Memory Keeper

Every family has a memory keeper aka scrapbooker.  Growing up my mom was the memory keeper out of her siblings.  She was always the one with the camera in her hand snapping candids at family dinners and holiday parties.  Then she would develop those pictures and put them in scrapbooks with each page custom decorated with stickers and cute little paper creations she'd either found or made herself.

Well, I guess the torch of memory keeper has been passed down to me because I'm now the one who's always behind the camera snapping pictures to store in scrapbooks.  And thanks to My Memories Suite, I don't have to spend hours or hundreds of dollars hunting down scrapbooking accessories and stationery.  Instead, I can create, decorate and print out custom pages from the comforts of my couch.  They have lots of templates to choose from like this one

This digital scrapbooking software gives you unlimited possibilities.  The best part besides being inexpensive is that you can also use it create birthday flyers, holiday cards, family newsletter and more.  You can choose your background, upload images, add text and much more.  In fact, I'm already working on creating a family Christmas card. (Yes, I'm that person.)  What do you think?

Pretty good huh?  I'm thinking that I'll be tackling invitations for Moo's birthday party next.  Overall, My Memories Suite is easy to buy, easy to download and easy use.  And guess what? One of you lucky memory keepers will get the chance to see just easy this amazing scrapbook software really is.

Yep, you can win your own FREE download of My Memories Suite by using giveaway form below.  Good luck.  Winner will be announced on Nov 9th!!  Meanwhile, you can stay updated on all their latest news by checking out their blog.

Disclaimer: This post is sponsored My Memories.  However, all opinions stated above are my own.

What I'm Making Monday: Letters to My Daughter

Let me start off by saying Happy Belated Mother's Day!!!! I had a blast on my third one. It was even more special being able to celebrate with my mom and aunties. I'm already looking forward to next year and planning an even bigger surprise for them.

So, if you don't know by now, I love writing. Seriously, I could write all day if that were possible. Anyways, when I was pregnant, I didn't write a lot. Mostly because I was stressed about my pregnancy. It wasn't exactly the most complication free one. It probably would have helped if I had kept a pregnancy journal or something and that's one of the things I do regret not doing.

But once my little Moo got here, I knew that everyday with her would be special. So, I decided to make a scrap/storybook chronicling her first years of life. I call it 'Letters to My Daughter: Days in the Life of My Little Moo.' And I have to tell you at first it was kind of hard making myself get back in the hang of writing everyday. By the end of the night, I was so tired from having not gotten a full night's rest the night before, I could barely keep my eyes open long enough to write.

But here we are almost two years later and somehow I have managed to chronicle everyday. And while some people say not much can possibly change from day to day, it can. I was recently looking back thru some of the notebooks I wrote in (we're up to 4 now)and we had some great adventures, some heartbreaks and some times I wish I could rewind. I'm very honest in my letters to Moo about what I'm feeling, how things were going with me and her father and much more. I also took some pictures of her just about everyday.

So we have quite the collection. Babies don't really remember their infanthood (yes I made that word up)and I felt like it would be great to help give her some insight by doing this. I certainly recommend that all moms and dads do this. You don't really have to write in it everyday like I do, but weekly would good.

All you need is:

A Notebook,

A Pen,

A camera to take pictures,

And Quiet Place to write.

Then once you've finished your first year you can get a scrapbook kit and type it all up or just paste the handwritten pages right in the scrapbook. Adorn the pages with the pictures and you're done.  This is truly a great gift for a high school senior.  I'm sure your daughter or son will love it.