This is a video I created that was inspired by Cathy Zielske of Big Picture Scrapbooking.

Check Out My New Books

I've posted several new books I've completed towards the end of the year. Check them out... I hope you get inspired!

New Classes at The Carrollwood Cultural Center

I am very excited to announce that I will be teaching "Can You Digi It?" an introduction to digital scrap booking class at the new Carrollwood Cultural Center. If you haven't been there yet, you're in for a treat. They offer classes on all aspects of the arts and have an amazing facility. For those of you in the Tampa area, it's conveniently located on the corner of S. Village Drive and Lowell. I will be teaching in their state of the art computer lab. Classes begin on Thursday, January 16 and run for 6 consecutive weeks. I will be covering the basics of digital scrap booking, focusing mainly on Heritage Makers Studio 2.01. During class time, students will complete a 20 page book, ready to be published. This class promises to be fun... and informative. So start thinking now about the first project you want to complete in 2009. It's the perfect time to do a Year in Review album for 2008, a Holidays album, vacation album, or begin an end of the year book for your child or their teacher. Contact me if you'd like more information. The class will be posted soon at the Center's website. Click here to access the center now: www.carrollwoodcenter.org

Happy Thanksgiving!

I wish you all a wonderful holiday! We are spending a few days with Brian's family and counting our many blessings!

I just found out that Oprah gave a shout out to Heritage Makers on her "Favorite Things" show yesterday!! VERY EXCITING!! Now the whole world can join in on my favorite hobby... digital scrapping!

Remember.... it's not too late to get your projects done for Christmas. Publishing deadlines for most projects are December 5th.

Have a great day!

Try this! It's fun!

I just found this website: www.wordle.net\create

You just type in your words and it creates a fun graphic image. I actually linked it to this blog and it used the words from there. It's so easy and there's lots of great variations.

Remember, I Design!

Do You Want to be a Heritage Maker, but just can't find the time?

Let me do it for you!

From now until the end of the year, I am offering an incredible deal to design your projects for you. For the same price as a Heritage Makers Premier account, I will design your pages. All that's required of you is to provide me a disk with your photos.

That's right. For just $20 per month for 6 months, I will create 4 pages for you each and every month. That's just $5 per page. (Try to do a traditional scrapbook page for less than that... it's very hard to do!) The pages will be custom designed around your photographs. All you have to do is provide the photos on disk. And if you sign up for 12 months, the cost per page is even less.

This is a great way to get a handle on all your photographs. Just think... every month, you take your photos and get them to me. At the end of the following month, your pages will be complete. You can print them individually and drop them into a scrapbook you've already started, or save them up until you're ready to publish a book. The cost of printing will depend on the the size and format of the book you put the pages into.

This is the perfect way to chronicle your family life or the life of a loved one. It's how I'm doing Brianna's Middle School memory book. Every month, I just upload my photos and drop them into place. I just started a month ago, but by the time she graduates, I will have a great book covering the last 3 years of her life. I did a book like this for Nick last year. Not only did he love it, but his friends did, too. They are still having fun looking through it and realizing how much they've all grown and changed in such a short time period. Call me if you want to see these books. I'm happy to share them with you!

Post a comment here if you would like me to contact you about this great way to start getting your photographs into books!

NEW EMAIL ADDRESS

My new address is CIKeenan@verizon.net

Football Poster Makes a Great Gift

Check out the Football Poster under "My Storybooks." This is a 12 x 18 poster that's a great Christmas gift for your child. They only cost $15 and the print quality is beautiful. This was done with a scan of a photo that belongs to the mom and then I found a Vince Lombardi quote to add to it. I love it!

Brianna's Hero

Brianna wrote an essay for her English Literature Class this fall. It is a story about her hero, who happens to be her grandmother. It is a very touching story about how she looks up to my mother and how my mother confronts tragedy. I thought it was so beautiful, I created a little book from the essay. We gave it to my mom last week. It's posted on the left under "My Storybooks" for you to view.

Hey Lucy! I'm Home...

We went to a neighborhood Halloween party over the weekend. I'll post the kids' photos next week... this weekend was for me and Brian!

Brianna Cleans Up Nicely, Too

Brianna went to a formal party last month. I just scrapped it for a design class I'm taking online. Just thought I would share it here!

Nick went to Homecoming

Nick's Homecoming Dance was this past Saturday night. This is a scrapbook layout I designed to tell about it. He wore Brian's shoes!

He met all his friends at West Park Village where we took these photos. It was so nice. After the kids indulged us parents, they hopped in a limo and off they went!

This is an ad I've created. I know it publishes small here, but I just thought I'd share! Tell me what you think!

Templates Now Available in Heritage Makers

Heritage Makers has recently revamped their website. It is much easier to navigate and they have introduced a template gallery. This is the perfect way to get your projects done! There are over 400 designs to choose from. Many are available with a free basic account, but if you have a Premier account... be sure to check this out. You can have professionally designed books completed in a fraction of the time it would take you to design from scratch.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me. The new specials for this fall are listed on the left sidebar. These specials are only available through a consultant... you can't get these prices anywhere else.

As always, if you'd like to save even more money on your Heritage Makers projects, I'm happy to host a workshop in your home. I will teach you and your friends the basics to get you started. Give me a call anytime.

Fifth Third Bank Welcomes Local Artists

Great news! There is a new Fifth Third Banking Center in my neighborhood here in Westchase. The manager, Sheila, has graciously agreed to allow local artists hang their work. I am going to help her coordinate this project. The idea is that we will highlight one or two artists every month. Artists will be able to hang up to 5 pieces, along with their artist bios and contact information.

This is a wonderful opportunity for local artists to showcase their work. The office is in a great location and has many people from the community coming through their doors. Our hope is to make art more accessible and hopefully, to help artists sell some of their paintings.

If you are in the area, please stop by and give your support. Sheila would love to hear your feedback.

Order Your Holiday Cards Now... Prices Go Up on September 24

I just realized that the prices for the cards are good only until Sept. 24th. That's next Wednesday! After that, they go up a minimum of 50 cents per card. SO... here's what I suggest....

If you know you want to purchase your holiday cards through me and Heritage Makers but do not know what you want the card to look like just yet... go ahead and place an order before the 24th. Your order will be credited to your account and the price will be locked in. We can design and print the cards anytime after that. You have until end of November to actually decide what the cards will look like and get them in for printing.

Just wanted to clarify this for anyone who is interested!!

2008 Christmas Card Templates

Okay, I lied. I told you that it doesn't get any easier than this when it comes to your holiday cards. Now it does!

If you look to the left, I've added a link to my monthly specials. You will still find pricing under the link labeled "Holiday Card Specials." But now I've also added a link called, "2008 Christmas Card Templates." If you click on it, you will find pages and pages of holiday card ideas. All you have to do is send me a photo (or photos) and I can pop it into one of these layouts. Easy as pie and your holiday cards are done!

What's really nice about Heritage Makers cards and what sets them apart from other photo card providers, is the fact that you can custom print your photos and message not only on the outside, but the inside as well. Check out the templates. I'm sure you'll see the difference. For people who send a holiday letter along with their card, this is really is such a nice alternative to preserving your memories of the year in a beautiful format.

As always, let me know if I can help. The holiday ordering deadline for Christmas cards is just after Thanksgiving. Start going through your photos now!

Strawberries, Too is Sold!

A huge thank you to Nancy Jacey. After my art opening last weekend at the Jacey Gallery, someone purchased my Strawberries, Too painting. I'm so excited.

Thank you to Nancy, for giving me the opportunity to showcase some of my work. And thank you to her clients. It is so nice to be part of such a community that both celebrates and supports the arts.

I will be hanging a new painting in the spot that is now vacant in the gallery on Monday. The show hangs until the end of September. Please stop by if you can. It is located on Gunn Highway by Land & Sea Market.

Follow My Blog

You can now subscribe to my blog. Any time there is an update you will be notified. Just scroll down to the left and find the "Follow My Blog" button and then follow the instructions.

Holiday Card Specials

Heritage Makers has just announced some card specials. Click on the link to the left to find out more. To sweeten the deal, I'm offering free design service to anyone who purchases a package. All you have to do is provide the photo and I'll do the rest. It doesn't get any easier than this!

The Art Opening Reception was a Success!

Last night was the opening reception for my artwork displayed at the Jacey Gallery here in Tampa. It was great! Nancy Jacey is such a talented artist (colored pencil) and it is really fun working with her. I met all kinds of interesting people last night. It's not every day that you get a chance to talk with other people about the creation of art. It was nice to listen to the other artists and to the people who came to the show. I met so many very nice people.
My work will be at the gallery until the end of the month. Please stop by, if you can. And if you have kids, you should definitely go. Nancy teaches classes in the afternoons and she had her students' work on display last night. The work they are doing is incredible.
For my Sarasota friends, I have an opportunity to show both my watercolors and Heritage Makers albums next month at an Open House at California Closets on Clark Road. I'll post information here when it becomes available.

You're Invited

Please join me at my opening reception at the Jacey Gallery. I will be showing 6 of my paintings during the month of September. Hope you can make it this Friday to the grand opening! Please let me know if you can by posting a comment to this blog!

Fresh Starts

This was a very, very busy week. First off, it was my birthday! Not that I'm a huge fan of aging, but I definitely believe that you get older AND wiser... at least I hope so! And who can be afraid of the aging process when there's all these great remedies out there. My best gift was from Brian -- a certificate for 4 microdermabrasion sessions. I'll be looking like a 44 year old again in no time!

In addition to my birthday, the kids went back to school this week. That's always a hectic time. Added to that this year was the threat of Tropical Storm Fay. Luckily, we were spared from any rain, wind or any damage whatsoever. Not so lucky is after one day of school, the kids were home again waiting on the storm that never came. They're back now in school and all seems right with the world!

Finally, I'm really starting to kick off my Heritage Makers adventure. I signed on as a consultant back in June, but really thought I would get going this fall. Now fall is here, and I'm busy, busy, busy. I've just completed a book of our summer vacation... check out my Italy scrapbook... and also finished 2 books for my nephews. Yesterday I spent the morning showing some friends how they can publish Heritage Makers storybooks as well. Today, I'm visiting another friend in Sarasota and showing my books to her friends. My hope for working with HM is to show other people how easy it is to scrapbook digitally. I also want people to know that I'm available to create custom storybooks for them, at very reasonable prices. Goodness knows I've been doing this forever. I'd really like to help other people organize and print their photos in such a beautiful way.