tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-78871542244130375102024-03-05T04:32:52.056-08:00Bellflower Books BlogKerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06412209011072939653noreply@blogger.comBlogger55125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7887154224413037510.post-34569420096004277572013-04-19T07:49:00.001-07:002013-04-19T07:49:50.890-07:00The Perfect Wedding or Anniversary Gift From You to Your SpouseI saw this quote on Pinterest today and it made me think about how neat it would be to make a <a href="http://www.bellflowerbooks.com/">Bellflower Book</a> that told the story of your engagement and wedding or your personal love story.<br />
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Wouldn't this make a great page?<br />
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If you choose to make a memory book about your wedding, you could include all of your favorite moments and photos from the actual event and all the special details of your engagement and showers. This would also make a wonderful gift for your one year anniversary!Kerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06412209011072939653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7887154224413037510.post-49053169843700361762012-05-23T05:17:00.001-07:002012-05-23T05:17:06.813-07:00Sunset Photos for your Bellflower BookHere are some beautiful photographs of sunsets to fill empty photo space in your <a href="http://www.bellflowerbooks.com/">Bellflower Book</a>. They would be great in any book, but especially in books being given as personalized graduation gifts, Father's Day gifts and <a href="http://www.bellflowerbooks.com/idea-center/birthday-gifts.php">significant birthday gifts</a>. They would also be inspiring in <a href="http://www.bellflowerbooks.com/idea-center/support-books.php">encouragement or tribute books</a> to memorialize someone special.<br />
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All of these photos are in the public domain and are free for your personal use. There are two photos shown for each image. The small photo shows the complete picture and the enlarged photo is what you should use for your download. Downloading the enlarged photo will guarantee that it is the right size for your Bellflower Book<a href="http://./">.</a><br />
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Please share and enjoy!<br />
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<br /></div>Kerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06412209011072939653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7887154224413037510.post-276204431887378072012-05-16T07:13:00.000-07:002012-05-16T07:13:48.172-07:00The Perfect Poem for your Oldest Friend<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Reading this poem immediately reminded me of my relationship with my oldest friend and <a href="http://www.bellflowerbooks.com/">Bellflower Books</a> business partner Heather Smith. <strong><span style="color: purple;">I thought it would be a great addition to any </span></strong><a href="http://www.bellflowerbooks.com/"><strong><span style="color: purple;">Bellflower Book</span></strong></a><strong><span style="color: purple;"> being given to a good friend as a wedding, birthday, new baby or support gift</span></strong>. It would look perfect spread across two pages with old school photos or photo collages on each page. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did and that you have someone special in your life that you can relate this to as well:)</span></div>
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<b><u><span style="color: #660066; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 24pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The Stages of Friendship</span></u></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #660066; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In kindergarten your idea of a good friend<br />
was the person who let you have the red crayon<br />
when all that was left was the ugly black one.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #660066; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In
first grade your idea of a good friend <br />
was the person who went to the bathroom with you<br />
and held your hand as you walked through the scary halls. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #660066; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In second grade your idea of a good friend<br />
was the person who helped you stand up <br />
to the class bully. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #660066; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In
third grade your idea of a good friend<br />
was the person who shared their lunch<br />
with you when you forgot yours on the bus. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #660066; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In fourth grade your idea of a good friend<br />
was the person who was willing to switch square dancing<br />
partners in gym so you wouldn't have to be<br />
stuck do-si-do-ing with the dork of the class.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #660066; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In
fifth grade your idea of a friend<br />
was the person who saved a seat <br />
on the back of the bus for you. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #660066; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In sixth grade your idea of a friend<br />
was the person who went up to your new crush,<br />
and asked them to dance with you, <br />
so that if they said no<br />
you wouldn't have to be embarrassed. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #660066; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In
seventh grade your idea of a friend was<br />
the person who let you copy the social studies homework<br />
from the night before that you had forgotten about. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #660066; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In eighth grade your idea of a good friend<br />
was the person who helped you pack up your<br />
stuffed animals and old baseball cards<br />
so that your room would be a "high schooler's" room,<br />
but didn't laugh at you when you<br />
finished and broke out into tears. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #660066; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In
ninth grade your idea of a good friend<br />
to that "cool" party thrown by a senior<br />
so you wouldn't wind up<br />
being the only freshman there. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #660066; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In tenth grade your idea of a good friend<br />
was the person who changed their schedule so<br />
you would have someone to sit with at lunch.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #660066; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In
eleventh grade your idea of a good friend<br />
was the person who gave you rides in their new car,<br />
convinced your parents that you shouldn't be grounded,<br />
consoled you when you broke up with your significant other<br />
and found you a date to the prom. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #660066; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In twelfth grade your idea of a good friend<br />
was the person who helped you pick out a college,<br />
assured you that you would get into that college,<br />
helped you deal with your parents who were having<br />
a hard time adjusting to the idea of letting you go. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #660066; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">At
graduation your idea of a good friend <br />
was the person who was crying on the inside but<br />
managed the biggest smile one could give <br />
as they congratulated you. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #660066; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The summer after twelfth grade your idea of a good friend<br />
was the person who helped you clean up from that party.<br />
Helped you sneak out of the house when you just<br />
couldn't deal with your parents.<br />
Assured you that now that you and your<br />
significant other were back together,<br />
you could make it through anything.<br />
Helped you pack up for college<br />
and just silently hugged you as you looked<br />
through blurry eyes at 18 years of memories<br />
you were leaving behind.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="color: #660066; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And
finally on those last days of childhood,<br />
went out of their way to come over<br />
and send you off with a hug, a lot of memories<br />
and reassurance that you would make it in college<br />
as well as you had these past 18 years.<br />
But most importantly sent you off to college<br />
knowing you were loved. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #660066; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Now, your idea of a good friend is still the person<br />
who gives you the better of the two choices.<br />
Holds your hand when you're scared.<br />
Helps you fight off those who try to take advantage of you.<br />
Thinks of you at times when you are not there.<br />
Reminds you of what you have forgotten.<br />
Helps you put the past behind you but understands<br />
when you need to hold on to it a little longer. <br />
Stays with you so that you have confidence.<br />
Goes out of their way to make time for you.<br />
Helps you clear up your mistakes.<br />
Helps you deal with pressure from others.<br />
Smiles for you when they are sad.<br />
Helps you become a better person.<br />
However most importantly loves you!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Author Unknown</span><o:p></o:p></div>Kerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06412209011072939653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7887154224413037510.post-26038644906831436852012-05-11T08:09:00.002-07:002012-05-11T08:09:38.021-07:00Wonderful Quotes about MothersHappy early Mother's Day! I found this selection of quotes about Mothers and thought they would be perfect to put in a Mother's Day card or in a <a href="http://www.bellflowerbooks.com/">Bellflower Book</a> for a special mother in your life. I have also included some artwork by one of my favorite artists, <a href="http://www.marycassatt.org/">Mary Cassatt</a>. Enjoy!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.marycassatt.org/" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPfIQ6PkPcUPYyYTeH2HjGI1BGyJyH8N4-1n5fpUFxgPjPScROSr2KSa8ND5c_iZDMczGZrvPlSkRpFeCaLOKEsCSqF3-mxaNoxn2YxW1FiKs3f7u0MDaMN695n50sCn_35fpQv297jUgE/s320/cassattMother-And-Child3-large.jpg" width="249" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mary Cassatt ~ Mother and Child III</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Making the
decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your
heart go walking around outside your body.” <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">~ Elizabeth Stone, high school literature teacher and author of <i>A
Boy I Once Knew</i><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“A mother
is not a person to lean on, but a person to make leaning unnecessary.<b>” </b><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">~ Dorothy Fisher, American social activist
and author<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Men are what their mothers made them.” <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">~ Ralph Waldo Emerson, American philosopher
and poet<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“The strength of motherhood is greater than
natural laws.” <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">~ Barbara Kingsolver,
American writer and author of <i>Pigs in Heaven</i><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“My mother
had a slender, small body, but a large heart – a heart so large that
everybody's joys found welcome in it, and hospitable accommodation.” <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">~ Mark Twain, American author and humorist<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.marycassatt.org/" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeSLcO_kSugmtOaQYtu17Yns7TmzXDeLlN85kTVNSKMjiwSOxaWGUSjtvzZDriZ6WwPvoN11Nyw-FrBJ5r7fFbKeVxfDT2xR44wDrWo8A-46Q9oOH63uyUfHbno11eqxVQjK_jRbSFZ3Vc/s320/cassattMother-and-Child,-1897.jpg" width="257" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mary Cassatt ~ Mother and Child</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“A suburban mother's role is to deliver
children obstetrically once, and by car forever after.” ~ <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Peter De Vries, American editor and novelist</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“You do not really understand something unless
you can explain it to your grandmother.” ~ <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Albert
Einstein, theoretical physicist</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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“A mother's love for her child is like nothing else in the world. It knows no
law, no pity; it dares all things and crushes down remorselessly all that
stands in its path<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">.” ~ Agatha Christie,
English crime writer of novels, plays and short stories<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br />
“The heart of a mother is a deep abyss at the bottom of which you will always
find forgiveness.”<br />
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><i>~</i><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;">Honore de Balzac, author </span></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.marycassatt.org/" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5uXqBFt8RFQNLUC4_Gi4kcS0wp5zY7QoOrANBefrOWsU0lorWW3mRDoGCuqzQKr-KOvne-iAyUqfHPlOfzM6A7QMm2k2TwPK-rj1A25MDh09NnvJLlpKslbUD4H89IDCMpBtZtY-G9W1E/s320/cassattMother-And-Two-Children.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mary Cassatt ~ Mother and Two Children</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“The mother's heart is the child's schoolroom.”<br />
<i>~</i><b>Henry Ward Beecher, US Congressional clergyman </b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“By and
large, mothers and housewives are the only workers who do not have regular time
off. They are the great vacationless class.”<br />
<i>~</i><b>Anne Morrow Lindbergh, author</b></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>Kerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06412209011072939653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7887154224413037510.post-76059306991127476192012-05-09T04:03:00.000-07:002012-05-09T04:03:10.733-07:00Spring Flower Photos for your Bellflower Book<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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Sometimes when people create a <a href="http://www.bellflowerbooks.com/">Bellflower Book</a> we notice that there are a few pages without photographs. A lot of the time this is because the person creating the page did not have a proper photo for the occasion. We decided to help people out by creating a series of blog posts with somewhat "generic" but attractive photographs that can be plugged in for many occasions. <span style="color: #674ea7;">These beautiful spring flowers would be perfect for books with wedding, birthday, anniversary, sympathy, tribute or new baby themes.</span> The best part about these photos as that they are considered to be in the "public domain" so we are not violating any copyrite laws! The images shown below are just a fragment of the actual photograph. I needed to add them to the blog in "actual size" so that when you click to save them they will be saved in a file size large enough to produce a full sized photo in your book! Just click, save to your desktop as a jpg and upload to any page of your <a href="http://www.bellflowerbooks.com/">Bellflower Book</a> in need of a special photograph. See below for an example of how wonderfully this works:)</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtFm3Ax5GUVtP7CQ06nOx6YkrRVI2KxyxGlxNc5AFkAdimQkOb0qvdNtzk5NmGCWljZu5ng5ctOPcUuoGLLp9h1o3wwGRST8gPC4dCUeHooaaudxm7DYS4x4q7JV9tkLpVK9tn5vYzSEc1/s1600/springflowerssample.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtFm3Ax5GUVtP7CQ06nOx6YkrRVI2KxyxGlxNc5AFkAdimQkOb0qvdNtzk5NmGCWljZu5ng5ctOPcUuoGLLp9h1o3wwGRST8gPC4dCUeHooaaudxm7DYS4x4q7JV9tkLpVK9tn5vYzSEc1/s320/springflowerssample.jpg" width="319" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFz-kzJF-pVUQKtF5In5bhBebya9mwDjkzmhJRMzree2HSVAcDNcKH_vvlb1dfEMG6JpiRtT6l3le6jSf7k2JI9HstzpoVo4B3qbLC7W18g35q15gnm24mz-C-J3Xz0LENNyLxqv4Dd_Zt/s1600/pinktulips.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFz-kzJF-pVUQKtF5In5bhBebya9mwDjkzmhJRMzree2HSVAcDNcKH_vvlb1dfEMG6JpiRtT6l3le6jSf7k2JI9HstzpoVo4B3qbLC7W18g35q15gnm24mz-C-J3Xz0LENNyLxqv4Dd_Zt/s1600/pinktulips.jpg" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKW1lQ58CciXbftUa7P9aODQ542IUQbHO37TBOWrwTsftduhKsg6lqzyxH69uvx9IVDF5LoQ8KKFDN6pe7aclENVcUbzhyphenhyphenwY5_JYssle6XIM0Gz1RoQf2wXz6zeL8Y5AhiUVu8po6lXEs7/s1600/tulips+and+sky.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKW1lQ58CciXbftUa7P9aODQ542IUQbHO37TBOWrwTsftduhKsg6lqzyxH69uvx9IVDF5LoQ8KKFDN6pe7aclENVcUbzhyphenhyphenwY5_JYssle6XIM0Gz1RoQf2wXz6zeL8Y5AhiUVu8po6lXEs7/s1600/tulips+and+sky.jpg" /></a></div>Kerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06412209011072939653noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7887154224413037510.post-33650062743674282152012-05-07T10:46:00.000-07:002012-05-07T10:46:23.479-07:00Photo Collages for your Bellflower Book Made Easy!One of the biggest questions that people ask us is if they can put more than one photo on a page in their <a href="http://www.bellflowerbooks.com/">Bellflower Book</a>. The answer YES as long as those photos have been combined into one file or jpg. The best way to do this is by creating a photo collage.<br />
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I recently stumbled upon an app that makes creating photo collages from pictures in your phone extremely easy! The app is <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/photo-collage-hd-amazing-pic/id476281976?mt=8&ls=1">Photo Collage HD – the Amazing Pic-Frame & Pic-Collage & Postcards Manager Plus iLoader for Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr Pro</a> and can be purchased from the itunes store for only $0.99.<br />
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Here is an example of what it can very easily do:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNbSQqK4-3j9VRr-2vYIeEx1IQDqlljogLfcrBbv8UhkJQrsaSIm4C6_IZWd1Ew6FXm1Axx-R0jeoEFIFXKBuDH_pEzOnXhjppoxMao6V1GZthECzNHMWHPZYatMV6j0ADzZadwdtlOxX5/s1600/acollage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNbSQqK4-3j9VRr-2vYIeEx1IQDqlljogLfcrBbv8UhkJQrsaSIm4C6_IZWd1Ew6FXm1Axx-R0jeoEFIFXKBuDH_pEzOnXhjppoxMao6V1GZthECzNHMWHPZYatMV6j0ADzZadwdtlOxX5/s320/acollage.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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And this is how this image looks in your <a href="http://www.bellflowerbooks.com/">Bellflower Book</a>:</div>
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Even though it is extremely self-explanatory, here are the simple instructions:</div>
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1) Select a Frame from the many wonderful options. You can even customize this frame by adjusting the color, margin width and corners. See below:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTkSRrCVQwc7HbQax57M1gRb3G1keIQUZiSESD3o8B-z8Br7ZRXPs6zUL8sI-fcVg8DhyphenhyphenEPASfcWqbQr1aClj1I3-CAA1k3uiDv3iEByfOyAZaX-Kj24b7zv-3zwUnvM6lBjLMa_ZBt-7B/s1600/acollage2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTkSRrCVQwc7HbQax57M1gRb3G1keIQUZiSESD3o8B-z8Br7ZRXPs6zUL8sI-fcVg8DhyphenhyphenEPASfcWqbQr1aClj1I3-CAA1k3uiDv3iEByfOyAZaX-Kj24b7zv-3zwUnvM6lBjLMa_ZBt-7B/s320/acollage2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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2) Choose your photos - you can even have friends and family participating in your book send their photos right to your phone!</div>
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3) After your photos have been chosen, it is easy to adjust them within the template with their simple editing functions.</div>
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4) The last step is to email this photo to yourself so that it can be downloading onto your desktop for easy upload into your <a href="http://www.bellflowerbooks.com/">Bellflower Book</a>. There may even be an easier way to do this if all of your systems are connected!</div>
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5) To send your collage, touch the button on the top right of your screen and email the photo. Make sure that the file size is large. You may have to play around with file size a bit to make sure the photo is not too large to upload into your <a href="http://www.bellflowerbooks.com/">Bellflower Book</a> or that it is not too small. I have found that keeping the size at "normal" then emailing it as "large" works best.</div>
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6) Once the photo is emailed, download and save it and you are good to go!</div>
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</div>Kerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06412209011072939653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7887154224413037510.post-70744025675163394252012-03-04T14:45:00.000-08:002012-03-04T14:45:08.048-08:00A Meaningful Gift for a New MomHaving your first baby is such an exciting time! We have had many books come through our printers to celebrate this special occasion as a gift from a husband to a wife or as an extremely special gift from a group of family and friends to the expectant mother at her <a href="http://www.bellflowerbooks.com/idea-center/baby-gifts.php">baby shower</a>. Rather than one more rattle or pacifier, give a <a href="http://www.bellflowerbooks.com/">personal baby shower present</a> that the new parents will treasure long after Junior is out of diapers.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_630654636" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIXcgYQmw3jq7ojVcgxPr2M481uhujCwGdV_Q0DvC5Xi5D5w7bMKNwB0C9eKdTzvWDN7K6eb3PY0FcPpTUe2bbqrxVZjyer0RYsDJsTSFRPaSG8wd-Yb4ZQlcUn9WDmGy4pFiYZgZGyIvE/s400/babygiftscollage.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the many options for a "Baby Shower" themed book<br />
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<div align="left"><span style="font-size: small;">There are many creative ways to create a </span><a href="http://www.bellflowerbooks.com/idea-center/baby-gifts.php"><span style="font-size: small;">Bellflower Book</span></a><span style="font-size: small;"> for your favorite new mom to let her know that she is loved, appreciated and cared for. Here are some of our favorites!</span></div><div align="left"><br />
</div><div align="left"><strong><span style="font-size: small;">A personalized memory book full of favorite photos and warm wishes makes a beautiful and unique gift for the new Mom.</span></strong></div><div align="left"><span style="font-size: small;">Invite her closest friends and family members to shower her with good wishes.</span></div><div align="left"><span style="font-size: small;">This creative baby shower gift could include reasons why she’ll make a great mom, tips for motherhood, fun memories of her life before children, or reminders of why she is so important to you.</span></div><div align="left"><br />
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</div><div align="left"><strong><span style="font-size: small;">Don’t forget that Moms pregnant for the 2nd, 3rd and 4th time (or more!) need encouragement too!</span></strong></div><div align="left"><span style="font-size: small;">Why not make a personalized book full of reasons why you think this special person is a great Mom? She will love the encouragement.</span></div><div align="left"><br />
</div><div align="left"><strong><span style="font-size: small;">Make a custom photo book for the baby!</span></strong></div><div align="left"><span style="font-size: small;">Have friends and family contribute photos and write special letters to the new baby welcoming him or her into the world. Include favorite stories about the new Mom and Dad, advice from older brothers or sisters, or favorite memories from grandparents and other relatives.</span></div><div align="left"><span style="font-size: small;">A personalized book for the baby is a unique shower gift that will be treasured by both the Mom and the little one (when she learns to read).</span></div><div align="left"><br />
</div><div align="left"><strong><span style="font-size: small;">Build a custom cookbook!</span></strong></div><div align="left"><span style="font-size: small;">Collaborate with friends and family members to create a book of delicious and easy recipes. Make sure to include a photo of the finished product! What a great resource for the busy new mom!</span></div><div align="left"><br />
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</div><div align="left"><span style="font-size: small;">Do you have an idea for a "New Mom" themed Bellflower Book? Please let us know! We'd love to include it in future "inspiration" :)</span></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table>Kerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06412209011072939653noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7887154224413037510.post-17712404541792862142012-03-02T06:00:00.002-08:002012-03-02T06:00:06.007-08:00Grandma Corrigan's Irish Soda Bread<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiMZMp8y0vKNelPjtkkFJE3sdlCCSmnXBvL5DLdY4CyrpB8E4J8Xqr_C22iTrrka1vmOH1Ti3bLNfAI88X-AtEowUYjTEdcIs98km_p26mVx2_DAGnrwG8grByLVluSSqO03DD8Vz0QwL9/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiMZMp8y0vKNelPjtkkFJE3sdlCCSmnXBvL5DLdY4CyrpB8E4J8Xqr_C22iTrrka1vmOH1Ti3bLNfAI88X-AtEowUYjTEdcIs98km_p26mVx2_DAGnrwG8grByLVluSSqO03DD8Vz0QwL9/s640/photo.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><br />
It is March! Spring is almost here, so naturally I had to make my Grandmother's special Irish soda bread. Even though she was 100% German, she always created one heck of an amazing St. Patty's Day dinner. I always loved her soda bread because it was extremely moist, unlike a lot of the drier versions out there. This year I decided to make the bread into muffins and they turned out great!<br />
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My Grandma was a huge lover of holidays so every holiday holds a special memory for me of special "Corrigan Family Traditions". I am happy to share this one with you!<br />
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<strong>Grandma Corrigan's Irish Soda Bread Muffins</strong><br />
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Preheat oven to 350<br />
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Ingredients:<br />
3 cups flour<br />
3 tsp. baking powder<br />
1 tsp. baking soda<br />
1/2 cup sugar<br />
2 cups buttermilk<br />
1 cup golden raisins<br />
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roughly 1/2 a cup of powdered sugar and buttermilk set aside for glaze<br />
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In a large bowl, mix the dry ingredients and raisins together. Make a "well" in the center. Add the buttermilk and then mix together. If you choose to make a bread instead of muffins, pour the dough into a greased round or square cake pan and bake for roughly 45 minutes. Check the top, once it is starting to turn a golden brown pour the glaze of equal parts buttermilk and powdered sugar on top and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Make sure to insert a toothpick in the middle to insure it is baked completely. Sometimes the center can get gooey. <br />
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For muffins, pour batter 2/3 of the way in greased or lined muffin pans and bake for around 15 minutes, add glaze to the tops and bake for and additional 1-2. Again, you will know when they are ready when the tops start showing signs of turning a light golden brown.<br />
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Enjoy and happy St. Patrick's Day in advance!Kerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06412209011072939653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7887154224413037510.post-62040419727966558712012-02-28T13:20:00.000-08:002012-02-28T13:20:59.691-08:00Etsy Favorite: Sweet Charity Designs - Art Helping to Educate -<div align="center"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/sweetcharitydesigns">Sweet Charity Designs</a> </span></div><div align="center"><span style="font-size: large;">Handmade jewelry from freshwater pearls and genuine stone</span></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center"><a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/92307631/all-proceeds-to-charity-give-a-gift-that"><img alt="All Proceeds to Charity - Give a Gift that Gives Back" src="http://img1.etsystatic.com/il_570xN.309446773.jpg" width="570" /></a></div><div align="center"><br />
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</div><div align="center"></div>This Etsy shop is close to my heart because it is MINE! Since I became pregnant with my son close to seven years ago I have been making and selling jewelry, donating 100% of the proceeds to causes close to my heart. By working with Sister Mary Clement of the <a href="http://www.ssc2601.com/">Sisters of Saint Casimir</a> I have raised close to $10,000 for the scholarship fund at Maria High School on the South Side of Chicago where I formally taught. I always thought of <a href="http://www.mariahighschool.org/">Maria High School</a> as an oasis in the inner city because it was a safe please for girls to go to school and reach their full potential. Sister Clement and I make quite a team! I purchase the materials and create the jewelry, and she attends craft shows all over the Chicago area selling it.<br />
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<a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/91903580/all-proceeds-to-charity-give-a-gift-that"><img alt="All Proceeds to Charity - Give a Gift that Gives Back" src="http://img1.etsystatic.com/il_570xN.307935217.jpg" width="570" /></a><br />
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Although I am still raising money for the scholarship fund Sister Clement campaigns for, the items currently in my Etsy Shop were made to raise money in support of my son's former preschool teacher's mission trip to Haiti. She will be working with the <a href="http://www.missionsinternationalofamerica.com/BRS.html">Brad Reddick School</a> in Savanette, Haiti. As soon as I found out she was going I volunteered to raise funds. It means a ton to me to be able to support such an amazing woman and I am so happy that the many students at the <a href="http://www.missionsinternationalofamerica.com/BRS.html">Brad Reddick School</a> will have the priceless opportunity to learn from her.<br />
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<a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/90859335/100-of-proceeds-to-charity"><img alt="100% of Proceeds to Charity" src="http://img2.etsystatic.com/il_570xN.304214882.jpg" width="570" /></a><br />
Please spread the word about what I am trying to accomplish. My jewelry is made from quality genuine stone, glass and freshwater pearls and each piece is created by me by hand. A piece of jewelry from <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/sweetcharitydesigns">Sweet Charity Designs</a> makes the perfect "gift that gives back" so please think of us when you are looking for a special gift for someone! I have also been commissioned to do jewelry for weddings, proms and other special occasions.<br />
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<a href="http://www.etsy.com/listing/90704441/100-of-proceeds-to-charity"><img alt="100% of Proceeds to Charity" src="http://img0.etsystatic.com/il_570xN.303657068.jpg" width="570" /></a><br />
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Making jewelry is one of my favorite stress relievers and I love that I can use my talent to help others. If you have an idea for how to help me promote my cause, please email me at kerry (at) bellflowerbooks (dot) com.Kerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06412209011072939653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7887154224413037510.post-17185185223710710992012-02-24T06:57:00.000-08:002012-02-24T06:57:00.205-08:00Great Quote to add to a Wedding Themed book!We have many customers who create a <a href="http://www.bellflowerbooks.com/">Bellflower Book</a> as an exceptionally meaningful wedding gift for someone special in their lives. I saw this quote on <a href="http://pinterest.com/bfbooks/">Pinterest</a> and thought it would make a great page in a wedding or engagement themed book!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS9UIsxrC3iSuvqMKJfF_gbvVs8AQ23O2gU-MwN3IbNLo3DlSE9CvsuyVyiDXn37mzH8u7QIBOvXlgxd13RUvjrqg9m4U2li4LlgVIi7MUrvhp1iSxRlZK_U4-thJk2UppBTUmDBfCBZNZ/s1600/bob+marley+quote.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS9UIsxrC3iSuvqMKJfF_gbvVs8AQ23O2gU-MwN3IbNLo3DlSE9CvsuyVyiDXn37mzH8u7QIBOvXlgxd13RUvjrqg9m4U2li4LlgVIi7MUrvhp1iSxRlZK_U4-thJk2UppBTUmDBfCBZNZ/s640/bob+marley+quote.jpg" width="456" /></a></div>Kerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06412209011072939653noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7887154224413037510.post-64901713856424662072012-02-22T08:26:00.000-08:002012-02-22T08:26:19.259-08:00Guest Post Series - My Birth Story<div style="text-align: center;"> <span style="font-size: large;">My Birth Story</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">by,</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">Barbara Clemont - Ferrand of the blog </span><a href="http://barbarainclermont.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-size: large;">Footprints in the Sand</span></a><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"> The Survival of an American Wife and Mother in France</span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">When my first son was born I took the time to write down all of those details that I didn’t want to forget – time we arrived at the hospital, time of birth, length, weight – all those things that seem important at the time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I never took the time, however, to write down the emotion of the day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">In a way it all still seems like a blur, even two year later.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My son decided to make his arrival a month before his due date. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had no idea I was in labor and thankfully my husband urged us to rush to the hospital or I might have given birth at home.</span></div><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">The moment the midwife informed me that the baby would be arriving that day, fear kicked in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not the fear of having a baby, but the fear about having a healthy baby. All around us the nurses were preparing for the worst – incubators and the like.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They were very honest that the baby was premature and he might be born with complications.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This was certainly not what an emotional woman in labor needed to hear.</span></div><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">After the epidural calmed my physical pain, everyone in the room disappeared to let my husband and I get some rest.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In those moments of calm my husband sat next to me holding my hand.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This was definitely not how either of us had expected this experience to happen.</span></div><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">In those moments I realized that it would be the last time that it would ever be just the two of us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As I closed my eyes I could hear the machine slowly humming the baby’s heart rate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The sound was so rhythmic and warm, bringing us reassurance that we would be able to get through it.</span></div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">After a few hours the doctors and nurses were back in the room guiding me through the birthing process.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Through it all, my husband’s hand never left mine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And in a matter of minutes our son, Nathan, was born.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">Before I could lay eyes on our son, I turned to my husband who had tears in his eyes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The love for his son was instantaneous and I suddenly began to cry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had so much love for the moment; so much love for my husband, for my son.</span></div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">After a few moments they placed my son on my chest, and I was flooded.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In one instant I had become a mother; we had become a family. </span></div><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Cambria;">Looking back now, I wouldn’t change a thing; the magical moment of being just two people and suddenly becoming three.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The notion of family suddenly changed and we had all of the family we could have ever needed in that room.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2j3oWHAN6_q9AvRjcNL_XLTi9s3Wp6MqwStPrtfKdTQRqubpU5Ero8GPgQErD-M_Y7n05xMqzP8L2N6BovvVmiy5O_fCeXx_swWaZ23v3MbjXvbivs4X8hhTpdjyYLzCAeUTl5ZBwTXAv/s1600/nathan_birth.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2j3oWHAN6_q9AvRjcNL_XLTi9s3Wp6MqwStPrtfKdTQRqubpU5Ero8GPgQErD-M_Y7n05xMqzP8L2N6BovvVmiy5O_fCeXx_swWaZ23v3MbjXvbivs4X8hhTpdjyYLzCAeUTl5ZBwTXAv/s400/nathan_birth.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">To hear more from Barbara check out her blog <a href="http://barbarainclermont.blogspot.com/">Footprints in the Sand,</a> <a href="http://www.facebook.com/FootprintsinFranceblog">Facebook Page,</a> and follow her on <a href="http://pinterest.com/babspinfrance/">Pinterest </a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/babspinfrance">Twitter</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">If you are interested in sharing a birth or wedding story with us, please contact kerry (at) Bellflowerbooks (dot) com</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
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</div>Kerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06412209011072939653noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7887154224413037510.post-51376719461231276442012-02-20T06:55:00.000-08:002012-02-20T06:55:14.142-08:00Are you following us on Pinterest???<a href="http://pinterest.com/bfbooks/">Are you following us on Pinterest</a>? If not, you should be!<br />
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Pinterest is a new social media site focused on visually sharing and organizing great ideas discovered online. We are addicted!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://pinterest.com/bfbooks/creative-ideas/" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="496" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipqJZSXTsL9lVKxB3Mtwk8ujgBxQHjug8hMV7meJwnt7XsXyEn5HZ0iiH2WBfoy2nqjyCL8BiuolP9OI4YYgGVgwUrpzVaDNgoRRPoCiNN2gL0_ZREn4c4WqLWvYddXu5t3IYc852tWCUz/s640/Creative+Ideas+-+Windows+Internet+Explorer+2202012+94617+AM.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An Example of one of our "Pin Boards"</td></tr>
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="http://pinterest.com/bfbooks/">Follow us on Pinterest</a> to gain access to "pin boards" full of ideas for home decor, <a href="http://www.bellflowerbooks.com/">Bellflower Books</a>, delicious recipes, organization, gardening, kids crafts and activities and many, many more!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Our username is BFBOOKS</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Hope to see you there!</div>Kerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06412209011072939653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7887154224413037510.post-5494486232902451742012-01-18T06:26:00.000-08:002012-01-18T13:06:40.640-08:00Guest Post Series ~ My Wedding Story by, Alyssa Duncan<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">This wedding story is from Alyssa Duncan of the blog <a href="http://inthelandoflou.blogspot.com/">inthelandoflou</a><br />
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My husband and I got engaged in September of 2009. He took me on a trip to beautiful Lake Tahoe and proposed in Emerald Bay. It was perfect. When we got back, we started looking at dates for getting married. We had originally planned on summer of 2010 but the more time went by, the more I didn’t want to wait that long. So hubby proposed Valentine’s Day. He thought it would be sweet to always have our anniversary on the most romantic day of the year (and part of me still thinks he wanted an easy anniversary date). But the more he thought about it, trying to plan anniversary trips around Valentine’s would be really hard. So we chose the week after, February 19<sup>th</sup>. We wanted to keep it small and sweet, hubby had been married before and I was engaged before, so I wasn’t interested in doing everything, down to the last detail, all over again. So we limited our guest list to immediate family and a few close friends…no more than 30 of us all together. </div><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOkxwLc6374JCCGsf-USxZu5owilqIKi8vK_4y7BVPRSNyziDKhPf26ZhyhdT7BGNltaHh_LRsPsMW_FJbhZqGN988Lm6GJRVxuC2lCehV2PTC5t0zXHLRW4qm1EKChvXH8aoBIihSbzRu/s1600/a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="419" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOkxwLc6374JCCGsf-USxZu5owilqIKi8vK_4y7BVPRSNyziDKhPf26ZhyhdT7BGNltaHh_LRsPsMW_FJbhZqGN988Lm6GJRVxuC2lCehV2PTC5t0zXHLRW4qm1EKChvXH8aoBIihSbzRu/s640/a.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><shapetype coordsize="21600,21600" filled="f" id="_x0000_t75" o:preferrelative="t" o:spt="75" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" stroked="f"><stroke joinstyle="miter"><formulas><f eqn="if lineDrawn pixelLineWidth 0"><f eqn="sum @0 1 0"><f eqn="sum 0 0 @1"><f eqn="prod @2 1 2"><f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelWidth"><f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelHeight"><f eqn="sum @0 0 1"><f eqn="prod @6 1 2"><f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelWidth"><f eqn="sum @8 21600 0"><f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelHeight"><f eqn="sum @10 21600 0"></f></f></f></f></f></f></f></f></f></f></f></f></formulas><path gradientshapeok="t" o:connecttype="rect" o:extrusionok="f"><lock aspectratio="t" v:ext="edit"></lock></path></stroke></shapetype></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">Then, just after the New Year, we got the news that he would be deploying to Haiti. He was <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">supposed</i> to be back in time, but it wasn’t guaranteed. If he did indeed end up getting back before our planned wedding, February 19<sup>th</sup>, we weren’t sure if we’d have enough time to go get our marriage license before we left for our honeymoon the next day. On the morning he was supposed to leave, he ended up getting held back a day. On a whim, while I was sitting at work bumming out about him being gone the month before our wedding, I called him up and suggested just going down to the courthouse and getting married that day. “Okay…” is what he came back with, haha. Then it was a mad scramble to get down there. I had to call someone in to cover for me at work, he had to try and get off work early…My mom really, really, really wanted to be there…so after some haggling, we decided to let my parents and then Chad’s mom and his brother come down from Denver to see us get married. I ran back to the house, my mom brought me a white dress from her closet, I did my hair really quickly, Chad rushed home from work, and we got to the courthouse JUST before it closed for the day. Phew! <br />
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We raised our right hands in front of the woman who was processing our paperwork, my mom snapped a couple quick photos, and then we stepped out into the hall (underneath the cheesiest flowered arch in front of a mint green wall) to exchange rings. WE signed our names, had our witnesses sign theirs, and just like that…we were married. We all went back to our house, both families gave us cards, and then left us to our newlywed devices….;) We had a nice dinner at Texas Roadhouse and then came back to the house to…wait for it…do homework. Yep, Chad had a course to complete that night so we cracked a bottle of wine, shared a glass, and then he went up to the office to complete his class. Trust me, that’s not ALL he did all night…so it turned out splendidly. <br />
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The next morning we were up by 6 so that he could pack all of the last-minute stuff, our buddy Gary came by at 7, and he was off to the airport by 7:30. I didn’t even get to spend the first 24 hours as a married woman with my husband. :/ <br />
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In just under a month, he came back, we got “married”(again) at our originally planned wedding ceremony with our 30 guests, my bi gwhite dress, and his handsome teal bowtie. We didn’t have a formal reception,just punch and cupcakes, and visiting with our friends and family. After maybean hour, we headed downtown to take some wedding pictures and after we were finished, rushed home to get out of our wedding finery (we were not made to live in fancy clothes). Since we were leaving the next morning for our honeymoon in Vegas, we returned his tux that night, went to Target and bought a backpack and a dvd shelf, picked up dinner at Panda Express, and fell asleep onthe couch watching The Bourne Identity. Yeah, we’re classy like that. <br />
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We left early the next morning for Vegas and spent a wonderfully relaxing week seeing shows, walking the strip, shopping, eating, and of course…loving on each other like CRAZY. I look back at our“double wedding”, one at the courthouse, one with less than 30 people, and I wouldn’t change a thing. We didn’t go into debt over our big day, we spent it with the people we’re closest to, and it was perfectly memorable. This week is oursecond anniversary (we count our first wedding as our technical anniversarydate, but still celebrate the second one with a nice dinner or something) and I couldn’t be happier…married for two years, Momma to a six-month old baby, and full of stories to tell about it all. <br />
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To hear more from Alyssa <a href="http://www.inthelandoflou.blogspot.com/">check out her blog</a> or follow her on twitter @mrsalyssaduncan<br />
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***If you are interested in guest posting for us please email me at kerry (a) bellflowerbooks (dot) com</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
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</div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><shape id="_x0000_i1026" style="height: 604.5pt; width: 6in;" type="#_x0000_t75"><imagedata o:title="DSC01584" src="file:///C:\Users\Kerry\AppData\Local\Temp\OICE_C3071694-F5F9-439B-A13F-94C4BF0CA8F0.0\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image003.jpg"></imagedata></shape></span>Kerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06412209011072939653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7887154224413037510.post-3965709616712910192012-01-16T06:00:00.000-08:002012-01-16T06:00:12.717-08:00Guest Post Series ~ My Birth Story by, Kerry of Bellflower Books<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My son at 6 ~ Well worth the trouble:)</td></tr>
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Since a <a href="http://www.bellflowerbooks.com/">Bellflower Book</a> makes an incredibly meaningful gift for weddings, anniversaries and new babies, we have started a special new guest post series to pay tribute to these events! I have decided to kick this series off with a post of my own.<br />
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I was debating between telling the sweet and predictable story about my perfect little wedding day, or the somewhat crazy and dysfunctional story about the birth of my first child. I decided that dysfunction is usually a lot more interesting:)<br />
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When I had my son I was in my 20's and living in Chicago. I was one of the first in my group of friends to get pregnant and I will admit to being absolutely clueless. Lucky for me I had an extremely healthy pregnancy, so when I went into deliver I figured that everything would run smoothly.<br />
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Unfortunately the doctor I was seeing (who was recommended to me by another clueless friend) only delivered in two hospitals that were both located in horrible neighborhoods and a little shady. I picked what I figured was the lessor of 2 evils. After growing up in a small town in Ohio, I figured a hospital was a hospital and that I would receive great care no matter where I went. Plus, I loved my doctor. I loved my doctor because every time I went in for a routine visit he would let me "see my baby" by giving me an ultrasound even though I was having an extremely normal and healthy pregnancy. At the time I had no idea that this type of treatment was pretty abnormal and that through all of these un-needed ultrasounds my excellent insurance was helping to support their struggling practice.<br />
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My son who is a very active child was also a very active fetus. Two weeks before his due date I felt his activity sharply decrease. I immediately went to my doctor, found out I was dilated, stopped at Dairy Queen for a chicken sandwich and chocolate ice cream cone, then went to the hospital. Things weren't progressing like my doctor hoped, so he started me on pitocin. I got an epidural and was pretty optimistic about how I thought things would progress. My younger sister showed up with a nice spread of appetizers for her, my husband and my parents who were driving in from Toledo. I was on the phone with my friends naively making plans to have them for dinner and celebrate two days later.<br />
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Then everything went downhill pretty quickly. The pitocin worked, my contractions started coming quick, but they hurt really bad. The epidural hadn't clicked in quite like it was supposed to. Then before I knew it and before my parents had arrived I had to start to push. Each time I pushed the baby's heart plummeted. I pushed three times before I was whisked away emergency style for a c-section. I knew something was wrong but it was all happening so fast that I wasn't quite sure what was going on. My parents arrived just in time to see me prepped for surgery and headed into the operating room.<br />
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This is where the complications with the anesthetic caused some problems. Since the epidural was not working properly, I was not numb where I should have been and there was not time to sedate me further so I pretty much felt my c-section. I can distinctly remember making my first choice and sacrifice as a mother when I knew my baby was in trouble and that the only way to help him was to forfeit any additional anesthetic attempts and to go in after him. I can remember screaming and crying but I don't remember the pain. I think that my husband will be traumatized forever. I had to tell him to stop telling his version of the story from the other side of the curtain. It was not pretty.<br />
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And because this was my first birth I didn't realize that it was odd to painfully feel every stitch as they sewed me back up, and even odder that I did not see my baby until a good half hour later.<br />
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The good news is that we are all okay. After the surgery the resident anesthesiologist was considerate enough to apologize to me for his mistakes and hook me up to a nice morphine drip which caused me to see mushrooms and faeries on the wall opposite my bed. My son developed jaundice and had to spend most of his time in the NICU, which was probably for the best since I was pretty out of it for a while. He actually looked pretty fine to us and we didn't know if the NICU was absolutely necessary, but then again we had great insurance which I think may have influenced people to take "extra precautions".<br />
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The hospital I gave birth in has since closed and the last I heard it has been slated for demolition.<br />
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Over six years later I don't think my stomach muscles will ever be the same, but things are good. I used all of this as a giant learning experience for when I had my second child. I changed doctors and went to one of the best women's hospitals in the nation where I had a planned C-Section that went so smoothly I didn't even realize it was happening. I was actually shocked when it was over so quickly without so much as a shriek or a tear. I had a flat screen TV, gourmet room service and frankly a wonderful time in recovery. It was like a vacation. See... the first birth story is much more exciting:)<br />
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***If you would like to join our guest post series and share your wedding or birth story, please contact me at kerry (at) Bellflowerbooks (dot) comKerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06412209011072939653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7887154224413037510.post-43985855253371688282012-01-11T09:48:00.000-08:002012-01-11T09:48:40.467-08:00Our New Guest Post SeriesWe are so excited to announce our new guest post series for 2012! Last year we focused on paying tribute to meaningful people in our lives. This year we are going to focus on sharing stories about meaningful events! <br />
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Since so many of our books are created for weddings, anniversaries and new babies, we have decided to take guest posts from people telling their special wedding and birth stories. I am so excited to read these posts and I am even looking forward to sharing my own!<br />
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If you are interested in being a part of this series, please email me at: kerry (at) BellflowerBooks (dot) com.Kerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06412209011072939653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7887154224413037510.post-24639495237123955022012-01-09T09:16:00.000-08:002012-01-09T09:16:14.640-08:00A New Year full of New Memories<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR2BQhChKfKpjAVPwludIPIUUXNj17S6PJBwWoyQPFopL7YY0D52qb_jy7SNmAVIy6rBwl0I6ZDO67f8G70gqYQlmqapQyuGwRdYyOpFFfl5bqblxsLnNkyGLatpY6lpg0ZlGWv0y5dOYp/s1600/snowfort.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgR2BQhChKfKpjAVPwludIPIUUXNj17S6PJBwWoyQPFopL7YY0D52qb_jy7SNmAVIy6rBwl0I6ZDO67f8G70gqYQlmqapQyuGwRdYyOpFFfl5bqblxsLnNkyGLatpY6lpg0ZlGWv0y5dOYp/s640/snowfort.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is a page that was created by my sister after a visit last January</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
Every year I use our website to create special memory books for my kids. I am usually horrible about writing stuff down, so I have found that my account with <a href="http://www.bellflowerbooks.com/">Bellflower Books</a> has made it easy to quickly type in a fun or funny story about my kids. This is great because at the end of each year I have an individualized and personal memory book for each of my kids. I make sure to have friends, babysitters and relatives contribute as well, especially if we take a special vacation together or if they come to visit us.<br />
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This will be the third year that I embark on this mission to preserve their special memories. Considering it is a special book just about them, they absolutely love looking through the finished product and remembering all of the fun and silly times we have had together. I have even printed "back-up" copies to put away for when they are grown. I figured that by the time they are 18 or so these copies are going to be pretty "loved" and a little worn, so it would be really special to give them a set of brand new books for their own collection. I hope that someday their kids will enjoy reading them and relating to the incredible and entertaining people they were are children:)Kerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06412209011072939653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7887154224413037510.post-13108496874264837212011-12-14T12:04:00.000-08:002011-12-14T12:04:49.507-08:00Bellflower Books in time for the Holidays!<span style="font-size: x-large;">Trying to finish a Bellflower Book in time for Christmas? </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Use the code SHIPNOW by Friday, December 16th at Noon Eastern Time for us to upgrade you to expedited shipping. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">This cannot be used with any other offer, including discounted gift certificates.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">We hope you are having a wonderful December full of meaningful moments:)</span>Kerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06412209011072939653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7887154224413037510.post-86725669769638838172011-10-18T11:12:00.000-07:002011-10-18T11:12:46.867-07:00A Meaningful Gift for a Growing Girl<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpVny043tOE6gPPBwXk6cXnXnu9Jw19iw9um4gdKgOaC-GCFZqpEJCDLCJSyJnGtraXTab0QnYDCOFQCr_W-CvYoVtdmhd2h8FloRwZHipJog4u2-s0-blS3oonSv_dLxgz3aN6GHqWt4j/s1600/a1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" oda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpVny043tOE6gPPBwXk6cXnXnu9Jw19iw9um4gdKgOaC-GCFZqpEJCDLCJSyJnGtraXTab0QnYDCOFQCr_W-CvYoVtdmhd2h8FloRwZHipJog4u2-s0-blS3oonSv_dLxgz3aN6GHqWt4j/s400/a1.jpg" width="390" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbtvaua2e2nNmZyZMM3eIclI_-HRvYaD8wY3FRKbnzV2EcnNuholfVaCGhqb6hb7uNM8hwwPFXGN7KdYQIqI4GrIDN5sfRxBZsnpuOFSZoZKNsp4US2TaOLOYxHxOnNWujeaxrAoLTvM8N/s1600/a2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" oda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbtvaua2e2nNmZyZMM3eIclI_-HRvYaD8wY3FRKbnzV2EcnNuholfVaCGhqb6hb7uNM8hwwPFXGN7KdYQIqI4GrIDN5sfRxBZsnpuOFSZoZKNsp4US2TaOLOYxHxOnNWujeaxrAoLTvM8N/s400/a2.jpg" width="390" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEnItT0ByfvkTBctOj5sZreGztfW5SHC0yzOPUJeRWGQHD0p7L4RfXNqTskDhTAzzVdafJdmmZBvcrgy8OSQUS2yFIgE4-0ZxhBfjiOR7mmZ4EW1V0HJMLMpk7UXL_To_gscPOpEaHi-N0/s1600/a3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" oda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEnItT0ByfvkTBctOj5sZreGztfW5SHC0yzOPUJeRWGQHD0p7L4RfXNqTskDhTAzzVdafJdmmZBvcrgy8OSQUS2yFIgE4-0ZxhBfjiOR7mmZ4EW1V0HJMLMpk7UXL_To_gscPOpEaHi-N0/s400/a3.jpg" width="390" /></a></div>I spent the other day cleaning out my kids' playroom. The amount of abused and neglected toys made me sad. What a waste. We spend so much money on plastic toys that are rarely played with, when in reality, our children are happiest with an old sheet over the kitchen table playing "fort". <br />
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I was so impressed when my friend Molly decided to make a <a href="http://www.bellflowerbooks.com/"><span style="color: #783f04;">Bellflower Book</span></a> to celebrate her daughter's 10th birthday. Instead of picking something up at the area "super store", she created a book full of childhood memories and letters from friends and loved ones. The finished product made me cry. It was beautiful. The best thing about this gift is that her daughter Maddie will now enter her preteen years with a book full of love and encouragement to remind her how special she is and boost her self confidence during what can sometimes be a difficult time in a young woman's life.<br />
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Just like Molly told me, "How many toys does a kid really need? I want to do something meaningful that she can treasure forever". I look forward to other parents discovering how <a href="http://www.bellflowerbooks.com/"><span style="color: #783f04;">Bellflower Books</span></a> can enrich the lives of their children.Kerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06412209011072939653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7887154224413037510.post-78981200629879098342011-10-13T09:11:00.000-07:002011-10-13T09:11:53.399-07:00Helpful Hints for your Bellflower Book - Enlarging Photos<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 14pt;">How to Enlarge the Photos in Your Bellflower Book</span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style";">If you, or one of your contributors, has added a photo to your Bellflower Book that appears small on the page preview, we highly recommend that you take a few minutes to enlarge the photo.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Your final book will look much better if your photos are the proper size.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>See the before and after example below.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style";">Note that you do not need the "original" digital photo file in order to re-size the picture.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We will show you how to do it using the file that is already uploaded to the Bellflower Book page.</span></div><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjok3AELb761dEz1JTBS08-DMGwkuMulMVFnbKTAnl0N_nZIz9rlIWP7lBzvExS3IfWpQsYgeUrwCMNfHvm8SS4zeOALRxSNcL1ksxt9k3D3f64A0-Sb-_4YiH40FlsZGHQDG5pzGLEyhV/s1600/asmall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" oda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjok3AELb761dEz1JTBS08-DMGwkuMulMVFnbKTAnl0N_nZIz9rlIWP7lBzvExS3IfWpQsYgeUrwCMNfHvm8SS4zeOALRxSNcL1ksxt9k3D3f64A0-Sb-_4YiH40FlsZGHQDG5pzGLEyhV/s320/asmall.jpg" width="318" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Page Preview BEFORE the photo was enlarged</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi348VvhCm6GPG7NmAEl6E9C0V9DLB3_p_Zhv3myr27tvudTav7Agc7W87fnA_VxVoeJSOigVUk2JePYMUs9qMhVIIg5f5X2iOyi4piIdxaEtkL8N9y0ikcrQd8dkhPnnR9Sdnf_dinZeKk/s1600/alarge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" oda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi348VvhCm6GPG7NmAEl6E9C0V9DLB3_p_Zhv3myr27tvudTav7Agc7W87fnA_VxVoeJSOigVUk2JePYMUs9qMhVIIg5f5X2iOyi4piIdxaEtkL8N9y0ikcrQd8dkhPnnR9Sdnf_dinZeKk/s320/alarge.jpg" width="318" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Page Preview with enlarged photo</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span lang="EN" style="color: #471e0b; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><shapetype coordsize="21600,21600" filled="f" id="_x0000_t75" o:preferrelative="t" o:spt="75" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" stroked="f"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><strong><u><span style="color: black;">Step 1:</span></u></strong></span><span lang="EN" style="color: #471e0b; font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="color: black;">After you have signed into your Bellflower account, go to the "Pages" tab and the <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>"Edit" screen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Right click on the photo and save the photo to your computer as a “Bitmap” file.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></shapetype></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXa_cta_rcS_DBlbSLHuSaP6JTqWkoomql_hp82RN0CMiPCUR2OdJbOsfz0RzqDiuI7TBD75-pP5vkqY7ve88w9RxHaGg23b6zU7FGyPF1gPJRFqlq1TD22PX9BX9t2SOSsBIXwgWo8TY3/s1600/a1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" oda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXa_cta_rcS_DBlbSLHuSaP6JTqWkoomql_hp82RN0CMiPCUR2OdJbOsfz0RzqDiuI7TBD75-pP5vkqY7ve88w9RxHaGg23b6zU7FGyPF1gPJRFqlq1TD22PX9BX9t2SOSsBIXwgWo8TY3/s400/a1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style";">Step 2:</span></u></b><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After you have saved your photo, open it in the wonderful photo enhancing (free) website <a href="http://www.picasa.com/"><span style="color: windowtext;">www.picasa.com</span></a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style";">If you do not currently use Picasa, start by downloading the free software and click "run" when asked if you want to "run" or "save" the software.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It only takes about 30 seconds, depending on the speed of your internet connection.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style";">To open your photo in Picasa, find the photo you want to enlarge in your Windows Explorer and then right click on the file.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Choose the "Open with" option and then click on "Picasa."</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style";">When the photo appears in Picasa, click on the green picnic button labeled "Picnik" (see black arrow below), which will allow you to edit the picture.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then click "yes" to confirm.</span></div><div align="left" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnZ5rNWsmzl6ePdL1oZm3JcjnwwtPvAlG8YG2ijWQ2rPkJ6D_tqhKDopJYCedsS09eAgn-WnqD71cjnvatkYAQJAHNkzKd-d2i0s31G6DWwSjEL38EWVP9iSgM0g0OsYBL2CmQPx9LWsUJ/s1600/a3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="322" oda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnZ5rNWsmzl6ePdL1oZm3JcjnwwtPvAlG8YG2ijWQ2rPkJ6D_tqhKDopJYCedsS09eAgn-WnqD71cjnvatkYAQJAHNkzKd-d2i0s31G6DWwSjEL38EWVP9iSgM0g0OsYBL2CmQPx9LWsUJ/s400/a3.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><strong><u>Step 3:</u></strong></span><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Your photo will automatically open in Picnik, as shown below.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Click on the “resize” button located on the left hand at the bottom of the row of choices (see black arrow below).</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieSpyrrtIo52nLmA0XJ3wdby6PYdt32JtSts7xchyphenhyphenU9QbHznA2y7FKJcaHlj4vZ4KXOJU1AXugtIWnFLvur9PVxA37vZnZnAevbSMOY-A1dmU-tW21r6wAxE1o_dU8n7KGclXq05GWjaEC/s1600/a4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="315" oda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieSpyrrtIo52nLmA0XJ3wdby6PYdt32JtSts7xchyphenhyphenU9QbHznA2y7FKJcaHlj4vZ4KXOJU1AXugtIWnFLvur9PVxA37vZnZnAevbSMOY-A1dmU-tW21r6wAxE1o_dU8n7KGclXq05GWjaEC/s400/a4.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style";">Step 4:</span></u></b><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Next, you will need to enter new dimensions for your photo (see white arrow below).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The dimensions you enter will depend on whether the orientation of your photo is <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>horizontal (long) or vertical (tall).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The "keep proportions" box is checked by default.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Do not un-check that box.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style";">For Horizontal pictures - enter 4000 in the first input box.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The second dimension will automatically calculate based on your photo's original proportions.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">·<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style";">For Vertical pictures - enter 2800 in the first input box.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The second dimension will automatically calculate based on your photo's original proportions.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt 0.5in;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style";">Click the “apply” button, which is underneath the boxes where you entered the dimensions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style";">Next, click the yellow button at the top right that says “Save to Picasa” (see black arrow below) .<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On the pop-up screen that follows, click the "replace" button to replace the original (small) photo and apply the resize.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr-TFj-xF2L2qZB0EYurT5Im1H7AUZcBOLmrmckIpjvP-EyFtb2y55SjWUxd7BulA80pDoy3LAOvf0iPH3hVcJuqp613KZb4ZCYIP-k1ubvYYwPHc3rd72ZkGWxd3PP9JaMFH6u5xrWtHL/s1600/a5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="310" oda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr-TFj-xF2L2qZB0EYurT5Im1H7AUZcBOLmrmckIpjvP-EyFtb2y55SjWUxd7BulA80pDoy3LAOvf0iPH3hVcJuqp613KZb4ZCYIP-k1ubvYYwPHc3rd72ZkGWxd3PP9JaMFH6u5xrWtHL/s400/a5.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><strong><u>Step 5:</u></strong></span><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You will then be automatically taken back to Picasa's main window.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>From here, <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>simply save this file by clicking on the "File" menu and then choosing "Save As".</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRZoWMZbwOglhhQLWp6ABB2MMFI3HkkoY8uAnVH60d7WS29rIss4URn4T99Wiz0jH-0GfoG939JRj4gVpGwiyzffJNegVFtCvKU1H9hQTNp9RalNvD-kAvmOkd5TjP8ED-vLU3tEwojpNH/s1600/a7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" oda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRZoWMZbwOglhhQLWp6ABB2MMFI3HkkoY8uAnVH60d7WS29rIss4URn4T99Wiz0jH-0GfoG939JRj4gVpGwiyzffJNegVFtCvKU1H9hQTNp9RalNvD-kAvmOkd5TjP8ED-vLU3tEwojpNH/s400/a7.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style";">Step 6:</span></u></b><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Go back to <a href="http://www.bellflowerbooks.com/"><span style="color: windowtext;">www.BellflowerBooks.com</span></a> and from the "Pages" tab, click the "Edit" button.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The last thing you need to do is to switch out the "small" photo file for the enlarged photo file that you just created in Picasa.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style";">Click on the "Browse" button underneath the photo (see black arrow below).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Find the folder where you saved the enlarged photo and select the appropriate file.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6WqvszkLxL9YA7FaLPi1awylcy_1aluw1CMMqWfBETO725ZVQpmh2YvB4NMpuQ-LQpyZFCHqLa1IYsH20bxyDqvRmhZl0egwecPYQUK76SB9d5bIEmOkbqofATRIcE24qt6ywooJ6BSOU/s1600/a8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" oda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6WqvszkLxL9YA7FaLPi1awylcy_1aluw1CMMqWfBETO725ZVQpmh2YvB4NMpuQ-LQpyZFCHqLa1IYsH20bxyDqvRmhZl0egwecPYQUK76SB9d5bIEmOkbqofATRIcE24qt6ywooJ6BSOU/s400/a8.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><strong><u>Step 7:</u></strong></span><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lastly, go back to the "Pages" tab and click on the "Preview" button to see how your enlarged photo will look on the printed page.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi348VvhCm6GPG7NmAEl6E9C0V9DLB3_p_Zhv3myr27tvudTav7Agc7W87fnA_VxVoeJSOigVUk2JePYMUs9qMhVIIg5f5X2iOyi4piIdxaEtkL8N9y0ikcrQd8dkhPnnR9Sdnf_dinZeKk/s1600/alarge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" oda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi348VvhCm6GPG7NmAEl6E9C0V9DLB3_p_Zhv3myr27tvudTav7Agc7W87fnA_VxVoeJSOigVUk2JePYMUs9qMhVIIg5f5X2iOyi4piIdxaEtkL8N9y0ikcrQd8dkhPnnR9Sdnf_dinZeKk/s400/alarge.jpg" width="397" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The finished product!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: "Bookman Old Style"; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"></span></div><div align="left" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Kerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06412209011072939653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7887154224413037510.post-50388578440560878632011-09-26T07:25:00.000-07:002011-09-26T07:25:27.376-07:00Etsy Favorites: Chloe & Maddie ~ A boutique for girlie girls...I always enjoy stumbling upon a beautiful and unique product, so I couldn't help but LOVE the Etsy shop <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/ChloeANDMaddie">Chloe and Maddie</a>. I loved this product even more when I found out it was created by a fellow stay-at-home mom!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/ChloeANDMaddie"><img border="0" height="239" kca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy8VJytMPpFsoRtszP2qZSb9R5e7Xp3ZkTysZ-pyGGXmt3fgwBR9diu1t_qztzCvx-eifebwjJFgPubCtCFyIxMd0ThmDRXWv2lN-RIaJSKIvCVHjrlMa1k7818S71qnOUEXDSHfNUkd_F/s320/shoes1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Since a <a href="http://www.bellflowerbooks.com/">Bellflower Book</a> is commonly used as a meaningful gift for weddings and bridal showers, I am always on the lookout for wedding related products that have a unique and different flair. <br />
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I know it sounds funny, but one of the few things I would have changed about my own wedding were the shoes I wore. The were comfortable, but extremely ugly. A pair of these <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/ChloeANDMaddie">pretty shoe clips</a> would have been the perfect way to jazz up my practical heels and turn them into something special. I could have even transferred them over to my flats later in the evening. Even though <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/ChloeANDMaddie">Chloe and Maddie has</a> a wide variety of neutral color designs made especially for weddings, I loved this colorful pair of clips. It would have been fun to have something bright and colorful to wear under my all white dress.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/ChloeANDMaddie"><img border="0" height="272" kca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDCY9_jmKekRgIjp_FGCc3yySm4LDvA-1ljHvvICDi3n94Pm3JZH5t5fy7UmX7sl-xAhK8cWVLaejdT4oAuXISwCXCifW6IHcoGuKPEt1HTp-IYJBTmwta0WQ_8Pt4286agLHntQ7m4OWi/s400/shoes6.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/ChloeANDMaddie"><img border="0" height="332" kca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHFUCgaFCAmEunakIN4CDTKNIAOmJiWjO_jzU3bORpRENazQCAPGDf55trVHePRISZlRe-rIozR0Ah8AXVibYEY-cYqcLKKh1DZ7nJafaEy8-bIaYwEjQD0UA1uebl9xWWe3BXM-0JNjcB/s400/shoes4.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/ChloeANDMaddie"><img border="0" height="400" kca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhRgR6lYp4A4Qxi9bBLajHZmAXv6StswczQBFB5phZMMgWG_MHG1uGi6GPrtHP1YxVYdZofVRacPPJw1snZYHpyRTV0smmk0AlqY0HXceYC9xryPxq0qZifLNFHmSME612ix85KXLrbggh/s400/shoes3.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>These show clips would also make a fantastic bridesmaids gift. What an excellent way to enhance a simple bridesmaid's dress!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/ChloeANDMaddie"><img border="0" height="298" kca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfuN1ZWvn0EVx9b_ruROm8Jae__sgcEcdi3tFeZRAupinPNzmEllq5Hg2UNrIoOPN_rF_L_gZ-fz877wt2xwFz4wm8_MG9wh7eCvFSMEw2E_uBY3thLUuQT_SLWEpSdS8gPsAFCNAWH6EY/s400/shoesbridesmaid.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>The headbands would be great for a flower girl.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/ChloeANDMaddie"><img border="0" height="400" kca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigwAuFr1JPDUfyWFPQcuHlPdGwj5Fdor2GwaynU80KwtD9jmpnz6FATUrhjo_J2KKhGsZUufogFOmawRJKt59bt-mLrOpQ3_Mge3AswACgnCK-9iQdD59OjORamOxN1xMZk76I3HIvL0-_/s400/shoesflowergirl.jpg" width="350" /></a></div><br />
I also love her fancy hair clips. A good friend of mine just got married and used a flower clip for her hair. She was beautiful.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/ChloeANDMaddie"><img border="0" height="296" kca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT44pnJ637Z1APiExaj2uifg1xSrsEU0yVhqpwcf6JHCsq66x5JZoY5UjeTV5W9b92osD0BbjMhIw4ZnHfDz2wsEHGq7UBEy40dCdQoCK7DJeRY3HuIyu1j5fNKA-RyXw0J5uA7Zhenq02/s400/shoes7.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/ChloeANDMaddie"><img border="0" height="298" kca="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoLy9G33lVngt9-g0u6u5KHZ2dVuiReCHywi7KjDOFM-s-yN0OaeC4H1HqZuJ7XfESk0EI0cTr1wScqI55-bqdg_rYtt3YQGGLhDJSi9FovjqYpIWl8LC3i87Hc5iPMaUKRYhjHgcxFNpr/s400/shoes2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/ChloeANDMaddie">Chloe and Maddie</a> offers a large variety of designs, products and colors so make sure to check out<a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/ChloeANDMaddie"> their Etsy store</a> for more and make sure to forward this post on to wedding planners and future brides:)Kerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06412209011072939653noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7887154224413037510.post-44802862204501259782011-09-12T10:41:00.001-07:002011-09-12T10:41:40.754-07:00Kerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06412209011072939653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7887154224413037510.post-75214927099941418152011-09-12T10:39:00.001-07:002011-09-12T10:39:17.231-07:00Kerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06412209011072939653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7887154224413037510.post-83766254742476668512011-09-12T04:00:00.000-07:002011-09-12T04:00:16.305-07:00Bellflower Books ~ an excellent way to offer your support to the people who really need it!I am sure you have heard about our campiagn with the blog <a href="http://www.justbeenough.com/">Just Be Enough</a> where we are working to donate <a href="http://www.bellflowerbooks.com/">Bellflower Books</a> to women battling breast cancer. For every 20 people who link up with <a href="http://www.justbeenough.com/">Just Be Enough</a> on Mondays, we will donate a $75 gift certificate for a <a href="http://www.bellflowerbooks.com/">Bellflower Book</a> to the organization <a href="http://crickettsanswer.startlogic.com/">Crickett's Answer</a>, a non-proft that offers help and support to women diagnosed with breast cancer.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXQ3Vh4eH9HfcPs9rqa0gpXpdttCQpIETmbmrWCcIVLvS_YC4W0tKhfgRHb44aKOK3SSya0F-7MzvevPz5QXzHTWNT65ZMC-bT0FRh1PaBKNe1_rpSO-FmCnPrj58n4XqZO9rRZ61-Ro_p/s1600/prgpage-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" nba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXQ3Vh4eH9HfcPs9rqa0gpXpdttCQpIETmbmrWCcIVLvS_YC4W0tKhfgRHb44aKOK3SSya0F-7MzvevPz5QXzHTWNT65ZMC-bT0FRh1PaBKNe1_rpSO-FmCnPrj58n4XqZO9rRZ61-Ro_p/s400/prgpage-1.jpg" width="390" /></a></div><br />
There are so many ways that a <a href="http://www.bellflowerbooks.com/">Bellflower Book</a> can be used to provide love and support to people battling illness or loss. <br />
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We love that our product can be used to help people cope during difficult times. Here are some ideas of how to use a <a href="http://www.bellflowerbooks.com/">Bellflower Book</a> to help that special person in your life who could use some extra support.<br />
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<div class="words"><h2>A personal memory book makes the ideal inspirational gift to provide support during difficult times.</h2>It’s so hard to know what to do when someone you love is diagnosed with an illness. From personal experience, we have found that letters of love and support give the most comfort. This is a wonderful way to show your love, which is probably what they need the most!<br />
<a href="http://www.bellflowerbooks.com/">Bellflower Books</a> is grateful to offer just the right sympathy gift for a loved one struggling with breast cancer or any other illness.<br />
Invite friends and relatives to help build a truly special and touching gift for a cancer patient or survivor. Your favorite photos and inspirational notes are sure to lift spirits!<br />
<h2>Honor a great and generous loved one with a custom Mission Book.</h2>Do you know someone who is preparing to do something wonderful or leaving for retreat? Create a custom photo book full of favorite images and supportive letters tell them how amazing you think they are!<br />
<h2>Show love and support to a friend or relative serving our country overseas.</h2>There’s no better way to honor a soldier or sailor who is making such a huge sacrifice. Gather favorite memories and photos and build a custom support book that they’ll treasure and keep close until they are safely home again.<br />
<h2>Bring your church community together to create a custom Prayer Book full of special thoughts for someone in need.</h2>Compliment the supportive words with peaceful photographs from nature. This is a wonderful way to support someone who is going through a particularly hard time.<br />
<h2>Honor a passed love one with a beautiful custom Legacy Book.</h2>When someone close to you passes away it can be therapeutic to create a book full of memories and photographs that document their entire life.<br />
Include letters and memories from people who were around during different parts of their life. This is a wonderful way for people to share stories and memories of a much loved and amazing person.<br />
A customized photo book commemorating a wonderful life is a keepsake that generations of family members will treasure forever.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">****Please link up with </span><a href="http://www.justbeenough.com/"><span style="font-size: large;">Just Be Enough</span></a><span style="font-size: large;"> today and join the campaign!!!</span></div>Kerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06412209011072939653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7887154224413037510.post-41055781237147862072011-08-31T04:00:00.000-07:002011-08-31T04:00:04.073-07:00Guest Post Series ~ Post by insightful blogger "Slappy in the Face"<span style="font-size: large;">When any other man in the world would have left me; my husband, Derek, stayed right by my side, always believing in me and never doubting me. I will be forever grateful and will never forget what he has done for me. You can read “My Story” at </span><a href="http://slappyintheface.com/"><span style="font-size: large;">http://slappyintheface.com</span></a><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">This is my message to him:</span><br />
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When my world came crashing down around me <br />
you stayed.<br />
When everyone else abandoned me<br />
you stayed.<br />
When my body gave out and my mind left me<br />
you stayed.<br />
When I took you for granted and pushed you away<br />
you stayed.<br />
When I forgot how to love and only knew how to hate<br />
you stayed.<br />
When I didn’t deserve you<br />
you stayed.<br />
When I needed you the most<br />
you stayed.<br />
I am so glad that <br />
you stayed<br />
You are my everything and I will never forget that <br />
you stayed. <br />
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Comment from <a href="http://www.bellflowerbooks.com/">Bellflower Books</a>: Wow! Your husband sounds incredible. I am also really impressed with you. It takes a lot of strength and courage to write a post like this. I think that this is also something that many men and women who have fought for their marriage can relate to. Thank you so much for sharing this our our blog!<br />
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To learn more about this <a href="http://www.slappyintheface.com/">"Slappy in the Face"</a> please make sure to <a href="http://www.slappyintheface.com/">visit her blog</a>!<br />
Kerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06412209011072939653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7887154224413037510.post-41218263954401622362011-08-29T04:00:00.000-07:002011-08-29T04:00:04.337-07:00Proud Sponsors of Be Enough Me 4 CancerWe are so excited to be sponsoring a link-up with the blog <a href="http://www.justbeenough.com/be-enough-me-for-cancer/">Just. Be. Enough.</a> <br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.justbeenough.com/"><img src="http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz223/easonnino/Beenoughme.jpg" /></a></div><br />
<a href="http://www.justbeenough.com/be-enough-me-for-cancer/">Just. Be. Enough</a> was recently created by <a href="http://www.ciaomom.com/who-is-cmom/">Elena Sonnino</a>. Elena was inspired to write this blog after reading a post about accepting ourselves even with our imperfections.<br />
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<a href="http://www.ciaomom.com/who-is-cmom/">Elena Sonnino</a> explains that her blog <a href="http://just.be.enough/">Just.Be.Enough</a>. hopes to share the stories, the voices, the truths of many. Its mission is to empower, inspire, and remind women, parents, and children that that the time has come to celebrate ourselves. We must carry the weight of confidence and empowerment on our shoulders instead of allowing the burden of our flaws and imperfections to push us down.<br />
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What is not to love about all of that?<br />
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When Elena approached <a href="http://www.bellflowerbooks.com/">Bellflower Books</a> about working together, I did a little research and found out that Elena is a cancer survivor. My business partner (who is also my best friend) lost her mother to cancer a little over two years ago. I honor of Heather's mother, one of the missions of our company is to use our product as a support tool for people who are battling illness or as a way to pay tribute to a special life lost.<br />
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<div align="center"><a href="http://crickettsanswer.startlogic.com/"><img alt="Crickett's Answer for Cancer" class="aligncenter" height="207" src="http://i830.photobucket.com/albums/zz223/easonnino/cricklogo.jpg" title="Crickett's Answer for Cancer" width="201" /></a></div><br />
So, a little over a week ago <a href="http://www.bellflowerbooks.com/">Bellflower Books</a> and <a href="http://just.be.enough/">Just.Be.Enough</a> launched our campaign to work together and provide up to 10 $75 <a href="http://www.bellflowerbooks.com/idea-center/support-books.php">Bellflower Books</a> gift certificates, to families identified by <a href="http://crickettsanswer.startlogic.com/">Crickett’s Answer</a>, for the creation of a 20-page memory book. <a href="http://crickettsanswer.startlogic.com/">Crickett’s Answer</a> is a non-profit that helps support the self esteem and morale of women by providing pampering resources to women facing breast cancer. It is our hope that loved ones receiving these gift cards will then be inspired to create a book full of love and support to give to the special woman in their life battling cancer. A <a href="http://www.bellflowerbooks.com/idea-center/support-books.php">Bellflower Book</a> is the perfect way to remind someone how loved and appreciated they are while going through a difficult time in their life.<br />
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<div align="center"><img src="http://www.bellflowerbooks.com/-/img/idea-center/bellflower-books-support-gifts.jpg" /></div>For ONE month, starting on August 22nd. For <a href="http://www.justbeenough.com/be-enough-me-link-up/"><strong>every 20</strong> <strong>people that link u</strong>p</a> with a story of how they lived the Be Enough Me “feeling” that week, Bellflower will donate ONE $75 gift certificate to a family identified by <a href="http://crickettsanswer.startlogic.com/">Crickett’s Answer</a> for the creation of a <a href="http://www.bellflowerbooks.com/idea-center/support-books.php">20-page memory book</a>. We will keep a running total of links over the four Mondays and hope to reach our goal of 120 links, which would provide TEN Bellflower memory books.<br />
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This campaign has been dedicated by Elena Sonnino to her good friend <strong><a href="http://toddlerplanet.wordpress.com/" target="_blank" title="Susan Niebur"><span style="color: #509ac9;">Susan Niebur</span></a></strong> (aka @Whymommy).<br />
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Susan was recognized at the <a href="http://www.bloganthropy.org/2011/06/winner-of-second-annual-bloganthropy-award/" target="_blank" title="Bloganthropy Award Winner"><span style="color: #509ac9;">Type A Parent conference for her bloganthropy work.</span></a> She is a mom, an astrophysicist, a writer and a friend and has been fighting metastatic breast cancer in her spine, hip, and ribs for four years.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">All of this should give you the encouragement you need to reach out, <a href="http://www.justbeenough.com/be-enough-me-link-up/">link up</a> and help us provide much needed love and support to as many women possible!</div>Kerryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06412209011072939653noreply@blogger.com2