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Favorite Father’s Day Gift Idea

This post is sponsored by Shutterfly. Make this Father’s Day with a personalized gift that says it all.

I haven’t blogged that much about our family lately, mainly because there has been too much new house stuff going on to fit it all in. But believe me, they are still just as fun and crazy as ever, keeping me on my toes as always. With this whole moving, living out of suitcases for the past year situation, you can imagine photo organization has not been on the top of my list.

A photo album on a table

My phone contains approximately eleventy-billion photos of my kids and fun memories that I never print out or store anywhere. I always have “make photo book” on my to-do list, but I can never bring myself to work on it. I love giving personalized photo books for gifts at Christmas or special occasions, but it takes me forever to sift through all the photos and get it just right, and it’s just so time consuming.

A little girl sitting at a table looking at a photo album

So when Shutterfly asked me to try out their new Make My Book Service, I was totally on board! This was the easiest, quickest photo book I have ever made and probably my favorite one too. I shouldn’t really say I made it, one of their fabulous designers did. My only job was to upload all my photos (I had almost 400!) and answer a few questions about how I wanted the book arranged along with a few preferences so they could personalize my book. They picked the very best photos to include for me, so I didn’t have to spend hours trying to edit through all the Halloween or Christmas photos.

Collage photos in a bookYou also have the option to include a note to your designer explaining any details about your book. I told my designer to include a mix of our photographer photo sessions (taken by my friend Kari at Zander and Breck Photography) and just everyday goofy shots of the fun memories we have made over the last year, plus holidays and vacations. My designer nailed it, there are great pages filled with fun vacation shots mixed in with the nicer family photos and I’m really happy with the order she arranged it all in.

 

A little girl sitting in front of a window with her dad

My husband always suggests that I print off the sillier photos we take, because those are his favorite! I thought this was the perfect opportunity to do just that and get him an early Father’s Day gift too, because he loves reliving all those memories. I didn’t realize how much my kids would love it too!

Design and Photograph book

Living on the lake we love to make memories in the water, around the hiking trails, and out on the boat, and I’m so happy we finally have a photo book that captures all of that.

A person looking at a photo album

Once I uploaded all of the photos, I couldn’t wait to see what my designer came up with. I was sent a proof a few days later to check out. I loved how it turned out, the only major change I made was simplifying the cover to 1 large photo instead of a collage. It was amazing to have all the organizing done for me.

Photobook

Once I approved everything and it showed up on my doorstep, I couldn’t wait to open it. My kids have been giggling over it nonstop with their Dad, and I love hearing them relive all the memories and saying “oh remember that? It was so fun!” and “We have to do that again” or “Look at how little you were!” – this from my oh so wise and very mature 9 year old about her 5 year old baby brother :)

A little boy looking at a photo book

My husband said this was his favorite gift ever (quite the step up from the socks I had been planning or the Legos that my son wanted to buy because, “dad loves Legos” ha!), and not to mention, one that we all get to enjoy. I will definitely be using Make My Book again, and I look forward to filling the shelves at the new house with more memories that we make in our new home.

A person standing in front of a bookshelf

If you are in busy mom mode like me this season, then definitely check out the Make My Book service over at Shutterfly. It’s only $9.99 plus the cost of the book, which is totally worth your time and sanity.

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15 Comments

  1. What a great idea! I needed a Father’s Day gift idea for my guy. Fun, different and I’m sure he will appreciate more than a shirt.

    PS – Love following the new house build. It’s beautiful! ❤️

  2. I am ordering my book now, thanks so much for the idea. I love how clean and simple your design is, do you remember which one you used? Thank you.

  3. This is such a great idea! I’ve never thought of making a photo book before. Love it! I’m definitely going to make one not only for father’s day, but some for myself too. =)

  4. How cool! I am going to do this now for my husband. thanks Kelly, you always have the coolest stuff. As a professional photographer Im going to start offering these to my clients. Thanks! PS cant wait to see the house finished. Im on pins and needles!

  5. What a truly gorgeous family, Kelly, and a wonderful way to capture and keep family memories. Cheers, Ardith

  6. Your family is just the cutest! Enjoy those little ones as they sure do grow fast. Love to see your home progress, but also love it when you share posts like this about your other creative pursuits. Thanks for brightening my day with your fun posts.

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