Blurb In Depth

Thanks for the compliments on the books! You guys asked some great questions, and I thought others may be curious too. I've also posted some interior shots so you can get an idea of the different page formats.


First question was do I do one every year...
Yes and no. I did make a volume for every year, but I did them both a couple weeks ago. I've got the 2008 volume in the works, but will wait until after the holidays to finish it up.


Second question was how do I decide which pictures to use...
Because I keep a family blog, which is like a journal for me, I literally just slurp the entire blog into the Blurb Book Smart program and then separate it out from there. A blog has been the easiest way for me to catalog what we've been doing, what the boys have been saying, etc. and with Blurb it is really simple to get all your photos and wording into one place. You don't have to decide which photos to order or even remember/think of captions - it's great!


Third question was how long it took me to put them together...
Let me start by saying that I can't just slap things together - I like things to be perfect [although, since I've had kids my definition of "perfect" has changed a bit!]. If I had had to gather all the pictures and think of things to write in the book, it would've taken me a long, long time. But, since I already had all my materials there all I had to do was organize them and make them look good. I did limit myself [because I can spend hours on the little things if I don't stop myself], for example, only using black text on the inside [I would've obsessed over the colors]. I worked on both books on and off over one weekend and the following Monday, had Reggie proof them Tuesday and ordered. I would allow for more time with the first one you do because it will take time to get familiar with the program.


Hope this helps! Go Blurb!