Monday, May 18, 2009

Creating a piece of art

Let me just start by saying that I love the quick photo sharing options you have these days through smilebox, snapfish and Kodak, etc. But people probably look at the photos once and then they get deleted or stored on your computer where they may never be looked at again.
So, I had the great idea to make a 'real' photo book capturing each adventurous year together with my better half.
Well, before I started the creation of my special memory keepsake I did a ton of research on the best price offers, best designs, most user friendly website and I ended up using photoworks.
I am very happy with the results and also with the entire process of uploading my photos and being able to organize them. Since I am definitely not a technology wizzard, I was very impressed with their user interface and it left a positive impression in a way that I would definitely recommend them further and also use them again for future projects. Photoworks has very reasonable prices for their photobooks compared to other websites. They have a great range of different sizes and nice choices of designs which is very important to me.
In conclusion I can safely say that creating my own photo book and keeping my memories alive through photographs is very time consuming, takes a ton of creativity and makes you question yourself every minute along the way:
what do I write as a comment to this picture?
will the recipient of the book like it if I chose this photo instead of that one?
should I use a lot of photos per page or maybe just one or two?

Yes, all those are questions of personal preference but in the end it matters what you like.

The photo book was a piece of work, but now it is a piece of art!

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Wow, how scrapbooking has evolved!

These days it is so simple to create that perfect memory for your family or just for yourself. For traditional scrapbooking there is an abundance of scrapbooking materials and plenty of options to make this memory photo album or scrapbook special. You can also go online and have your book printed or just share it with all your friends and relatives via email. All you have to do is take the time to collect all your photos, think about matching colors and layouts and voila you are ready to design and create that special keepsake of your favorite photos for your favorite relatives and friends.

These days there are basically three options for you to create your special memory:

1) Build a traditional scrapbook from scratch
2) Build it online
3) Have someone make it for you

1) You can build your own photo memory book from scratch. Stores such as Michaels and Joann Fabrics offer all the materials you can imagine for your own personal scrapbook.
2) Online scrapbooking and creating photo books is a great option for everyone who loves digital photographs and likes to share them. Companies such as www.snapfish.com, www.picaboo.com, www.smilebox.com, www.shutterfly.com, www.blurb.com and www.photoworks.com just to name a few; let you upload your favorite photos, pick any design and let you share your final product with friends and family via e mail or a printed version.
3) Let’s be realistic; we work all day, take care of our families and maybe if there is some free time we try getting together with friends and family over the weekend. There really is not much time left to sit down and create a photo album.

The proof is in the pudding. Just a few days ago I learned that 87% of people who start an online scrapbook/ photo book do not ever finish it.

WOW! What a shame! Now, they won’t be able to give a gift that will last a lifetime.

Whether you make a traditional scrapbook from scratch, do-it-yourself online or have someone put the book together for you – it always comes from the heart and means the world to everyone touched by it.