bookmaker | london album photographed

With the failure a while back to post a link to my Blurb book of the London album I created, I had a request to come back with some pictures of the book once it arrived, and with my thoughts on the quality.

First off, with the software that Blub provides; the Book Smart Program, it is very easy to put the book together. The software is downloaded to your computer and you choose the pages and so on without having to be online. Once you are finished you upload to the Blurb website and are taken directly to the ordering page. Very convenient. It did take a while for the upload to process as I had full bleed 12x12 pages.



Blurb offers two different speed delivery options at different rates. I chose the cheaper one and was given an estimated delivery date about a week and a half from ordering. The book was delivered to my house via FedEx three days before the estimate. I think Blurb added a European print site to their American one a while back, so that is probably the reason for the speedy delivery to Sweden. I was very happy.



I chose a hardcover book with image wrap (I really don't like dust jackets) with the premium lustre paper. The quality of the paper is really nice. It's very thick and I've had a few comments on that from people I've shown the book to. They have all thought two pages were stuck together. I really like it.



The print quality is far better than what I have seen with other album printers (of which Shutterfly is the only American one). The colours match those on my computer very well. The saturation is very good (one point where Shutterfly often failed in my opinion). Blacks are mostly really nice. There are some images that could have been better but I couldn't say that this isn't an error on my part in my editing.



All in all I am very happy with this album, and wouldn't recommend anyone to go anywhere else for printing their albums. This was my third album ordered from Blurb and they have all been equally nice.

bookmaker | london album

I finally got around to ordering my London album (from our trip in August last year). I finished the pages a couple of months back, I think, but didn't upload them to Blurb for some reason.

But today I did! I cannot wait to see it in real life!

Edited:
OK, so here is where I had a link to my book on Blurb. But apparently they won't show the book unless I set it up for selling. I'm not so hot on that idea, as I think and hope you will understand.

If you have forgotten what the pages look like, please do feel free to go back and check my many posts on the topic!

Sorry folks! I think I found one thing I would rather Blurb to improve on here!

 

laying it out | london album part I don't even know

I should have finished this album several months ago. I really should have worked on it more. But the fact is that I haven't done anything since November. I got a little stressed last week because I am afraid I will completely forget everything that happened before I finish. I do have my journal entries in Evernote to help me, but I really do want to finish.

So last week I created two spreads. I have to admit that I'm not really feeling it anymore, so I simply copied pages I've already done and just switched the photos and journaling. I figure non original pages are better than no pages at all. Scrapbooking can be like that too sometimes. I am not going to beat myself up about it.





Here are the single pages that are not full bleed photos:





(Supplies: Kraft Essentials Paper Pack by Karla Dudley, London Baby Kit by Libby Pritchett, Studio DD Layerworks 326 and 336 by Studio DD)

I've got maybe two layouts to go for day two. Then hopefully I can charge full steam ahead with day three and four. Maybe I can get it done by June! LOL!

laying it out | london album continued

This week I have allowed myself to not do any kind of work on the computer at all. I have thought about opening it up a few times, but haven't felt like I had the focus, the strength, or the interest to sit in front of it.

But, I have a few layouts for our London album that I made a while ago, that I haven't shared before, that I would like to show you today. I'm finally finished with day one, and got a good start on day two. Yay me!







Here are the single pages that are not full bleed photos:







(Supplies: Kraft Essentials Paper Pack by Karla Dudley, London Baby Kit by Libby Pritchett, Studio DD Layerworks 326 and 336 by Studio DD)

I am really liking how this album is shaping up. I like the large white space canvas combined with the shabby elements, papers, and frames. I like that it's combined with the very sleek full bleed photos.

Now I'm just hoping to have inspiration and focus enough to be able to finish it.

laying it out | london album in the works

Slowly but surely I am making my way into the London album. More slowly than surely, to be honest. I'm still on day one! Ha! But I have three spreads to share with you today.







And, seeing as the pages are quite small, here are the single pages that aren't full bleed photos.









I figure I have two more spreads to go before I can start with day two. Baby steps, people!

laying it out | crazy album plans

Call me crazy, but I decided to create an album about or trip to London. Like I had nothing else on my plate, right? Well, we talked about it while flipping through the albums from our Italy trips and both felt we needed one. It's kind of hard to stop once you've started, you know?

So, it was a four day trip and I only got a couple of hundred (four? five?) shots or so, and I am planning to edit as I go to not spend time on editing photos that I may or may never use. So I am hoping it won't take too long.

My first two spreads are finished. I still have to create a title page as well as a cover but I figure that can come later.

These spreads both cover our first few hours after arriving and checking in at the hotel.
Ha, so maybe the book won't be so small after all if I keep this rate up!




(I am still debating if I should do that large photo in B/W. I don't feel like the green goes too well with the colours on the other side, but then I think that some of the point of the photo gets lost - you won't know that it's moss and algea on the letters in B/W. So, still debating.)

If you want to look closer at the left sides of each spread, then here they are.




(Supplies: Kraft Essentials Paper Pack by Karla Dudley, London Baby Kit by Libby Pritchett, Studio DD Layerworks 326 and 336 by Studio DD)

I am happy with the start of this album. It is more decorated, and the photos are smaller, than the albums I've made previously but I just like it. So I am running with it and hope that it won't be to cluttered by the end. I am so thankful for the kickin' templates by Kayleigh Wiles who is Studio DD. They were just what I needed to get started.

laying it out | roma travel album part 2

I hope you don't mind me sharing some more layouts from my work in progress travel album about Rome? I'm almost done with day two. LOL, I know, it will be one huge book, and I have my work cut out for me. But I really want to keep with the format that I started, and not cram too much into each page. I want the beauty of the places we saw to shine. And it will have to take time. Please send me good some good vibes that I can keep the work up until it's all finished.

Here are seven more spreads!














(Supplies: Create a Book Posted Collection (modified) by Katie Pertiet, Worn Kit by One Little Bird and Sahlin Studio)

Can I just say that I love, love, love the Worn Kit by One Little Bird and Sahlin Studio. The papers are fantastic, and so are the elements. And the clusters! A neautrals lover like me is in beige heaven with this kit.

laying it out | roma travel album part 1

Sometimes I wonder what really goes on inside my head. Sometimes I start things on a whim without thinking all too much about what it really involves as far as workload is concerned.

The other day I had a few hours of downtime and instead of just sitting back, enjoying my free time, what do I do? Oh, I start another huge project of course. I got this idea that I could make the album I've been meaning to do with the photos from our trip to Rome in September. As if I could make a whole album, from about two million photos, in two hours!

But high marks for ambition, right?

Now this album is going to take a while. So far I've done twelve pages (six spreads) and I haven't even finished the photos from the first day! But I am so in love with the layouts that I just can't hold off sharing them. This is going to be one great book. Of course, what else is to be expected with photos from Rome?












(Supplies: Create a Book Posted Collection (modified) by Katie Pertiet, Worn Kit by One Little Bird and Sahlin Studio)

As you can see, there is no journaling at all. I had to make a decision to exclude it in order to cope with even thinking about finishing this album. That might be a decision I will regret in 25 years, but at the moment I figure it's better to have at least have the album with the photos. I think I will add captions with restaurants and such though, as they aren't as permanent as the famous sights after all.

I will probably share more layouts as I finish them so please have patience with me here!

wedding album | magnus & jenny

I was finally able to finish the photo album with the photos from the wedding of my BIL and his lovely wife. It's been a long time coming, constantly being pushed back by one thing after the other. Then my dear friend Liv of Liv.e Design stepped up and offered to help me on my way by creating a set of templates so that it would simply be for me to plop the photos in and finally get it finished.

I am so pleased with the results, and the album is on its merry little way over here as I write this.
The pages are completely focused on the photography, with just a very light background paper. Liv's excellent templates helped me stay true to my vision. The template set will be available at JessicaSprague.com on Monday November 19, 2012.





If you would like to see the whole album just click the button below and sit back.

 

Click here to view this photo book larger

photo book | wedding

I am so excited to share the book I put together for my sister and her husband with photos from their wedding.

I chose to do a very sleek design and I am so happy I did. The photos are the sole focus each page. Of course, I did have to add something, I couldn't leave all the pages bare, and went for some nice diagonal stripes here and there.

The book is ordered and scheduled to arrive in about a week or so. I just cannot wait!

Click here to view this photo book.

week in the life | the pages

I am dragging on a bit with WITL, but please bear with me as I share the pages I have put together depicting last week. As I have said in my previous posts, scrapping the whole week was not an option. I just don't have the time or energy right now. So I decided to go in the other direction and just put the photos and words together.

I still need to do a cover and a title page before I can have it printed, and I am still debating what size to get, but I am happy with the finished pages for now.





























If you would like to check WITL out, then I reccomend you visit Ali Edwards for info, inspiration, and wise words. If you want to see what inspired me, then visit Lynette Penacho's excellent blogpost.

Just a last few words: WITL is about documenting life as it is. It doesn't have to fit a certain format or be carried out at a certain time of the year. I truly feel that anyone who wants to can do this as long as they make it work in their life, and adjust the format and expectations to their own situation.

Oh, and don't forget to actually live that life as well!