My mom makes mini photo books with Shutterfly for my kids every time we spend a weekend together, so we have a whole bunch of them. She is/was a creative director at her own ad agency, so she’s pretty darn good at it. But the hardbound books that Shutterfly is promoting now are in another league. I saw them in person last month, and I was impressed.
What I like the best was the approach to storytelling they shared. It has helped me stop thinking that a photobook has to be a comprehensive summary of the whole year or even a whole vacation. This template, for example helps you create a top 10. How easy is that? Only ten photos needed!
It doesn’t even have to be a Top Ten of the year. It could be “Top Ten Things about Julian’s 7th Birthday Party” or “Ten Things Scarlett Does Everyday” or “Top Ten Adventures in Our First Ten Years of Marriage”.
Another direction: This template is for “A Year of Firsts.”
Yet another example: Catherine from Weelicious made a book documenting how to make a particular kind of cookie. The whole book is photographs of the recipe steps with instructions. I think this would be fun to send to a niece or nephew. I was hoping the photos I took of Julian making slime could be used as a How to Make Slime book. (See exactly how Catherine’s book came out on Shutterfly’s site.)
Note that these templates live on the “Storytelling” tab of the Shutterfly site.
GIVEAWAY! Now that you have tons of ideas, and know that the bar might be as low as collecting 10 photos with a theme, here’s your chance to win $150 dollars of credit to use on Shutterfly. We wanted to make sure that if you make a book, you can buy multiple copies and have them shipped directly to your loved ones. (You know what I wish someone would do? Make a book of their baby doing every activity on our list of 52 challenges for rookie moms! Shutterfly, can you help us make that happen?)
UPDATE: Giveaway now closed (1/2/12). Winner will be notified on 1/3/12.
What a great giveaway! I love Shutterfly. I would do a Top 10 foods. I love pictures of babies/toddlers eating.
Top Ten Reason Why I Love My Baby Girl!
I <3 Shutterfly! And would love to win such a great giveaway. I would do a Top 10 baby milestone book of my daughter.
Top ten pictures of my two boys together.
Top 10 things I learned from my kids this year.
I would do a Top Ten “silly moments”. We have plenty if them!!
I like the 10 baby firsts. My little one is 8 months and that would be a great way to document the important things from his first year.
Top Ten Best Things About A Sister (for my 2 little girls)
I would do top ten funny face of my baby boy.
Like to have 4 generations pics from my side and my husbands side plus cousins
I would do top 10 baby and pet moments.
Top ten brother pics!
I would do a Top 10 things grandparents are good for, featuring my parents for my daughter (and future children).
Top Ten Frists of my First Year of Marriage!
Top 10 funny faces my three kids make.
My top ten: “Moments with my Auntie”
My sister lives in England and only sees my kiddo once a year if that. It would be nice for both of them to have a book to look at and remember.
I would love to make a book highlighting the trips my children have been on.
I would probably use the idea of Top 10 photos of my husband and I since we now are over run with pics of our kids!
I <3 shutterfly books. Our 10 favorite meals to eat as a family and why. Of course I would also include the recipes!
As my son has just turned three months I would love to do the top 10 things I’ve learned being a new mom… So many pictures of our “New Parent Bloopers” to choose from!
Top 10 firsts (first word, first roll over, first tooth, first step, first haircut, first crawl, first sleep through the night, first food, first smile, first birthday)
I’d do Top Ten Toys, with pictures of my son playing with his favorite toys. That would be fun to capture.
I’d love to make a book for my girls of the top ten special things about being a twin (which I would pull out on days when they are sick of sharing their mama all the time).
Top 10 years of marriage (it helps we’ve been married for 10 years exactly!)
Top 10 words with a list of my son’s top ten words that I hear over and over throughout the day.
I love Shutterfly. I’d do a Top 10 Funniest thing my daughter has said! She makes me laugh everyday – it would be tough to choose only 10
I think I’d do a book for myself — Top 10 Coolest things I’ve done in my life. I’d write about becoming a mom, getting married, international travel, goals I’ve set and accomplished and then find a photo to go with each.
Only 10 pictures? This actually sounds doable. I could do one of my favorite 10 pictures of my two boys together. (There’s a great one of the two of them at Halloween with the baby laughing while sitting on top of the older one, who looks annoyed.)
I have to agree with the first commenter – top 10 foods! Messy babies are the best!
I think I’d put together a top ten moments from the year… although it’d be hard to choose just ten!
Top Ten Funniest Statements my daughter has made. She has so many, it will be hard!
Top ten best daddy-baby moments would be fun.
I would make one for my son of his 10 extended family members who live far away
Top 10 people in my little girl’s life!
We use Shutterfly for our son’s year end memory book every year, and it definitely is awesome. A Top Ten book sounds great! I think we’d want a Top Ten quotes of they year paired with pictures.
I made a shutterfly book for my son’s first year, to give to his great-grandparents (one of whom lives 12 hours away and hasn’t met him yet).
My top 10 might be like a counting book– one baby, two parents, three grandmas (we have a very blended family), etc. The higher numbers would be hard, but we could come up with things–baby with ten favorite toys, or with our nine animals.
I love the idea of the counting book since we’re just hitting that stage. It would be really fun to learn to count with pictures of things we know already.
My next little one is slated to arrive in July so I might be willing to make the 52 rookie mom challenges book once they get here. It just might keep me from falling into that awful PPD trap again.
I would do a top ten ways you are unique for my 2 kiddos:). E is a girl and J is a boy; E is tall and J is short; E has a favorite stuffed cat and J has a favorite stuffed monkey….etc.
I would do a top 10 smiles of my son’s first year. For my grandmother’s 80th birthday I made a book with 80 pictures of my son smiling. It was a hit.
Top 10 moments in our 30 year friendship for my best friends 30th birthday.
easy – top ten reasons/ways the birth of our son, walter, changed our lives (that we didn’t anticipate!) in 2011
The way things are going today I might do a “Top Ten Ornaments My Toddler Broke From the Christmas Tree” book… I haven’t used Shutterfly yet but would love to try them out!
I’d capture some authentic emotions and create a Top 10 facial expressions used in the morning before 7 am. A glimpse back to a day in the life ten years from now will be fun.
So many top 10′s for this last year!
Top 10 moments from Mason’s 3rd year…
Top 10 favorite wedding memories…
Top 10 cravings during this second pregnancy…
Thank you ladies! And Shutterfly!!!
Top Ten “A Boy and His Dog” Moments! Every kid needs a pet!
Top Ten Favorite Foods. I have a TON of pics of the youngling eating.
Top ten family days out!
I love Shutterfly’s photo books! A “Top Ten” book is such a great idea — now I want to make a “Top Ten Incredible Adventures” book for my son, with pictures from our hikes, as well as trips to local playgrounds, the zoo, apple picking, etc.
Since my son just started speech I would make a book of 10 sounds and their matching mouths.
What a great giveaway! I would make a top ten of my favorite christmas moments…Merry Christmas!!