Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Join the Club!

There are only a few days left to take advantage of the greatest deal in Heritage Makers history to date!  Become a member of the Premier Club and get 12 months of Studio Premier and an 8x8 storybook credit for only $99.95!  This is the best pricing for studio that Heritage Makers has ever offered.  The offer is only good until January 31st, so be sure to contact me today if you are interested.  Remember, this offer is only good through me!  It is not available on the website.

To sweeten the deal, I am offering Premier Club Members the following perks:
* an exclusive workshop for Premier Club Members only each month
*an entry to win a FREE publishing credit each month!

Call or e-mail me today to take advantage of this great deal!

Sunday, January 25, 2009

My First Giveaway!

So, I have decided to join the other bloggers and start a weekly giveaway!  If you subscribe to my blog, you will be eligible for the giveaways each week!  Who does not love free stuff?

So, this week I am giving away a credit to make your very own personalized deck of cards!  These cards are not only fun to make, but even more fun to play with!  My kids love to play go fish with while asking, "Do you have a Grandma Murphy"? 

The deck of cards come with your typical 52 cards.  You can personalize each card or have the same photo on all of the cards.  It is completely up to you! 
Playing Cards
So, all you have to do is subscribe to my blog and you could be the big winner!  Good Luck!





Wednesday, January 14, 2009

A Sale Every Day!

Heritage Makers is helping us through the winter months by holding a sale every day!  While some of our consultants are away on a Caribbean Cruise, there are great prices on publishing credits!  Don't miss out!  There are still a few days left!  Here are the remaining credit sales:

Today 1/14 - (2) 7.5x10 storybook credits - $95.95
Thursday 1/15 - (2) 7x5 storybook credits - $63.95
Friday 1/16 -(2) 16x20 canvas poster credits - $159.95
Sat. and Sun 1/17 & 1/18 - (2)12x12 storybook credits - $119.95

Friday, January 9, 2009

Thank You Cards From the Holidays

My kids are spoiled!  Yes, I mean it!  They are spoiled!  Spoiled in a good way though.  I am so blessed to have such an amazing family that finds my children to be so special!

As I am always working on trying to get my kids to appreciate the "smaller things" in life and to appreciate all that they have been blessed with, I want to instill a tradition in them that my mother instilled in me...thank you notes.  Now some of you may be saying "How are thank you notes a tradition?"  Well, maybe they are more of a courtesy than a tradition.  Anyway, I think that it is important to get the kids used to taking time to let people know that they are grateful.

Now if you are a family member of mine, you know that I have slacked on this from time to time.  Not out of a lack of appreciation for what you have done for my family and I, but more so out of a lack of time.  I know, my mother would be mortified, but it is the truth.  My children are small and they are unable to write the notes for themselves.  So, this year, I have come up with a plan!

If you are like me, you camera is glued to your hip.  I love pictures!  So, I am making it a point to take a picture of my kids in their new outfits, when they are playing with new toys, or baking and eating popovers with the mix and recipe given to us as a gift(thank you Aunt Sharon!).  I am then going to turn those pictures into thank you cards by creating post cards out them (yes...this will save on postage too!)  Now you could also send the photos in an e-mail to people, but I really think that thank you notes are one of those things that need to go into snail mail!

Now I know that not everyone will agree with me on this point and that is fine!  However don't you think that you will bring such joy to Aunt Susie or Grandma Jill when she sees a photo of your child in the outfit that they bought?  You never know the power of a photo!

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Do you have kids that say the funniest things?  Of course you do!  Today, my three year old just kept coming out with the funniest one liners!  She kills me!  

It really got me thinking about how I would love a way to keep track of all of the great things they say.  Then, I came up with a great idea!  One of the fun things that Heritage Makers has are playing cards.  I LOVE these playing cards and cannot stop making different games for my kids and family.  

Anyway, I thought that it would be funny to add some of the really funny things that my kids say to the cards with their adorable pictures.  Now, I will have the opportunity to have these great sayings around all of the time.  Here are some other great ideas for what you can do with personalized playing cards:
*personalized valentines for your kids (to get and to give)
*small baby pictures to include in an announcement
*your child's own baseball or other sport card
*family memory
*family go fish
*personalized flash cards (abc's, sight words, numbers...all with your kids photos on them!)
*thank you card photos from the holidays
*unique business cards!

There are so many great ideas for these cards!

Monday, January 5, 2009

Happiness Box

There is nothing that I love more than being able to spend time with my kids.  Before I had kids, I never really knew what kind of a mom I would be.  I knew that I wanted kids, but that was about it.  Now that I have them, they are just the loves of my life!

I am all about traditions and making lasting memories. My mom was so good at this and I know that she got it from her mother as well.  I am always looking for new things to do with them that don't cost an arm and a leg because I really want them to learn to enjoy the little things in life.  One thing that I use is the "Happiness Jar". 

Anyway, here is what the Happiness Box is all about:
* Sit down as a family and think about some fun activities that you enjoy doing together.  It can be anything from going for family walks, reading books, or going out to dinner.  The activities can be as big or small as you want (however, I encourage as many small things as possible!) 

*Create envelopes for each of the special activities.  Whenever possible, include things in the envelope that go along with the activity.  For instance, buy some discount movie tickets from the credit union and put them in there or when you get gift cards for restaurants or fun places, place them in the envelopes.  If the items are too big, wrap them in coordinating paper and place them in a closet. 

*  Whenever you feel like the family needs a little bit of "happiness" have someone pull something from the jar or box.  This could be a job for someone in the family that has accomplished something special or just because you feel like you need a new and fun idea for the day.
Some activity ideas:
*Date Night with Mommy 
*Date Night with Daddy 
*Movie night at home 
*Family hike at the park 
*Family Game Night 
*Pizza Dinner
*Family Slumber Party 
*Make cookies together 
*Go to the science museum or other local attraction.
*Picnic Lunch or Dinner

The other part of this is that the family gets to decorate the box or jar that you are going to keep these items in.  It is a fun art project for everyone and usually becomes a very interesting topic of conversation when someone stops by.

My goal is to use this to show my kids that the memories that we make together are so much better than the material things that we can get.  Remember, be sure to take lots of pictures!!

Saturday, January 3, 2009

Feel Accomplished This Year!

So we all start off the new year feeling like we are going to conquer the world.  Then, we get two days in and realize that there really is not much about us that has changed since last year.

One thing that you can do is to get organized!  That is one of my top goals!  I am going to use a book called Organize This Life by Jennifer Ford Berry to help me this year.  This book is amazing and takes you week by week through organizing so much!

One thing that I am going to put at the top of my list is organizing my photos.  I feel like I am such a slacker mom because I do not have full baby books for either of my kids.  I take a million and one photos and then have such great intentions.  However, this year, with my Heritage Makers account and my new laptop (yeah!) I pledge to be diligent about uploading all of my photos from my camera to my computer and then to my HM account.  That way I know that they are safe and I will always have them to use to work on projects. 

Now I know, I should already do this because I am a consultant for the company for goodness sakes!  But let's face it, we all have the best of intentions!!  I am going to be sure to keep up the work on the books for each of my kids as well as a family year book from all of the fun things that we have done in 2008.  They got such a kick out of the book that I did titled What It Means To Be A Murphy.  

So, take it one step at a time and start with the photos from this past Christmas.  Learn how to make a folder on your computer and then upload them to your HM account.  You have taken the first steps to being organized!! 

Friday, January 2, 2009

New Year - New Things!

Happy New Year!  As I look back on 2008, it was a very interesting year. A lot of good came from the year, but a lot of craziness also took place.  My goal for this year is to always take a step back.  I realize (as I am sure many others have before me!) that worrying about everything does not necessarily change the situation.  With all of the hardships that people are facing, I plan to simplify and spend more quality time with my family teaching them to simplify as well.

I know, I know.  We all start out with good intentions and the next thing you know we are back off the wagon (just like the diet that I started yesterday!  I am already into the chocolate!) However, I feel like if I don't really work on this resolution, I am not only failing myself, but my kids too!

I am so fortunate to have met some really great ladies who have started a social network on ning.  We are called WNY moms.  I am going to be doing a blog with tips for dealing with education and creative ideas for kids.  The other ladies are all doing other blogs with great tips on how to go green, organization, recipes and more.  I look forward to learning from others this year and connecting more with other moms.  That has been difficult for me since so many of the people that I know do not yet have kids.  While I love all of my kidless friends to death, I sometimes find it hard for them to relate to the stuff that is stressing me out.  They are my continued support though in getting out and doing other things that help me to stay me!