21 Photo Life Story Project for Mom's of Seniors in High School

If you have been going through photos and organizing them to create special memory books or decorations for your senior in high school now is a good time to get your senior involved in a simple project.  I call this project the 21 photo Life Story project.

Ask your student to pick the 21 pictures that are meaningful to them that show the progression of their life story beginning with a birth photo and ending with their senior photo.  Then have them write a little something about each photo. Tell them that you are going to do something special with this, but you don't have to tell them exactly what you are going to do, unless you want to.

Now have them give this collection to you and you can turn this into a beautiful memory book for their graduation party or give it early as a Christmas gift! The great part about this project is that they have done most of the work for you.

I'd love to help you put this into a quality hardbound book for your student. Heritage Makers books are archived in case you want another copy later AND we have an Heirloom Assurance Policy if you damage your book in any way, you can get another copy for half price.

As an Independent Consultant with Heritage Makers I can help you make beautiful items for your senior all year long. Creating things a little at a time will make the graduation celebration less stressful.

Each month I will feature something special you can create that will make sending your senior off to the next phase of life a little easier as they take pieces of home with them.

Visit me at www.SharingYourStories.com and join our Club HM for discounted publishing points or just sign up for a free account and play around with the amazing projects there. When you sign up for a free account I can let you know of online classes that will help you learn how to create these projects.

Mom's of High School Seniors

The Fall is one of my favorite times of year. Blue skies, brilliant colors, cooler temperatures, back to school for the kids, and anticipation of the upcoming holidays which signals busy days ahead.

Now, for mom's of Seniors in High School this is a special school year.  This is the last year of all those school activities with this child and more than likely their last year at home. The Fall is busy and probably the last thing you want to think about is "June" ~ Graduation Day and Graduation Parties~ but it will come as quickly as Christmas seems to roll around after the beginning of the school year.

Now is a great time, moms, to begin slowly getting your Senior's memory books started for their Graduation party. Work on it a little at a time, month by month and you will reduce a lot of stress at the end of the school year.

September and October work on getting your photos organized.  Group them by age and grades in school. Label manilla envelopes with these ages/grades: birth, preschool, kindergarten, First grade, etc. Then group photos and label envelopes by holidays: Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, New Year's Eve/Day, Valentines, etc.  Other Photo envelope groupings: Birthdays, Family (Grandparents, Cousins, Siblings), Sports (an envelope per sport), Band, Dance, Proms, Vacations, Pets, Camps, Church, Awards, Scouts, etc.

Photos stored digitally can be grouped into folders on the computer with these titles.

With this chore out of the way you will be so much more prepared to create your memory book.  Whether you choose to scrapbook traditionally or digitally you will be ready to go.

If you choose to scrapbook digitally check out my website www.SharingYourStories.com.  You can sign up for a free account and see the many quality storybooks and other products unique to Heritage Makers.  I will also alert you of webinars to help you get your graduates projects done so your year will go smoothly and help you save money at the same time.

Enjoy the memories as you look through your precious photos and enjoy looking through this template from our template gallery. You can swap your photos into this book and change the text or tweak it however you want or start your own from scratch..... I will share more next post.

Creating a Memorable Wedding Guest Book

A great way to begin your new life together is to preserve your story. Who were the two of you before you met? What were your interests? How did you meet? What did you enjoy doing together while dating? Who proposed and how? All of these questions can be answered and preserved at the beginning or end of your wedding guest book. Then make it even more memorable by adding your photos to the story and special quotes or verses. Leave blank pages for your guests to sign their best wishes using a "slick writer" pen and you will have a guest book that will be read over and over again. Your future children and grandchildren will love knowing their parent's/grandparent's story!

Heritage Makers books give you the quality and heirloom assurance that you will want for this special story. I created my daughters wedding guest book using the 8.5 x 11.5 book. It was fun and easy to do and we created it using their wedding colors. Here is a link to take a look at her book. http://www.heritagemakers.com/projectBrowserStandAlone.cfm?projectId=1178870&productId=9&projectSponsor=172271 Vist me at www.SharingYourStories.com to create your free account! Send me a message through my website and I can contact you to help you with your special project. You will love your priceless keepsake!

Summer Survival with Purpose

I always looked forward to the kids being home for the summer. There were so many fun things to do, go to the pool, zoo, the park, vacations. However, there were days that I had to look for activities as boredom and "nothing to do in the heat" set in.

There was also the need to look for activities that engaged their brains to keep them using school skills, but without them knowing it! These ideas take care of all of that!

One idea is for kids to make little books that will be loved for a lifetime.
Ones that would be Great for Autograph books, Summer Camp, Vacation memories, Sports teams and more! Heritage Makers, http://www.sharingyourstories.com/, has great Flip Books that are created online. Kids can upload their photos to your account and then create these great inexpensive books, Yet the quality is amazing. They can add artwork from the site and their own text with or without your help! Once you show them they can take off and create like crazy. The magic comes when they receive their little books! Skills used: Creative writing, grammer, computer, and then reading!

Your young artist or designer will have tons of fun creating custom poster, books and even his or her own “portfolio” – at any age! The creations can be great gifts too!

Posters: Have kids create posters about their favorite zoo animal, or pictures from vacations, add facts to the poster. Have kids create posters about summer safety issues or about their Favorite Things! Kids will love to have their own creations hanging in their rooms!

A creative student at any age will love creating and publishing their very own hardbound books. This could be the start of a bestseller! No matter what, the experience and the published books will be treasured for years to come. Creative writing, journaling, “Best Friends” stories – and more can be created online and published.

Create these projects in rectangle or square flip books, Posters of various sizes, and hardbound books of various sizes. Go to http://www.sharingyourstories.com/ and check out our template gallery. Contact me via the website and I can help you get started and share with you our Summer Survival Kit prices.

Whatever you do, enjoy creating memories with your children this summer. Just be sure to preserve your memories and read through them with your children all year long! This is sure to build strong families.

Holidays are GREAT for gathering Stories!

Think of all the family gatherings you will be having this Holiday season and make the most of these visits. Take a few minutes to gather old photos and bring them with you to these gatherings and then have fun remembering and recording the stories from the photos.

It is fun to hear what others remember differently about the same events. It is also great to even learn WHO people are in the photos you are pulling out of the back of your closet or your PARENT'S closet. Write down the stories and who the people are before you forget or lose the elderly loved ones in your life that are the last link to these precious ancestors and their stories.

It is fun to see the family resemblances. How looks like whom? and even who acts like whom.

Want to dig a little deeper? Write down questions that will help gather your family stories or just let them talk naturally about people in the photos and as they tell you the information record it (with their permission) or have someone write down the information they share.

Always be respectful of the elderly don't push if they are tired, make it a fun family time of reminiscing. You will be glad that you took the time to record these precious memories.

I have been gathering the stories from my mom and her sisters about their lives growing up on the family farm in southern Ohio in the 1930's and 1940's. It has been so much fun learning about each of them and their different perspectives about life in their family.

I hope you take advantage of the time your family has together over the holidays and begin gathering and sharing your stories.

If you would like help in putting your story together in a beautiful book or just would like ideas for questions and guides to putting together your books visit my website www.SharingYourStories.com and sign up for a FREE account. Once you have your account you can check out the story center and print off questions on a variety of story types: Life Story, Love Story, Baby Story, etc. You can also have fun looking through our Template Gallery for great ideas.

We celebrate Christmas! I hope you enjoy your Holidays and Special Traditions!

Sharing Your Stories Inspiration

This week I had the pleasure of spending a good part of my day with my Grandniece and Grandnephews! Bella will soon be 3 years old, Chase is 1 and Joey is 6 months old. I came armed with my camera because it is so fun to capture them in their everyday moments. My sister-in-law (their Nona) keeps her grandchildren busy playing with the toy kitchen, reading books, playing with playdough, dancing, and even playing makeshift drums.

These photos I took will be put into an heritage makers book that the kids can read about themselves. They LOVE looking at pictures of themselves at play. What a great way to remember the fun they had and learn the written word that goes with the activities and objects in the photos. What a great way to learn how loved they are and to see that in action.

I think this story "A Day in the Life of Bella, Chase and Joey" will be great in our new BOARD BOOK. This is perfect for their little hands and sturdy too!

What do you do in an ordinary day? Who is special in your life? What special event is coming up? These are stories that are waiting to be told, and waiting to be read!

If you need help contact me through my website www.SharingYourStories.com because every story deserves a book of its own!

Wedding Guest Books and Tips Under One Roof

As a personal publishing consultant I love helping young engaged couples write their first story, their love story. A great way to make this story also be functional is to incorporate it into a Wedding Guest Sign In Book. All the couple has to do is gather a few photos such as: newborn photos, childhood, high school, dating years, and proposal photos. Then add a few words telling a little about themselves and the story of their dating and proposal.

Next combine these images and text with lined pages for the guests to sign in or unlined pages for guests to write more personal messages. These pages can also have engagement photos and favorite quotes to create a beautiful hard bound library stitched book that will tell their story making their Guest Book a priceless keepsake. The couple has created their first book that will be something their future children will love reading. This is their first book of heritage for their children.

If you would like information about creating a unique Wedding Guest Sign In book contact me at www.SharingYourStories.com and click on the "Contact Me" link.

A new couple not only will be bringing their two separate lives into one love story, but will be combining two households into one. I recently asked organizer, Miriam Bogard for some tips to help this process be a smoother one. This is what she had to say:

Top 5 Tips Under One Roof

As newly engaged couples tie the knot and dream of a life together, it can be blissful but also somewhat stressful. Bringing together belongings from two individuals to create a unique style for your newly established home can be a challenge and a somewhat sensitive subject at times with the one that you love. Take a look at these TOP 5 tips that can help ease the transition and bring simple solutions to the organization and consolidation of two lives into one.

#1- As each of you are packing up, segregate items into three categories, things to keep out , things to pack away, and things to throw away. Things to keep can be items to make a new home unique; like pictures, gifts, and sentimental items. Items you want to pack away would be memories from your childhood and the past. Sort through everything and throw away whatever you can part with.

#2-Label each box as to where it goes and what is in it on at least two sides. This will help with the moving process and unpacking.

#3-Keep the kitchen clean of excess. Sit down with your spouse and discuss who's bringing what into the home, and discard the rest. Local charities are always looking for household items for someone less fortunate.

#4-Arrange your storage space into three different areas: a place where you very rarely access, an area for seasonal things, and an area that you might need more readily.

#5-Keep a notebook of who gave you what, when they gave it, and where you put it. This will be a wonderful tool to reflect on life's blessings as you celebrate the years together.

MB Organizers is a professional organization and personal assistant service, employing a team of talented women professionals, most of whom are mothers. If you are looking for organizational strategies, solutions, or "go to" support to assist with your move, we would love to speak with you. We have relocation experience and in transitioning people into different seasons of life. You can find us at www.mborganizers.com. Why not gain more time for yourself, and allow us to do the work!