Okay "galore" might be a bit of an exaggeration.  But there are so many great Shutterfly and Tiny Shutterfly's free book offer.  Though I love when it comes around, I don't always have the time to make a book from scratch.  Luckily we take professional family photos annually and making a book is the perfect way to use them. I don't know about you but the amount of gorgeous photos hanging out on my laptop drives me crazy! Using images from a professional session is much easier than weeding through tons of candid shots and editing and piecing them together in a moderately attractive way.  It took about an hour to throw this book together.  Take a look!  I've included some current offers at the end!
Prints offers right now!  Plus I realized I never shared Dax's newborn photos so I figured now was as good time as any.  I made a book of our newborn photo session using

Not only will your loved ones appreciate these gifts, but they are on sale!  I've loved Shutterfly for awhile now (my most recent project is here), but I've only used Shutterfly for Christmas shopping over the past several years.  Now I know not everyone wants my big toothy grin all over their Christmas gift but what grandma or nana or gigi or whatever they are calling themselves these days, doesn't want to show off their oh-so-adorable grandkids?!  I know my parents and grandparents appreciate it!

Well I hope not! Because I have another to share! And it's not even because of the $10 coupon they give you for sharing.  Apparently that doesn't happen anymore (boo!).  It's simply because there are so many great deals on the site that I can't help but take advantage.  After losing all of my photos taken from May through September (except for 1000 that happened to be on my SD card at the time), I'm realizing how lame it is to take tons of pictures and then just leave them on my computer.  I'm trying very hard to actually print them to put in albums (so old school right?) or make books of them.  And Shutterfly is making it easy!  They recently had a 50% off hardcover books of any size coupon (sorry- it expired tonight, or last night by the time you read this), 101 free prints coupon, and a $10 off of $20 coupon.  That means I just ordered a 20 page hardcover book for $20 including shipping!  This time I decided to make one of our apple picking excursion.  Fun memory + picturesque backdrop = great photo book fodder.  Take a peek and keep reading for special offers.

This deal goes along perfectly with yesterday's first post (and this constitutes my 4th post this week.  virtual pat on the back please?).  Shutterfly is currently having a 40% off of EVERYTHING sale! And even better?  You can combine it with their free shipping deal!  Check it out here.  And order some prints! Or Christmas cards! Or a photo book!

Whenever I'm too busy to blog, I usually ask myself what's keeping me so busy and that's how I come up with a post when I finally have a few minutes.  I'll go through a list which looks something like this:

I finally finished Nadia's month by month book. I always post my projects when I finish them.  And not just because of the coupon I get for doing so. I promise.  I do it because:

I'm at it again...Needed a last minute gift for my nana and who came to the rescue?!  Shutterfly!  Check it out:


Right now you can save up to 30% on ornaments with code TREE. But hurry! Today's the last day for standard shipping orders!

So what are you waiting for?! Head on over to Shutterfly and make your Christmas, New Year's, or Holiday card! Oh, by the way, just before checking out, I remembered to check online for a coupon code and found one!  So I was able to save $10 + 30% off of my calendar!  (Did I mention that I love Shutterfly)? It expired today but I'm sure as Christmas nears, there will be more deals!  Make sure to check retailmenot and Shutterfly's "special offers" section for great deals.

Well I gave Joe the shutterfly book I made and he loved it!  I was so excited to give it to him.  I was also partly nervous that I did that thing people do when they give gifts suitable for themselves vs. the recipient...but then I thought, 'who wouldn't want to see pictures of his handsome self sharing special moments with his beautiful kids?!'  You'd have to be dead inside.  [But I did buy him some Nike running clothes just in case..he was dead inside ;)].

Anyway, I mentioned here the reasons why I think photo books make fantastic gifts so I won't detail it again.  But I will say making this book was really a gift for me too...for a couple of reasons.  Warning: It's about to get real.  The first reason?  I'd be lying if I said I don't get a tiny bit sad sometimes about our lack of freedom to do what we want when we want.  Or about the fun days of 'just the two of us.'  I'm sure I'm the only one who feels this way ;) but 2 1/2 years into parenthood & two bambinos--while awesome--does change things.  I bring this up because on Joe's 30th birthday I made him a photo book.  It was chock full of self portraits of us traveling all over the place and doing fun stuff.  Well besides the fact that we now have kids, I'm also a SAHM so our "travel and entertainment" budget isn't exactly staggering.  I say all that to say, that there are times when I miss the way things were and feel like we never do anything fun.  (side note: it's silly to say 'never,' because it's rarely ever true! Of course we do fun things--just not as often and a different kind of fun).  Looking at this book reminded me of what we ARE doing.  We are growing kids.  And it takes a lot of time, money, and energy.  But it's also freakin amazing.  Like probably the best thing I've done with my life so far.  And I know at this point it may seem obligatory to say, but I would seriously not trade it for the world (or to see the world).  So seeing 35 pages of my love with our loves makes my heart so happy and shuts that nagging "we never do anything" refrain right up!

The second reason is equally as judgment inducing.  Sometimes, just sometimes I convince myself that I'm the one pouring the blood, sweat, and tears out over these kids...not that Joe isn't an active parent. Frankly, he's amazing.  But one of the things that makes marriage hard is our inherent selfishness.  The marriage conference we attend talks about the fact that you can never really know if you or your spouse is doing his/her fair share.  Who determines that 50/50 line?  Neither of us is objective enough to know for sure.  So of course there are times when I'm convinced that I'm doing "more."  Well going through the tons of photos of Joe with our girls to pick out the hundred or so that I used was a sweet and gentle reminder of just how much time he spends with his girls.  And I loved seeing that.  


Okay, well I think that's enough terrible mom and terrible wife confessions to strangers for one day.  :)  Take a look at the book and let me know what you think!  Have you created a photo gift for someone recently? I'd love to hear about it!

I made this book as a small softcover book for my mom's birthday a while ago. Then I sent it and it got lost in the mail. :( But maybe it was a happy accident because I just upgraded the book to a hard cover 8*8 and used "BOOK40" to get it for 40% off! Plus I had a $10 coupon. Can't wait till she gets it. I love giving a photo gift because it's something that people often don't have the time, skill, or inclination to make for themselves. I'm still a little sad the other one got lost but who knows--maybe it'll come back to me one day and I'll get to keep it for myself! Just maybe!

 

It's not too late to order Holiday Cards! If you're afraid you won't get them out until after Christmas, have no fear- just oder a "Happy Holidays," or "Happy New Year," or "Happy Everything" card! There are so many cool, modern options to choose from...or classic and traditional if that's your thing! Right now you can get 40% off with the code MERRY40. You can't beat that! Kinda makes me wish I would have procrastinated this year ;) "

And to win a lime green beanie with a pink flower check out this very cool blog (which incidently is where I learned of the shutterfly promotion) and this contest.