Happy Mother's Day!

Praying that all the mama's out there are having a very blessed Mother's Day!!!

{We passed out about 300 of these little bookmarks today in Sunday school!}

Did I ever mention that I make Blog Books?

I have been in the business of helping people preserve their memories, save their pictures, and share their stories for almost 15 years! I do parties, sell albums and scrapbooking supplies, host workshops and retreats where my friends can have fun while preserving their memories, teach digital scrapbooking, and I help others start their own businesses. Plus, I do lots of projects for other people. 

When I first discovered blogging, I was in love. I think it is so great that so many moms are taking the time to share their photos and stories. This is just what my mission has been for so long! I love bloggers!!!

So what is better than a blog?

A Beautiful Blog Book!

I have had the joy of converting several blogs into colorful, unique, 12"x12" hardcover books that can be enjoyed and treasured forever. It is so fun to help my bloggy friends take their blogging to a new level by creating a Beautiful Blog Book that permanently documents all of their precious words and photos.

I lovingly copy each and every post, one by one, pasting it into this "newspaper" format so that you have a chronological record of your blog. OR, I can use selected posts... you may not want to have all your "giveaways" or diy's in your book, so I can include just the posts that you most want to save and cherish.

And then there are the photos! I actually do some photo editing, as needed, such as removing red eye and brightening up dark pictures. I do my best to include every picture, placing them where it makes sense, so that they flow with the story, just like you do on your blog.

Creating a Beautiful Blog Book is a labor of love for me. I am so honored when I am entrusted with this important task. I spend up to six weeks crafting each page, and placing each picture. You are able to choose from a wide array of beautiful digital artwork that complements your blog and style. But in the end, it is your stories and photos that are the star. Imagine holding your book in your lap, looking through the story of your life... who else might want a copy?

Isn't my sweet friend Jenny's family just the cutest? I loved making this book for her!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from our home to yours! What a joy to celebrate the birth of our precious Savior! Blessings!

Love Displayed in Meaningful Gifts!

During this wonderful season of giving (and all year, actually), I love to give gifts that are unique and meaningful. Here are a few fun gift ideas for you. {Bonus, I can help you with any or all of them!} If you are looking for information on my Beautiful Blog Books, click here!

Personalized photo gifts always are a favorite and much enjoyed by the recipient! Here are a few gifts I made this past year. The Photo Panel is wood and acrylic, but also comes in metal. {Free templates make it easy to put together yourself, or custom options can be designed.} Look here, and you will see how I am using another Photo Panel as my countertop dry-erase board!

The Custom Album Coverset can hold scrapbook pages or digital page prints. It can also be designed online, or made completely to your specifications.  Items like mugs, mousepads and t-shirts are always fun, too! Who wouldn't want to enjoy daily seeing their favorite people on an everyday item???

Photo Calendars are another wonderful gift! Pictured here is a 12"x18" calendar... the page can then be inserted into a 12"x12" scrapbook when the month is over. This style is also available in 8"x12", for an 8"x8" album.

The calendar plus an album makes a wonderful gift for grandparents. {I like these luxurious 12"x12" Picfolio albums -- they will hold almost three years' worth of calendar pages!}

Another idea is to use the calendar pages for heritage photos... walk down memory lane with all your pictures from growing up, and give the calendars to your siblings. In 2-3 years, you will all have your own completed family album!

The desk calendar is new! It has it's own easel, and the 4"x6" images also tear out. It is a great size to put on a desk at work, or to carry when traveling. Every month can highlight a special memory or cherished person.

All of these calendars can be customized with one or more photos, words and quotes, as well as special dates and events. You can go here to see more info about them. Again, I am happy to help you with your custom calendars!

Now, here is another fun and personal gift! The Simply Said books are sweet little 7.5"x5" books ready for you to fill in the blanks with your photos and feelings. Don't know what to write? It is easy with the prompts that are provided!

So do you have a special person you want to bless this holiday season? These are all fun and easy ideas... and of course, there are also photo books, cards, photo displays albums, and more! I would be pleased to help you with your personalized photo gifts... in person or by email {terricendejas at gmail dot com}!

{If you create a Creative Memories Digital Center account, please use my Consultant ID: 24915986}

The Evolution of a Photo Panel

This photo is one from my surprise birthday party earlier this month. What sweet friends I have! What you may not have noticed in the picture is up behind me on the mantle -- it s a photo panel that I designed last year and gave to my family for Christmas. A photo panel is either wood coated in acrylic, or metal, and makes a wonderful display in several sizes. I just love ours! 

Well, I had a product credit toward another photo panel that needed to be used, so I decided that I would make a special one for myself.

I thought it would be fun to show my design process from the beginning, to the final outcome. And, even though it is called a photo panel... I didn't plan to include any pictures on it! I looked through my digital artwork collection to see what embellishments and papers I wanted to use. I knew I wanted colors that go with our other decor since I would have it in the kitchen. I also love hearts. And these little birds were so cute! So that was my starting point.

I found some other embellishments I liked and played around with the center shape. I needed more area in the middle than the first big heart had provided. I liked the paper with the writing, even though you can't read it.

I decided the first background looked too solid, so I swapped it for a different patterned paper. I also went with a simpler shape in the middle and tweaked the other elements. I am liking how this looks!!

Now I am starting to get excited because I think it is looking really cute. I love the little bunting and the scallop backing gives it a nice touch.

From the beginning, I knew I wanted to include scripture. If you go back to the first draft, I actually had scripture running around the outside of the heart. Since I also liked the look of the paper with writing, I decided I could make my own. So I added a bunch of my favorite verses in a variety of fonts, and it was done! I love it!!!

And here is my photo panel on my kitchen counter. So pretty!

Oh, did I mention that I can use it as a dry erase board?!? Acrylic photo panels can be written on with dry erase markers! This makes a great place on which to write my list of tasks for the day.

I am so excited that I can post my nightly menu and stop all those repetitive questions from the kids about what I am making tonight! This just makes me happy. What could you use a little dry erase board for? You know what else makes me happy about this? I used host credit toward the product credit, so all I paid for my fun little project was tax & shipping!

Happy Thanksgiving!

This is a wonderful day to spend with family and friends, filled with memories and the tastes and smells of wonderful food. I am so blessed! I pray that we all are thankful, not just on this day, but throughout each and every day. Happy thanks-living!

Good morning!

Today is our last day of flag football! Jacob has a 9am game, and while it is beautiful and sunny, it is just barely 34 degrees outside!!! Here is a quick thank you card I made for Gil to give to the team mom for this season. Here is hoping we {finally} get a win today!


{I used the CM Day to Day Digital Kit.}

I am still in shock!

I am so blessed with an abundance of wonderful friends, an amazing, thoughtful husband, and sweet, wonderful children. Sunday was my birthday, and I am still in shock and having a difficult time expressing myself. We enjoyed a pleasant morning at church, had a meeting after, then went to lunch to celebrate my birthday. As we headed home, I was looking forward to our relaxing Sunday afternoon. We turned onto our street and I saw a long line of parked cars... "Someone's having a party," I said. I kept looking at each house on the left as we passed by, trying to figure out just WHO was having a party {I'm nosy like that!}.

As we headed toward our cul-de-sac, Gil said, "Why are those people standing in the street?" I was so busy looking at the neighbors' houses that I didn't know what he was talking about. I looked around, but didn't see what he meant. Then as I looked more carefully, and we got closer to our house, I noticed that in the shadows of the trees, people were indeed standing in the street. With the sun shining right at us, it took a second for it to register that I knew these people! WE were having a party!

 

My husband surprised me for my birthday, big time! It is absolutely amazing to stand in the street and have your friends sing "Happy Birthday" to you! I pulled out my camera and snapped a few photos. {Even in my shocked state, I remembered the camera!!!}

I was pretty much in a daze throughout the party. I am not sure I even said more than five words. But I smiled and laughed a lot. Our home was filled with wonderful people, and the kitchen counters were overflowing with lots of yummy treats. 

My husband was very sneaky and managed to pull this party off without a hint to me! I was shocked to learn that my kids were even in on it. But my husband also utilized his resources very well. He knew he needed help, so he enlisted some of my best friends to help with food, invites, setting up, and spreading the word. I had no clue!

Gil was even sweet enough to have them all gather around me and say a few words on my behalf. Oh, how I wish someone had a video camera going.... I can't remember all the words, but I sure do recall the love that was shared. It was overwhelming. But I really needed the tissue box handy when Gil started talking, and prayed for me. What a wonderful, precious gift it is to have a husband who loves me and prays for me.

It was a fun, fun afternoon that passed much too quickly!

And even in the midst of the huge crowd that gathered to surprise me, I realized that so many others were missing and not able to attend. I am loved and so very, very blessed!

Custom Photo Gifts

Thinking ahead to the holidays, do you have any hard-to-buy-for people on your list??? Pictures always make a perfect present! And I have some quick, EASY, and beautiful projects I can help you create.

With just a few of your favorite photos, you can have gorgeous, one-of-a-kind gifts that will be treasured.

Gift ideas include Calendars, Metal or Acrylic Photo Panels, Quick Albums (just add photos, all the work is already done), Custom Scrapbook Covers, T-shirts, Mugs, Mousepads, Posters, and more!! I can also help you with an assortment of gorgeous, custom cards for any occasion!!

Check out these beautiful calendars...
Watch a video here to see how you can use Creative Memories software to create your own custom calendars... and here is the link to the software for Mac & PC. At just $64.95 it is a great deal for all it does!! {Plus, you can try it out for 30 days, for free.}

Learning new software not your thing? Well, I also do custom work for you! You supply your pictures and I work with you to create your custom creation. I would love to help you with meaningful gifts this year!!!

Sunday Thoughts

This is SO Cool!!!

I have a new coverset to use for our 2011 family album, and I am SO excited! Creative Memories came out with a new Custom Album that can be designed simply with a photo, and maybe some text, or as elaborately as desired using the predesigned templates or our digital software.

Last week, I literally opened up the template at the Creative Memories Digital Center, uploaded my photo, dragged it in, cropped it, and added my text, and placed my order.... all in about 15 minutes before I headed out the door to flag football practice. Today, just a week later, it arrived on my doorstep! I was not prepared for how stunning it would look in person!!! These pictures truly do not do it justice.

This is a 12x12 coverset in which I can insert my traditional scrapbook pages, as well as my digital page prints. I am excited to add my layouts to this beautiful book! And I can't wait to help others create their own Custom Albums! What would you put on the front of an album?

My Business Card!

I just read a post by my friend Kim at Everything Etsy on creative business cards. I realized that I haven't shared my business card before... and I think it is somewhat creative! I designed it with my software, dropping one of my favorite scrapbook pages in as the photo. It is actually 1/2 of a 4x6 photo. So for the price of printing a picture, I got 2 business cards. I think they are fun! What do you think?



{Just for August 2011, my software and all the artwork is 50% off here!!! Wow!!}

A weekend with my "best friend"!

Beth Moore came to Charlotte this weekend!!! For the past 12 years, I have been doing her Bible studies. I have completed about 11 of them, and some of them I have actually done 2-3 times. I love her teaching! I was blessed to see her in person in 2004 in Colorado Springs. I was very excited to have the opportunity to see her again. Beth Moore is so down-to-earth and open... anytime I see her on video I feel like I am reunited with my best friend! I think she makes everyone feel that way!!

Our theme for the weekend was "hold fast". The Lord is holding fast to us... will never let us go, if we have trusted Him for our eternal salvation. We need to hold fast to him for earthly security and abundant life (not a life that is pain free, but a life that works). He loves us SO much!

We had 9400 women in attendance. Lots of women from my church were there... I kept running into groups of them all over the arena. I was blessed to attend with my sweet friend Leah. In fact, I nearly didn't get to go to this conference... but Leah surprised me with a ticket a few weeks ago!!! We have spent the last year and a half doing Bible study together, so she knew how much I really wanted to be there. I was touched, humbled, blessed! What a truly wonderful friend Leah is!

We ended up making plans with a number of other women to ride the light rail to uptown, have dinner, and then find seats together for Friday night. It was an adventure, and lots of fun! It was also wonderful to grow closer to some women I didn't know as well before this weekend. This morning we met bright and early at 6:30 to carpool back to uptown. The worship and teaching this weekend were just amazing! I will be absorbing and processing all we learned for the next week or two and beyond, I believe!

{My Simply Stylish Predesigned Pages made it so quick and easy to make these pages in just minutes!!!}

Fun Birthday Party!

In my last post, I wished my sweet husband happy birthday! Well, here is the party I threw to celebrate him! I designed the invitation, sent it out by email, and handed some out in person. Then I let Gil know that we were having a party! My hope was for him to be incredibly blessed on this important milestone.

We really had no idea who was coming. I just invited everyone we know and care about. I ordered a low-cost cake from Costco, made some homemade salsa, and put out a bowl of chips, and we were ready! This was a super-easy party to throw! And since everyone was invited to bring an appetizer, we had plenty of food!!!

This was such a fun gathering!!! We had friends from all over stop in. I made sure to take a photo of each family or couple.

Over the course of the evening, we had 70 guests in our home! Gil was absolutely blown away. Everytime the doorbell rang, it was another surprise. Gil was so very blessed by this wonderful, easy-to-plan event. What a joy it was to show him how much he is truly loved, in honor of his special day!!!

Merry Christmas!

{Beautiful Photography by Cindy Gongon...
card designed by me using StoryBook Creator Plus and the Holiday-Traditional artwork}