Attention: Missionary Moms

If you'd like some ideas for gifts for your missionary - here are two that I did. They were a big hit!

For Christmas, I did a Tribute to Elder Herron, using Cherish Bound's Tribute 'Lifeprints'. 'Lifeprints' are a set of 16 "story leaves" - pages with questions on them. All 16 are identical. You give one to each of the people who want to add to your elder's tribute book. Ask each person to pick one or two of the questions on the inside to answer - write their answer in the space provided. Take a picture of each person (or ask them for one). For the cheaper version - the one I did - print each picture off and attach it over top of the set of questions, opposite of the person's written answer. When you've got all of the pages done, put them all into a 'Sassy Binder', wrap a bow around the spine and you've got a beautiful gift for Christmas. You can take the pictures and everyones' written pages (typed up) and make one of the beautiful hardbound books through Cherish Bound. That costs a little more, though (about $10 more). Here are pictures of the one I did for Elder Herron...
1. This is the set of Tribute Lifeprints

2. This is an inside page (one of 16) - inside and outside


3. These are pages from the inside of the 'book' I did - one from his dad and one from me. The one with his picture on it is the inside of the cover.



4. This is the whole thing completed - all the story leaves with pictures and writing put into a Sassy Binder with ribbon tied around it. Grant loved it. He had been gone for 10 months and it was nice to hear from everyone - especially all the nice things they said about him. We gave the story leaves to grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, siblings, etc. I printed off the pictures at Costco with a white border around each one. The whole gift cost around $35.00 (Lifeprints are $19.50, Sassy Binders are $12.00, (plus tax and shipping) plus cost of pictures and ribbon).


The other gift I did for my son was an autograph book for the end of his mission. If you are going to do one of these, you'll want to start it about 3-4 months before the mission ends. It will take a few days to make it, about 3 weeks to get it back from the publishers, and then about 10 days to send it to your missionary. The book I did was a 5x7 size, hardbound book. It has 24 pages - full color. I gathered enough pictures and quotes from his letters to put either 2 pictures on a page or one picture and one quote on a page. I didn't label the pictures or anything. I left the rest of each page blank for people to write on. Once the book came back, I bought him a small set of colored super fine tip Sharpie markers (the pages are glossy - you have to use Sharpie markers on them) and sent both to him. He LOVED it. Here are pictures of the outside front and back covers, and a few pictures of the inside pages.






Let me know if you'd like to do either one of these for your elder. I'd love to help you with it. Call me at 801-360-4666 OR email me at kara (at) cherishbound (dot) com OR nafari01 (at) yahoo (dot) com.

Take Care,
Kara Herron
RM: Grant Herron - Fukuoka Japan Mission 02/07 - 03/09

I Heart Utah Festival - July 18th, 2009

The I Heart Utah Festival is this weekend, friends! It will be held at Thanksgiving Point and is FREE to everyone! That's right, I said FREE! Please join me there - and look for my Cherish Bound booth. Drop by to say hi and enter our drawing for free product and a free writing workshop for you and your friends!

Thanksgiving Point is sponsoring this fun-filled day, with over 100 vendors. Businesses include health and wellness, travel and tourism,sports and recreation, home and garden, businesses catering to women,preparedness, education, 'Greening" Utah, arts and entertainment, and there will also be a Farmers Market!

From the press release:

Throughout the day attendees can walk the Festival grounds including theme areas: (1) Pink Street sponsored by Window Fashions with vendors catering to women, (2) Green Street sponsored by Utah Valley University including businesses and organizations that focus on 'green living' and taking care of Utah, (3) Red, White, & Blue Street hosted by Vyking Entertainment representing businesses throughout Utah with a patriotic theme, (4) Kids Korner sponsored by Sunshine Generation of Utah County with businesses catering to children including numerous inflatables from Goose Jumps, (5) Sports Park sponsored by Supa Fly Mobile Detailing and representing local sports and recreation organizations, (6) Front Parking Lot sponsored by Fun
Share Rentals including boats, ATV's, motorcycles and a Utah Trikes demo, (7) and a Farmers Market reflecting Utah cuisine, food and beverage as well as local artists and crafters. Additional activities and displays include a karaoke contest at the Talent Quest booth, hang gliding display by Wings over Wasatch, a sailboat from Bonneville School of Sailing, a helicopter by Universal Helicopter, and an airplane from UVU Aviation plus many more prizes, activities, demos, and education at over 100 "I Heart Utah" vendor and informational booths. All Festival attendees can visit the information and prize booth to vote for their favorite Utah businesses and sign up to win a number of prizes throughout the day including our grand prize courtesy JetBlue Airways. A full day of entertainment will be available on Ebay's Green Stage which is powered entirely by the sun and captured by Green Tow's mobile solar power trailer. Entertainment includes local artists and musicians (Shaun
Barrowes, Jarrett Burnes, Justin Williams, Ryan Innes), performances by the Talent Quest karaoke competition winners, dance performances, and even performing dogs trained by Arrow Kennels Dog Training.

WOW! Talk about a day that is PACKED FULL of fun and information! The festival opens at 10:00 and runs all day long. There will be Krispy Kreme donuts at the opening, while supplies last. And, check this out: The first 5,000 Festival attendees will also receive a pearl necklace courtesy of Overstock.com. SWEET!

See you this Saturday - the 18th of July. Bring your family and friends.

I'm An Author Writing and Publishing Workshops

I'm hosting some fun writing and publishing workshops in August. They are for kids and teenagers, ages 12-18.

August 3rd and 4th - The "Growing Up" workshop. Participants will record memories of the "first time" moments from their early childhood. They will then gather pictures from their younger years and put memories and pictures into a cute book.


August 6th and 7th - The "Recipe" workshop. This will be a fun workshop for teenagers. They will gather favorite family recipes, or exchange recipes with friends, and make a beautiful recipe book - great for taking to college with them, or giving to a mom or grandmother for Christmas.


August 10th and 11th - The "Top Ten" workshop for ages 7-12.
August 13th and 14th - The "Top Ten" workshop for ages 12-16. These workshops will focus on the participant's list of top ten - places they've visited, scriptures, friends, things they want to be when they grow up, etc. The book will be made using either illustrations or pictures.


Join us for one or more of these workshops. The cost is $40 - for that fee you'll get a mini story starter and a paperbound book. The classes will last 1 hour each. As a special, upgrade to hardbinding for 20% off of the regular price during the workshops.

Here are some pictures from the workshops I held last summer. We had so much fun!




I can't wait to see you there!

Are you frustrated with the direction our country is going? If you haven't already heard of Glenn Beck's 9-12 Project, you should visit his website (http://theglennbeck912project.com/)and become familiar with it. “The 9-12 Project is designed to bring us all back to the place we were on September 12, 2001. The day after America was attacked we were not obsessed with Red States, Blue States or political parties. We were united as Americans, standing together to protect the values and principles of the greatest nation ever created. At the origin of America, our Founding Fathers built this country on 28 powerful principles. These principles were culled from all over the world and from centuries of great thinkers. We have distilled the original 28 down to the 9 basic principles.
We suggest that you start in your own homes. Talk to your family about the Values and Principles. Discuss the importance of what the Founders designed for America."
-The Glenn Beck 9-12 Project Mission Statement

Cherish Bound has now published a beautiful little hardbound journal for you to use as you and your family study and learn about the 9 Principles and 12 Values. Include in this 28 page journal your notes, photos and artwork. There is a two-page spread for each of the 12 values. On each value page there is a quote from one of our founding fathers. Pages listing the 9 Principles and 12 Values are also included.



Here's a quick peek into the 9-12 project (quoted directly from the website)...

THE 9 PRINCIPLES:
1. America Is Good.

2. I believe in God and He is the Center of my Life. (God) “The propitious smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a nation that disregards the eternal rules of order and right which Heaven itself has ordained.” --from George Washington’s first Inaugural address.

3. I must always try to be a more honest person than I was yesterday. (Honesty) “I hope that I shall always possess firmness and virtue enough to maintain what I consider to be the most enviable of all titles, the character of an honest man.” --George Washington

4. The family is sacred. My spouse and I are the ultimate authority, not the government. (Marriage/Family) “It is in the love of one’s family only that heartfelt happiness is known. By a law of our nature, we cannot be happy without the endearing connections of a family.” --Thomas Jefferson

5. If you break the law you pay the penalty. Justice is blind and no one is above it.
(Justice) “I deem one of the essential principles of our government… equal and exact justice to all men of whatever state or persuasion, religious or political.” --Thomas Jefferson

6. I have a right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness, but there is no guarantee of equal results. (Life, Liberty, & The Pursuit of Happiness) “Everyone has a natural right to choose that vocation in life which he thinks most likely to give him comfortable subsistence.” --Thomas Jefferson

7. I work hard for what I have and I will share it with who I want to. Government cannot force me to be charitable. (Charity) “It is not everyone who asketh that deserveth charity; all however, are worth of the inquiry or the deserving may suffer.” --George Washington

8. It is not un-American for me to disagree with authority or to share my personal opinion. (On your right to disagree) “In a free and republican government, you cannot restrain the voice of the multitude; every man will speak as he thinks, or more properly without thinking.” --George Washington

9. The government works for me. I do not answer to them, they answer to me. (Who works for whom?) “I consider the people who constitute a society or a nation as the source of all authority in that nation.” --Thomas Jefferson

The 12 Values
* Honesty
* Reverence
* Hope
* Thrift
* Humility
* Charity
* Sincerity
* Moderation
* Hard Work
* Courage
* Personal Responsibility
* Gratitude

I highly recommend this book as a personal journal or a gift for someone you love.

If you'd like to order one of these journals, let me know and I'll be happy to get one to you. The price is $34.00 plus tax. Order yours now! kara (at) cherishbound (dot) com.

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!!!

Story Starter Question of the Day

I'd like to start sharing some of the fun questions that are included in our amazing Story Starters. So, look for these "Question of the Day" posts on Fridays.

Because it's close to the 4th of July holiday, here are some questions to get your creative juices flowing from the "SUMMER" Story Starter... (these are not the exact, word-for-word questions featured in the SS)

1. How do you and your family celebrate the 4th of July holiday? Describe any traditions you participate in.
2. Do you get together with friends and/or family? Tell about a funny thing that happened at one of these get-togethers.
3. Do you attend parades and/or fireworks? Describe a time you enjoyed one of these events with someone special.

Leave me a comment answering one of these questions. I'd love to hear how you celebrate the holiday.