Photo Books: An Annual Tradition

I remember when scrapbooking was all the rage. Creative Memories was the thing to do. I’m pretty sure it still is. Maybe. Honestly, I have no idea. I’m not the scrapbooking type. Back then, the problem was, I had a brand new baby and I was way overwhelmed with life in general. While I felt strongly about documenting memories, spending the time and money to make those monstrous books never appealed to me.

Other friends told me about digital scrapbooking. You create the pages on your computer and then print them out and slide them into your book. There were a million and one embellishment packages that you could purchase and that seemed just as unappealing as the other option. For the record, me and Photoshop don’t get along. I’m more of a Picasa kind of girl. It’s that whole ‘Google freak’ thing.

Then, I found Shutterfly. Technically, I had been uploading and printing my photos with them for a while but I discovered Photo Books. OMG… so perfect for me!!!

1) Select a theme.
2) Drag photos in.
3) Put captions (or not).
4) Done!

I have made one book per year for 7 years now. Back in the day I saved up my Pampers Points to earn free photo books. Now, I’ve learned that if you wait until about February or March they will send out a code for a FREE book. My goal is always to have my book completed by the first week in January and then I just leave it sitting in my cart until a code lands in my email box. This week the code finally arrived (STORYTIME – exp 3/25/14).

I’ve always ordered the 8×8 hardback size and have been really pleased with the quality. I’ve never had a problem cramming a year into the 20 pages that are included (you can also add more). I can’t wait to add my 2013 book to my collection! Here’s a sneak peek.