Improving a free genealogy Template

Last week I was presenting my class on Creative Family history at the New England Family history conference, and I had a workshop to help the attendants realize how easy it is to modify a template.
This was the Template I used:

To choose the Template, I went to the Template gallery and entered the keyword "pedigree" in the search box.

 There were 11 templates with this keyword

Then, since none of the attendants had a premier membership yet, I narrowed my search to only the basic templates.

In this case there was only one template that was in basic, thus completely free, but it was sufficient for our needs.
I chose this Template which was a little bland, and using the free basic digital art available in studio,
I transformed it in this new pedigree chart.

All I did was:
1) Swap the pictures with the ones I needed.
2)Delete the ones I didn't need.
3)Add 2 more pictures for more children
4)Change the background, (I used keyword "green paper" and "pink paper" to find them in the art collection)
5)Add frames (I used keyword "frame" to find them)
6)Add a flower (I used keyword "Flower"to find it)
7)Add leaves (I used keyword "Leaf" to find them)
7)Use ribbons to decorate the chart (I used keyword"Ribbon" to find it)
I dragged and dropped these elements, re-sized them to my needs, and put them in place.
If you were attending my class, you would have been able to see everything step by step, but if you weren't able to be there, no worries.

You can learn how to modify a template through one of our easy tutorials, like this one:
 

Since the Template I used was BASIC, anyone can try and modify it according to their own taste and need.

I want to challenge you to experience for yourself how easy it is to modify a template.
Once you do, if you like,  send me a copy. I will show it on the blog and/or on my CavaGenealogy facebook page.

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

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

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

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Christmas (Family) Tree card

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!^_^

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

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

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

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How do you want your grandchildren to remember you?

I have been thinking to all the grandparents out there, and at the same time, to my future self, as I look forward to the day I will be a grandma too.
Grandchildren are the next generation, the ones that hopefully will keep our memory alive, at least this is what we all can hope...
If you don't want to leave the preservation of you memory to the fate though, there is something you can do now.
Whether you have 1 grandchild or 10, whether they are newborns, toddlers or grown ups, I am pretty sure  they will all love to know how you were as a child, as a teenager, as a spouse, a parent, and how you feel as their grandparent.
You can make sure that each and everyone of them knows your story, by putting together your pictures and your memories in a book.
When you create this book digitally, you can make as many copies as you need.
I love the online Studio software since it allows me to create my books and also to have my project preserved for years to come, so, should you be blessed with more granchildren in the future, you will always be able to print more books, and what's even better, you can modify any  page to add that new grandchild in your list of grandchildren.
You can take your time and create your book from scratch, or you can take advantage of a template.
All you will need is a computer, your pictures, a scanner for the pictures that have not been digitized yet, your story, and naturally, your love.

I just discovered these gorgeous templates that are just perfect for telling your story to your granchild!
How I became your grandma
How I became your grandpa
I am just in love with them!  These templates are not only easy to personalize with your pictures and story, but also guide you step by step in your story writing. And don't forget that they are completely modifiable, so you can change backgrounds, duplicate or remove pages, add or delete pictures, make them bigger or smaller, anything!
So, you have no excuses! Start writing your story today, and give your granchildren a gift that will last a lifetime, and more...

Fun idea: Create your own tumbler

Looking for a fun and affordable gift?

I just found these cool templates in the template gallery on the website, and I thought I would share with you.

You will surprise people with how professional your tumblers look with your Heritage Makers customized insert. These make special personal and yet affordable gifts too! Just purchase the Tumbler at Starbucks and fit your customized design inside! Simple and fun!

Look for more examples of  tumbler templates here.

Stay tuned for more fun and affordable ideas!!!

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

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

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It's never too early ...

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

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

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

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

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

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

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My new favorite! And it's FREE!!!^_^

Since the new FREE basic art has been introduced, I have watched the template gallery grow with new templates, and I have literally fallen in love with a (3 fold) family fold, which can be used to preserve any happy moment in your life.
I chose to use it for our family reunion pictures, and for some happy pictures at the pool and the beach.
It turned out amazing!

I am so excited that now everybody can get a glimpse on the creative possibilities with Heritage Makers with these new FREE Art, I cannot stop talking about it!!!

You can create a beautiful project like this by just signing up here and then going to the Template Gallery and looking through the many beautiful templates that are created with the new free Art, click on the project you like, start it, upload your picture and drag and drop them in each spot!

I would love to see what your projects look like!

Even better, only for the month of August, when you participate in a workshop( virtually or in person) you can receive a free credit for a family fold, which means that you can have it printed for FREE!!!!
Contact me to know more about this amazing possibility!