Say it with Sign Language

One of my most special times was when my friend Lynn taught a group of us ladies how to 'sign'. I felt so expressive and loved it. We were learning songs that our worship team performed at church. That year we signed the Millenium Prayer for our church's New Year's Eve celebration.
Lynn is a special needs teacher's aid and so talented. We have moved away and I don't get a chance to use my signing as much as I'd like; but it still brings back so many special memories.

Who do you know that uses the gift of signing?

Right now only till Dec 11th you can order this 8x8 canvas gallery wrapped print and save 10%.

This could be a wonderful "Gift of Appreciation" to someone in your life.

Blessings to you and yours,

Barb Ashcroft

www.RecallWhen.com

1-800-919-1998

The Reports are coming in!

I'm so excited to start seeing the responses of my wonderful Heritage Makers clients who have created projects on our website studio program and have already received them.

I met Cheryl at a Richmond, BC Chamber mixer and we definitely connected. When I planned a Digi Date in Delta last month she came and brought her grown daughter. Together they finished a project that afternoon and several more besides. Their Christmas shopping is mostly done.

Here's her excited email:

Barb, I just wanted you to know I have published and rec'd my canvases and cards...THEY ARE AWESOME! Now I can't wait to get some time in the New Year to work on others!
Thanks again for all you help. Wishing you and yours a Safe Happy Healthy Holiday Season.

Cheryl and Kim

You are welcome Cheryl and Kim. We provide an extra service of looking at the projects for our clients before they hit the publish button. It's one more reason you want to create online projects with a company that provides 'consultant help' along the way.

December will begin my planning for my Life Story and Storybook Classes in January. But for most of my students they will want to take advantage of the Fall Specials to have all the tools set up before the class. Maximizing their savings to boot!

Digi Diva

Barb

Your Personal Publishing Consultant

Dear Abby

I found this in DEAR ABBY last week:

DEAR ABBY:

I have a suggestion for people who are stuck for gift ideas.

Several years ago, I asked my mom for a very special Christmas gift.

I asked her to write down her life story -- things she had done as a child, the experience of hitchhiking from New Mexico to Tennessee during the Great Depression, and all the other experiences of her life. She did, and I printed it for her.

That year she gave each child, grandchild and great-grandchild a copy. It was the best Christmas present ever and one that's still cherished by us all.

Both my parents are gone now, but we have Mom's wonderful stories to remember.

Without her book, those memories would be lost forever. I encourage everyone to record their family history and memories for your loved ones to read.

You'll never regret it, and it will be enjoyed for generations to come.

-- ANDREW IN JOHNSON CITY, TENN.

DEAR ANDREW: That's a terrific suggestion. And if the parent or grandparent isn't comfortable with writing, the same goal can be accomplished by setting up a video camera and interviewing the family member by asking questions about his or her youth.

Barb's Comments: I'd do both and with the video that you tape make a DVD out of it and glue a CD Mailer Envelope onto the back inside cover of the hard bound book. Then you'll have the best of both. Their voices...and then their photos and written out heritage in bound book form.

BETTER YET make this a bonding experience for the youth who know how to get around and navigate on a pc. Contact me for the QUE sheets (questions to ask) and have the grandchildren interview them. They will learn so much and then have them create the heritage album (my help is always available local or online). You will have just bridged three generations.

Making Strong Connections

ps the photo at the top has my husband waiting on the bench, but behind him is the train that his own Dad worked on over 65 years ago...we were waiting for our daughter to arrive by train for Thanksgiving. Capture those precious moments.

Barb Ashcroft,

Binding Families together with storybooks

http://www.recallwhen.com/

wechangelives@shaw.ca

Share a moment of sweetness

I knew it had been awhile with packing, renovating, moving but when I saw my last post was in July I nearly fell over.

Well it's a new day and I LOVE SEPTEMBER!

I really do LOVE September.
It perfectly celebrates the end of summer and the beginning of fall. The weather is still great and I’m filled with yeah back to routine and getting all things in order!

With moving to our lovely little rancher I have actually completed most of my "Fall Cleaning" as my psyche was to think of the move as 'early' fall cleaning so I could feel good about all that packing up and reassigning new places for my stuff.

So now I'm into Creative Mode.....getting things all lined up for my workshops, my outreach and connecting with friends and clients. I thrive on creative time and this photo that I've shared before is now designed into an 18x18 inch deep canvas print. Isn't it so sweet!

Tomorrow is my first FALL Digi Date from 2-4 at Serious Coffee. Bring your laptop & I'll be teaching how to do this....we'll be ramping this up during the month and into October to help all my friends get their Christmas gifts not only started but FINISHED in time for gift giving.

I just read a neat post called 30 Days Hath September in a blog by Stacy Julian and while we're down to 24 days we can still accept her fall challenge. I encourage you to work on your projects for 20 -30 minutes a day or plan if you're working on a book to do One Page a Day. It's very doable with our studio that is built into www.recallwhen.com. It is like an intuitive photoshop program. In 24 days you could have most digital designed books done.

Glad to be back on track.

Join me for an amazing fall and if you've caught the digital heritage bug and want to share the fun and creativity of taking your photos and memories & placing them in heirloom projects give me a call. Our parent publisher has a great business kit offered right now. I'm also giving a free 8x8 canvas print to anyone who joins my team with a purchase of the business kit in September.

We don't wish any stories to be forgotten.

Signing off,

Digital Diva

Barb Ashcroft

Your Personal Publishing Consultant

250-752-5499

wechangelives@shaw.ca

Stop the Summer Blues of "there's nothing to do"

Summer Survival Kits.....go today to http://www.recallwhen.com or contact me to get you through the dreaded chant, "Mom I have nothing to do!"

Grandparents - here's a great creative outlet for those grandkid visits.

To see the flyer full size click here

Barb Ashcroft

Summer Survival Specialist

wechangelives@shaw.ca or

BarbAshcroft@shaw.ca

1-800-919-1998

That Magic will never go away

What could be more perfect? Sitting on grandpa's knee with your stuffy and you're both reading a book together and of course getting a tickle at the same time.

I just read a blog post in a First Time Parenting context that stated scrapbooks were going the way of the Apple iPad...hmmm. I don't think so looking at this photo.

Yes I believe scrapbooking in particular has changed. I saw my Mom's scrapbook when I was preteen. It showed all the paper clippings from the local prairie paper of 'the boys' who were going to war. It also showed her pangent ribbon as Miss Manitou in a beauty contest circa 1930.

I loved looking through it and 50 years later it is still clear as day on my mind.

With our busy lifestyle and everything so INSTANT I'm not surprised that busy parents can't find time or space to do their traditional scrapbooking (often described as therapy or girl time).

I think we have made a big leap to Digital Scrapbooking because of the ease of digital photography and the TIME SAVINGS...I can design a page (and complete it) in 30-40 minutes. I can do an entire book over a weekend or less. With web based online publishing several members in different parts of the country can work on the same book at the same time. How cool is that to create that one of a kind book for Dad or Mom having access to everyone's photos and each one can design their own pages.

Yes the world is changing, but I can't believe the feel good emotion of reading to a child and showing them pictures of themselves in a personal bound book will ever go the way of the iPad.

It will be a sad day if it does...

What are your thoughts?

Barb...online storybooker and proud of it!

Time for Photography

Persistent- great name for a lifesaver

Since I've moved to what is termed "Canada's Riviera" there has been wonderful opportunities to take marvelous images. Ocean, mountains, luscious floral arrays...you name it, it's here.

BUT, my self confidence to do justice to those images wasn't quite on par.

So what do you do...............well if you're me with built in entrepreneurial DNA you create a Newcomers Photography Club so you can find and mingle with like minded peeps. I've found with life or anything, someone always knows more than you do and likewise you also know more than some others...so create a community and share, learn & grow together.

Through that association I came to meet a retired photographer by the name of Alan Cornall.
I signed up for a 4 hour lesson and he took me on a private photo shoot. This "Persistent" photo image is the result.

Wow, you don't know what you don't know! He pointed me to new ways to SEE!

It was marvelous to catch his passion (still there at 78) and to allow his enthusiasm to keep me going as we became mountain goats to get just the right light, the right view, the right everything.

I will be sharing nuggets of what I learn this coming year through this blog.

**Sign up** on the left and become a *follower* to make sure you get all of them.

Make it a Great Day!

Barb Ashcroft
1-800-919-1998
http://www.recallwhen.com