Do you take hundreds (or for some, thousands) of pictures when you are on vacation? And what are you supposed to do with all those photos? So much time can be spent organizing, tagging, and if you are lucky, editing. … Continue reading
Last December I made a December Daily photobook for my kids where each page represented a Christmas tradition, decoration, or favorite moment every day between December 1-25. I loved the idea of having them remember what Christmas was like when they were too young to remember for themselves.
This summer I am creating the same kind of photobook for all of our summer adventures, but instead of daily it documents the summer by week. I am making this one more for me than for Casey and Robyn because I want to remember all the great places I have been with them, the people we have visited, and the fun that we had together. Our favorite places to go are the spray park, Fort Edmonton Park, The Valley Zoo, Grandpa’s to raid the raspberries and peas, the backyard kiddie pool, and anywhere that has ice cream! What are your favorite places to go with the kids in the summer?
Here is a peak at a few pages from the album that will document summer life from May 1 to the end of September 2012. I hope you are enjoying your summer and are taking lots of pictures to document your summer fun!
Leah
Elements from Retrospective by One Little Bird Designs and Stampin’ Up.
My favorite pages in my family albums are the ones that I have done about the crazy, weird, and funny things my kids say. I know I won’t remember these phrases in a couple of years, so I try to write them down every six months and incorporate them into my scrapbook page.
Even if you don’t scrapbook or keep your family albums up-to-date, I encourage you to at least write down the silly things they say because one day soon you will be thankful that you did.
Leah
More samples from Two Thousand and Twelve album here.
After Jason and I were married in November 2006 (which was a very, very cold and snowy winter day) I went straight to work on our wedding album. I wanted to do it while it was still fresh in my mind and the details still vivid. Back in 2006 I had yet to learn about digital scrapbooking and made my wedding album the old fashioned way with printed photos and scrapbook paper. What a lot of work that was!! All the cutting paper, arranging photos, printing journalling, adding little flowers, and just making it perfect. I think it took me close to tthree months to finish it!!
I have given up on traditional scrapbooking and I am 100% digital. I have always thought about doing another wedding album just to have it printed in a nice photobook, but it has never been a priority. Until now!! I have been trying to get some wedding book samples ready and found a beautiful album template from Paislee Press called Defined. The colours were perfect for my wedding photos, so I took it as a sign that I needed to make this album right now! So here it is, all 26 pages with photography by Jason’s sister, Amber Fedynak, and our good friend, Conrad Poirier.
(Click on the first picture to scroll through.)
An album template is much simpler to use and this book doesn’t have a lot of frills so it only took me 2 1/2 hours to complete the whole book. I love how it turned out and I can’t wait to get it printed!
Leah
A girl at work, Lisa, is getting married next year and she was asking around for ideas for her wedding. We were talking about venues, flowers, colours, invitations, decor, etc. and I was trying to figure out how to incorporate my new photobook business into her wedding. It finally occurred to me a few weeks later that I could make a guest book with their engagement photos (if they have any taken!) and the guests would be able to write their comments and wishes to the couple right in the photobook. I was so excited with my idea that I designed the book in a few days but needed some engagement photos to go in it. I called up another friend from work, Tricia, and asked if I could use hers in this sample book. So the pictures you see are of Tricia and her now husband, Rich. Coincidentally the photographer is also a good friend of ours at the hospital, Conrad – Thanks for letting me use your gorgeous photos!! And also thanks to Lisa for the inspiration – I tried to use some of the colours we had talked about, Tiffany blue and a very specific shade of red!
I am also excited to show you something new I learned while writing this blog – how to insert a slide show of all the photobook pages!
This photobook uses my current favorite digital kit “Retrospective” from my favorite designer, Peppermint Granberg, of One Little Bird Designs.
I hope you like it!!
Leah
Every Mother’s Day I am thankful for three things: my beautiful kids, my awesome husband, and that I no longer work at the flower shop! It is such a crazy time in the flower business that, if I still worked there, I would not get to spend any time relaxing on Mother’s Day. Ironically, all I want to do on my “day off” is check out plants and flowers at the garden center and work in the garden!
My husband and kids did spoil me with waffles for breakfast and Jason is making steak and scallops for dinner, my favorite!! And this is after spending all afternoon building me a raised garden for growing veggies! I am a lucky girl!
I hope you were spoiled by your husband and kids for Mother’s Day and that you were able to have some quiet time to yourself!
Leah
Buttons, stitching, brads, letter punches, stamp from Stampin’ Up. Paper and flower from “Small Talk” by Fei Fei’s Stuff and TaylorMade Designs.
More samples from Two Thousand and Twelve album here.
Robyn is almost two and, at this age, she says some funny words! In a few years I know we will never remember the way she mispronounces most of her words and this is one of the things I don’t want to forget. So I always try to include a page in my family album about all the words they are learning when they go through this word explosion phase.
“Small Talk” from Fei Fei’s Stuff and TaylorMade Designs
It is also interesting to look back at the way Casey pronounced his words and the funny expressions he had because they are very different from Robyn.
I know I will be glad I wrote this all down in a few years!!
Leah
More samples from Two Thousand and Twelve album here.
It is not too late right now, and it won’t be too late tomorrow… to start your 2012 Family Album!
Elements from Fei Fei’s Stuff and TaylorMade Designs (Small Talk), One Little Bird and Sahlin Studio (grid, lay flat to dry tag), Stampin Up (tape)
It doesn’t matter if you only took three photos last month or a hundred (I think I am at 300!) because I can change any page in this book to suit your photos. Here are a few more samples from the February pages:
Elements from Fei Fei’s Stuff and TaylorMade Designs (Small Talk), Stampin Up (eyelet)
Elements from Fei Fei’s Stuff and TaylorMade Designs (Small Talk), Stampin Up (buttons, stitching)
So if you are still thinking about doing a family photobook and just haven’t decided yet, get your photos together and go for it!! Next year when you receive your finished book, you will be so happy you did!
Leah
Birdwing Paper Designs 