May pick of the month: Pay tribute to your loved ones.

This month we celebrate our mothers, but also get closer to the ones that are going to graduate in our family.
Thanks to the pick of the month, you can pay tribute to each of your loved ones, and save a bunch too!

When you get a (8x8), (8.5x11) or (12x12) storybook credit, you have the opportunity to get a second one and save a ton, especially if  you are a club premier member.
You can use this second credit to make a copy of the book you are going to create for your loved one, or you can create any other book you desire.
Remember that credits last up to 2 years, so you can save now, and take your time to put together a tribute or any other project you are thinking of.
Contact me to take advantage of this offer, but hurry, as it is only valid during the month of May!

May host rewards and gifts

One of the best ways to save and sometimes publish your projects for free, is having a workshop, either virtual or in person.
When you have a workshop, or even a simple Studio Demo, your friends will get the chance to learn about the wonderful creative opportunities Heritage Makers offers, and also how to use our super easy online editing software.

This month's host rewards and gifts are really tempting!
Check out the flier!

Your friends will get a free greeting card credit just for coming to the workshop, or contacting me letting me know that they heard of the workshop from you!
Contact me to know more about how workshops and/or Studio demos work, and you'll be on your way for great savings!!!!

My first blogiversary... and I am late!

Well, I have an excuse!
I was in Italy^_^
Let's just say that I was celebrating there!

I must say, I have enjoyed writing about my passion and sharing my creative ideas with fellow geneabloggers and friends. When I started a year ago( April 16th 2009), I wasn't really sure that I would be able to keep it going, with my 3 little little kids, all the work I was already doing, and everything else.
It has been challenging at times, but overall, it has been fun, and it has also been a way to write my "creative journal".
I have appreciated each and every comment, and all the people that have spread the word about my blog, and my creative genealogy projects.

This blog has also given me the opportunity to be noticed and contacted by the organizers of the 2010 NEFH conference, which I was so happy to be part of, to share many of my ideas with so many genealogy enthusiasts like me, and even more, getting some input from them that might bring me to new future projects.

I hope you have enjoyed my blog as much as I have enjoyed writing it, and I hope I will be able to celebrate many more blogiversaries with you and many new friends.

So, I am sorry I didn't post exactly on my blogiversary, but I am not joking when I say I was celebrating in Italy: what better way to celebrate your passion than to follow it?

MIA? Not really!

Ok, some of you might have noticed that I have been missing in action for exactly 4 weeks, but in reality, there has been tons of action going on!^_^

I have been in ITALY!!!!
Yes, after more than 2 years I was finally able to see my family again, and have them meet my youngest one, which they had never seen, if not in pictures.
I have had the opportunity to show many of them some of my creative genealogy projects, and I must say, they loved them all!!!
I got many of them much more interested in sharing pictures and stories, and you can bet I will soon follow up on that;)!
My aunt Carmela finally showed me the pictures of 3 of my great grandparents, Antonio Iannone, Francesca Iannone and Antonio Sannazzaro, her grandparents, which I had never seen, giving me the opportunity to add them up to my family tree.

 My heart was so full of joy when I could finally see the faces of my past!

What was even more meaningful to me, was to be able to go visit my grandma's sister, who is now 92.
I really had wished to be able to see her this time, since last time I went to Italy, she was in Germany, and so I wasn't able to visit her.
What I didn't know, was that we were sharing the same desire...
She had been telling my cousins, when she would go visit them, to please tell me and my siblings(who live in England) to go visit her, because she wanted to see the children of her dear nephew(my father) before she died.
Oh the hugs that she gave me!

She was also happy to see my "baby", and know about all my family.
We also shared our common desire to be in Italy. She had been living in Germany for tens of years, all of her children are there, but she just had to come back to Italy, to her home. She wants to die there.
How much I understand her!!!
I asked her about her memories of my father and my grandma, and even if she couldn't tell me any story in particular, she confirmed me how good a person was my dad, how much everybody respected him, and told me that the same was for her sister (my grandma), who died at age 35, of childbirth, together with her baby.
I will never forget the 2 hours we spent together, having a simple lunch, and talking, sharing our deepest desires.
I pray I will be able to come back soon with all of my family, and have many more opportunities to go visit her!

In Italy I have also been able to do some genealogy work, both for a client, and for my Santoriello side of the family, but I will talk about that in a later post.
For now, I just wanted my friends to know that I wasn't MIA at all, but I was following my heart desire and pursuing my passions with all my energies!

More to come soon!!!

Dear descendant, I can explain...

Have you ever read or heard about the story of one of your ancestor and wonder why he/she made a certain decision?
Why did great grandpa Bob leave his wife and his 7 children? Why did your 3rd great grandma give up one of her children? Why...? Was great grand aunt Betsy really crazy?
Well, one day you are going to be an ancestor too, and unless you take the time now to "explain" you will have a bunch of descendants that will be pretty confused about that one event in your life that is not exactly "normal".
You can write as little or as much as you want, what really matters is that your descendants will know that you thought of them, and tried to help them understand.
You can write it in a secret diary, you can make a book about the story of your life, or just particular events, whatever you choose, just try to put yourself in your grandchildren, great grandchildren' shoes and tell them as much as it is comfortable for you, but at the same time is reassuring for them.
Also, you might be surprised to know that not all of your descendants might believe in what you believe. Wouldn't you like for them to know more about your faith?
There are stories that I hear from my family about things my grandma might have done, and my great grandma also, and I keep wondering if they are true, and if so, why?
Unless I find a secret diary somewhere, I think I will never know the answer in this life.
I don't want my descendants to feel the same way I feel regarding the stories of my ancestors, and this is one of the reasons why I try to write down thoughts and feelings, and when time allows it, put together stories of part of my life, like I did with the book on how I met my husband, and the one regarding my testimony.

If you haven't started yet, I encourage you to start writing your stories, label your pictures, even better connect the story to the pictures as soon as you can.
You are really the only one who can "explain"

Easter family tree game

On Easter Sunday, how about making the egg hunt a little more meaningful?
You can fill the eggs not only with candy and money, but with pieces of the magnetic family tree game!
You can make your own rules, or follow mine:

Find the couple 1 point
Find the family group 3 points
Find one complete generation ( 2 x # of people in that generation) points
i.e: in the 3rd generation, you have 2 sets of grandparents= 4 people x2= 8 points

When the whole family tree is completed, each child will have a prize according to the points they accrued, and the whole family celebrates with ice cream or any traditional Easter dessert.

At my house, we are going to have pastiera!
This  game will be another way to get your family, especially your children a little more involved in genealogy and family history!
Make it fun, and you'll get more fans!^_^

Happy Easter everybody!!!

April host rewards and gifts

If you are like me, you like high quality products, but at the same time, you would like them better if you could have them for free or at a very discounted price!

I love the host rewards programs because it allows me to do just this. Most of the products I have published were either free or  so discounted I could not miss that opportunity!

This month's host reward is just what you are looking for!
Check out the flier:

 

and then contact me  to schedule a workshop with me!

Your friends will get a free 12x12 scrapbook page credit coupon just for being there!

Remember, workshops can be in person, or virtual, they can be with even just one person(you) or as many as you would like, or you could also schedule a simple Studio demonstration either in person or online.

Early publishing special!

It’s no joke! Heritage Makers is having a HUGE publishing special! All you have to do is publish any Heritage Makers project and you’ll instantly save 20% off shipping! From now until April 15th, you can publish your Mother’s Day gifts, graduation presents, or that special “just because” project you’ve been creating. You can save 20% off shipping on any Heritage Makers project*, including storybooks, greeting cards, gallery-wrapped canvases, wire-bound books, and posters.
Don’t delay! Publish your Heritage Makers project today to save!
*Offer doesn’t apply to direct ship.
Contact me ASAP if you need to buy your publishing credits to get the best deals, and check the pick of the month!!