My Blurb book is here!

I have been anxiously awaiting the arrival of my first Blurb book! Here it is! This is my latest attempt at anti-scrapbooking. Just because I'm not crafty doesn't mean my kids shouldn't have a record of their lives. The digital scrapbooking thing was an option but it just didn't grab me. Then I heard about these Blurb books. There are several different companies that offer similar products but after doing some research I found that Blurb used the best printing process (the same one that is used for "real" coffee table books and such). I thought this might be the answer for me. I can lay out a book, write as little or as much as I want and have a neat way of preserving and showing our photos. I decided to do a test run with a book for Ford. It is a 7x7 hardcover. It has a nice glossy bookjacket cover and I was able to put the title on the spine. I think the cover turned out great. I did the book as kind of a journal from me to Ford about the day of his birth and the first few months of his life. I was able to chronicle in detail the emotions that I felt when he was born and joined our family. Other pages I put scripture that I hope will inspire him. I wrote about why we chose his name and wrote about our hopes and dreams for him. It's not artsy in the sense of embelishments and crafty factor but it does have a very modern artsy feel to it.

I love the full bleed photos. There were tons of templates to choose from so I just played around with it. I think the overall quality of the book is excellent. There are a couple photos that turned out a little dark or "off" just slightly. If I was a photographer trying to use Blurb to make photo books to sell I would be a little concerned but for my purposes it's not a big deal.

I am overall really happy considering this 42 page book cost about $26 plus shipping. I figure I could easily spend that with photo printing and all those scrapbooking supplies to make a comparable scrapbook. Besides I do everything from the computer so I don't have to worry about storing all those supplies. We don't have room for a scrapbooking station (or room!) like some of my friends so this seems to fit into our home and lifestyle a little better. And I can take it on the road! I did this one as a personal book for Ford but if I did a less personal book I could just print additonal copies and have them sent to family (hint . . . Christmas). I am thinking about making a version for Claire with pictures of family and some of her favorite places and things. I thought we could make a project out of going around and taking pictures of things she likes - friends, the park, dogs, firetrucks, her dolls, etc. then making her very own book for her! I know she would love to read it and look at the pictures that she helped create!

I'm going to try to go back and make a similar journal book for Claire and then start from now and try to keep up with everything from this point on. I can just make a few pages at a time and keep adding to it then I can print a big book at the end of the year! One of the really cool options that Blurb offers is a BLOG BOOK! How cool is that - you can turn your blog into a little (or big) book. Some of the blogs I read are simply amazing chronicles of different journeys and lives. They would make amazing books. I am definitely planning on turning ours into a book because it's turned into a wonderful way to capture those little day to day memories that I know would eventually be forgotten.

So for all of you non-scrapbookers (there have to be some out there somewhere!) here is a good option! I feel a little bit better now that I'm pretty sure I won't have to hand my kids a shoebox full of pictures and CDs when they leave the nest!