5 Tips For Creating Photo Books

Seeing our photos printed and in some type of book just makes me so happy! I love a good novel, but some days, our photo books and mini albums are my book of choice. I love reminiscing with the kids and talking about all the things that we've done together. And it always amazes me that there is always a moment or memory that has slipped my mind. I'm so thankful for photos and the ability to relive our days!

January Photo Book: Pinhole Press

I am so excited to share a look at my January photo album today! I love everything photo related and seeing our memories printed out in a bound book makes my heart go pitter-patter.  If you have been following along with me, you probably know that last year, I created a

different mini album for every month of the year.

For 2016, my plan is to take a similar, but easier approach and create a bound album for every month of the year

.  Taking photos and recording our days is so important to me, and without having a "plan", I most likely would only print a handful of photos throughout the year.  Creating monthly albums holds me accountable for getting my photos off of my computer and phone and into an album we can all enjoy now and for years to come.

For January, I decided to use a company I haven't used before and went with a 8x8 Lay Flat Album from

Pinhole Press

.  I found the uploading and "building" part of the album to be very user friendly and very easy.  All in all, it took me about two hours to complete my album (I did half of the book about mid-January and then the remaining part at the end of January).  I also love that the lay flat album allows for double spread photos, so I was very excited about the option of doing large photo spreads throughout the book.  Pinhole Press offers a variety of page layouts, as well as the option to add text and stories to your album.  I'm not the best at adding in journaling, so having the ability to include a caption, note or story during the "building" process was a win-win for me!

I finished my album on the 31st of January and as soon as I hit "buy", a few "I wish I would have...." thoughts came flying into my head (I HATE when that happens!).  One of the things I wish I would have done would be to include a collage at the end of the book of our random "phone" photos. I spent a lot of January using my DSLR, so I didn't have too many photos on my phone from this month, but I'm sure I could have created an ending collage of our memories.  I also wish I would have added some type of conclusion or ending to the book - maybe a sentence or two about my project or process, a quote, etc...  And kind of on a similar note, I'm hoping to add more photos of myself and my husband in our future albums! Next month, right???

And because I love making videos and think seeing it "in action" is better than just still photos, below is a quick flip through of my album with some of my thoughts and suggestions for using Pinhole Press! Enjoy!

Have you ever created an album using Pinhole Press?? I definitely recommend checking them out and creating your own Lay Flat Album!  Thanks so much for stopping by today!!

xoxo

Project 52: 7/52




"A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2016."

Anna: this sweet girl is always looking at or reading something... Canon 6D, 50mm, f1.4 ISO 250
Drew: that smile, though... Canon 6D, 35mm, f1.4, ISO 160


My Month in Photos - January Planner


Hey hey!!
I have another fun video to share with you today! In this video, I walk you through how I'm using my Get To Work Book as a photo/thankful journal (and I pink swear that I'm not doing just planner videos)!!. I use my GTWB for most of my creative planning - blog, videos, classes, ideas, inspiration, etc.  I like to keep these ideas separate from my "home" planner because sometimes it just feels too overwhelming to have everything in one. This planner pretty much just stays in my studio and I use it for reference, ideas and more!  But, I didn't want the calendar pages from this book going unused, so I decided to mix things up a little and use it as a photo journal/thankful book! Check out the video below to see how easy it is to use your planner for simple memory keeping! And be sure to subscribe because I have tons more videos coming up soon!


So go print some photos and fill in your empty calendar pages! You'll love the finished result and it will be so fun to look back on throughout the year!!
xoxo

It's hip to be square


If there's one thing I learned about Project Life, it was to mix things up and change things around. Today, I thought I would share one of my very favorite Project Life spreads in hopes to inspire you with your album this year! If you haven't tried out a square-sized pocket page yet (meaning the pockets are all uniform and squared), I highly recommend picking up a pack or even making your own using either your sewing machine or fuse tool!


There is something so fun about square photos and journaling cards. And since most of my images are square now a days thanks to Instagram, printing off photos is super easy! 

For this spread, I started by printing about 12-14 images. I knew I wanted to use a few journaling cards and filler cards in the pockets, so I didn't need a photo for every pocket.


I started by slipping my photos into the pockets, leaving a few spaces for trimmed journaling cards.  I tried to balance the photos on each side of the page and make sure the journaling cards were spaced among the photos. 

For the middle pocket of this page, I trimmed down a journaling card to more of a rectangle and then stapled it into place in the pocket. I like to have a little bit of transparency and see-through in my albums and using cards/photos smaller than the actual pocket is an easy way to achieve that effect. Stapling it to the pocket keeps it from moving around and possibly slipping out!


I kept my embellishments rather simple and let the photos speak for themselves. My motto is definitely less is more right now.


Have you ever tried out a square pocket for your Project Life album? Go give it a shot! If you love Instagram or collages like me, I bet you will love your new pretty page!

Project 52: 5/52


"A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2016."

Anna: a quick look up from reading. This girl has my heart. Canon 6D, 35mm, f3.2, ISO 1250
Drew: looks like someone got into the powdered sugar cookies. Canon 6D, 35mm, f2.2, ISO 3200

A Recap: My 2015 Project Life Book Project


Oh man that's a lot of books!!  Will you just look at all of those memories?
I can't believe that this project is done and finished. Each album really was a labor of love, but looking back through all of the memories and stories recorded, there's not ONE thing I would change about the process.  I loved being able to try something new every month. It kept this year-long project doable and fun. Printing still is my nemesis, but having these photos off of my camera is pure happiness.  

If you're thinking about tackling a project similar to this, here are some things I learned this past year!

1. Always start with an album size. There were many months where I really struggled and went back and forth on an album size. If I would have just picked one and moved forward, it would have saved me so much time.  So pick your album size, run with it and don't look back! You always have next month to change things up!

2. Print your photos first. As soon as I selected my album size, I started printing my photos. I typically printed mine altogether towards the end of the month (or the beginning of the next month). I found it much easier to batch print, than to try to print throughout the month.  As far as photo size was concerned, I always printed a variety, but made sure my largest photo was the size of my album (6x8, 4x6, 4x4, etc....).  The double spread photos were usually printed last after I started putting my album together.

3. Don't overthink your book or your pages. Seriously. I can't stress this enough (and I'm totally guilty of this and am mainly talking to myself here, lol). When it's all said and done, that one page you spent so much time worrying about, or thinking about, will just be a page in an awesome book you put together.  So don't overthink the process. Just do it!

4. Cut down your ephemera. I trimmed all of my cards, artwork, programs, etc.. to whatever sized album I was using for the month. Remember, it's better to cut it down and put it in an album than to "save" it for another day (which likely means it will never make an appearance again).

5. Repeat your favorite size!  If you are trying to do a new book every month, then you will mostly likely repeat a size. That's totally fine!!  The 4x4 (and 6x6) size was by far my favorite and it made it's appearance three times last year. This size was very easy to work with and was very simple to put together. This size definitely took out a lot of the guesswork when it comes to what to put where/what to put in a pocket etc...  Find what works for you and go for it! There are definitely no rules with this project!

6. Shop your stash. I moved through so many products last year and I am SO grateful for that! I am the world's worst hoarder, so it was tempting to hold onto stuff at times, but I am so thankful that I made myself use it! I actually appreciate the card/album/paper more seeing it used rather than sitting in my stash! 

And if you are BORED out of your mind and want to listen to me for two hours, well, here ya go! All 12 videos for your viewing pleasure! ;)  Thank you to everyone who followed along with this fun adventure! The process was fantastic, but having these completed albums is truly the icing on the cake!!  

My December Daily 2015


Hello!!  Today, I thought I would share a look at the rest of my December Daily/Project Life album! This is the FINAL book in my 2015 Project Life series and I really can't believe that this project is over. Each album is truly a treasured keepsake... And just looking back through all of our photos, I am just SO shocked at how quickly my kids have grown and changed.  The days may seem long, but wow, the years are short! 

For December, I decided to combine my book to include both our daily activities, as well as our Christmas events.  The beginning of the album is more "day-to-day" stuff, and the end of the album is more Christmas-y stuff (which is basically how our month went). 

I used a 4x4 album that I had in my stash and I just LOVE this size. I know I've said it a zillion times before, but if you are on the fence about wanting to create a mini album, this size is the perfect size! Promise!  I kept the pages super simple and easy, and as you will see in the walk-through video and photos below, repetition is the key to finishing!  

I've shared pages 5-14 in another blog post, but below is a walk-through video of the entire album (excluding days 1-4 which were part of the 25 Days class at Studio Calico)!  Enjoy!!

Have I mentioned I really love this size??? :)
Thank you SO much for following along with me this past year! 2015 is fully recorded and really is such peace of mind knowing that my photos are OFF of my phone and computer!  Tomorrow, I'll be back to share with you some of the things I learned this year. If you have any burning questions, just leave me a comment here and I'll be sure to answer them tomorrow!! Yay!






Memory Keeping Made Easy


My plan for 2016 is simple and easy memory keeping. I know I want to document our days in some way, and I think I'm at the point where I mentally want it to be easy. I loved each of my Project Life books from last year and each and every one tells a different story about a different month. They are SO fun to look back on and time and energy I put into them was so worth it.  But for this year, I really want to focus on photography, so instead of just tossing memory keeping aside altogether, I've planned to incorporate some easier and simpler means for memory keeping.

One of my main projects for this year is to record ONE story per month using Ali Edwards' Story Kits. I am a BIG fan of kits and limited supplies.  The "collector" (i.e. hoarder) in me loves to grab all the new products and hot items, but I know when it comes to actually using them, I often feel overwhelmed and exhausted with all this "stuff".  Narrowing down the products I want to use helps me tremendously when it comes to creating; and Ali's Story Kits are just such a great foundation for telling a story.

I'll be using a 6x8 album and a variety of page protectors (mostly likely the 6x8 size). Each month, my plan is to pick one story, or tell one "overall" story of our month.  I will most definitely be using lots of photo collages because I love how they alone can tell the story of our month.  Other months, I'll stick to one story, or maybe write a letter or something.  And if I feel I have more than one story to tell, while then, I'll create extra pages.  The goal here, though, is not worry about which story I tell or which story gets left out, but to get my thoughts and our memories down on paper.  I am a firm believer that there is no right or wrong way when it comes to memory keeping. 


This is a look at December in my album. We took a trip to the mountains right at the end of December (after my December Daily album officially ended), so I decided to start with this story. To the left, I used Picmonkey to create a simple collage and then typed up my journaling on a piece of 6x8 card stock for the right hand side. So so easy.


For the first part of January, I wanted to talk a little about our "right now", our goals, etc...  I did this page right at the beginning of the month, so I'm actually thinking about doing an additional "collage-type" page at the end. Or maybe not...we shall see!


This process is SO simple and SO easy, and if you've been on the fence about memory keeping, or journaling, I couldn't recommend this approach more.  You really only need limited supplies and your photos - and you could use any supplies here, old or new! Remember, it's not about how many pages you make, or how many memories you record.  It's about living your life and recording those moments you want to record!  Whatever you do, I promise you will never regret getting your photos off of your camera and writing down details of your days. 

Happy Monday, friends!