Tuesday, September 14, 2010

13 Weeks of Personalized Gift Ideas!

Beginning September 26th, we will provide weekly ideas & special offers to help you score big with your family & friends come Christmastime!

A new deal on one of a kind gifts will be offered each Thursday and will be good for one week. From photo books to engraved glassware to personalized ornaments & more! Be sure to keep checking back ... you won't want to miss out!

To search for ideas of your own, feel free to visit http://www.imageawards.net/ .

Saturday, August 28, 2010

Memories of experiences become prized posessions!

I hate to rush the holidays, but wanted to remind you to start taking your pictures with your holiday gift giving in mind. We make awesome ornaments, coffee mugs, posters, jewelry, tiles, wall art etc. Memories of experiences, rather than "stuff", will become prized posessions. Taking great photos now ensures your ability to put the best most personal and thoughtful photo gifts under that tree of yours!

Here are a few ideas to get your creative juices flowing :)

Photo Crystals http://imageawards.net/images/pdf/PhotoCrystal.pdf

Personalized Ornaments http://imageawards.net/ornaments.html

Jewelry http://imageawards.net/jewelry.html

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Heidi's Heritage Home

Decorate your home with family photos & memorabelia! It's super easy with Heritage Makers. Watch this video for ideas, then log on at http://www.makeyourmomentslast.com/
Make your home a Heritage Home!

Friday, June 4, 2010

How to Separate Items on One Page in Photoshop or PSE

How to Separate Items on One Page in Photoshop or PSE - from the Designer Digitals newsletter

You can also watch this tip on video on their blog: How to Separate Items on One Page in Photoshop or PSE [Video]

Designers sometimes group alphabets or elements on one page for your convenience. I like pages of grouped elements because it means I only have to open one file, but I have all of the letters or elements available to use on my digital project.

When you download a file with elements that are grouped together in one .png image, here's how to use them:

Open your digital project and the .png image in Photoshop or Elements.

Click on the .png image to select it.

Get the Rectangular Marquee tool and draw a rectangle around the item on the page that you want to use.

Switch to the Move tool.

Make sure that the .png image layer is selected in the Layers Panel. Drag the item you have selected over to your digital project.

Switching to the Move tool is an important step because neglecting to do this moves the selection, not the part of the image you want to move.

Go back to the .png image and select Ctrl D (Mac: Cmd D) on your keyboard to remove the selection. Use the Marquee tool to get another item, if desired.

This also works with other selection tools like the Elliptical Marquee tool and the Lasso tools. To use the Lasso tool, click on the .png image and draw a selection around the part of the image you want to use. The selection will close and you will see marching ants when you reach the spot where you started drawing the selection.

Next, switch to the Move tool and check to make sure the image is highlighted in the Layers Panel. Then drag the item over to your digital project.

If you are not using Photoshop or Elements, you might need to make a copy of the sheet and use your software's Crop tool to crop away the part of the image you are not using. Drag the item to your scrapbook page and then undo your crop.

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Another great reunion idea by Sherrie Wright

This is an idea we did for our family reuion. My Great Grandparents are no longer alive. Most of my Great Aunts and Uncles were still alive at the time. My great grandpa was a gas station owner in the 30’s and 40’s, so my great anuts and uncles even their kids remember all the stories about the gas station. So for a keep sake we took a very old picture of my grandfather at the station. I touched up the old photo and scanned several copies of it, framed them in shadow boxes. I put a miniture old time gas station pump and minuture oil canand some minutre tools aranges them in the shadow box and presented it to the oringal children of the family. It was a huge success! It brought many tears and laughs to our reuion. That was about 7 years ago and our reioun is still talked about today. It’s all about memories and sharing them.

Sunday, May 30, 2010

Fun Family Reunion Ideas

Submitted by: Heidi Arave


Do you have a family reunion this summer? Here are some great ideas of fun things you can do at your family reunion to strengthen your family’s heritage!


1. Family Treasures Card game: This is a fun family game that has a playing board (laminated poster) that goes with it. To view the instructions click here.


2. I AM a Heritage Maker Activity Book: This is a great way for your kids and their cousins to get to know their heritage in a fun activity book.


3. Personalized Card Deck: Does your family like to play card games? Create your own custom deck of cards with pictures of grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc. There are lots of templates to choose from in the gallery (rook, old maid, go fish, face cards, etc.)


4. FAMILY LAND: This fun game is just like Candy Land, but with your family name and the family activities you enjoy doing together. It will keep the kids entertained for hours! Also, it has a deck of cards to go with it.


5. Family Cookbook: If you have time before the reunion, have family members send you a favorite recipe and a picture. Put together a family cookbook. Take the cookbook to the reunion and if family members would like a copy, you can take orders. If you don’t have time to put it together before the reunion, have your family bring their picture and favorite recipe to the reunion. Then put the cookbook together later.


6. BINGO: Create your own Bingo cards with pictures of grandparents and other relatives. This is a great way for the young kids to learn the names of their great grandparents.

Saturday, May 15, 2010

Have your photos scanned while at your reunion!

Attending a family reunion this year? Ask each family member coming to bring the pictures they have of Great grandma and Great grandpa, etc. (the pictures they don't let out of their site). I can scan everyone's pictures while at the reunion and then everyone gets a copy of everyones pictures and everyone goes home with their special photos- it's a win win for everyone! Of course you can always bring your photos to the shop where I offer scanning everyday!