I've made an 8 1/2 x 8 1/2 inch book of Jackson for each year of his life. So now with Avery's first birthday last week, it was time to get her book all finished up and printed. I use mixbook.com for the kids year books. I love these books and cherish them. They are so fun to look back through and I know it will be fun for them to look back through as they get older as well. I envision us looking at them together and smiling and laughing about fun times we've had. Hopefully they appreciate them as much as I do.
There is just something about physical picture books that you can hold in your hand as opposed to digital prints on your computer. While I love the idea of having them digitally and being able to share them on social media, nothing beats having physical pictures to look at whether they be in a book or hanging on your walls.
I try to start on the kids books early on in the year and then add to them as the year progresses. I usually start at their birthday and go all the way up to right before their birthday the following year. I have a layout that I try to stick to and just go with that. With mixbook.com, you can start a project and then save it and go back to it later. This makes it easy to work on a book like this throughout the year as opposed to being overwhelmed at the end of the year and having to do it all in one sitting.
I usually do a 2 page spread for each month that includes 4 pictures per page. Then I add in all the holidays and any major events (their birthday party, etc.). This has worked well for me. I do a mixture of DSLR photos and iPhone photos for these 8 pictures a month. Then I do a 2 page spread for each holiday and use some of the Mixbook's fun stickers and backgrounds.
Then right around their birthday, I finish up the book and have it printed so it's at their party for family and friends to look at. I ordered Avery's book last week and it got to my house in less than a weeks time! Mixbook, and many of the other similar companies have coupon codes you can use, so I never pay full price for these books. I really think it's a great alternative to scrapbooking (like I used to be able to do before I had kids and had more time to myself).
So for anyone looking for a way to get your photos printed and in a physical book to look at, I highly recommend these books. I use Mixbook because I've had such a great experience with them and they have excellent customer service, but I'm sure several other companies that offer these type of books are great as well. I used Shutterfly for my pregnancy books and was very happy with them too, but I love the 8 1/2" square size that Mixbook offers as opposed to the standard 8x8, and the quality is great as well.
If you'd like to view the full book, click here. :-)
*I did not receive compensation or free product in exchange for this post. All thoughts and opinions included were honest and my own. *
