Hipster Bag Arrived!

The hipster bag I ordered from Heritage Makers arrived today and I have to say, I am so pleased with it.

When I created the design, I liked it, but it reminded me of a scrapbook page and I was having a hard time visualizing the bag.  The bag is excellent quality, the colors look amazing with the black back and straps, it's soft and smooth and the hardware is solid and stylish.  The orange bag also comes with it for storage.  Everything about this bag is COOL.

It's a gift, and I'm 99% sure my daughter in-law doesn't even know I have a blog.  Even if she sees this, she'll be surprised, because it's just that much nicer in real life. And, of course, her three amazing boys are featured!

If you've looked around on HM, but not sure, I say go for it.  You won't regret it.  With Club HM, the prices are more than reasonable and the quality is the finest.  Tis the season, so why not make your Christmas gifts this year? They will be cherished forever!

Heritage Makers Hipster Bag

Tonight I ordered my first project from Heritage Makers.
This is a "hipster bag" that will be adorned by three of my favorite grandsons and given to my daughter-in-law for Christmas.  It's a black bag and this will be printed on one side.  See details and picture below.

Tonight was the deadline to save 10% on the Holiday Hits promotion.  Each week offers different items and tonight the Photo Gifts offer expires.  I made it just in time!

As a Gold HM Club Member and Consultant, I also enjoy an additional 15% off at checkout.  It's kind of hard for me to wrap my head around how the Club and Publishing Points work.  I bought them at 33% discount, then got the Holiday Hits 10% off, plus the Gold HM/Consultant 15% off at checkout. Those of you that know me, know that math isn't my strong suit.  So, I'll just leave it at this...
It cost me an "undetermined" sum of dollars,
but it's actually
PRICELESS.

Now & Later Calendars

Heritage Makers 12 x 18 calendars are available!  

Remember, you can use one of the templates as is, 

customize a template, 

or start from scratch and create your own.

Enjoy the calendar all year, or month-by-month.

Then put the top 12 x 12 page in a book 

and enjoy it forever!

Makes a great gift.

Confused

In case you are wondering why I joined Heritage Makers and became an affiliate with Panstoria at the same time, here is my explanation.

I loved Creative Memories software.  Memory Manager and StoryBook Creator were easy to use and I created many StoryBooks, page prints, calendars and other things using my photos.  But, CM is done.  Panstoria, the creators of MM and SBC have Historian and Artisan software that are the same, only better.  So, I can continue with what I love, using software I know and create unique things with my photos to be enjoyed and shared with my family and friends.

I think Panstoria software is better because we can purchase each for $39.95 and then get upgrades and support whenever we need it.  Artisan can be installed on two computers (say your desktop and your laptop).  All your MM vaults and SBC digital content work on the Panstoria software.  And, finally, pixels2Pages offers tips and techniques for using Panstoria software.  p2P is a membership well worth every cent it costs.

Heritage Makers is another option for creating and enjoying photos.  HM has Studio which is an online digital software that can be used on both PCs and Macs.  Many of us believed that we didn't want to work online.  But, with access to the Internet almost everywhere and the ability to use any computer, why would we not want to work online?  A free Studio account gives you access to over 800 predesigned templates (all customizable).  If you upgrade to Premier, you have access to over 10,000 templates and 90,000 pieces of digital art!  Premier is $19.95/month or FREE with Club HM.

With Club HM you purchase publishing points.  Club HM members can change their membership anytime to keep them in line with their publishing needs.  And, publishing points are good for at least one full year.  It's a good way to help commit to getting those photos off our computers and out for everyone to enjoy.  Club members enjoy 25-33% savings on all projects.  There are 3 levels, Bronze, Silver and Gold - you pick what's right for you. You can learn more at              www.heritagemakers.com/love2scrap

Flexibility, availability, ease of use, creativity, cost, value, produce income, save money, make new friends, share with existing ones, and ENJOY MY PHOTOS are reasons I became an affiliate with Panstoria and a consultant with Heritage Makers.

Introduction to Premier (digital artwork) and Club HM (savings)

Heritage Makers -- Your Story, Your Way

I'm a Panstoria Affiliate!

I love Creative Memories StoryBook Creator and Memory Manager software.  Both of these software brands were created by Panstoria and licensed to Creative Memories. Since Creative Memories will no longer be offering the software or any upgrades or enhancements, I have decided to become an affiliate with Panstoria and have purchased both Artisan and Historian, Panstoria branded software.  The transition was so easy, a cave man could have done it.  All my photos in my CM vault are available in my Historian software and all my digital content and projects in SBC are available in Artisan.

As you know, I have also become a Heritage Makers Consultant.  What you may not know is that Heritage Makers offers an online scrapbooking software, Studio, with access to 10,000+ pieces of digital artwork through Premier, the ultimate creative experience.

So, why would I choose to sell Artisan and Historian, while promoting Heritage Makers.  Because, you don't have to use Studio, you can still use StoryBook Creator, Artisan, or any other digital scrapbooking software and order products in categories like storybooks, greeting cards, invitations, home decor, home and office, and photo gifts from Heritage Makers.

The important thing is to do something with the digital images we're all taking.  When was the last time you did something with your photos?  Who gets to see all the photos you take?  Don't you want to preserve and showcase your life's memories?  I don't want my life to be left in a box without names, dates, or feelings.

"Photos without stories are memories lost." Dr. Sharon Murdoch

Preserve & Showcase Your Photos

Creative Memories has filed Ch. 11 bankruptcy and left us wondering what are we going to do now?  We love taking photos; I personally have 70,000+ digital images.

Creative Memories is restructuring and will be announcing soon what the NEW business will be.  But, they have made it very clear that they will not be in the digital scrapbooking business.

As a Creative Memories Consultant I was fortunate to have met many other consultants that shared my passion for preserving our life's memories.  One such consultant I was lucky to meet through my Facebook Friend Sheri, was Anna.  Both are from Michigan and both have built successful digital scrapbooking businesses with CM.  They searched for a replacement and feel that Heritage Makers is the answer to keep their customers and the income they worked so hard to earn.

After listening to a recruiting call and talking with my dear friend Sheri, I have decided to become a Heritage Makers Consultant.  I don't know much about the company yet, but with a very minimal investment ($10), I am now on a TEAM that is going to ROCK IT!

You can visit my site at www.heritagemakers.com/love2scrap.  I'm spending a lot of time there reading and watching tutorials.  So far, I love what I see.  When I signed up, I also signed up for the HM Club. With the club membership, you basically purchase publishing points.  I also "Pledged to Publish 12" Heritage Makers projects during the next 12 months.  You can be sure that I will be sharing what I learn and like, or don't like, as I honor my pledge.

There Went 6 Months I'll Never Get Back

Six months ago I embarked on a new D-I-E-T with every intention of changing my life by losing weight and getting healthy.  Since that time, I have lost exactly 6 pounds!

During the six months, I fairly faithfully did my Herbalife Shakes and took the supplements.  I also had a physical and lots of lab work.  Bottom line, I'm in remarkably good health.  Doc says that although I haven't lost weight in the 6 years I've gone to that clinic, the fact that I maintained for 6 years is better than yo-yoing with my weight.

Last night I watched (between very long blinks of my eyes) ABC's Extreme Weight Loss.  The man was a husband, father, detective, coach, and friend.  All roles he said he was very successful at, so why did he fail at controlling his weight?  In high school and college he was an athlete and had all the letters to prove it.  His story reminded me so much of me.  I never, ever, thought I'd spend 20 years of my life obese.  I was an athlete, at least I played a lot of sports and was in the upper quadrant in skill and ability.  I loved being active and enjoyed so many things, made long-term friends, enjoyed traveling for bowling, softball and golf tournaments, ran 5k and 10k races, and most of all, obviously looked and felt much better than I do today.

So, after my ah-ha moment last night, I went online and registered for a Weight Watchers Monthly Pass. Buy one month and get one month free.  I set a goal to lose 30 lbs. in the 3 months til my birthday.  I believe that if I have to weigh in each week, follow the WW plan while incorporating my Herbalife shakes and supplements, I can do this.

Wish me luck and follow my progress via my weekly blog postings.  If you never read them, I'll never know. If I never write them, I'll never succeed.

P.S.  The last 6 months wasn't a complete waste.  I did lose 6 lbs. while developing a new routine with Herbalife.  Now with the help of Weight Watchers,  I'm anxious to see the 30 lbs. gone by my next birthday. Then, a new goal (TBD) reached just before my two-week trip to Cabo in March! During the next 6 months, I'll be heading toward the new me that I will spend the rest of my life with!  I'm so excited.

DIET Reason #1

When people go on a diet, they usually take a "before" picture. This picture of me was taken about 4 months ago when I went on a girls trip to Washington State and Vancouver, Canada.  I think this picture pretty much sums up why I am on a diet.

The girls I traveled with were: younger than me, weighed a whole lot less, and were more physically fit (excuses 1,2 & 3). They are an awesome group of high school "gal-pals" who invited me to go with them on their annual trip.

The main purpose of the trip was to get together and explore some of nature's beauty. Two of the highlights were Mt. Baker in Washington State and Whistler in Canada.  The elevation of Mt. Baker is 10,781 ft. and Whistler is the largest ski resort in North America.  We took the nearly 2 mile Peak-2-Peak gondola ride between Whistler and Blackcomb mountains. WOW. During the week, we also walked about half way around Stanley Park in Vancouver, visited local parks, the ocean, Puget sound, and Seattle. The awesomeness and beauty during this week is something I will never forget.

I also will never forget how it almost killed me.  Well, not literally, but that's only because I didn't push myself and gave myself permission to "fall behind" when I felt I couldn't keep up.

Losing weight will mean:

I will be able to hike without being winded
I will be able to tie my hiking boots
I won't have to let my friends "go ahead"
I will be able to walk around Seattle and enjoy it

No more giving myself permission to let life go on around me.

It's only Day 3, but I still feel that my head is on right and this is going to be a successful journey for me.

D-I-E-T

According to Webster, the definition of DIET is:

1.  food and drink regularly provided or consumed
2.  habitual nourishment
3.  the kind and amount of food prescribed for a person or animal for a special reason
4.  a regimen of eating and drinking sparingly so as to reduce one's weight 

Today I started a DIET. But, they told me it's not a DIET, it's healthy eating. However, according to Webster, I'm on a DIET.

Why do we hate the word DIET so much?  Personally, I think it's because so many times we fail at No. 4. Why don't we just say we hate that 4-letter F-word?  FAIL.   I know, it's so negative.

Call it what you like, my head in on straight (this time) and I feel that I will actually succeed at reducing my weight. How I allowed myself to get in this shape and stay there for so many years really isn't clear to me.  I recently described myself as an "outdoor, active person that stays inside sitting on the couch". Those words came out of my mouth like they were rehearsed, yet I've never thought or said them before.  And then it hit me.

Today is Day 1 of my DIET.  I will not FAIL.

Come along with me; I'd love to share this journey with you.