Need Help with Photo Book Ideas

Hi A.,

Here is a website with scrapbooking ideas: http://www.bigpicturescrapbooking.com/free.php

Also, I'm a working mom, so don't really have time to manually put together a scrap book. So, with all the pictures I take, I just upload them to www.shutterfly.com and use there albums option to electronically put together a scrap book. There are many layouts you can choose from and I usually choose quotes from the first link above and insert them into the album. After everything is done, you can put in the order and if other family members want one you can even order more for them. It's a great site! Check it out.

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Shutterfly.com! You can upload your photos in a flash and set up designs and create good quality photo books. Plus you can use it to make calendars for family!

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the best easiest way, is to do it online... digitally via a photobook maker from a website you like.

I have used, Costco to make mine and it came out FABULOUS.
Just go to www.costco.com then click on the "photo" department link, then you will see something called "My Publisher" and click on it and this is where you can make and order photo books. (they have a sale on them now).
It's real easy and it comes out really great and everyone was real impressed by it. YOu can customize it and put captions on it too.

But you have to be a Costco member.

Good luck,
Susan

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I have just one scrap book that I actually started before my daughter was born. It includes pages on how my husband and I met, our first place together etc. and then some pics during pregnancy, all of our daughter's first (xmas, hanukah, easter etc.) You can just add pages to it, so I plan on adding more and more pages and it can document our lives. I realize eventually I will run out space or time, but I'm thinking there will be some kind of natural break when that occurs.

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I agree with the others, a digital photo book is SO much easier. Unless you really enjoy the actual scrapbooking of it all, which from the sound of it, you are going to be pretty busy as time goes on so it might not be as easy for you to complete the books that way. If you have already completed some pages you can always scan them and turn those into pages within your digital book. Then digitally you can upload all the pics and make them into a nice photo book. The great thing about the digital scrapbook is it's MUCH thinner than an actual scrapbook so putting it on a shelf or wherever won't take up half as much space as a traditional scrapbook. I've been working on putting all my photo albums into digital books to eliminate the excess space that the old albums take up, plus the preservation is much better in the digital book than the actual pictures which tend to fade as time goes on.

I use www.shutterfly.com and www.snapfish.com. Depending on what deals each site has for purchasing items. I get their emails so when a sale comes out I get updated and if I need to purchase something I go with the company that has the best deal.

Another site that I have recently been using because of how extremely CHEAP their prices are when you wait for their deals is Arts Cow at http://www.artscow.com/?Ref=453986 . The only downside is they are based out of Hong Kong so the shipping time is a bit longer than the other two I had listed above, however you can't beat some of the prices and deals they have, I get emails from them and just wait for their deals because almost always they have a great price AND free shipping. Plus if you aren't in any hurry, waiting for the good deals is a great cost saver. And if you sign up they give you a bunch of bonuses for signing up like 1200 free prints credits & 3 8"x8" photo books & quite a few other freebies.

Hope that helps...

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I'm a Creative Memories consultant and would LOVE to help you!!! I'm in Aliso Viejo and have workshops which I think are huge helps in getting albums done, but I also think you should look into doing digital books. They are so simple!!!

If you want, you can go to my website and download the software for free...It's www.mycmsite.com/meredithdrews. Go under shopping for products, digital and look for Storybook Creator. The Plus version is a little more fancy and has a cost, but the basic one is free. It's super easy!

We also just got new baby stuff which I love. Let me know if I can help you with anything. My workshop schedule is also on the website!

Good luck!
-M.
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I have found mypublisher.com to be the best for me. I find it more user friendly and with faster uploading of pictures than the others. The books turn out beautiful! G.

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Creative memories also has an online version of a scrapbook, but I personally like the hands on kind where you get to put the pictures on the pages. I'm old-fashioned. I think that once you get passed doing your current book and then a first year book for the other little girl you can do a joint book for the two of them.

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Do you use a digital camera? Since my first daugther's birth, we have been using a service, Kodakgallery.com. There are others, like Shutterfly and probably more. You can load your pix onto their webiste and send an email to the people that you want to view your virtual album. Then they can order hard copies of their favorites, and so can you. Since we always send the best photos through this service, the Kodak webite has a record of all of our good shots. They also have pretty easy ways to make photo books, which are hard bound and a real book. You also can make tons of other stuff like calendars, Christmas ornaments, etc. The best part is, all this stuff continues to be kept on their website as long as you buy $20 worth of stuff from them per year (this is unfortunately a new policy). It works for us. My daugher is 7 and just last year I created albums for the first six years of her life. It works for me!

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Hi A.!! :D

I create my scrapbook pages digitally in Photoshop!! I LOVE IT!! I used to be a big scrapbooker but with kids in the house and all the stuff I have to do, cleaning up the mess and keeping up with the supplies just got to be too much... SO, now I have all my scrapbooking stuff on my computer which is where my pictures are anyway, since I'm using a digital camera!! :D I make my pages from scratch, so I don't use a lot of the build your pages online companies, but I can put in a good word for Artscow, which is awesome!! :D I use them to print all the time!! :D

There's a TON of digital scrapbooking sites out there, but my favorites are www.DesignsInDigital.com, www.DigitalCandy.us, and www.digishoptalk.com !! :D I'm ssdsarah or AliSarah at these sites!! :D Also, a lot of places have quickpages, which you pop your pictures into and write your stories on... There are some really stunning quickpages out there that will help you create an album super fast!!

Digital Scrapbooking is faster, cleaner, and just as beautiful as traditional scrapping! :D

Huggles!!
~S.~

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Hi A.,

I too did a scrapbook with my first and it took awhile to finish. I now have a 4 month old and haven't even started his. I do plan on doing a first year scrapbook for him...just don't know when I will start it- LOL! Anyway, I love Shutterfly (as many have said). I do the photo books for vacations, milestones, etc for the kids. I also do one at the end of the year as a "year in review" of family pictures. Since I love scrapbooking, I started 1 album for Christmas, 1 for Halloween and 1 for birthdays. I only do about 2-4 pages per year for the kids that way you can get it done fast. It is fun to add pictures every year and see how the kids have grown. Just some ideas :). And congrats on the baby on the way!

A.

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Hi
Check out www.heritagemakers.com
My friend is a consultant and can help you make the book, or make it for you. It is all online so you can do it at anytime, without having to haul out all the scrapbooking supplies. Let me know if you want her contact info
Good luck

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I just ordered a photo book through Shutterfly. It took some time to pick out the pictures but you can choose the album cover, background paper, photo mats and font. It was 20 pages which gave me 40 pages to use. It only cost $10.40 with a 20% off special for Mothers Day.

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I feel the same way!! But if you enjoy scrapbooking there is no reason to stop. I love it.So what I have decided to do is make my kids a lovely one for their first year and then just keep it up with MAJOR events or firsts. Birthdays, first day of school, whatever. And then I am making a family one with all of us. That way it isn't as overwhelming. The key though is to continue to upload your digital pics and get them ordered so you will have them ready. (I hadn't done it for 3 years and just ordered 800+ pics from costco last week!!!) Just an Idea if you dont want to give up your hobby.

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i just finished my 4.5 yr olds 1st yr scrap book a couple months ago, so i totally understand you. i also have to older kids and scrap booking wasnt a thought for me then. i am now starting my 15 yr olds small 1st yr book and then will do my 13 yr olds. it is never too late if it is something you want to do. i plan to try to keep up with my lil one as she starts school and just try to do the major things each yr.

i would suggest to keep the pictures organized. if you print them get one of those photo boxes. also if you want to do the actually scrap booking and not the digital books you can buy pages that are practically done and you just have to plug in the pictures and do the journaling. they look really nice.

good luck and dont be too hard on yourself. if its something you want to do just try to make a little time for yourself. i think its worth it for the kids.

No advice--#1 has a baby book photo album sorta 1/2 way done. #2 has a book w/ about a page and an album that has never been cracked. and #3 has neither. So, I had to laugh! at myself. I had totally forgotten all about that...

Hi A., It sounds like you enjoy doing scrapbooking, but doing two would be too much. Here's an idea.... how about alternating pages, one- strongly first child (with baby in some) and visa-sersa on the next page, this way when they are older you can separate the book(s) by whomever is the "featured child" for that page. This will in the end give them each a book that is mainly thier life book that also has pictures of their sibling(s). You can continue this even with a growing family if that should happen, and you won't wear yourself out and quit all together, but still be able to enjoy having done the book yourself.

Don't be too hard on yourself to make the "perfect" scrapbook. I don't do scrapbooking because it's so time consuming, etc. But I do take many photos, and about once a year, I get together several photos of my two children and put them in a photo album. Other items, their schoolwork, things to save other than photos, I just put them in a box, and every once in a while we get out the box and look at their things, and they get a kick out of that. One time I was about 5 years behind on their photo albums, but I finally got motivated and got together a bunch of pics and put them in albums. The rest I keep in shoeboxes, divided by tabs for each year.

I am in the same boat... but I'm not pregnant with #2 yet... Anyhow - I have done several digital books through Creative Memories and Shutterfly and Costco. Creative Memories has the best quality, Shutterfly is the cheapest because they are always mailing coupons and Costco is best for color printing on the pages.

I love the craft of scrapbooking so I am still plugging along - I'll get to Christmas 2007 some time this month! I know all the pictures I love have been used and are stored forever in the photo books. Each vacation has gotten its own photo book and year in review recap for each year of Isaac's life. I think it is a good balance. Good luck!

Hi A.,
For my boys I did a baby book for each of them, (the ready made kind which is mostly writing and some pictures here and there) then, I bought a nice Archival Photo album for each of them, and as they grow I buy a 5x7 of them each year, if the school picture is good I use that one, if not I have one made at Walmart or something, and they each have a photo album where one two page spread is a year (starting at birth). One side has the 5x7 face shot, and the other is for snapshots of highlights of the year. That way, you only have the two pages to do scrap book pages of, and if you get behind, it doesn't take that long to get caught up. I plan to give them their photo scrapbook albums on their 21st birthday. (so I also order a 5x7 for me to keep) There is a little room to do some scrapbooking around the big picture, and more on the snapshot side, but it is not too much work. Some years, like the time my son went to Space Camp, I might use the group picture from that for the big side instead of the 5x7. I have family albums for me, but I haven't done the whole scapbook thing with them. Maybe I will when I am old and have a lot of time on my hands. Good luck, B.

Check out my web-site -
www.yourtreasuresinprint.com
I would be happy to help you put it all together digitally. We even have 12x12 pages and books. So, we could scan what you already have done and be that much more ahead of the game for your new digital scrapbook. And, we have more than 30,000 pieces of artwork to choose from.
I look forward to hearing from you (number on my site).