We challenged Heritage Makers to break out their video cameras and record the responses to their holiday gifts. You’ll get a little emotional as you watch these clips.

Heidi Jackson uploaded this video of her inlaws as they looked through their storybooks. You may not understand the words, but you certainly understand how they felt about their gift.

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Article source: http://blog.heritagemakers.com/?p=1009

Did you get a new high-resolution big-megapixel digital camera for the holidays? If so, your photos may be larger than the maximum size limits on our site for uploading photos. We allow photos 10mb and under with a maximum size of 4800×4800 pixels. If your images are larger than those limits, you’ll need to do a quick re-size for your images stored in Heritage Makers photo albums. Simply follow the instructions below to batch re-size them, upload them to HM, then delete the smaller copies off your computer, leaving the full-size originals where you downloaded them from your camera or memory card.

How to resize photos for HM projects

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Article source: http://blog.heritagemakers.com/?p=985

PROVO, UTAH, October 27, 2011 – Heritage Makers will be a featured brand showcased in the Style Icon Celebrity Gifting Suite at the 45th Annual Country Music Association Awards (CMAs) November 7-8, 2011, in Nashville, Tennessee.

A pioneer in the memory preservation and personal publishing industries, Heritage Makers will participate in this high-end brand interaction event hosted by Style Icon. It draws a diverse crowd of celebrities from music, media and entertainment industries, offering opportunities for extensive media and social networking exposure.

Heritage Makers President Patti Gardner, Co-Founder Dr. Sharon Murdoch and Founding Diamond Executive Wendy McGee will represent the company, introducing personal publishing products to celebrities, staff and media personalities.

“We believe the CMA gifting suite will likely garner additional publicity exposure for Heritage Makers that we can further promote in future marketing opportunities,” says Gardner.

“Plus we’re hopeful for the ability to showcase the good causes we support and generate additional opportunities to share the power of storybooking with more people,” adds Murdoch.

Celebrities visiting the Heritage Makers booth at the CMA event will be encouraged to autograph gallery-wrapped canvas prints with the proceeds going to the People Serving People charity project, which gives homeless children their own custom bedtime storybook.

Professional photographers will be on hand to capture publicity photos of celebrities with Heritage Makers products in their hands. In addition, the Style Icon public relations team will coordinate interviews with pre-scheduled media and press members for additional TV and print exposure opportunities. Gift bags will be sent to prospective media outlets and editors not in attendance.

“This is an exciting time for Heritage Makers,” says McGee. “Consultants across the U.S. and Canada will benefit from increased exposure and publicity of the Heritage Makers brand and the likelihood of celebrity promotional appeal generated at this event.”
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About the Company:
Heritage Makers helps consumers showcase their favorite photos and experiences through custom-published books and other printed keepsakes. The Heritage Makers publishing platform is easy to use—anyone with photos and a story to tell will enjoy the process. With Heritage Makers’ unique online publishing tools, including a searchable database of over 65,000 digital art pieces and 6,500 pre-designed templates, photos and memories can be shared with family and friends preserved forever. In addition, Heritage Makers offers a unique income opportunity fueled by a strong sense of mission that resonates with consumers.

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Article source: http://blog.heritagemakers.com/?p=942

If you would like to sample the fun and functionality of a Premier account, here’s a no-risk opportunity for you. From Sept. 30 – Oct. 3, Heritage Makers is offering a FREE Premier Weekend! During this period you can have full reign over the entire art and template collection at absolutely no cost! Explore the offerings of Premier by making a personalized card for a loved one for World Card Making Day (October 1st), or let your creative passion extend to photo gifts, wrapped canvases, storybooks, or any number of other beautiful Heritage Makers projects.

To participate in Free Premier Weekend simply log into Studio and click on the “unlock Premier” button. This button will be available from Sept. 30 – noon October 3 MDT.

Once you’ve explored our unmatched Premier digital library, join Club HM—where you’ll have ongoing FREE Premier access, plus a monthly publishing point subscription to pay for your projects at checkout! Contact your consultant for details!

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Article source: http://blog.heritagemakers.com/?p=913

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This is why photos are important. But listen to the lyrics at 3:00. Heritage Makers understand that you shouldn’t make people “read between the lines.”

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Article source: http://blog.heritagemakers.com/?p=894

Want to earn a coupon that will get you a 50% discount on any HM project you choose? Just refer a friend to your consultant. If that referral ends up signing up for Club HM, you’ll receive the coupon. Hurry, this offer is only good through July!

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Article source: http://blog.heritagemakers.com/?p=848

Today marks the final broadcast of the beloved Oprah Winfrey Show. After the countdown of special guests, show surprises and fanfare, the grand finale is here. Today we can all watch the final chapter of a 25-year media phenomenon.

Heritage Makers would like to take this opportunity to salute the enormous contributions of Ms. Winfrey and the legacy of inspiration, compassion, empowerment, and understanding she has established and encouraged. It may have started out as just another television talk show, but it soon became so much more. Millions have been impacted in positive ways, and as heritage makers, we count ourselves as part of that group because Oprah helped us introduce countless readers to the magic of storybooking.

In December 2008 she listed Heritage Makers storybooks as one of her “Top Ten All-Time Favorite Gifts” in her O, The Oprah Magazine holiday gift guide issue! Shortly thereafter, her best friend and magazine editor-in-chief Gayle King talked glowingly about HM products to Robin Roberts on a Good Morning America holiday gift segment. It was wonderful exposure for a young and growing company based in Utah.

How did Oprah Winfrey know about Heritage Makers? The answer lies in the inventiveness and moxie of a single mother of two from Waterloo, Iowa. In 2007, Brenda Ebel Kruse read an editorial by Oprah describing her grief over the accidental death of her dog, Gracie. Brenda was not a “dog person” but resonated with the life lessons Oprah was able to glean from the tragic experience.

Using the editorial content and photos from the article, Brenda created a simple tribute to Gracie in the form of a 5 x 5 storybook. Brenda was certain Oprah would appreciate the gesture, but how to deliver the finished project? She first tried sending it to the celebrity’s dog trainer thinking she would see that it reached the intended recipient. After several months of no response, Brenda decided to send it directly to Harpo Studios in Chicago with the hope that the right person would put it into Oprah’s hands.

On May 28, 2008 at 5:46 p.m., Brenda was unpacking groceries in the kitchen when the phone rang. She picked up the receiver, but hearing no voice, set it down and returned to the groceries. A minute later the phone beeped with a voicemail notification and Brenda got the surprise of her life as she listened to a message from Oprah Winfrey herself! The rest of the story is best told in Brenda’s own words:

“I listened to that famous voice say how thankful she was for the ‘lovely, lovely book’ and how it was “such a treasure. She talked about how she had gotten the book just in time to honor the one-year anniversary of Gracie’s death and said she’d read it on that day as a memorial to Gracie.

Oprah went on to say that she loves the idea of everyone having a story and even quoted the tag line on the book sleeve: “‘every story deserves a book of its own,’ you know I believe in that!”

After hearing her minute-long message, I was scared to death that I was going to hit the wrong button and delete the proof that she really did call me, so I carefully hit the save button and then screamed, jumped up and down, and called my family and friends with the unbelievable news.

At first I was disappointed I didn’t get to talk to her but then realized that I probably would have either been speechless or just rambled on nonstop. Plus, I wouldn’t have been able to remember exactly what she said. Now that I have her voicemail recorded forever, I can’t ever forget this memorable thank-you!”

Brenda’s thoughtful gesture will forever be part of the lore of Heritage Makers. To this day, one of the first things you’ll hear from a consultant is that “We are one of Oprah’s favorite things!” This is both a tribute to an epic communicator and opinion leader AND the power of story.

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See a preview of Brenda’s storybook and hear the actual recording of Oprah’s thank you message here.

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Article source: http://blog.heritagemakers.com/?p=873

Are you aware that many special services are available for an optional $20 fee? Here are some possibilities:

Rush Fee – We will print your project within 24 hours (in most cases, 48 hours tops). Customer Service employees will walk your project through each step to make sure there are no holdups along the way. They will then send the client a tracking number so they know that the item has been shipped. After that it will depend on the type of shipping the client has requested as to how soon they will receive it.

(Clients who expect delivery of their projects ahead of established production timelines will need to pay the $20 fee to have their projects moved ahead of others that have been submitted.)

UV Coating – Do you have a project would be improved with a UV coating? Or, do you want to specify that a product that normally comes with the coating not be coated? Either is possible with the service fee.

Special Cutting – Would you like to arrange to have a family fold cut so that the two side panels meet in the middle, or a deck of cards without rounded corners? These and other cutting requests are possible by paying the fee.

You get the picture. If your client has a special request, there is a good chance we can help them. These special requests require individual attention and deviations from our standard operating procedures. We therefore need to charge the additional fee, but we’ve found many clients are happy to pay extra to get their project just the way they want it!

Contact Customer Service with your special requests. Please keep in mind that rush orders are available on a limited basis and must be approved. Rush delivery times will depend on current production schedules.

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Article source: http://blog.heritagemakers.com/?p=872