As 2011 as closed, I have found myself looking through all of my pictures in 2010 and figuring out what ones to save and preserve so my family can enjoy.? I used to be a huge scrapbooker but I haven’t had the time that scrapbooking requires.? Kodak Gallery has a great resource for photo books which allows me to scrapbook digitally quickly so that I can preserve my memories in hardcover books for about the same cost as a full size scrapbook.
Right before Thanksgiving, I found out that I was going to be able to review Kodak Gallery’s photo books so I attended our family’s Thanksgiving meal with camera in hand.? It was at my sister-in-law’s house and since it was her very first Thanksgiving at her home – I knew this would be a special book for her.
After taking all of my pictures, I uploaded to my computer and then to Kodak’s site.? I am a perfection at times so I made sure all of the pictures were in perfect order before even beginning my book.
I had chosen to do the medium size hard back book so making sure everything fit on the pages was a little bit of challenge but I did eventually get it to fit.
After the pictures were in place, I began to add the wording:
Adding the wording was easy to do.? The only thing I would love to see changed on the Kodak Gallery site is the ability to move the pictures around yourself and to place the wording where you want it.? Everything is pretty rigid on the site and it all pretty much fits a standard placement.? As a true scrapbooker, this can be a bit frustrating as I don’t want things to look as uniform as they are.
After I added the wording, played with the placement of my pictures, I then began to play with the background colors.? As you can see in the above screenshots – my pages were black and I felt this was a bit boring.
It was easy to change the backgrounds and here is a few I experimented with:
I finally chose this one:
After the final selections were complete, I reviewed my book and paid for it.? With all the deals that Kodak Gallery has, I was able to get free shipping and get a 20% discount on my book.
My book arrived on December 24th just in time to give to my sister-in-law for Christmas.? I was really pleased with the quality of the paper and the look of the book.
My sister-in-law who is not generally an emotional person was almost moved to tears when she opened this book.? She had no idea what the pictures that I was taking were for and she had not taken out her camera that day so she had no pictures from her first Thanksgiving in her home.
After opening this gift, she was content to just flip through the pages and remark on the memories.? It was a priceless present and after seeing her reaction to what I felt was really a small gift – it made me want to do make more of these beautiful books as gifts.
With Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, and Father’s Day just around the corner – grandparent books, wedding books, and special mom books would all make stunning gifts for these occasions.? Kodak Gallery has a wide range of sizes and types of books as well as prices for every budget.? As you flip through your pictures of 2010, why not put some together and make a special memory book for the special people in your life.
