Memory books preserve a lifetime of sentiments

"Everyone has a story," says Barbara Schloss, who encourages people to remember and pass them on in stitched, printed books.

Schloss, of Walden Lake, is an independent publishing consultant for Utah-based Heritage Makers storybooks. She made scrapbooks as a child. Now she creates memory books and helps others do so - with no paper, no paste and no mess - at www.mystoryinpictures
.com.

Uploaded photographs and individuals' books are stored indefinitely at the Heritage Makers website, and the books may be purchased anytime. Online preview copies can be e-mailed to friends and family.

And if someone damages their purchased copy, it can be reprinted and replaced for half price.

"That's not possible when you spill coffee on a scrapbook," Schloss said.

People may use provided templates and pieces of art or design customized pages to create books of various sizes.

Schloss made her first book, about her husband's great-grandfather, Herman, six months ago, about the same time she became a Heritage Makers consultant.

"No one knew about my husband's great-grandfather," she said. "I researched and learned he was a music teacher and music publisher. He had brothers no one knew about. I wrote it sort of as a story but also a chronology, feeling it was important to get the story down in a format my sons, Stephen and Bobby, would keep."

She had no photos of great-grandfather Herman, so she scanned his marriage certificate, other documents and sheet music and included those photos in the book.

"Seeing the books for the first time can be a very emotional experience," she said. "By using both text and photographs, the books can tell anything from a love story to a life story. Tributes to grandparents, a child's sport, a special vacation or a baby book are just a few of the infinite possibilities."

Schloss thinks the best thing about Heritage Makers is the personal touch.

"We normally start with a workshop of six to eight people at someone's house," she said. "We encourage people to preserve the memories. Just getting people together to talk about the stories they want to tell helps them get started."

For those who don't know where to begin, Heritage Makers has outlines and questions that guide them through the story-writing process.

Greeting cards, calendars and playing cards also can be custom-designed on the site, and discounts are available for multiple-product bundles.

Throughout the creation process, Schloss is available to help.

For information, contact Schloss at (813) 719-6937, barbara@
mystoryinpictures.com or www.mystoryinpictures
.com.