.

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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2012 Calendar - plus Family tree

2011-10-13T07:30:00.000-04:00

As every year, I am creating a calendar for me and one to send overseas to my mom, to help her remember every birthday and also to let her know she is always in my thoughts.
When it comes to calendar, I really don't like to reinvent the wheel, so I just look in the template gallery.
This year I found 2 very cute templates, and I was a very happy camper when I realized that I didn't have to choose between the two, but I could actually choose the best from each of them, and make it my own!

These are the 2 Templates I choose:

Click on the above pictures to compare the 2 templates.
This is a sneak peak of what my calendar is going to look like:

I completely swapped November because I really liked it better in the second template.
In Italy we celebrate the Day of the Dead (il giorno dei morti) on November 2nd, so I thought I would have a picture of the boys at their great grandparents tombstone.

May is my birth month, and it is also when mother's day is, so the pictures I choose were just perfect!On this one I kept the top from the original template and choose the bottom from the second one, and just matched the backgrounds by swapping the top one with a copy of the new bottom one. I might add a quote about the love of a mother, we'll see.
I still need to complete it with all the pictures on the calendar grid for each birthday in my immediate and extended family, as I have already done for the month of July:

I had to make this calendar even more mine by adding a family tree on the back, which was otherwise a plain background.
I choose the very colorful Family Tree I had just created on a 12x12 page and imported it on the back on my calendar. A little resizing to make it fit, et voila':

I think it is going to look very cute, and once we will be done with the calendar, I can frame this family tree, or use it for any other project I can come out with.
Talk about recycling!^_^
I am thinking that the tree on my mom's copy of the calendar will have to start from me and my siblings, so that she will have all of her ancestors, since she doesn't really cares much about knowing my husband's genealogy!
I am waiting to take my kids' Halloween pictures to complete the calendar but I want to order it before the end of the month, since Calendars are on sale in October, and I love sales;).
How about you?

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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Very Colorful Family Tree

2011-10-12T07:00:00.000-04:00

A few of my CavaGenealogy fans have asked for more artsy family trees, so I thought I would go ahead and make something really colorful.
Here is the result:

Noticed how cute is the pictures of my babies inside the watering can?^_^
I liked it so much that I decided to make it even a little more artistic by adding a little scenery in the background.

I had to make the tree a little smaller, but it is so cute, it is worth it, especially if this gets printed on a 20x20 canvas, it would enlighten any room!
This is how it could look if used as a magnetic family tree background:

This would look cute also on a 5x5 card, or also modge podged on a 2x4... mmh, another idea is coming to my mind, so stay tuned if you want to know what it is!;)

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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Creative Genealogy: the art of recycling

2011-10-10T07:30:00.000-04:00

If you know me, you know that I just cannot stand waste.
I love been able to use everything to its full potential, and do all I can to make this happen.
In my house we recycle everything. We do compost for our garden. I garage sales or I donate items to charity or freecycle so that somebody else can use what we don't need, Most of my kids clothes are hand me downs from some family member or friends or their own brothers.
I could go on and on about my efforts to recycle, but this should give you an idea of what I am talking about.
This characteristic of mine applies also to my Creative Genealogy projects, and since HM has finally introduced the capability of importing complete pages into a project, I am in a complete recycling mode!
I have been changing formats to many of my projects, mixing different project together, and while doing this my mind has been overwhelmed by the infinite possibilities!
I have also been able to recover projects whose formats where not available anymore for printing, and change them as needed.

Another way I recycle my genealogy projects is by switching pictures on a family tree, like when I changed a tree I created for my children in the same tree but with my husband and his siblings as the root persons

or when I use different pictures of the same persons for the same family tree, just to maybe have a tree with them when they were young, and one with their latest picture.
or when I create a descendancy chart for kinship explanations for 2 different ancestors in a family tree.

or when I find a template created by somebody else and say "Why didn't I think of that before!" or "This is just perfect for me, why reinvent the wheel?" and I either use it as is or transform it to fit my needs.

LOVE LOVE LOVE Recycling!!!

The nice thing is, I do all this without wasting paper, glue, or any other tool traditional scrap-booking requires.
I don't risk losing my project, because it is safely stored in my Studio online , and I can publish copies or different versions of a project whenever I want, or just wait for when that format is on sale (Yeah, I love sales;)).

I already posted a couple of my "recycled" creative genealogy projects, but stay tuned, since I have many more to come and remember to like my facebook page also for extras I don't have the time to post here!
(Yes, 4 boys age 7 and under can somehow take most of my time;)).

If you want to start recycling creatively too, join my Club HM!

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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School memories can be expensive! Don't let them!

2011-10-07T11:20:00.001-04:00

One of my facebook friends just expressed her frustration on her wall about how expensive is to order school photo packages, even the most basic one can cost more than $30.
My thought on this is " ARE YOU CRAZY?"
I think that anyone can take beautiful pictures of their kids with their digital camera, and still create wonderful school keepsakes without having to deplete their bank account!
Use that money to pay for college!;)
You can make a cute scrapbook page for less than $5, and it is much more meaningful than a picture taken from someone that doesn't even know your kid!
If you look on my website, and search in the template gallery for the keyword "school", or "elementary", or "yearbook" you will find lots of easy to use templates to create your very own school keepsake.
These are some of my favorites:
1st day:

Template ID: 56459

Template ID: 513

Template ID: 40566
Aren't these just perfect to record their very 1st day?
Party pages:

Template ID: 56460
Perfect to help your kid remember the fun he/she had at school!

School picture:

Template ID: 25743

ABC page:

Template ID: 358

Last day of school:

Template ID: 62656

All these scrappages can be preserved in a beautiful post bound album.

Template ID: 64407

Template ID: 56458

Template ID: 39864

Template ID: 38561

Template ID: 37978
You can make one for each kid, or one for all, you choose!

You can also have fun creating a whole yearbook, especially if you have many photos.
You can ask for more pictures to the teachers, room moms, other parents that might have been there for parties and field trips etc.
Here are a few examples:
(Click on the cover picture to see the whole yearbook)

Pre-K:

A few pages inside:

Template ID: 20984

Elementary school:

Template ID: 20893

1st grade:

2nd grade:

Grad year:

Middle school:

A couple of pages inside:

Template ID: 21175

Thanks to the new import page feature, these books can be printed in 5x5, 8x8 or 12x12 sizes, no matter what size the template was originally created for! You can also mix and match your favorite pages from any template and transform them in another yearbook or single scrap pages.

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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Family pedigree heart

2011-10-07T07:52:00.000-04:00

I have been thinking of different ways to display a family pedigree, and while I have created quite a few different family trees, I really wanted something different.
This Family pedigree heart came to me from the constant thought that Family and Genealogy is about Love.
It is composed of leaves and has pictures and names of a person's ancestors with such person at the bottom:

Here is a 5 generations version with a darker background:

This is also how it will look if used as a Magnetic Family Tree background once the picture magnets are on it.
I think it would look cute even as the cover for a 5x5 greeting card.

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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Genealogy subway Art

2011-10-06T11:52:00.000-04:00

Subway art seems to be something more and more people are looking for nowadays, so I thought I, "How about a Genealogy one?". I looked everywhere online, and I couldn't find one so I thought of a few words that describe Genealogy, and put them together in my very own Genealogy subway art:

I started playing with it and changed text colors and background. Here is a few more:

I think that green and brown work great here because they recall the colors of a tree.
It would look really good framed too:

Here is a couple more version of my genealogy subway art:

This can be printed on 8x8 or 12x12 pages and framed as you pleased or modged podged on tile or wood.
It would be the perfect gift for the genealogist and family historian in your life.
How about printing it on a 8x8 canvas? Even better a 12x12 or a 20x20 Canvas : it will be just perfect in your home!
As you can tell, the possibilities are endless!

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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Matching address labels

2011-10-05T06:39:00.000-04:00

Just in case you thought that the genealogy related greeting cards I created were not enough, you can add something more.
Drum-roll :) matching address labels!
Let's see if you can guess which card these labels match:

With a simple import you can get the whole front of any of the cards you are thinking to create, on the address label, resize it to fit, and then add the address, et voila'!
You can also just have one or two embellishment from the card, if you don't want too much detail, and it will be just as cute!

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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Christmas (Family) Tree card

2011-10-04T10:07:00.002-04:00

With greeting cards going on sale in November, now is time to work on Christmas cards.
I love the ones that have a Christmas Tree, even better when the Christmas Tree is a Family tree!
To save myself some time, I found a Christmas tree card Template in the Template Gallery and made it suit to my needs:

I wanted to make it more mine, so I changed something here and there:

Now, this is cute, and it can be done in BASIC, but I really like Premiere embellishments, so here is another version of it:

Now, this was so cute that I had to make a folded greeting card with it, so I imported this project in a 5x5 greeting card.
Here is the result:

Now, this is sweeet! I think that the idea of putting the names on the Christmas tree on the back really adds to the genealogy aspect of it.
I went ahead and published this one and I decided to choose the pearl paper option on this: I must say, it is really shiny!^_^

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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3 generations baby announcement

2011-10-03T08:29:00.000-04:00

Babies are new leaves on your family tree, so why not announce their arrival with a genealogy related card?
Here is an example:

These cards can be created with any kind of background, and if desired, even a little family pedigree could be added on any of the other sides of the card.
If something looks familiar, you are right, I imported the front of the card from the 3 generations baby keepsake I created a few months ago, and then added coordinated embellishments and background in the inside and back of the card.
It is just that easy!

This announcement can be kept as is or even framed, or you could modge podge it on a 5x5 tile to display in your baby's room.

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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Advent Calendar Family tree Christmas Card

2011-10-01T22:45:00.000-04:00

After creating the advent The advent Calendar Family tree, I thought it would be cute to have a portable version of it, so I couldn't help, but create a Greeting card using the import feature.
It was really fast and fun, plus I decided to also create the back of the house in the back of the card. It took a couple of copy and paste, and a few little touches, and it was done!

Isn't it cute? The kid (or grown up!) that will receive this can choose to keep it as is, or have fun cutting the little windows and play with them the whole Christmas season!
How cute is that?^_^

So cute that I have already published it and ordered it!

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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Planning an unforgettable Family Reunion

2011-10-01T07:00:00.000-04:00

Are you going to have a Family Reunion this year? Next Summer?
You really need to plan it right.
I shared some of my ideas for your family reunion here, but it never hurts to have more!

Here is just a few more ideas from HM:

I really appreciate how HM has put this class together, you can watch it here:

At the Family Reunion

This is one of many online classes to help you use the Studio software in its full potential.

If you log into your Studio account, you will find a link to all the free classes available.

Stay tuned for more ideas that will help you make sure that your Family Reunion is just a blast!

8 minutes scrap page

2011-09-30T11:20:00.000-04:00

As another proof that using our Studio online software is just so easy, I choose a cute scrap page that seemed it would be perfect for my boys, with just a couple changes.
From my website, I looked in the Template gallery, and chose this Template:

As alway, I clicked on details, selected the premier box, and clicked on "get this template.
Once in my project and templates, I clicked on start my own, edited, and customized it.

I dragged and dropped my kids pictures, changed the brown in red, to make it match with their clothes, and changed the wording.

In less than 8 minutes, it was done!
Take advantage of the FREE PREMIER weekend, and make your own page too!

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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Love Genealogy quotes?

2011-09-30T07:30:00.000-04:00

Then you will love my Facebook Page!
I have already posted a few in a photo album, here's a couple:

and I am going to post more periodically, so you might want to check my CavaGenealogy page on facebook and like it so that you will be the first to know when I post a new quote.
I am going to have fun quotes, inspirational quotes, and just the way it is quotes.
Feel free to share it with your Facebook friends!
Thank 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 My Club HM!

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10 minutes Christmas card

2011-09-29T22:56:00.000-04:00

Since I wanted to prove that it is so easy to personalize a card to fit your needs, I chose a supersweet Christmas template, and timed myself from start to finish.
Here is the Template I chose:

It took less than 10 minutes!!!

This is the front of the 6x4 card

I changed the wish , the family name and added a snowman because we have 4 boys in our home. Oh, and I changed my hat because I like it red;)

And this is the back:

Here I swapped the pictures, added one more, and moved them around to make them look nice.

Also, changed the names.

Fun!!!

Go ahead, try it too, it's FREE!!!!

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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Getting started in a jiff!

2011-09-29T07:00:00.001-04:00

You have been looking at all these projects and have been reading about how easy it is to create your own, but still don't know if it is really going to be easy for you...
Well, here is a couple video that will open your horizon and help you get you started in no time!
How to create and send a Greeting Card:

How to create a 4x8 Christmas card:

How to start a project from a Template:

If you have 30 minutes, (or 3 - 10 minutes slots in your daily routine) this will really give you a full overview of the whole Studio account, from how to sign up, to how to upload pictures, to create your project.
It will really show you how easy it is!

Now you really have no excuse, you just have to get those pics from your computer, ask your relatives for the ones you don't have yet, and start that project you have been putting back for so long.
Now is the time to Preserve your Heritage!

My HM club members can have their favorite Creative Genealogy 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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Family tree tumbler

2011-09-28T06:30:00.000-04:00

I don't drink coffee, but I love hot chocolate, and love those Starbucks create your own tumbler.
I talked about the Templates available in the Template Gallery here, but there was nothing with a Family tree, so I create my own, by just importing and adjusting one of my high contrast family trees I showed you a few post ago.
So, here is my Family tree Tumbler Template:

and here is the final result:

I realized that this template was a little short, so I am going to modify it to suit the cup I bought, which is this one:

This could be a pretty cute genealogy gift for the genealogist that spends lots of nights up doing research;), or for the family members that need a constant reminder to go look for those pictures or those documents they have not shared with you yet, and that could help break one of those genealogy "brick walls".

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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Importing old genealogy projects into a whole new one

2011-09-27T23:18:00.000-04:00

I have already talked about how much I am in love with the new HM Studio functionality, the Import page, which is found in My Studio editor inside the "My projects" tab once you click on a page from any of your projects.

I have been so excited about it, that I cannot stop transforming old projects into new ones, and/or making various versions of a new project.
I took the 14x11 Family tree posters I talked about here and transformed them in 2 24x20 canvases, changing them just a tiny bit, but putting the family names in the center of each canvas.

I took the cute little artsy 12x12 page family tree I created for my son (read about it here), and made it into 2 20x20 canvases, one with my husband as the root person, one with me as the root person.

Yeah, I am really into canvas lately;) It might be because a little bird told me that they are going to be on sale before Christmas ;)!
I am working on them now, so that when they are on sale, I will be ready to publish!

Here is a video that will explain how the import feature works:

My HM club members can have their favorite Creative Genealogy 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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Family tree advent Calendar

2011-09-26T06:30:00.000-04:00

Well,
Christmas is less than 3 months away, and everywhere I go, I already see Christmas trees and commercials on TV about your Christmas list, so it was only natural that I checked some Christmas ideas in the Template Gallery.
This one really caught my eye, and sparkled my Creative Genealogy gene.

The Template is called Advent Calendar and it is designed by Darcie Toom.
12x12 Scrap Page
Template ID: 36277

It is designed so that you can put random family pictures, but you know very well, as a genealogist, the pictures in my project have to have a meaning.

All I did was changing the order of pictures and decorations under the windows and the Template is now a Family tree advent Calendar!

How cool is that?
You will find instructions on how to put it together inside the template, even if it is pretty obvious.
I already published it and I checked, it was shipped, so it should be here any day. I will probably post it for you to see once it is here and we put it together!
This is going to be another precious heirloom for our family. The kids are going to learn about a member of our family tree each day a window opens on a picture, about the Christmas story, even if all they will really be excited about is when the window opens on something fun to do or some treat to eat or prepare!

You can reorganize the original template by yourself during the Free Premier weekend, or, if you decide to join my HM club, I will transfer the Family tree advent Calendar to your account as soon as you start your membership.

Check out my favorite Templates from the template gallery here (Scroll down to see all the posts!)

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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14x11 Family tree poster Template

2011-09-25T00:27:00.000-04:00

I have talked about the free premier weekend and how you can choose one of the free genealogy templates available on my website to create your own genealogy/Family history project.

One of my favorites is this 11x14 Family tree poster template, designed by Lynda Angelastro,which is more like a colorful pedigree.

All I did was choose the template, which brings it in my own personal template gallery, and then edit it to change pictures and data. Here is the result:

Since I wanted to create one for my husband so that they could go side by side to form my kids family tree, I just created a copy of this project, then edited it. I turned the page 180 degree, and changed the writings accordingly. After swapping all the picture with my husband's family, it was done.

Please note that the nature background is the actual background of the project, but you can really change it in any way you want.

This template ID is 61637.

Just enter this ID in the template search box, click enter, and it will come up.

To learn how to modify a template, after you have signed up and logged in my website, check this free video class to watch at your own convenience, or you can register for one of the upcoming scheduled free online classes.

Intro to Studio

Tue, Sep 27, 2011 5:00 PM - 6:00 PM MDT
Click here to register
Intro to Studio
Thu, Sep 29, 2011 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM MDT
Click here to register

This will allow you to be ready to take advantage of the full free premier weekend.

Also, when you sign up on my website, I will send you a printable file that shows you what you need to know at a glance.

If you already know how to use Studio, but want to learn a few more trick or be inspired by new ideas, check the archived classes and the upcoming inspiration classes in listed in your "My Studio".

Always feel free to contact me with any question or request.

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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Family tree bookmarks

2011-09-24T22:38:00.000-04:00

Just when I was publishing about the elongated family tree, another idea came to my mind: how about making bookmarks out of that elongated family tree?

It could be a great little gift for anybody in your family, inexpensive but still priceless! These can be printed on 5x7 invitations, ready to be cut

5x7 greeting cards (folded), to send to loved ones, giving them the option to keep them as they are or to cut the bookmark side and maybe frame the other or just save it. You could also laminate them and add a little ribbon to make it even cuter!
Yeah, this is going to be published soon for my boys to use in their books!
Here is how bookmarks would look once cut:

My HM club members can have their favorite Creative Genealogy 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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Inspirations Online classes

2011-09-24T09:30:00.000-04:00

Once you have played a little on your Studio account, you might be ready for something more.
Here is a list of recorded online classes that will just sparkle your creativity and stear you in the right direction to create wonderful projects and priceless gifts.

Remember to always log into your Studio Account first so you can actually practice while following the video.

Inspirations Online classes:
Thu, Sep 1, 2011 Video
Thankful Hearts

Thu, Aug 25, 2011 Video
Reunion Roundup

Thu, Aug 11, 2011 Video
Vacations & Family Fun

Thu, Jul 28, 2011 Video
Sports Spectacular

Thu, Jul 14, 2011 Video
Christmas in July

Thu, Jun 23, 2011 Video
Baby, Baby

Thu, Jun 9, 2011 Video
At the Family Reunion

Thu, May 26, 2011 Video
My Country Tis of Thee

Thu, May 12, 2011 Video
Gifts & Greetings for Father's Day

Thu, Apr 28, 2011 Video
School, Teacher Gift and Graduation Projects

Thu, Apr 14, 2011 Video
Gifts & Greetings for Mother's Day

Thu, Mar 24, 2011 Video
Love is in the Air: Wedding/Anniversary Projects

Fri, Mar 11, 2011 Video
Spring and Faith-Focused Projects

Thu, Feb 24, 2011 Video
P-A-R-T-Y All Year Long!

Thu, Feb 10, 2011 Video
At the Heart of Your Home

Thu, Jan 27, 2011 Video
Make It in Moments

Thu, Jan 13, 2011 Video Material
Love Notes & Love Stories

Thu, Dec 16, 2010 Video Material
Your Family's Year in Review (Lynda Angelastro)

Thu, Dec 2, 2010 Video
To Die for December Art (Lynda Angelastro)

Thu, Nov 11, 2010 Video
Crafts for Christmas (Lynda Angelastro)

Thu, Oct 28, 2010 Video
Latest in Calendars, Date Books & Planners (Lynda Angelastro and Tanja Rigby)

Sun, Oct 17, 2010 Video
Celebrate FREE Premier Weekend, Day Three, Saturday Show-and-Tell (Lynda Angelastro)

Fri, Oct 15, 2010 Video
Celebrate Our FREE Premier Weekend, Day Two (Lynda Angelastro)

Thu, Oct 14, 2010 Video
Celebrate FREE Premier Weekend & Explore October's Art (Lynda Angelastro and Tanja Rigby)

Thu, Sep 23, 2010 Video
HM Studio Creative Team Projects and Picks (Lynda Angelastro and Studio Creative Team)

Thu, Sep 9, 2010 Video
Thanksgiving-themed Projects (Lynda Angelastro and Tanja Rigby)

Thu, Aug 26, 2010 Video
2010 Reunion Roundup (Lynda Angelastro & Tanja Rigby)

Thu, Jul 22, 2010 Video
Reunion Art & Template Sneak Peek (Lynda Angelastro & Tanja Rigby)

Thu, Jul 8, 2010 Video
Ideas for Christmas in July (Lynda Angelastro)

Thu, Jun 24, 2010 Video
Picking the Right Product For Your Project (Lynda Angelastro and Tanja Rigby)

Thu, Jun 10, 2010 Video
Advanced Photo Techniques (Lynda Angelastro and Barbie Gordon-Carroll)

Thu, May 13, 2010 Video
Here Comes the Bride (Lynda Angelastro)

These ones are VERY old, but have lots of inspiring ideas also, so, just in case, here they are:

October 22, 2009 Instructor Lynda Angelastro - “Fun Foldables”
September 24, 2009 Instructor Lynda Angelastro - “Reunion Roundup”
September 10, 2009 Instructor Lynda Angelastro - “Best of Tiny and Totable”
August 27, 2009 Instructor Lynda Angelastro - “From Page to Project”
August 13, 2009 Instructor Lynda Angelastro - “Basically Speaking”
July 23, 2009 Instructor Lynda Angelastro - “Easy Page Design Using Grids”
July 9, 2009 Instructor Lynda Angelastro - “Your Best of Studio 3.0”
June 25, 2009 Instructor Lynda Angelastro - “Studio 3.0”
February 19, 2009 Instructor Kelly Wolfer - “Family Games”
January 22, 2009 Instructor Bevin Dunn - “Understanding Resolution, Pixels, etc.”
January 8, 2009 Instructor Michelle Wolfley - “Special Effects”
December 11, 2008 Instructor Channon Zabel - “Creative Cropping”
December 4, 2008 Instructor Catherine Schulthies - “Using Templates and Scraplifting”
November 13, 2008 Instructor Colleen Baskin - “Holiday Gift Ideas” (some audio problems in first 5 minutes)
November 6, 2008 Instructor Lori Mar - “Winter Holiday Cards”
October 30, 2008 Instructor Heidi Arave - “Creating Layouts Using Basic Art”

I hope you find the inspiration you need!

Introducing Club HM

2011-09-24T02:17:00.001-04:00

Ok, many of you have been asking where to find the Templates for the Creative Genealogy projects that I have been sharing with you.
Well, some are already available on the Template gallery on my website, but most of them I can only transfer to my HM club members.

What is Club HM?

Club HM is a new way of getting your publishing DONE this year! Yes, DONE! With OUT having to wait for the BIG sale, or pay for it all in one lump sum!

Now you can publish LOTS, while paying just a little at a time AND have ALL the benefits of PREMIER!

Check out this clip to see what has all us Heritage Makers buzzing and chirping about to friends, family, clients, ...well, EVERYONE about how they can save 25% - 50% of their publishing points!!

Those of you who understand the value of the premier membership will certainly appreciate getting your premier for FREE and being able to purchase publishing points monthly at a BIG discount instead. I am THRILLED about how affordable publishing with Heritage Makers has become for ALL budgets.
Here is how it works...

Instead of making a large purchase like $99 for a year of premier OR 3 storybooks at a time because they are on sale, we are now offering a monthly membership. It is a monthly plan (without a long term commitment) where you pay, for example:

$30 a month, but you get 40 publishing points and your Premier is FREE!!

When considering this program. Think about what you will make in 2011/2012:

Family history projects
Family trees
Calendars
Holiday cards
Family albums
Children's albums
Valentines Day cards/books
School projects
Invitations or announcements
Father's Day or Mother's Day projects
Vacation books
Halloween decor or cards
Family canvases
home decor
kids sports books/projects

The Benefits of Club HM:

Savings of up to 50%
Convenient monthly point plan
Free Premier
Access to Premier art and templates
Unlimited photo storage
Opportunity to purchase 100 extra points for only $50 at signup
Project ideas and publishing tips from the Club community
Being in my personal Club HM, you will receive the family tree template of your choice to personalize for your own family, directly in your account!
The Templates I create are for my clients and for my Club HM members personal use only!

1. 40 publishing points and FREE Premier for $30 a month
So after 3 months, you'll have 120 publishing points for $90 and FREE Premier those 3 months.

2. 70 publishing points and FREE Premier for $50 a month
So after 3 months, you'll have 210 publishing points for $150 and FREE Premier those 3 months.

3. 150 publishing points for $100 a month
So after 3 months, you'll have 450 publishing points for $300 and FREE Premier those 3 months.

BONUS!!!! When you sign up for Club, you can purchase 100 publishing points for just $50 - Thats a 50% SAVINGS!!
In order to receive the benefits of club pricing, members must agree to a 3-month commitment. After the first 3 months Club members will automatically renew each month, on a month to month basis, but you can then cancel the renewal anytime online in your account OR change your options - moving up and down as needed.

Please take a look at the plans on the Flyer and let me know which one is best for you!!

These new payment plans are ideal for all families as we try our best to keep our money where it counts. Our Economy is hurting, but we don't have to. You get GREAT Savings (25% - 50% discounts) use of Premier, and family treasures you entire family can enjoy!

Know others who could also benefit from this program? Get 5 people to join you and you've got a workshop party giving you FREE HOSTESS Gifts!! That's right, just share and earn FREE Rewards without the party! You've published and you KNOW the joy that comes from the products, so SHARE!!

(*If you haven't published, now is the time!) Contact me for details on your WORKSHOP Rewards!!

Also don't forget that next week is FREE PREMIER weekend. You can try it before you buy it! No strings attached!

I know you will LOVE IT!!!
Looking forward to helping you publish all your projects in 2011/2012!!!

Elongated family tree canvas

2011-09-23T16:02:00.001-04:00

Sometime you really don't have space for those super large family trees, but you still would like to show off a couple of your generations... What to do...
How about an elongated family tree, like this one I just created:

This canvas is only 8''wide and 20'' tall, so you can really put it anywhere, and it still holds 4 generations of your family tree!
It could go on a pillar or even on the side of your front door, or in any narrow wall.

Could this be what you need in your home?
Let me know!

My HM club members can have their favorite Creative Genealogy 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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Halloween candy wrappers ~ Super cute!

2011-09-21T20:18:00.001-04:00

I was looking through the template gallery when this cute little template caught my attention: candy wrappers!
They are so cute, I had to share! Template ID: 68558

What's nice is that the instructions are included in the template!

Admit it, you want them too!
Well, with the free premiere weekend, you can create them for free and just pay for the printing and shipping!
Who's going to be the lucky person who is getting these super cute candy?

My HM club members can have their favorite Creative Genealogy 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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Family flower garden pedigree

2011-09-21T09:04:00.000-04:00

As I mentioned in the previous post, I am going to share with you some of my favorite family tree templates and show you my take on them.

The first one I am going to share with you is this cute family flower garden pedigree, by Linda Angelastro:

It can be created in BASIC, son you can start right now, since it is free.

It can be personalized with any color you like, in fact here is a boy version:

and you can also add pictures if you like:

You can really do anything you want with it, and if you take advantage of the free Premier weekend, you can also add premier embellishments and back grounds:

You can really personalize it as much or as little as you want it!

If you don't have a free basic account yet, come get it!

preservemyheritage

My HM club members can have their favorite Creative Genealogy 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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How would you like a free creative genealogy project?

2011-09-20T12:43:00.000-04:00

I am happy to announce that next week end will be free premiere week end, and this will allow you to log into your HM account, and use the full functionality and creativity of Studio software even if you only have a BASIC account! If you don't have a free BASIC account yet, you can get it here:
Preservemyheritage
From the website:

"There are many reasons to love Heritage Makers, but one of the best is the unlimited creativity made possible with a Premier account. Premier is an unrivaled collection of digital art, including 6,000 pre-designed templates and 60,000 pieces of art. As a heritage maker you can get access to this incredible resource through a subscription or by joining our frequent publisher's group called "Club HM." If you would like to sample the fun and functionality of a Premier account, here's a no-risk opportunity for you. From September 30 – October 3, Heritage Makers is offering a FREE Premier Weekend! During this period you can have full reign over the entire art and template collection at absolutely no cost! Explore the offerings of Premier by making a personalized card for a loved one for World Card Making Day (October 1st), or let your creative passion extend to photo gifts, wrapped canvases, storybooks, or any number of other beautiful Heritage Makers projects. Where will your creativity take you?"

There are plenty of genealogy-family tree related templates on the website, just go on the website, click on template gallery

http://www.preservemyheritage.com/

and then type keywords like family tree, pedigree, genealogy, heritage, ancestors to see all the various templates available:

Then on September 30 just log in to your account click on the "unlock Premier" button

and choose any project you like, upload your pictures, and create your wonderful family tree for FREE!
It doesn't get better than this!
Here is a video that shows you how to choose and modify a template to suit it to your own needs and taste.

In the next days I will post some of the fast project I am creating with the genealogy templates I like the most, just to give you an idea, but you can really choose any template you like..

Let me know which project you are going to create! If you send me a preview of it, I will post it on my facebook page!

If you would like to actually publish the project you will create (poster, canvas, card, book etc), please contact me first so I can give you the best deal possible, otherwise you will pay full price! NEVER PAY FULL PRICE!

High contrast family trees

2011-09-12T23:36:00.002-04:00

If you have been looking through my projects you might have realized that I pretty much prefer pastel colors when it comes to creating family trees and similar, but lately I have been thinking that I should dare creating some that are kind of bold, so here is what I came up with.
I put together a tree with silver leaves on a brown trunk, and played on the contrast with various backgrounds.

I like the contrast because it makes the family tree highly visible in a nice big room, if printed on canvas or framed in a poster. These are just an example of how this high contrast family tree can look, but really any color back ground would work, and it can be chosen according to a person's house decor, or simply their taste. I practically had to control myself because I was having so much fun with all the different shades of backgrounds!
These can also be printed on 8x8 or 12x12 scrappages, or you can make placemats out of them, which would make them perfect for a family reunion, or why not, for a Thanksgiving table, after all, what better to be thankful for than our family? Each person could have a place mat with their own favorite color background, or even with their own picture at the base of the tree.
They can be printed on greeting cards, post cards, or also be the cover of a post bound scrapbook album.

I gotta say, I am hooked!

Which one of these is your favorite? Which one you think is like a punch in the eye?
Please let me know if there is a color I haven't thought of, I will be happy to create it and post it on the CavaGenealogy genealogy photo album.

My HM club members can have their favorite Creative Genealogy 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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Finally! !!!^_^

2011-08-30T12:49:00.000-04:00

Great news!
Studio has finally the option to transfer full pages from a project to another!!!!
You know what this means???
It means that I can transfer any project I created from a format to another!!!
I can create various size scrappages, placemats, canvases, greeting cards, playing cards, flip books, story boks and just do " the big work" once!
As soon as I heard the news, I had to to try it!
I decided to transform my 5 generations post bound album in a 12x12 page, 12x12 canvas and 20x20 canvas!:

and also changed the one I had created with 4 generations and a pink background in a 12x12 canvas!!!

This is so cool! And it took me just a few minutes to re-size them!!!
Now I can offer any of the projects I created in the past, in the format that is more suitable to the needs of anybody that asks for it, in a fraction of the time it took me before! Yeah!

I had put aside many similar projects because I felt it was a waste of time to have to recreate the same thing in a different format, this is why I am so glad HM has finally heard their customers and consultant and has made this function finally available!

Hurray!!!^_^

As you can imagine, you will hear again from me soon;)

3 generations baby keepsake

2011-02-04T13:47:00.000-05:00

I am so in love with my baby that when I realized that I hadn't created something that was just for him yet, I had to make the time to do it.
I wanted to have some sort of family tree that was especially for newborn, and at the same time I wanted to have a picture big enough that I could frame it and hang it on the wall and know that it was him without having to look close.
This is what I created for him:

I am probably going to make similar pages for all my other children, I think they will really cherish it, and so will their children, and grandchildren...
I also think that this would be a really cute gift for a new mom, instead of the usual diapers and clothes, how about something that they will keep forever?
Being a 3 generations one, it is going to be pretty easy to collect the pictures and create this page.
It can be framed, or even modge podged on a 12x12 tile, or a wooden square...
This would be cute also on canvas!
Oh boy... New ideas are coming as I write!
I guess you will see them soon!

A little patience...

My HM club members can have their favorite Creative Genealogy 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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Kids family tree placemat: keep their appetite for family history growing!

2011-01-24T08:04:00.001-05:00

As you know I am always looking for new ways to get my kids interested in genealogy, and have already created various project that they love, but every now and then they need something new to keep the interest alive.
I was thinking of a way to "feed" them family history and I came up with a family tree place mat!
This will surely give them an appetite to know more about their ancestors and will hopefully start nice conversations at the family table.
I decided to use the 11x14 page format, which I will then laminate to protect it from water and any inevitable mess.
The boys have helped me pick some of the embellishments like the moon and the dogs, but what really caught their attention and got them all excited was being put on the swing under the tree!
They couldn't wait for me to finish creating, and my 4 year old just wanted me to hurry up and make his, since I started with the one for my 6 years old!

Once I made the one for my first born it was pretty much a breeze to just swap pictures, name and background, (even the dogs as they wished), to personalize it for my other children.

As you can see I added leaves to Jacob's tree. I am not sure yet if I like it better with or without leaves...
What do you think?

My children are eager to have them on the table, as soon as I will have published them and after I will have laminated them once they are here.
I didn't make one for Mattia yet, since he is so little, and I think it would be more appropriate to use a picture of him when he is at least a toddler, and he can actually sit at the table and eat.
My children are so spoiled when it comes to their genealogy!

I am thinking to make it double sided, I am trying to come up with some fast fact genealogy games, maybe tic tac toe, matching pictures with names, or places or jobs, matching couples or a game that we can all do together as a family, like bingo with family faces, a variation of guess who...

If you have a different idea of a family game, maybe one that you are already playing in your home, or one that you would like to play that uses family pictures, I would love to hear it!

My HM club members can have their favorite Creative Genealogy 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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My first car- 52 weeks of personal genealogy- week 3

2011-01-21T23:35:00.003-05:00

I was going to go to bed but then an event on my facebook newsfeed caught my attention.
This is the 3rd year of the 52 weeks to better genealogy, and I like it that it challenges you to actually write your own personal genealogy.
The 52 weeks personal genealogy challenge, is this week about cars.

What was my first car...
You might laugh at this one, since I never really had a car in my 30 years I lived in Italy!! I didn't even have a driver license since I didn't want to pay the yearly fee without needing it.
The first car I drove was a green Renault 5 that my then boyfriend was teaching me how to drive. I was only 16, and you need to know that in Italy you can get a driver license only when you are 18, so, I wasn't exactly supposed to even try to drive it! Shh!;) I did scare quite a few people that morning!
In Italy would go everywhere using buses or trains, sometimes I would get a ride from a friend or family member and only once going to University I got a Vespa scooter after my then boyfriend ( a different one) taught me how to drive it! I believe it was 1994.
There are quite a few stories about that Vespa! I would literally drive it under any weather condition, sun, rain, fog, snow...

I used it to go on a 3 day trip along the sides of the Mediterranean coast leaving from Cava de' Tirreni, Salerno(Campania region) to Cetraro (Calabria region) with a friend of mine. We would sleep on the beach in the town we reached by each night. What a crazy adventure that was! I even managed to have an accident on the way there, making it all more interesting swimming in those salty waters with a couple of bleeding knees!
That Vespa got stolen a couple years later and had to buy a new(used) one, which got stolen once I moved to USA, but I did manage to have a pretty bad accident on that one too!
It was here in the States that I finally decided to get a driver license after the birth of my first child, since where I live there is no bus, and I didn't think that it would be "safe" to drive a Vespa with a baby on my lap. I started driving my husband's car in 2004, a Honda Accord, but that was his car, so I guess my real first car is the one I currently drive the most, a Toyota Sienna 2004 which we got from some friends of ours when we were expecting our 3rd child, in August 2008. What a blessing that car has been, especially after we ended up having only one car after my accident in 2009! It is now even a greater blessing, since there is no way that we could go around in a smaller car with our 4 kids!
To be exact, though, this car is legally on my husband's name, cause the day we bought it I couldn't go sign the title, so maybe I still have to wait to get my very own car!

5 generations post bound album

2011-01-21T21:31:00.001-05:00

I couldn't wait for my baby to be born, because I had been thinking about creating a post bound album where I could preserve all the genealogy/family history pages I was going to create for my family, but I couldn't publish it until our newest member of the family was here, because I wanted his picture on that cover, together with all the other members of the family!
So, here is the idea:
A post bound album that has a 5 generation family tree on the cover. Inside, I will add pages as I create them.
This pages will all be about our family, starting with our children and going all the way back to any ancestors that I will gather information on.
There can be basic pages with just vital stats and a picture, pages with info about jobs, travels, achievements for each person, pages with pictures and story of family heirlooms, copies of letters and anything that is related to our family.
This is going to be a life long project, but what is nice about it, is that when my children will be grown up, they will be able to make copies of the whole album or of just the pages they are interested in, and nobody will have to fight on who is taking what.
Meanwhile they will grow to learn more and more about their family, and they will get excited each and every time that we have a new page to add to the album.
Also, I won't have to make a new book in case the Lord blesses us with more kids: I will just add more pages to the album! I don't need to wait for anybody to send me more info to finish a book, I can add them later!
I was finally able to create the album cover today, so here is the front cover:

Here is a particular of the front:

Aren't my babies just handsome?^_^
This is the back:

What do you think?
I can't wait to receive this in the mail and start filling it with the pages I already created!

I can create a post bound album like this for you, or I can help you create it yourself, just contact me for details!
Enjoy your family history preservation!
EDIT: Here is how the post bound album looks in real life:

and here are my children looking through its pages

(post bound albums come with 10 plastic sleeves)

My HM club members can have their favorite Creative Genealogy 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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I'm back!

2011-01-21T19:52:00.000-05:00

Did you miss me?
Well, I missed posting on the blog too, but my family needed my complete attention, so I had to take a long break.
I am returning with a good news: our family welcomed our 4th boy on December 2nd. His name is Mattia and he is just an angel!

This was my most difficult pregnancy yet, but it was worth it!
I am now much better, so I got back to work, and I will have a new idea for you in the next post.

I won't be posting regularly since life with 4 kids is more hectic than I could imagine, and if you add doing genealogy research, being a personal publisher and storybook designer, you can figure out that my spare time is almost non existing!

I do have many ideas though, and will find the time to put them together, hopefully before the NE family history conference in March, where I will be teaching on Italian genealogy and creative genealogy/family history.

Ok, I need to keep this short, or I won't be able to share my new project!

Thank you for visiting!

FREE Premiere weekend!

2010-10-13T22:19:00.000-04:00

Great news!!!
HM is having its very first Free Premier Weekend! That’s right, from October 14 - 17, you can get full access to a Heritage Makers Premier account, absolutely free. This is a no-risk opportunity for you to try designing storybooks, canvas prints, greeting cards, playing cards, photo books, and more with over 47,000 pieces of digital art and thousands of pre-designed templates.
Imagine having free reign on a scrapbook store. That’s what it’s like when you use Heritage Makers Premier account. Unlimited creativity and fun is waiting for you! Join us!
Here’s a sampling of some of the art you’ll find in Premier:

To participate in FREE Premier Weekend, simply log into Studio and click on the “unlock Premier” button. This button will be available from 7:00 p.m. October 14 until noon October 18 MDT.
If you don’t already have a Studio account, get a free account here

Also, check out all of the great classes going on this weekend, too!

Thu, Oct 14, 2010 7:00 PM MDT
Topic: Celebrate FREE Premier Weekend & Explore October's Art
Instructor: Lynda Angelastro and Tanja Rigby
Studio Product Manager Lynda Angelastro and Creative Marketing Assistant Tanja Rigby celebrate FREE Premier Weekend by showing fabulous tips and tricks with the October art collections.

Register here.

Fri, Oct 15, 2010 6:00 PM MDT
Topic: Celebrate Our FREE Premier Weekend, Day Two
Instructor: Lynda Angelastro
Studio Product Manager Lynda Angelastro answers your art and design questions.

Register here.

Sat, Oct 16, 2010 12:01 PM MDT
Topic: Celebrate FREE Premier Weekend, Day Three, Saturday Show-and-Tell
Instructor: Lynda Angelastro
Lynda Angelastro shows off projects you have made during FREE Premier Weekend. To have work considered for the Saturday Show-and-Tell, email project previews to langelastro@heritagemakers.com.

Register here.

You can contact me with any question at any time!

What Can You Make With the New Art this holiday season

2010-10-06T15:06:00.000-04:00

This holiday you can really let your imagination fly with the new art available!
Here is some ideas that are sure to make your holidays really special:

Delight the spooks in your life! Template ID #: 39756, Playing Card Deck

No tricks, just treats with this fun greeting card. Template ID #: 38867, 7x5 Greeting Card

Remember the special moments of the fall with a board book. Template ID #: 18801, 8x8 Board Book

Creative Thanksgiving Table place cards. Template ID #: 39747, Playing Card Deck

Celebrate the blessings in your life with this festive flip book! Template ID #: 39767, Flip Book

For a preview of the template, click here.
Count your many blessings with this adorable bucket. Template ID #: 39768, 12x12 scrap page

A fun neighborly Christmas gift! Template ID #: 16841, 5x7 Post card

Trim the tree with these unique ornaments! Template ID #: 37814, Playing Card Deck

Tuck the lil’ ones into bed on Christmas Eve with this charming storybook. Template ID #: 40432, 7x5 Storybook

For a preview of this template, click here

This greeting card is a great twist on the traditional holiday card. Template ID #: 20770, 5x7 greeting card

For more creative ideas and template applications, be sure to check out the Master Class recorded September 23, 2010, right here.

You can create any of these projects by signing up for a free account on my website.

Choose the template you like and then contact me to purchase the credits to publish it at a discounted price!

October 2010 pick of the month: Storybooks!

2010-10-06T13:27:00.000-04:00

What is going to be this year?
Is your gift going to be returned on Dec 26th?
When it comes to holiday gift giving, it's hard to match the impact of a customized keepsake storybook.
Now through the month of October 2010 you can buy a two-pack of our most popular storybook sizes at a huge discount! In fact, Heritage Makers is offering a 20% discount for the entire month!!!

2 Storybooks (8"x8") $79.95
2 Storybooks (11.5"x8.5") $95.95
2 Storybooks (12"x12") $111.95
2 Wirebound Storybooks $39.95
Premier Account holders enjoy even BETTER PRICES!
Check the flier for all the details!

Contact me today to place your order!

In memory of zio Mario...

2010-09-08T22:15:00.002-04:00

Yesterday a very humble and kind person completed his journey on this earth, my uncle Mario...
He was the quintessential gentleman. Kind, honest, thoughtful, always looking for ways to make you feel good in his home. A wonderful husband and father, the best uncle one could ever hope for...
I will always remember how much he used to tease me when I was a little girl.It was almost like a ritual...
He would always make sure that there was pineapple juice (my favorite) for me when I would visit, and I had plenty of chocolate to enjoy at the end of every dinner at their house...
Once I was married, he made also sure that my husband would have Fanta (the Italian kind is gazillion times better than what you can find here) when we go visit...
So many memories....
My heart is swelling with sorrow, I am here on the other side of the Ocean, and I can't be there to mourn with my family....
I just hope that my aunt Carmela felt how much I love her through the telephone... Saying that she is devastated is the least, the pain that I could feel in her voice broke my heart even more...

I wish I had arms large enough to hug her from this side of the Ocean...

Zio Mario will never be forgotten.

TI VOGLIO BENE ZIO MARIO!

Mario Procida b.30 Jan 1938 d. 7 Sep 2010.

New Hosting rewards!

2010-09-07T13:11:00.000-04:00

The best way to get your publishing credits is through a workshop.
Workshops can be either in person, or virtual, through emails, phone calls etc.
When ordering through a workshop, you not only get the best prices, but you also receive free rewards.
Each guest gets a free greeting card credit, and when the workshops reaches at least $150, the host will be able to choose between $15 in free publishing credits or a highly discounted product.
Host can get even higher rewards!
Check the flier for all the details:

(Click the image to enlarge)
Contact me today to know more about workshops and all the ways to get your free credits!