I am so happy that this year’s Christmas book is done!! We call it the “Christmas Book” but really, it’s my year in review book which I give as a Christmas Gift! (and has no actual Christmas pictures in it!!) The book is 50 pages, and a pictorial overview of many (not all) of the things that we did throughout the year. I use Photoshop Elements and digital kits and elements to create the book, when it’s done I upload it to an online publisher (www.lulu.com) and have it printed for the grandparents and aunts/uncles. This year’s digital kit and pages are by Melissa Bennett from Sweet Shoppe {if you don’t want to see the cover ahead of time… look away now :) }
The Christmas Book is Here!!
Well… the only thing “Christmas” about the Christmas book is that it’s given as Christmas presents for the family… It’s really a “year in review” book that I make. I use digital scrapbook materials, create all 50 pages (plus a cover) with Adobe Photoshop Elements 9, then create the book using Word, turn it into a PDF and upload it to an online publishing company (I use lulu.com). It sounds MUCH more complicated than it is, as long as you know how to use Photoshop… HERE’S a link to last year’s cover…
The printed books arrived in the mail today!! I’m so excited, and can’t wait for everyone to see it… If you’re one of “those” people :) and don’t want a sneak peek… don’t look below!! But, if you’d like to see this year’s cover… Here it is!! The digital pages and elements that I used are from Shabby Princess, I use her digital elements for my books almost every year, she’s a wonderful digital designer (my header and other blog elements also use Shabby Princess digital elements, with permission).
Anyway… Here’s the cover of the book… (remember… don’t peek if you want to be surprised!!) The book certainly doesn’t cover everything that we do all year, it’s “only” 50 pages, and I took 1400 pictures during our summer trip alone!!! But it’s pretty representative of what we do through the year… This year, we took a Wild West Vacation… and so there are lots of pictures of that!! It starts in January with snow storms and Kathryn’s birthday… goes through the spring with Easter and Mother’s day… through various summer fun, the big trip and Sean’s birthday… through the fall with Halloween and ends with Thanksgiving!! I love the “excuse” to spend several hours looking through all my pictures of the year!!
Well… without further adieu… The cover…
New Creative Memories Projects!!
I am so excited!!! It’s March 1, and the new Creative Memories Catalog is live!!! It’s the first one that I’m in as a design team member, and I couldn’t be more thrilled to see my projects in the catalog and on the website!!! Check out my projects (page 20 in the printed catalog if you want to take a peek! ). Both of these sets were created using Creative Memories’ digital software Storybook Creator. Click on the picture to go to the Creative Memories Website and idea page and see the photos larger!
This first one is a cover for a hardcover book, the left side is the back when the book is bound and printed.
This is a 2-page 8×8 layout for inside the book.
Merry Christmas!
I posted this on my personal blog too… But wanted to share here on my gallery as well!! Here’s the cover of the “Christmas Book” Which has nothing at all to do with Christmas, except that it is the Christmas present for most of the family :) I used a Shabby Princess Piece-a-cake album and the matching kit for elements… The actual printed book is 50 pages plus the cover… I make the pretty pictures (a year in review of sorts) and then upload it to lulu.com to have them printed and bound… 8.5×8.5 books, glossy cover and full cover… The best part… They arrived today :) Yeah!!
Here’s the cover of this year’s book…
The quote on the cover reads: And in the end, it’s not the years in you life that count. It’s the life in your years. – Abraham Lincoln