I just received my first BLOG book for the year 2008. (I have 6 months to publish for 2007, but thought I'd start off with a full year.) This was the ONLY reason I started a blog (after being nagged by my sister...she finally said "you know you can put it all into a book...") I was sold and now that I have it in my little hands I'm even more thrilled.
I was telling a friend that I really try to add as much of my family life on here complete with images for proof later on. My kids have been fighting over it all morning long (no need for a picture of that), they even made their little friends sit down and look through it with them. I can't believe that I have over a 100 pages of family blurbs and images to look back over. I no longer carry the guilty burden of not journaling (although I need to add more personal notes into my own journal occasionally), but seriously I bet nobody ever envisioned this - when they told us to document our history!
I "slurped" my blog on http://www.blurb.com/
It was sooo easy to do. You just enter your blog address and it downloads all of your posts. Then you go in and select the ones that you want to keep in your book. There were a few things I wish I had done differently:
1. The layout that uses 6 images down the side is too small to see the pictures...next time I'll make sure that I pick one where the images are bigger (no more that 4 images/page with writing on it)
2. I wish I had put a family image of us on the front - my kids get too much stage time as it is and my husband feels left out (not that he would say that...just comments like "boy, I sure don't get many pictures!" which clue me in to the fact that he needs to be included a bit more.)
You can even go in and add more entries and images before you send it off to be published - so if there were things that didn't get blogged but needed to be included it's very easy to do.
I ended up buying 2 books - one hardback ($40) and one softcover ($20) just to see what the difference was and so I could put the hardback directly into our little fireproof safe (I'm sure it will be valuable someday) and let me kids paw through the cheaper book. Both of them were great, but the hardback is definitely the way to go.
I opened the book to one of my favorite posts from last year...the Easter Bunny. The images of McLaren terrified of the big cottontail make me laugh so hard! So when he gets older I'm sure there will be a nickname for him based solely on this story. Laina was definitely the diva of the book. I'll need to balance my posts and images better this year.
So - to all my little blog lurking, non-commenting friends. Start a blog. You don't have to even share it with anyone, but start documenting all the craziness that is life - it is soooo worth it to have this little book in your hands at the end of the year!
8 comments:
I totally need to do this. Thanks for the pointers!
Wait until this year when the eater bunny brings a machete and the severed head of Elmer Fudd.
ugghh...we'll ignore the easter bunny's knock!
OOh can't wait for the easter bunny. I bet Carter can top your'e severed head. Well just see what he has planned!
My blog is already "slurped" I just need to double check it and print it! (Hopefully it happens before next year!!!) I am excited to hear that they look nice. Plus I kept debating between hard or soft cover. So thanks for that pointer.
Yes, Yes...I LOVE Blurb!! I have completed my 2008 and I'm almost done with my 1/2 a year of 2007. Then I'll print both books. I have no scrapbooks for my kids so I plan to print a book for me and hubby, and then one for each of my kids to take with them one day when they move out. More of an expense? Yes, but totally worth it considering I would have spent much more if I had scrapbooked. This is the main reason I blog!!
I've been meaning to do this, but now I think I will. It would make a great gift for Grama too!
I'm glad to hear it works well. Now I just need to be better about blogging, this might be my morivation since there's no way I'm scrapbooking!:)
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