If my dad was a superhero he would be....

"He would be Mr. Incredible"

....that's what the Z-man said about his daddy, Shrek.

"Because he's strong, and he's awesome, and he teaches me how to fish, and he takes me camping...oh, and because he can win everything and he's the boss."

I chatted with Z-man in the car and asked him what he wanted to get his daddy for Father's Day and he told me he wanted to take him to the movies to see Transformers 2. I told him that would be awesome....but we'd have to wait until July to go...so he thought some more. And said, "I want to make him another book!" Ah-ha! That's my boy!!!

So we decided to make him another Cherish Bound book. He's done one for his daddy for the past 3 years....the A-Z's of Camping, Just Me and My Dad and The Top 10 Reasons I Love My Dad. Amazing gifts, dad cried every time...

This time I asked him to finish the sentence:

If my dad was a superhero he would be...

And that's the title of his next Father's Day book. He's drawn some pictures and had me be the scribe for him as we typed his story into the Cherish Bound Publishing Center. He's so excited to come home and work on it after school...I can't wait to show you pictures of it!!

So do your kids need a creative and unique Father's Day gift??

Yes! They do, right! Not another tie.... Let the kids touch his heart through the power of story.

If you'd like your kids to make their daddy a Superhero Story Book I'm here to get you started! They can create a 24-page, softbound, 5x7 book for only $29 (before shipping*). It's the perfect gift and EVERY DADDY WILL LOVE IT!

Step 1: Pre-Purchase your $29 publishing HERE

Step 2: I'll set up your Cherish Bound account and you'll go into the publishing center and begin typing in their story, thoughts, messages...whatever they want to say. They can create their own superhero if they want...there are no rules! Then begin adding photos and/or scanned images of drawings too.

Step 3: Submit for publishing by June 1st. I'll even check over your book, make sure everything looks prefect. Cherish Bound will print, bind and ship you your book in about 10-15 business days.

It's Easy and Affordable! Give the gift that keeps on giving...Story is powerful and I promise it will be the BEST gift your kids could EVER GIVE THEIR DADDY!

*shipping will be paid by customer upon publishing submission.

Confessions of an Ex-Scrapbooker #33 - Video #2 Cherish Bound Books!

Video #2 is here! Watch this video to see different types of books, styles, and options with Cherish Bound's growing book options and designs!!

Calling all Team Moms and Room Moms!

Is that you? Are you in charge of gift ideas for coaches and teachers? Are you sick of the dreaded dust-collecting trophies and metals or boring apple-themed gifts? If you answered yes, sort of, maybe or no...Keep Reading.

From my personal experience I can tell you that what I'm about to share with you is valuable information...seriously. It will change you. You will no longer be the mediocre mom or dad who collects $20 per family for gifts that are somewhat mundane and meaningless...that pretty much does nothing for the soul. So if you're ready to be popular...possibly famous...Keep Reading.

It's time to up the ante ladies (& gents)...it's time to raise the bar of team, coach and teacher gifts. With a little prep and some help from me you'll be the talk of the town and so will your gifts. So what am I talking about?

These....

Yes, you can put together gorgeous photo/story books for those important people. I've done MANY of them and have yet to encounter a recipient that doesn't tear up, thank me on a daily basis, show EVERYONE that walks within 25 feet of them. These books will have more of an impact than you know. Here are some of the books and stories behind them.

Teacher Books:

This book was done for a 4th grade teacher. Each child drew a picture and/or submitted a photo along with a story or thank you note. The hand written letters and pictures were scanned into the book. I saw the teacher receive this book and it's now been 4 years since she received it. To this day she still thanks us for putting together her "most prized possession" ever!

This is a book I just did for my son's kindergarten teacher for Christmas. We collected favorite recipes from all the kids in her class, along with a drawn picture or photo from each child. We put together an entire collection of recipes...over 50 pages! The name "Secret Ingredients" came from the inspiration of the children...one of the mom's interviewed each kid and asked them what their favorite recipe was and what the ingredients were...hysterical! It's a good thing those little ones aren't cooking! She has expressed her appreciation over and over again. She said she had never received anything more spectacular as a teacher.

Team/Coaches Books:

These team/sports books are becoming the replacement for cheap trophies and metals. This first set of books are soccer-style "yearbooks" that recap a season for the players and coaches. Players can give their two-cents, what they learned, greatest moment, etc. Action shots of the kids can be placed right into the book giving each player a spread or two.

This is one of my favorite coach books I've ever done. This was a big season for these girls, lots of long hours and hard work. Each girl took the time to write the coaches letters of appreciation and what they learned. We put all their letters and photos in this book and gave it to the coaches for their end of the season gift. Little did the girls know that they too were getting a book....but theirs had personal messages from the coach. Everyone was touched by the words, photos, and grateful to have this treasure.

This is a players book that we did for each child's end of the year gift. These took a little more time because they were all individually customized for each kid. We even interviewed the little guys and asked them questions about their season. The answers were priceless!

There are 100's of options, 1000's of sports & Millions of stories to be shared and given at the end of each sporting season. From Cheer Squads to Hockey Teams, Swimmers to Golfers...every athlete and coach has a story to tell. If you'd like more information on getting started just drop me a comment or email me at tarabrown at cherishbound dot com. I have an entire "workshop" I'll email you so you can have direction and steps to follow. Don't wait!

I'm An Author - Children's Writing, Storytelling & Publishing Program Part 2 & GIVEAWAY!

As promised on Wednesday, I'm going to tell you more about the I'm An Author program Cherish Bound offers....of course I said I'd tell you more on Thursday, but you know....it was one of those days. So today I'm going to fill you in on a little bit more of this amazing writing, telling & publishing program for kids and the giveaway!!

The Power of Story Starts in the Family...of course!It is the Golden Thread that binds us together. •What stories are you sharing with your children?

Stories In Children•They learn some of life’s Greatest Lesson. It's a •Powerful Medium for parents and family. •Stories motivate, inspire and give children the confidence they need.

“Stories told by you are the gifts that last a life time”

What is the Program?I'm An Author is a two-part literacy program consisting of wiring and publishing workshops. It teaches students how to find, capture, and share their personal stories. Cherish Bound story consultants all over the country are help students generate ideas and through cooperative learning techniques, help them develops those ideas into a fully written final product. One of the unique features of this workshop is its emphasis on oral storytelling.

This program supports the language arts core standards in the following area:
Comprehension

•Oral Language

•Written Expression

•Penmanship

Additional Skills your students will develop:

•Publishing

•Multimedia authoring, presentation web tools, digital cameras, and scanners

•Illustrating
•Photography

How will it Impact your child? Power to inspire, encourage, teach, connect and excite! Confidence from becoming a “published author".

I'm An Author is a fantastic program of inspiration, story and creativity. Unfortunately I can't giveaway the I'm An Author curriculum and lessons plans; only trained active Cherish Bound consultants are allowed to have it. But I am going to share some of the great products we use in the class! So I'm giving away a mini Children's kit!
Your children will love the fun little compact art set, a deck of Child Chat Cards and a "My Adventures" Story Starter. This great little gift pack is sure to bring out the storyteller in your child. You can see a sample of one of my little author's book in there too... (not included) So how do you win it?? Leave a comment telling us what story your child wants to tell. That's it!! If you want a double bonus, put a post on your blog linking back and share this amazing program with your friends and bloggy followers. Giveaway ends November 7th @ 11:59 Est.

What are you giving for Christmas this year?

Can you believe the holidays will be here in just a few short months...actually weeks! (I consider the holidays officially underway on October 31.) So what are you giving this year to all the special people on your list? Giving the same-old-same-old....New underwear? Oh, wait, a coffee cup? I bet you give ties, right? Hum....how about switching up the gift giving traditions this year. How about actually putting some thought in to it and giving a gift that will not only change you, but change the person you're giving it to. What gift is that? The Gift of Story.

Can you picture this.... Yeah, go read that real quick and then come back. A little tear? Hit a little close to home? I bet it did. That is the power of story. That is what can happen at each and every family Christmas party. That is the emotion and love that can be shared throughout your holiday season. With a little help from me and Cherish Bound you'll create a holiday tradition of story that will forever change your heart and those around you.

So what gifts can you give through Cherish Bound? The list is endless and the recipients are...well, just about everybody! But here is a list to help you get started.

Mothers, Fathers, Mother-in-laws, father-in-laws, sisters, brothers, cousins, best friends, aunts, uncles, daughter, son, grandmother, grandfather, niece, nephew, teachers, bus drivers, neighbors, pets....okay. You get the picture right?

So what can you give them through Cherish Bound?

1. Family Recipe Books: Create a book filled with family favorites and add images of family, scanned in original recipe cards, pictures of the food, stories about where these recipes have come from and the memories that have been made while enjoy those yummy foods.
   
2. Tribute to Mom/Dad/Grandparents: Tell the important people in your life just how much they mean to you. Give them the gift of story by reminiscing about the past, present and the future you have because of them. With added photos and your text this story is sure touch the heart of everyone who receives it.
3. A-Z Books: A-Z books are SO much fun! There are 1000's of ideas that you can do with A-Z's. Here's a few....The A to Z's..... of why we love (whoever), of 2008, child's favorite things, holiday memories, family traditions. There are so many ways to share the love through the ABC's.
4. Sports/Hobby/Collection books: Create a book just for the sports lover in your family or highlight their great achievements or special hobbies and collections like fishing, dirt biking, camping, coin collections, baseball cards, etc.
   
5. Family Traditions: Have each person in your family write about their favorite traditions and memories from the holidays. Grandma's love those!
6. Photo Brag Books: No time to write? How about a book filled with snapshots and photos off all your adventures or best pictures throughout the year?
7. Family Yearbook: If you're like me, you live far from family and you don't get to share your amazing adventures with them as much as you'd like to. So put together a family yearbook from the past year. Get the kids involved, the hubby too and together as a family create a yearbook that you can share with all your family!
   

So there are a few "Book" ideas to get you started....but there are so many more! Just think about the special people and why you love them. Something will come to mind. But wait..there's more! Cherish Bound has an AMAZING product line. Here are some more ideas!

1. Chat Cards: LOVE THESE! Chat Cards come in three different types, Family Chat, Gathering Chat & Child Chat. They are a deck of 50+ cards that have TONS of question on them to help promote great storytelling and conversation. Neighbors will love a deck for their kitchen table, Gathering Chats are fun to use at your own family parties, and teachers will LOVE the child chat cards....great for the classroom!
2. Journals: Heritage, Traditions, Favorites and Gratitude. Pre-published 5×5 hardbound journals with questions, spaces to write, room to attach photos and memories. (MY favorites!) Need to connect with a Teen? Get them a "Favorites" journal, take them out to dinner alone and ask them all about their favorites. Find out what THEY like and what makes them tick. Start a gratitude journal in your home or share it with your sister's family. Heritage journals are a prefect activity for your children at the holidays. This journal will help them interview their grandmas, grandpas, aunts, uncles and anyone else who has a history.
   
3. Lifeprints are a great product to have at the holidays...especially the Family Gathering Lifeprints. This set of 16 leaflets all have the same set of questions and room to write. Each family member can answer the questions about their favorite family gathering memories, food, people, etc. All the information can be collected and turned into a great family gathering yearbook!
   
4. Story Starters are little booklets full of questions to help you explore a particular theme of story. With space to write and places to jot image ideas, Story Starters help you organize and write your stories. You can also give the gift of story to someone else by picking some Story Starters out and adding a publishing gift certificate to the package. Let them write, create and design their own stories.

Again, there are so many ideas with Cherish Bound. Make your gift list now and get started! If you'd like to learn how you can get FREE publishing for Christmas please email me at tarabrown at cherishbound dot com. You can hold ONLINE gatherings and workshops at www.momchats.com You can invite your family and friends to join us in the chat room and we can share story from the comfort of our very own computers!

End the stress and chaos of looking for the perfect gift! Cherish Bound has the perfect gift for everyone on your list!

A Gift for ME!

For the past 4 years I have published almost in the 100's of books. Many of them were presents for family and friends, sports teams, teachers, and special people celebrating special times. Watching those people open their presents and find a book made a especially just for them, makes my heart fill with joy! I can't even explain the emotion that runs through me every time that happens. Many times I hear back from a customer telling about their experience when they've given the gift of story to someone they love. And they too cannot explain the overwhelming joy that brings a tear to the eye.

Tuesday afternoon I was pulling into my driveway and stopped and grabbed the mail. As I opened my mailbox I saw a brightly-colored package with some "Happy Birthday's" written all over it. It had to be for me because my birthday was this past week. I was so excited! I had no idea who it could be from, but I hurried up and tore it open and to my surprise I received a Cherish Bound Book in the mail as a gift from my "Bestest Friend" in the entire world.

I sat in my car for about 15 minutes reading this story...remembering so many amazing times that I had forgotten about, and laughing hysterically as if she was sitting right next to me. I couldn't help but let a few tears pass.

She took the time to write a story about our friendship, how we met, how we've connected through Cherish Bound and our families, our struggles and triumphs, added great quotes about best friends and even added some pictures from when we first met all the way up until the present. She custom designed a beautiful cover in digital scrapbooking software and added a cute photo of us from about....10 years ago.

This book is a treasured gifted. I've never really been on the receiving end of this process. I'm always giving the books or helping people create the books to give to others. But this time, the gift was for me! Not only did this help me remember how blessed I am to be helping people do this all over the US, but it reminded me that the power of story is really a gift. It's a gift that needs to be shared and passed on no matter how young or old you are, the gift of story is priceless! I will never forget the feeling I had as I sat there in my car reading a story that was written just for me.

Confessions of an Ex-Scrapbooker #17

If someone would have challenged me to "Scrap" 7 scrapbooks with photos, stories and all the cute stuff in a 7 month period (back in my scrapping days) I probably would have gotten "7 pages" done....TOTAL! For one, I took too long because I used too many embellishments and I'm a perfectionist. Two, I'm too busy. I can't sit and work on a scrapbook, clean it up, get it back out....and so on and so on. And Three, I'm extremely competitive and I would have NEVER even take the challenge....don't like setting myself up for failure.

Well, Cherish Bound challenged it's consultants to join the "Story Club". In order to be apart of the "Club" and receive a GRAND PRIZE at convention we have publish 7 small 5x7 Story Books by the time convention rolls around at the end of August. Each book "theme" had to come from one of eight different Story Starter collections. Guess what? I did it....okay, I'm almost done. I have 2 more to go!

The eight Story Starter Collections are Love Collection, Family Collection, Legacy Collection, Giggles & Giddy-up Collection, Butterfly Collection, School Collection, Holiday Collection, and Early Childhood Collection.

So far I've completed and received my wedding book coming from the Love Collection. My son's Preschool book coming from the Early Childhood Collection as well as his T-Ball book from the School Collection. And my most recent arrival was the Christmas Traditions book we did as a family from the Holiday Collection. I just completed a 2007 Family Yearbook book from the Family Collection and I'm currently working on a Hero's book from our Legacy Collection. (Can't say who that's for....secret!) The final and 7th book will be a children's book from the Giggles & Giddy-up Collection.

I loved this challenge for many reason. I'm been able to complete some fairly large memory keeping moments that have been weighing on me. I've also experienced first hand how easy it is to complete simple story/photo books. It doesn't have to be big 100 page life story books. Everyone can simply tell their stories in small "chapters" and create a beautiful collection of books.

As soon as I get my entire collection and my "Grand Prize" I'll be sure to post a picture of my newest library!

Some of My Hero's and People of Influence

There are so many people in my life that I would consider "Hero's". My mom of course is at the top of my list..."Super" hero is more like it. CP (she knows who she is) is probably one of my most favorite people on earth..."bestest" friend ever and a true hero in every sense of the word. I adore Carol Rice, co-founder of Cherish Bound, and rank her at the top as well. Their influences and examples of being a hero are all different, yet each one has touched my life and changed it in more ways than one.

Another personal hero is Nelson Mandela. Wow! What an incredible man! If only the world could have a few more Nelson's around...what an amazing place it would be. The stories I've read about him and the faith that he exhibits on a daily basis put him on my Hero Pedestal!

Just recently I added another hero to my list...Christopher Columbus. Now I know that may seem odd, but recently someone special shared a quote by him with me. It's one of those goose bump quotes.

"Our Lord unlocked my mind, sent me upon the sea, and gave me fire for the deed. Those who heard of my enterprise called it foolish, mocked me, and laughed. But who can doubt but that the Holy Ghost inspired me?"

My spine tingled as I read it and I became so intrigued by this historical hero. Not only because of his faith, but his will and determination to go the way he was intended to go. I don't think many people realize what a hero he was....and still is to this nation, and to this world!

Cherish Bound has great Mini Story Starter for $1.50 called "My Hero's and People of Influence". I love it because it's simple, small and "mini". It has 10 questions, a sample story and ideas to help you get your "Hero" story started.

"This mini will help you develop a story about influences-those people who have shaped your beliefs, development and character. Your heroes might be sports, religion, politics, entertainment, or even super-heroes. Think about school and music teachers, coaches, and professors. Maybe your hero is your best friend, partner, sibling, cousin, roommate, companion or neighbor. Is there a professional hero such as a boss, partner, co-worker, or mentor that has been a significant influence? Our everyday heroes are everywhere. Use this mini and the Lessons About Life story starter to discover your hero and their special traits." --Cherish Bound

Cherish Bound also offers a beautiful designer book just for the "Hero's" in your life. Look around because there are "Hero's" all around you....thank them.

Preschool Book...LOOK-LOOK-LOOK!

Here's a sample Pre-school book! This is a Cherish Bound "Legacy" style book. That means that this book is already designed with the colors, fonts, and embellishments/designs. Makes it so easy for you! You just have to drop your photos and text in.

You can also see how there are photos and scanned images as well. You can take any of your children's art work, handwritten letters and notes, drawings, awards, etc., and add them to your books!

The "Landscape"

The beautiful Landscape book...yes, that's probably my favorite style of Cherish Bound book to publish. I gives me a warm fairytale feeling. I have flashbacks of being read to by grandparents and even my own parents and I always picture large flowing landscape style books spread across our laps. It evokes deep nostalgia in my soul. Hummmm.....

So here are a few of my favorite "landscape" style Cherish Bound books that I have published. Of course they're all my favorite.

This is the story about my twins and the stories about their surprise arrival and pictures up to about 10 months old.

For Mother's & Father's Day 2007 I gave each of my parents a book about my memories and stories of growing up with them as my mom and dad. By using the Tribute to Mom/Dad Story Starter I was able to remember memories WAYYY back. It helped me discover some amazing stories and memories that I never knew existed.

This is book was a gift to all the softball coaches on my daughter's softball team. Each coach got a book at the end of the year. All the girls wrote about their favorite memories, stories and what they learned during the season.

This is a book I did for my grandmother who told me stories about her mother and father, her youth and her experiences as a mother.

If you're interested in publishing a landscape book through Cherish Bound contact me today! I'll help you get started sharing your stories!

My New Favorite Book

I posted a few times about the photo/memory book I was making for my 14-year-old daughter that was moving on from middle school to high school. You catch up on those post by clicking here and here

Well, I got the book back and gave it to her.....and it's now my new favorite book. Not only does it look awesome, but the pictures, letters and words of wisdom from her family and teachers are so encouraging and motivating. I've seen her many times lying on her bed flipping through the pages and reading the letters that were written just for her.

So here are some pictures of the book...

I did the cover with digital scrapbooking downloads from Shabby Princess
I created the cover with the "Express Yourself" Collection
I loaded the entire page as an 8.5x11 portrait size into the Cherish Bound full-bleed template.



I then added pictures and text using the Cherish Bound templates. Cherish Bound has beautiful background pages and colors already available, so I thought I'd save myself hours of time and stress and just use the templates and colors provided. They matched PERFECTLY with the cover colors too. I used the background called persimmon. This page background is gorgeous. It has very faint paisley pattern running across the bottom of each page....it's just plain pretty!



I did an A-Z of "Surviving Middle School". The book was 69 pages, which covered 3 years of stories and memories from school events, sports, holidays and even the new arrival of our twins.

Confessions of an Ex-Scrapbooker #6

3 in 10 years vs. 38 in 3.5 years
Anyone know what that means? Anyone? Come on, take a guess....nothing?

All right, I'll tell you....it's an explanation of my progress in life. I'm officially awesome...well, at least to my family. But hey, that's all that really matters right? Last night my husband asked me how many scrapbooks I've done since I started scrapbooking...I guess someone at work was moaning about his wife's scrapbooks, they're never finished, falling apart, can't look at them, they're wrapped in plastic....bla, bla, bla. I looked at him and smiled and told him that he should know how many...they are pictures of his LIFE! Duh! But he really didn't know...perhaps it's because he never gets to see them. Remember the vault? (previous post) Well, I explained to him that I have many scrapbooks....and he said, "How many FINISHED scrapbooks do you have?" Now he knew about my hidden boxes of "stuff" and all the papers and embellishments, and actually knew the prices of some things....he did get me a few gift certificates for Christmas. So he's up to date on the ungodly cost of all that stuff. Anyway.....I said, "Finish? Well, let's see...three." THREE! He couldn't believe it. He actually raised his voice ever so slightly and said, "You scrapbooked for 10 years and spend $88,000 and you only completed 3 scrapbooks?" I just smiled, "Uh-hum." He was shocked, silenced, but I could tell his mind was working....so he said, "How many Cherish Bound books have you done...in the 3 1/2 years you've been publishing?" I smiled and said, "Oh, just a few...HOW ABOUT 38!" There was a moment of silence, he smiled and quietly said, "I always knew you were the coolest wife." He-he! Redemption strikes again!