I just finished making M's first year photobook and I feel so accomplished! I haven't done yearly photobooks before now, but ever since making our "Dear birthparent" photobook, I've been totally hooked. I can just see us and the kids going through them in a couple of years to see how much has changed!
We're going to give one to the birthparents too.
So is this a thing that lots of people do? Do you do it?
blogger / wonderful cherry / 21616 posts
I'm trying but there are THOUSANDS of pictures and I like to edit them. Sooooo I'm not past the third month. AND I was making it on shutter fly and only 3 months in the book is already $85... Sooo I'm not sure how practical this is... 
blogger / wonderful cherry / 21628 posts
I make year in review books. I use MyPublisher. I love them and my family loves to flip through them when they come over.
hostess / wonderful watermelon / 39513 posts
No, but I should! Where did you make them? How many pages? 
GOLD / squash / 13464 posts
I would definitely like to! I don't know if I'll follow through though : (
blogger / wonderful cherry / 21628 posts
@autumnlove: I use MyPublisher. They have a 100 page limit. It can be hard to fit everything in 100 pages. Once I have a LO I'm sure I will have to break the year up into 2 books. I like using them because they run a special where every page past 20 is free. That saves me $70.
coconut / 8483 posts
I did one for DH and I for 2012 (no kids yet). I think I will do one for every calendar year, and then when we have kids do one for each of their years. At this point, I find it hard to have enough pics of us and what we did through the year, but when we have kids I'm sure I'll have the opposite problem!
I always use My Publisher, and always buy when they have a sale... which is pretty much always!
bananas / 9357 posts
This is the first year I've done one. I'm going to try and make one every year.
hostess / papaya / 10540 posts
I keep saying I want to make one for DS's first year before he turns two, I only have 2 months left so I better hurry! My plan is to make yearly books for him, but also family yearbooks for each year of vacations, holidays, and other fun things we did throughout the year. I'm currently working on a 10 year one for DH and it's just amazing to sort through things, relive memories, and look at how much we've changed.
pear / 1664 posts
Yep! I've been doing them since we started dating.
I use MyPublisher - good sales. I like Shutterfly too but they changed their cover options and I don't like the new ones as much. Our wedding/honeymoon book was done in AdoramaPix which is great quality and interface, but more expensive/fancy than I'd want to do each year.
grapefruit / 4649 posts
It is just my husband and I (and our dog) so I haven't done yearly ones but from time to time I will go through and do a book of the highlights from the past year or two. I have done small books of special vacations too.
An interesting take on this idea is the scrapbooking project called "project life." The idea is to capture each week as it goes. A lot of people go all out but it would be just as effective to sit down at the end of each week, pick 5-10 photos from the week and put them in a two page spread in any of the sites listed above. I started it this year and am really enjoying the time considering my week.
blogger / pineapple / 12381 posts
@autumnlove: I did a 40% off shutterfly book for $26.00. It was 20 pages and it came out really nicely. I used a wedding layout and didn't add any of the embellishments, so it looks very classic but not weddingy.
blogger / pineapple / 12381 posts
@Mrs. Superhero: Do you have them ready to go and then just wait until a good coupon to become available?
pomegranate / 3809 posts
Yup, I love making photobooks. I make a yearly one since I met DH and make vacation ones. I always seem to get coupons codes for free books so I have 20+ books and they were all free!
GOLD / cantaloupe / 6703 posts
Mypublisher has a deal right now for 5 free miniphotobooks for just the cost of shipping. It's only through Wednesday or so, but I am making these for the grandparents and us.
coconut / 8305 posts
I haven't done a photobook before but did do a 1st year scrapbook for DS. I may look into a photobook for the kiddos from here on out though!
pomelo / 5866 posts
@MaisyMay: I didn't see the deal. Of course I unsubscribed like a week ago after getting tons of email promotions. 
Do you like their quality? They seem great just haven't switched yet.
I love to do photobooks. I have so many pics so I'm doing semi-annually now. (Spring-Summer and Fall-Winter)
GOLD / cantaloupe / 6703 posts
@808love: If you can't find it on their site, go to krazy coupon lady's site. It's featured on there.
blogger / pomelo / 5400 posts
I did one on blurb but it is time consuming! I hope I don't fall off the wagon.
blogger / pineapple / 12381 posts
@Mrs. Yoyo: I found blurb harder to use than some of the others. Maybe try Shutterfly?
wonderful olive / 19353 posts
I'm going to try once LO is here to capture his growth/progress. We'll see if I actually can or not.
wonderful clementine / 24134 posts
@Mrs. Jacks: When you do a year book, do you do it for the calendar year or their birth year?
My LO is born in August and I'm torn what to call a year? I think it might be nice to do August to August because it would also match a school year.
blogger / pineapple / 12381 posts
@Thehistoryofus: Well for M. they coincide, since she has a February birthday.
Lala on the other hand is a May baby and though I started her book this week while I've been sick, maybe I will go May to May. I hadn't really thought of it until now!
blogger / wonderful cherry / 21616 posts
@Mrs. Yoyo: I love blurb because it's so easy to personalize each and every page!! time consuming yes but beautiful. I wish they would get more styles though.
@Thehistoryofus: I'm doing birth year - Feb-Feb.
GOLD / pear / 1845 posts
@Mrs. Jacks: I try to work on them regularly so I have one ready to go. Sometimes if I see a good deal I'll quickly make one up. Last year I ended up with three pro photoshoots (newborn, family reunion and then a family shoot) so I gave them each a book and they only took an hour or so to make up because there was no journaling and a lot less sorting.
I'm also trying to print copies of some books for the girls to have when they leave home, so I have some of those ready to go as well.
blogger / pomelo / 5400 posts
@Mrs. Jacks: yeah, but it allows a lot more customization, which is why I like it. Frustrated graphic designer at heart here!
blogger / pineapple / 12381 posts
@Mrs. Yoyo: Oh it was so great for our adoption profile, but that was something I wanted to spend 10's of hours on, whereas sometimes I don't have time for that with other stuff.
I do little hacks on Shutterfly so that I can design my own layouts when I really need them
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