My Trip Down Memory Lane

I found some old pictures from 2003 on a cd my husband burned. He had all of our family pictures on his work computer (I don't recommend this) and when he found a new job and realized the computer was going back to the company, he frantically spent almost 24 hours burning pictures to cds! There were a LOT of cds so you can imagine (well, perhaps you can't because you haven't seen my disorganized chaos in the house!) how one slipped through the cracks (or slipped behind some books on the book shelf).

It was a trip down memory lane! Our first family vacation with our 3-year-old and 9-month-old. Were we nuts or what? We went to Cincinnati to Kings Island and spent 2 fun days there before driving to Hilton Head Island for a beautiful week at the ocean. Boy, did these pictures bring back memories...ones that I miss terribly. My little children who depended on me to take care of their every need and did so with such unconditional love (as versus the kids I have now who love me but expect that I be their personal servant and take care of their every need even though they are more than capable!). Ah, those were the days. =)

When I find that I have many pictures with a similar theme and would like to get my album finished lickety-split, I like to use a designer template that I can use as is or modify a bit the way that will accommodate my pictures best. The template I used for the amusement park isFamily Fun Days by StoryRock. It has a simple design, it's fun and worked great for the theme park pics. The beach pics are on a template entitled Sand & Surf by designer Kelly Hann Mize. I liked the simplicity of the pages with subtle pics of shells in the background supporting our ocean theme. I had fun putting these pages together and reliving those sweet, sweet days!

MORE Freebies!

Please be sure to check out our Facebook page...Mary's been finding freebies and is posting the link there! If you haven't yet joined our Facebook "like" group, please be sure to arrow down the right side of the blog and click "like". =) Thank you and see you there!

Mary's Blocked!

I found out recently that Mary doesn't have access to this blog. Tee hee hee! I truly didn't change anything but her password doesn't seem to work any more. SO! She has given me full rights to blog my heart out. And blog I shall! Until my next post...I wish you the best of health and happiness!

My Daughter's 1st Communion Invitation

Think My Memories Suite is just for scrapbook pages? Think again!

I created this invitation in Polaroid's My Memories Suite utilizing an image my business partner, Mary Moseley of Mary Moseley Photography, captured. I threw on the 4x6 guides, played with the opacity slider a smidge and added text. It was fast, easy, and if I DO say so myself, made a most beautiful invitation! I had them printed on pearl paper and it just sparkles. LOVIN' it!

Announcing MORE Than Just A Freebie!

OKAY! I'm so excited STILL I can hardly type fast enough! Here's an exciting, amazing announcement I am thrilled to share with you!

Beginning October 1st, The Memory Boutique will be carrying digital scrapbooking kits, papers and embellishments in OUR online shop! We're so excited that our product cart is filling up with great products for you to use to create some awesome memories for you and your family!

To kick off our new venture, we are pleased to announce our partnership with Legacy Digital Design. Jill Means, Founder and Designer at Legacy, has graciously given us a freebie for you to use! But first, let's get to know Jill:

A couple years ago, I started creating photo books but I was not satisfied with the limitations of the templates provided by the printing companies. I looked into digital scrapbooking products, but I had a very difficult time finding products that reflected my classic, clean style. So I started creating my own. I have a passion for showcasing family heritage, memories and values in my home and creating meaningful gifts for my family and friends. I hope my designs can help you do the same. I love to hear your comments, suggestions, and ideas!

-Jill Means

Founder/Designer

Jill is a wife and a mother of five children. She has been a graphic designer for over 13 years. She graduated in 1997 from Brigham Young University in graphic design. She currently resides in California. Legacy Digital Design will also be adding more designers that share Jill's classic style to provide customers with even more great design. Stay tuned!

SO! For those of you who follow this blog, you will be the first to download this freebie from Legacy Digital Design (our email with this link and announcement will go out later tonight so I hope you feel very special because you are!). We asked Jill Means to select a special freebie for us to share with you and her personal choice to help you get a head start on your holiday cards (because it's never too early to start!) is a wonderful paper pack for the holidays (see the picture of Jill above? Those are the pages you can get!) Grab this freebie up so the holidays will be stress-free (well, that's a total exaggeration but you get the idea)! Simply click here to get your free paper pack. Can you leave a comment to let me know you grabbed it? Thanks a bunch!

August FREEBIE Coming SOON!!

Oh my gosh, have you ever had one of those days where it seems as though all is yuck and yet it turns out being a super-duper, great day? Yup, I'm having one of those now! I just found out what our August freebie will be and I'm so stinkin' excited! (There should be about 10-12 exclamation marks here but I think that looks cheesy so I won't do it...just pretend please =)

Here's the bummer news - I can't say what it is just yet but I PROMISE as SOON as I have the go-ahead, I'll get it posted right here! Eeeeks! I'm excited about this! =) It could be tonight, it could be tomorrow or the next day but I'll hound and hound until I find out for sure. Until the next post...Bwah ha ha ha ha! =)

Young Fellas CAN Scrap!

A few weeks ago I posted that my son, Jonathan (11-years-old), started using Polaroid's My Memories Suite digi-scrapping program. Well, I asked him if he was ready to share some pages and he sure is! He's up to 32 pages in the album and still has about 50+ pictures to scrap. =)

I love how he chose all different kinds of background paper. At first glance, it didn't seem very cohesive, but to him? It's totally awesome! It made me realize that scrapping doesn't always have to be "perfect" and all pages "matching". This is an art from the heart and whatever you like is how your pages should be! Have fun with it (like my son is) and enjoy sharing your memories with others. I learned a great lesson from my son and I'm thankful for that. And Jon's album? I'm having so much fun going through and looking at all the colors and patterns he chose. I think my kid's fun!

I'll post a couple here today and a few more later as he finishes the album. He's having such a great time and it's fun for ME to see HIM having so much fun! Can't wait to get them printed up and put them in a cute (well, I guess it has to be cool) album for him to show his buds!