We all have them precious photos stashed away in boxes and on shelves of dark rooms never too be seen or enjoyed. Pictures make fantastic
Christmas gifts but let’s face it, there is only so much wall space to frame and
hang pictures. Consider starting your own library of picture books, for
yourself or for your family and friends. Pull those fabulous memories into the light of day and share them again in a photo book. Photo books make great gifts all year round and
a perfect way to preserve your family history for years to come.
Rather than rush out to the Black Friday Sales, might I suggest another option. Instead of fighting the crowds, consider sitting home in front a
lovely fire, your favourite hot drink of choice, a Christmas movie and two
things, a Flip-Pal Mobile Scanner and the bookmaking software from Blurb.
Here's how you can make a book over the weekend and save money. Follow my 3-day plan below and if you're an over-achiever and you order it by Saturday night you can Save 30% on Blurb's Print Books with code: SAVE30 if your order is over $60. If you're making one book to distribute to several friends and family this won't be hard to do. However if you
have a busy weekend ahead, and need to take a few more days order it by Dec 8th and get 25% off purchases of $50.00 or more.
Day 1 – Sort through
your pictures and decide on the theme for your book. I gathered a few ideas to get you started but don’t limit yourself to my list, I’m sure you have a few brilliant ideas
of your own. Feel free to share them in
the comments below.
Ideas for Theme Books
- An ancestor book, grandparents, great-grandparents etc.
- A photo book about a favourite pet, or collection of pictures of various pets through the years.
- Pictures from your garden, or if you're a budding photographer, a photo book of some pictures you took this year.
- For your kids – sports, dancing, any activities you’ve captured over the years. A baby book even if she's 22 years old now, schools photos, the list is endless.
- Family books - highlights from 2014, Christmas over the years, vacations.
The themes are limited only by your imagination. Now that
you've got the idea of all the wonderful ways you can create a unique photo book for gift giving. Grab your Flip-Pal Mobile scanner, turn on your favourite Christmas movie and
scan away. Keep in mind the bigger the
book the more expensive it becomes. Most Blurb books allow your first 20 pages
for the base price which ranges from $12.99 to $76.49 depending on the size of book, your
choice of paper and cover. Twenty pages is a nice size for a Christmas gift and easy to create over the weekend.
Of course, you aren’t limited to one picture per page there are plenty of
layout options.
Grab the SD card in the Flip-pal and plug it into your
computer and download the pictures to your computer. Now head on over to
Blurb and download BookSmart, their bookmaking software. It’s free and
takes only 2 minutes. Upload your photos into the BookSmart program. Blurb even
allows you to use your Facebook and Instagram pictures. You are now ready to
begin creating your book. Now if you still have plenty of time left in the day , feel
free to carry on otherwise on Day 2 you'll start creating your book. Blurb has an easy tutorial to help you get started but seriously very easy to do even without the tutorial.
Day 2 – Today is all about making a beautiful book
It’s easy, just drag and drop your photos into your book with
the BookSmart software. Really that’s it. You can add some text if you like or just let the pictures speak for themselves. Once you have all your pictures in and you think you’re pretty
happy with it, put it away for the night or have a family member take a peek at
it get their advice. Come back to it on Day 3 with fresh eyes.
Day 3 – Finishing Touches
Revisit your book with fresh eyes make any changes and adjustments to improve on it. With fonts, themes backgrounds and layouts you can enhance your pictures with a variety of options. Once you're satisfied with
it go ahead and order it today. It will arrive in plenty of time for Christmas. You
will really love the professional look of your book from Blurb!
(This post contains affiliate links. Which means I will receive a small commission if you make a purchase through my links above)
