From age 25 onwards, our grand adventure has just unfolded as we embrace adulthood.

Here’s where you experienced first-hand the lessons of life and be prodded along to grow up in the face of challenges.

By scrapbooking about yourself as an adult, you’ll have scrapbook pages reminding you on how far you’ve come and the important aspects of your life.

Not only will your scrapbooks offer clarifying thoughts on where your goals are, you’ll also become more certain of yourself as an individual.

Then as you flip through these scrapbooks about you, you’ll fondly recall once again the journey you’ve traveled. And these scrapbooks could well offer invaluable insights and lessons to be learned by your grandchildren. “Wow, Granny Thelma led such a colorful life and she’s one gutsy woman!”

For firm ideas on how to scrapbook about yourself, continue reading on the various themes you can put your fingers on.

Unique Being

“Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, vision cleared, ambition inspired, and success achieved.”
- Helen Keller

Scrapbooking about your character is a delightful theme to work on as you wrap yourself up in the project. Here’s where you don on your thinking cap and investigate into the depths of your own character.

The knowledge that there’ll never be anyone exactly like you will give you the added oomph to scrapbook about yourself.

Dwell on the positive traits you see in yourself. These pages could well serve as lessons for your future generations, as important traits they could model after you.

Another method to help you narrow down is probably to think about what things you couldn’t live without!

Alright, hope that these themes have ignited your imagination for more themes to scrapbook about yourself.

Happy scrapping!

About the Author:

Fion Lim is the creator of Everything-About-Scrapbooking.com - Here’s your how-to-guide to learning about scrapbooking. Find ideas for scrapbooking pages, tips, inspirations, articles and resources to quotes, poems and fonts right here.

Feel free to use the this article provided it is published in its entirety, with the resource box and a “live” clickable link to: http://www.everything-about-scrapbooking.com

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Chamonix Haute Savoie France is a prestigious holiday destination with the awe inspiring Monte Bianco and majestic glaciers. The group enjoy going hiking or from time to time taking the tourist train. I invariably fly from Norfolk and stay at a Chamonix self catered chalet during my holiday.

My friends and I used to visited Pan Pacific Whistler Mountainside unfortunately it sometimes didn’t meet the standards of its description: Overlooking the Blackcomb and Whistler ski lifts, this boutique hotel is one block from Whistler Village Square, two blocks from the Whistler Conference Centre, and approximately 85 Vancouver International Airport. Amenities include 24-hour front desk, meeting rooms, babysitting, daily housekeeping, Interet kiosk (w/fee), business services, laundry services, valet parking, year-round outdoor, heated pool, two whirlpools, a steam room, fitness center’s exercise equipment and spa treatment menu.

In comparison in Chamonix Mont Blanc the chalet is nearly always fine. As well dining out in our groups number one French restaurant, Full House Snack Shop, scoffing italian is a pleasure. Chamonix Mont Blanc France is a large enough place to guarantee that there is lots for the snowboarder to do. Amongst other things it includes a husky sledding centre and a plethora of night-clubs, Chamonix offers a mix of snowboarding, old town charm and sightseeing which not many resorts can beat.

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You put a great deal of time, thought, and effort into your scrapbook pages. Scrapbooks often are very personalized creative works that are very meaningful to the creator. Therefore, you should try to protect and preserve your work.

The most important way to protect your pages is by using lignin free and acid free products. Lignin free and acid free protects will reduce yellowing and crumbling. Also, use colored paper or ink that is resistant to fading due to age, exposure to light, heat, and other unfavorable conditions.

To protect your page from the outside world, use Mylar or page protectors. Special page protectors for three-dimensional pages are also available at most craft stores. These protection pages not only protect your objects but also reduce indentations caused by three-dimensional objects.

Copies can be easily made and placed into your scrapbook. Also, copies of your scrapbook pages can easily be made for other purposes.

The great thing about modern technology is that you can make copies of your baby announces, recipes, and calendars without a great deal of hassle. This reduces time and money. Furthermore, the ability to copy scrapbook pages allows more scrapbooking uses.

Simply scan and print pictures onto paper or vellum. Then, paste your pictures onto cardstock and add a ribbon or other embellishment. Quickly and easily you have another copy of your baby announcement, recipe, or calendar.

Mia LaCron is the founder of 101-scrapbooking-tidbits.info - http://www.101-scrapbooking-tidbits.info - devoted to helping individuals record, store, and preserve their most cherished memories via the art of scrapbooking.

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The graduation packages form one of the most important things in a person’s life. The whole period of study and the hard work that goes with it are truly rewarded only when he gets the satisfaction in the achievement that he has made by becoming a graduate. More important is the happiness that should be there when a person graduates out. A person to have completed graduation is symbolized by the memoirs of it and the memory of the typical graduate attire that he wore at the day of the graduation ceremony, which will be etched in the mind forever.

Customary Graduation Packages

The customary gown graduation and the cap graduation are the ones that are seen as real graduation because they are almost followed by all of them. The package that you choose for the graduation ceremony should have the right mix of things that will make the day a memorable one. The apt gown that suits you and the best fitting add-ons in cap and the other things that come with it should make the perfect set for anyone. Also important is the way you get yourself pictured on that day. Have a nice pleasant photograph of you on that particular day, so that that may be an everlasting memoir of what you had achieved and felt happy about.

Graduation Ceremony - an Occasion to cherish

The graduation packages offer variety of different aspects to celebrate with, but the gown graduation and the cap graduations are the ones that will bring you happiness as all of us have grown seeing other graduates in gowns, so the cap and gowns have literally become symbols of graduation. The other aspect to view the graduation packages are that they form one of the best gifts that you can get your friend or a close relative. This is a way of expressing your happiness towards their achievement. The scenes of the graduation ceremony will be there forever in their mind and so will be your gift!

There are several other entities offered in the graduation packages that can make your day more memorable. There are honor stoles, medallion, awards. If you are one who has worked hard for the graduation then you deserve such packages as they offer the best of feelings. Being a graduate with medallion in the chest is a great feeling many of us like to have. Thus, we see that the graduation packages are truly those things, which bring the best of the graduation ceremony.

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Cracks in Leather

The only way to un-crack leather is to replace it. One approach that leather repair specialists use is to clean the leather and then re-color it. The result is that the leather will have a uniform appearance. The cracks will still be there but will be less apparent.

You can also have a leather repair professional replace the cracked areas and match the new leather to the original color. This works best when you are working with a panel of leather, for example on a car seat or the surface of a furniture cushion.

Dog and Cat Scratches

If you own a dog or cat, do not allow them on your leather furniture - PERIOD!

For dogs, most damage occurs while climbing on and jumping off. If you are a cat owner, leather fillers or tanner’s resin will cure the symptoms but not the problem.

You might consider buying your cat a scratching post and put it near the area where the cat is scratching before using the filler.

Spray water on the scratch and cover it with a small square of 1000 grit wet sand paper from the hardware store. Sand very lightly until the surface is smooth and you cannot feel the tear from the scratch anymore. You may end up needing to re-color the furniture if the scratch damage is extensive. That would be a job for a pro.

Leather Repair Kits

If your leather has a tiny tear and it’s not highly visible, (and if the color is black) any leather repair kit should be sufficient if you follow directions.

However, there are a couple of things to be aware of in case you run into problems. The repair material may not bond well with the leather. This happens if the leather is old or if the heating element supplied with the kit (if it’s included) is not hot enough.

Usually, a leather repair kit will contain grain papers that you rub over the repaired area to imprint a grain-like finish. The idea is that the grain will resemble that of the original undamaged leather as much as possible.

Some grain papers are also pigmented. It’s difficult to match color but it’s even more difficult if the leather is old. Experts say that unless the leather color is black, the repair will show.

You may need to place a small piece of cloth and padding under the tear to help hold the edges together. You can place a piece of material under the tear and glue it with the edges to be repaired as close together as possible. Hold the edges together while the adhesive dries, or use a hair dryer (very carefully) to speed up the process.

Using a leather repair kit will usually hide the tear and hopefully prevent further damage. The problem with using a leather repair kit is the damaged area will always be weaker. The other thing you can do of course is have someone replace the damaged section of leather and match the color professionally.

Stuck Leather

If you have a leather item with sides, such as a purse that appear to be stuck together, look inside to see if you can tell exactly where the sides are sticking. You should be able to see if it is sticking in a couple of places or if the leather is completely stuck shut.

Hold the item over a pot of boiling water - not too closely and do not allow the purse to get soaked. The heat and humidity will expand the pores in the leather and might allow you to work the sides free, just do not force them if they will not budge.

You could also try to work some leather cleaner in between the sides. If there is dirt or other grime that’s holding the sides together, this may loosen it. Finally, if getting the sides separated doesn’t look easy, take it to a cobbler for repair.

Specialized Leather Repair

http://www.ADVLeather.com

Offers a specialized leather repair service and professional training. They’ll bend over backwards to help you clean or repair a leather item yourself.

They also offer private tutoring to teach you the finer points of premium leather repair. If you are looking for a career change, you could build a respectable leather repair business by taking the course they offer.

*** Hey! Want To Make Something Out Of Leather? ***
Discover How To Make Leather Crafts for Fun and Profit
Click Here ==> Leather Craft

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Consider Your Ways
 That you be not left in a daze
 When the time of singing has come,
 And the voice of the Lord is heard
 Througout our land
 When the remnant and holy band
 Arise with power and God's glory
 To rewrite this nation's story.
 History I call it
 His story from beginning to end
 Yes dear one, God is my friend.

Consider your ways
 Before you find yourself in a maze,
 Interlocked in a pathway,
 From which it is too late to move away.

Consider your ways.
 For most men are in part
 Typical of three characters
 In the children’s movie
 The Wizard of Oz.
 The lion who had no courage,
 The tin man who had no heart,
 And the scare crow
 Who was without a brain.
 And all Dorothy could do
 Was wish and complain
 Desiring to go home
 Realizing with them
 She would never personally grow
 This Dorothy assuredly did know.

Consider your ways
 For in the midst of a nation
 That has gone a craze,
 I the Lord
 Will begin to astound and amaze
 As I rearrange the order of your days
 And further establish you in My ways.
 For soon by My Spirit
 You I shall fill and emblaze
 Separating you with my chosen ones
 Engulfed in a fiery glory and haze
 To protect, empower and then to raise
 You above the heathen
 To give Me praise!

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The sun like a dear trailbit my brow,

Industriously, as my wife and I took the train

Back to O’Hare, from downtown Chicago,

Windy city, with stretched-up eyebrows

In its winter sleep.

We walked around, downtown: busy city

From Washington Street to Michigan; across

The bridge, there on East Ontario, we

Ate at ‘Bice,’ Italian Restaurant (my wife

Paid the bill) her treat, Valentine’s Day.

I’m waiting for the plane now, it’s 5:00 PM;

It has been one of those happier days, moments,

In my life: strange, even with Northwest being lat

It is pale, to dark now (6:00 PM)

Sitting on these warn out seats…!

I’ve been thinking, like when you’re a little boy,

And spent the whole day rambling through the

City, on your high, two wheel bike!…

Whistling away the sunny day,

With nothing much to do or say.

My wife, sitting next me fell to sleep, hat on:

Holding my jacket in her two hands, sleeping,

Had to remove her coffee cup, in case it fell:

She’s in some joyful lofty solitude;

While I’m sniffling away like hell.

It was nice, just being ourselves today

Before having to go back home, to St. Paul,

Go back to the kitchen, and fixing things.

As I look about, everyone’s on cell phones.

Hurry-upflight: NW 145!

Now that I think of it, you could smell the lake

The Great Lake Michigan; feel its pulse, its

Winds like tides in the air all about.

Softer dust, swirling along the cities streets;

Street people blowing brass horns for a meal.

Rhythmic packs, misplaced men and women

Everywhere: like undergrowth, weeds not growing.

Drunks, and derelicts, eyes staring at your every move,

And endless forest of a city, with boulders,

Towering bricks, next to an unforgiving lake:

Chicago!…

Semi prose/1/14/06 #1208

IN SPANISH
Translated by: Nancy Pealoza

Una Tarde en Chicago

El sol como una huella querida.-muerde mi ceja,
Trabajosamente, como mi esposa y yo tomamos el tren
De regreso a O’Hara, desde el centro de Chicago,-

Ciudad expuesta al viento, con cejas dispersadas

En su invierno dormido.
Caminamos alrededor del centro de la ciudad: ciudad ocupada-
Desde la calle Washington hacia Michigan; a través
El puente, all sobre el este de Ontario, nosotros

Comimos en “Bice”. Restaurante italiano (Mi esposa

Pag el ticket) su regalo por el Da de San Valentn.

Yo estoy esperando por el avin ahora, son las 5:00 PM;
Esta ha sido uno de esos das ms felices, momentos,
En mi vida: curioso, aun con el Noroeste atardeciendo.

Esto esta plido, oscuro ahora (6:00 PM)

Sentado sobre estos asientos cuidados!.
Yo he estado pensando, como cuando t eres un nio,
Y pasas el da entero divagando a través de
La ciudad, sobre tu alta, bicicleta de dos ruedas!..

Silbando lejos en el da soleado,

Con nada ms para hacer o decir.

Mi esposa, sentada cerca de m cay dormida, sobrero puesto:
Agarrando mi chaqueta con sus dos manos, durmiente,
Tuve que quitar su taza de café, en caso que esto caiga:

Ella es en algo alegre, sublime solitaria;

Mientras yo estoy resoplando afuera como demonio.
Esto fue hermoso, siendo nuestro da para nosotros mismos
Antes de tener que regresar a casa, a Saint Pal,
Regresar a la cocina, y arreglar cosas.

Mientras miro alrededor, los celulares de todos.

Rpido- vuelo -NW 145

Ahora que yo pienso de esto, t podas oler el lago
El gran lago Michigan; sentir su pulso, sus
Vientos como oleadas en el aire por todos lados.

Polvo muy suave, arremolinndose a lo largo de las calles de la ciudad;

La gente de la calle soplando cuernos de metal por una comida.
Pandillas acompasadas, hombres y mujeres extraviados
En todo lugar; como maleza, debiluchas sin crecer
Borrachos, y abandonados, ojos mirando fijamente a cada movimiento tuyo,

Un bosque interminable de una ciudad, con pedruscos,
Torres de ladrillos, cerca de un lago implacable:
Chicago…. Semi Prosa 1/14/06/# 1208

See Dennis’ web site: http://dennissiluk.tripod.com

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Performance coaching is a term that has become incredibly used over the last 5 years. The term life coaching first became beloved in the United States of America where, together with NLP aka Neuro Linguistic Programming, it became part of an improved sensational wave of awfully proactive therapy modalities.

In many ways both Lifestyle Coaching and NLP are a reaction against certain variants of the Humanistic therapy movement, in particular Humanistic Counselling. A criticism of the person-centred approach is that it is exceedingly reactive and not extraordinarily proactive. Although all this works brilliant with some clients, with other customers long periods of impasse or low return for time and effort occur. Coaching and Neuro Linguistic Programming are both humanistic in stance, spending time on improving a customers happiness rather than jumping into the depths of childhood, like traditional therapy. Their emphasis is, however, deliberately proactive and used to make you happy.

Performance coaching is not about telling the coaching client what to do. This is a common misconception. Some lifestyle coaches are legitimately successful in their business careers and then make the cross over to coaching, thinking that they will merely be required to divulge their pearls of tremendous success and wisdom with the lifestyle coaching customer. This is more like mentoring a person in a specific environment. Personal coaching is instead about life as a whole. Find out how to boost self esteem with a life coach.

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Branding alone isn’t enough these days, people want experiences, they
want magic moments and memories to enrich their lives with. To create these
experiential moments requires you to identify and appreciate what creates the
magic for your consumer and enhance it at every ‘touchpoint.’

So how do we go about the daunting task of packaging experiences? Job
number one is taking an honest unbiased look at your brand offering to define the
experience opportunity that makes the most sense. You will need to assess your
brand and how it fares in each of the five core brand components (your brand
should have at least one of these components):

• Transformation
• Optimism
• Individuality
• Involvement
• Adventure

Transformation
Transformation occurs when a brand takes you from one state of mind to another.
The health and beauty category is all about selling transformation (use our cream
and you will look years younger). Transformation brings a very positive, personal
and emotional feeling to a consumer. This in turn equates the brands value.

Optimism
This component of an experiential brand conveys the feeling of pure happiness
with a brand. They give the consumer a reason to smile and expect the best from it.
Optimism can be achieved by the point of view a brand may have. For instance,
every time you purchase brand X, money is donated to a charity. Maybe brand X
uses no chemicals and therefore makes you feel good about using it. Optimism is
the hope that is instilled in the consumer by a brand.

Individuality
Individuality makes the brand a unique, one-on-one connection with the
consumer. One way brands achieve individuality is through consumer customization
(selecting a color or custom build). Another can be the way the individual feels
about the brand (one person feels safe while another feels elite). The point is that
each person takes away something unique from the brand offering.

Involvement
Brands that invite consumers to indulge in a sense of influencing and shaping the
brand experience are at the heart of involvement. Involvement is a more recent
trend in experiential packaging. One brand that became very successful by
concentrating on the involvement component is Jones Soda. By allowing the
consumer to create the labels for the sodas, the consumer became involved in
building the brand, similar to the way consumers were allowed to vote on the next
new color of M&Ms.

Adventure
Lastly, adventure represents the component of brands that convey ideas of
excitement and exploration. Adventure can be the Hummer vehicle promising you
adventure off-road (which is how often?). From a more true experience standpoint,
you would be better advised to take a cue from Edoc Laundry. Edoc has developed a
line of shirts with hidden codes that eventually lead the consumer to a murder
mystery online. Adventure in a brand is especially useful for creating a buzz and
viral marketing.

These five components provide the creative inspiration for developing brand
messaging and communication. Once they are thoroughly uncovered and
understood, consider the following:

• Which experiential components fit with my brand?
• How well are these currently communicated?
• What are some innovative ways to utilize design as a tool to create and extend
  the experience?

It is one thing to know what your brand components are, it is another to
communicate them to others and live up to their promise. In part two of Packaging
Experiences, we will discuss the importance of experiential packaging and the
application of a brand across all of its touchpoints. Until then take a good honest
look at your brand through the eyes of others, you may be surprised at what you
find.

Jim Stringer is the Creative Director for XO Create! which provides expertise in
packaging experiences. XO Create! assists organizations with branding,
positioning and moving product through compelling packaging solutions. To
contact Jim call 678.319.4242

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Most people would have a hard time selecting the best small software company in America. But if we asked Global Shop Solutions customers to vote, they would have no trouble identifying their top pick.

I recently had the great fortune of working with Global Shop Solutions in Houston. Their business works well on a lot of levels, but the most remarkable thing about the company is the tremendous value it creates for its customers.

Global Shop provides comprehensive EPR systems to small- and medium-sized manufacturers. It helps those manufacturers automate their entire business from the initial quoting of a project to cash collections and everything in between. The primary benefits to customers are increased productivity and profitability, along with improved customer deliveries. But most customers would say that Global Shop has taken their business from chaos to order and given them tight controls.

Global Shop has emerged as the market leader in its category by focusing with laser-like precision on delivering the basic value proposition of “best total solution.” In fact, it is executing the business strategy of customer intimacy as well as any company I have worked with. As a result, Global Shop now has more than 1,000 installed customers and has grown at a sustained annual rate in excess of 25% for the past several years.

Differentiation Through Training

When prospective customers build a short list of possible vendors in the ERP software space, they quickly see that Global Shop offers the best total solution. This makes a huge difference because the ERP space is littered with failed attempts and implementation failures. Automating every aspect of a manufacturing business is a daunting task, yet Global Shop enables companies to achieve success where most have failed in the past.

How does Global Shop offer a better solution?

For starters, the company’s training resources go far beyond the industry standard, and their customers know it. Not only does Global Shop excel at every point of touch, they also offer a variety of training options that allow customers to quickly build and maintain their software skills in a manner that fits each company’s unique needs.

Each week, the company holds training classes in Houston, where implementation teams immerse themselves in the requirements for successful implementation. Customers can send as many people as they want, as many times as they want — for free. Everything is included in the upfront cost of the software and the minimal annual licensing fee. The company also offers the best Web-based training in its category.

But what really differentiates Global Shop’s training is that many of their onsite training consultants are former customers who not only have a deep understanding of the software, they also intimately understand the inner workings of small manufacturers. They know the best practices of Global Shop’s diverse customer base, and can often make dozens of high impact, high leverage recommendations that lead to immediate improvements in the customer’s business.

Global Shop also has a unique way of keeping its software up-to-date. Every time the firm does a customization for a customer, that same customization is available to the entire customer base at the next upgrade — again at no extra cost. As a result, Global Shop customers know that every upgrade will contain the improvements they need to keep their ERP system at the cutting edge for the next 10 to 15 years.

Compelling Brand Personality

From a branding perspective, what impresses me most about Global Shop is its execution and presentation of its brand personality. A brand personality is the human characteristics we associate with a brand. It’s where we make the all-important emotional connection. It’s often the personality we identify with or the personality we aspire to. Global Shop’s execution of its brand personality would make most consumer brands envious, and it is proves critical in closing the sale.

Most of Global Shop’s customers think and act like small, owner-operated businesses, even those that have several hundred employees and an international customer base. Many are family owned businesses. These businesses typically operate under intense competition, with most feeling the pressure from offshore competitors. And despite their small size, these companies are complex operations that require heavy capital investment and expensive engineering talent and skilled labor on the shop floor.

I would characterize Global Shop’s brand personality as “sincere” because it presents itself as a financially strong, family owned business. Global Shop emphasizes the fact that it has been in business for three decades, and makes it very clear that it has no interest in selling out to a larger software company, as so many of its competitors have. Global Shop also makes customers aware that second-generation family members are being groomed to take over the company, and that all of the software code is developed inside the U.S. rather than offshore.

Global Shop has created a compelling brand personality that exerts a magnetic pull on potential and existing customers. Prospects and customers immediately conclude that Global Shop is “like me,” which leads to instant chemistry and a feeling of trust. One definition of trust is “the feeling of you being on my side.” Global Shop conveys this feeling from the moment you first meet them.

All of which adds up to a powerful software company with a powerful brand. I think their customers would certainly agree — Global Shop is the best small software company in the U.S.

Get your free whitepaper: The 10 Biggest Technology Marketing Mistakes… and How to Avoid Them

Rod Whitson serves Townsend as President and Chief Brand Strategist. Townsend is expert at helping organizations with innovative products and services develop differentiated, compelling value propositions. Townsend is the largest integrated marketing agency in Southern California. Rod has personally led recent branding engagements with Intel, BAE Systems, Merck, DowPharma, Marsh & McLennan, and the University of California system. He has also worked with a host of successful and not so successful early stage technology and life sciences companies. Since Townsend’s founding in 1993, it has helped clients create market valuation in excess of $80 billion.

Visit Rod’s blog, Branding the Complex

© 2006 Rod Whitson - All Rights Reserved Worldwide

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