Something For Nothing

I was very excited when I saw multiple friends blog about a great deal Shutterfly was doing and am happy to get in on it!

I love crafting and especially scrapbooking. Photos, paper, colors, and designs... sometimes I enjoy getting messy and creating with my hands and sometimes I like doing it on the computer. Digital scrapbooking has become a popular hobby and I started to get into it. I went to a class to learn all about using Photoshop and even contemplated buying the Creative Memories program. However, even though I am a crafter I am also pretty frugal. I just couldn't see myself setting aside all the equipment and supplies I have for my paper scrapbooking and crafting to switch to digital. This is where companies like Shutterfly help me out. I get my "digital fix".

A few of my favorite Shutterfly products:

Photo Books. I LOVE making these babies. I get very excited when they come in the mail and I make Derek sit down and look at them with me right then (even though we saw the whole thing previewed online after I made it! Ha!). They are usually some sort of "theme" like a vacation or time in our life so they're kinda like a storybook in a way. Plus, they take up much less space than a real scrapbook and you can still use the special mementos (like maps or tickets) you just scan them and add them in as a photo! My sister-in-law has made a book every year for her boyfriend with pictures of the two of them from that year. Such a cute idea. I piggybacked that idea and last spring made a "10-Year" book of Derek and I. I still look through it now and then and just relive all the fun memories we've made over the decade. It's the sunset one on the top of the pile:

Aside from the normal vacations and holiday photobooks and the memories one like our "10-year" book... I've also seen some other cool ideas that I'd love to do sometime: 

• ABC photobooks (like A is for aunties and you have pictures of the aunties) 
• Brown Bear theme (like a photo of Jacob and you type "Jacob Jacob what do you see?" and then "I see Mary looking at me" then Mary is on the next page)
• Recipe books (and pictures of the favorite people or parties that these recipes are from)
• Historical or Ancestral books (old scanned photos and the stories that go with them)
• classroom or sports team ones (like a hip yearbook kind of)
• a collection, only photo style (instead of your child saving all the "precious" stones, you take pictures of them and make them into a book...) 

I've tried other companies too, like HotBooks free books, but Shutterfly still beats out everyone with quality of selection. Plus, they always have great deals going, especially around Christmas time! I even have two free books from two "House Parties" this year!

Photo Cards. Another favorite.  I love getting any Christmas cards in the mail, but my favorite are the ones with photos on them. (Bonus if they have a fun message or letter inside). I love seeing how our friends and family have changed year to year, where they decided to get their photo taken and how they are dressed... just so cute. It takes no time at all to get Christmas cards done now and they're even more personalized than the cards you used to sit down and write in each one years ago. We always like to have cards that speak of Jesus' birth, rather than ones that focus on a commercialized Christmas or simply say "Happy Holidays". With these cards you can type whatever you want so you can add a Bible verse with it as well. There are so many to choose from. Here are 2 of my favorite ones right now: (I haven't picked ours out yet because it depends what photo I use and we're taking pictures this Saturday)

When we moved into the neighborhood we walked around to deliver our Christmas cards and meet the neighbors. It was an excuse to knock on doors and introduce ourselves and if they weren't home we taped it to their door with a note that we'd stopped by. Then that gave them an excuse to say hello when we did run into them later... plus, they knew what we looked like from our photo card! I did get 100 free postcards from Vistaprints recently that I'll use to give to neighbors or use as Thank You cards this year.  

Photos. I love how convenient it is to just upload my photos at home, anytime I want (or when naptime happens) and they get delivered to my mailbox. There are always great deals on printing photos. I just keep compiling them and then print them when a great deal comes along. You can usually find free shipping and even prepay to get a cheaper price. I like the option to print in "True Size" too so that my digitals don't get cropped automatically.

Calendars. Lot's of people I know make these and I love looking at them when i am in their home. I'm not so good at keeping my calendars updated so we actually have our calendar online through our Google account otherwise I'd probably make a photo calendar.

Canvas Wall Art. I'm drooling over these... and they're totally on sale right now. Maybe I'll use one of our family photos this coming weekend to print on canvas. (drool...) Wouldn't Abigail's newborn photos be cute? 

The above photo on canvas like so:

So basically, I love crafting but don't always have the time and Shutterfly let's me make things pretty quickly and easily. Also, I don't like spending a lot of money and I can get some pretty good deals if I watch out for them.