Good things come in orange packages.

A bright orange package arrived on Thursday.




It's a photobook from Shutterfly! (YIPPEE!!)
I'll show you some pictures, and then I'll talk about it below. :)

Note: The template and stamps I used for the cover are by Wishing Well Creations. Template HERE and stamps HERE. The background paper is by Amanda Heimann (products linked).


Front Cover


Title Page (same as the cover, but with some details about us)


I included traditional (non-Project Life style) layouts for each of our birthdays.




A Project Life week with lots of photos.


A Project Life week with lots of journal cards.


A close-up.


Closing Page


Back Cover


Spine

So, what do you think?? I am in love. This is my first 12x12 book (I've only done 8x8's in the past). I was worried that it would be unwieldy (like big traditional scrapbook binders are), but it's not! It's great to hold and doesn't seem too big at all.

If you're thinking, "Wait a minute... I thought she decided not to do a photobook," you'd be right, but keep reading. ;)

When I first started Project Life, I planned to get my digital pages printed in a photobook from Inkubook because they were affordable and had a page limit big enough to print the whole year in one book. But... they went out of business... and I don't have the whole year finished (yet).

A few weeks ago, I declared that I was no longer going the photobook route, and would instead order individual 8x8 prints to go in the lovely We R Memory Keepers 3-ring albums.

Well... I ordered the 8x8 prints and a couple of We R albums, and I just didn't love them. The prints themselves were a little darker than I expected, and after I inserted them in the page protectors, they looked even duller and darker. Holding the album in my hands didn't make me smile, and that's just no fun.

So... I decided to switch gears again (surprise, surprise... if you know me really well, then you know how indecisive I am - ha!), and go back to the photobook plan, except I decided to do a book for the first three months of 2012 (vol. 1), and will order additional books later when I have more pages finished.

Once my decision was made, everything fell into place...

• I had 13 weeks worth of Project Life pages finished that were all formatted the same way (I changed the way I document the dates beginning the first of April).

• The 13th week ended exactly on the last day of March, and 13 weeks is exactly 1/4 of a year (so I can do four volumes this size for the entire year).

• The template I chose for the cover has 13 spots for paper pieces, so I used one paper from each of the weekly layouts (13 weeks, 13 layouts, 13 papers). I think it looks like a patchwork quilt (or maybe a stack of fabric scraps), and makes the album feel more cohesive. I love it!

• Shutterfly is my favorite photobook printer, and I had two gift certificates to use there (thank you, Melinda, and my 1st grade class of last year!). They were also running a 50% off sale with free shipping, so my 12x12 book ended up being FREE to me (YAY!!).

I felt like God made it all work out for me to do this photobook. That may sound silly, but I really do pray about scrapbooking. It is a big part of my life, and I want it to bless my family. It's something I love to do, and I believe our talents and passions come from the Lord.

Some thoughts...

Will I ever print individual pages again?
Yes. It depends on the project. I'm working on my 2012 Week in the Life Album right now, and it really needs page protectors for all the "stuff" I collected during that week. It will be 8.5"x11".

Deciding how to turn your digital scrapbook pages into something you can touch with your hands can be difficult. There are pros and cons to every option. You just have to do what works for you.

A friend of mine posted these two mantras on her blog last week, and they have stuck with me:

Something is better than nothing. 
and
My pace is the right pace for me.

Have a lovely weekend!