I'm passionate about Heritage Makers and storybooking, but WHY? I thought I'd share my background, some incite to where I was in life when I found this, I mean when Heritage Makers found me...
Part 1: History
Growing up, my mom participated in a few great direct selling companies. I always admired her for being social, goal oriented, motivated and inspirational. She made good money, went on company trips, yet she was home everyday when I got home from school.
When I was in the 5th grade and the other kids did oral presentations on becoming an astronaut or fire fighter, I brought in an apple peeler-corer-slicer and did a Pampered Chef party. Out of high school, I signed up for 2 or 3 networking companies because I believed in them, and that I could do anything. But I was not passionate about vitamins, etc. I turned my entrepreneurial efforts to my husbands business and spent more time making memories with my family.
I took up scrapbooking, as my collection of photos grew much faster then our family did. I was upset that I didn’t have enough wall space to show them off and my photo boxes (large Rubbermaid bins) became full. Then the fateful day came. My oldest child reached up over the edge of the table and touched one of my expensive scrapbooking papers. I packed them in a box, and pulled them out occasionally to work on a page here and there; spending so much time and space packing them back up at the end of every session.
“There has to be another way!” I thought. Rushing to Amazon.com I checked the prices for Adobe Photoshop Elements… It was a tough blow to calculate the cost of “going digital.” Software, external herd drive, art collections, maybe even a new printer! Forget it.
Months passed, I didn’t imagine digital any more, and I wasn’t inspired to pull out the scrapping stuff anymore.
Part 2 Meeting Julie
I met Julie McLaws at a family reunion, we were kindred spirits and I talked her into coming to visit the next weekend. She asked me about my scrapbooks and I was thrilled to pull them out of the basement to show them off. As we flipped through the pages she said, “You don’t write the stories on your pages.”
“No, I don’t like my handwriting.”
“I understand, but writing the stories is so important.”
“I know…”
“Can I show you something on the computer?”
“Sure!”
It was less then a week until I was doing this as a business, I want to make sure everyone has heard of Heritage Makers, because it changed my life. (Thank you Julie, With all of my heart!)
Part 3: Why am I still a Heritage Maker?
I have done books for each of my children, my husband, my parents and my grandparent’s life story. I thoroughly enjoy the creative outlet and the emphasis on family I’m encouraging in my children. As a consultant I get to take a few more steps into strengthening homes and families by inspiring, motivating, and instructing others as they gather pictures and collect stories. I help others create priceless heirlooms. Just think of the value of these book when I am gone to those who love me.
There are so many levels on which I’m being rewarded for doing this (not any any particular order):
• Personal Growth
• Time out of the house with great ladies
• Free projects and premier
• Money
• Turning my Children’s hearts to their “fathers”
• Learning and training
• Creative design time for just me
• The Heirloom books
• Freedom
• System to organize my pictures and stories
• So much more!
