Using Online Scrapbooking Sites

I used snapfish to make my daughter's 1-year book. I liked it and the quality was good, but for the 12x12 size book, Shutterfly had a better selection of background papers. My friend that is a professional photographer uses mypublisher.com and has gorgous photo books. They really aren't that much more expensive than snapfish.

Good luck!

My daughter-in-law has made me 2 books from shutterfly I absolutely love them!!!! I keep them out and look at them all the time.

My hubby's aunt made memory books for my children after a trip they took to Florida while I was in the hospital w/our DD#2. They turned out really well. They were bound, printed, and really nice. She got to decide how and where to place photos, what captions to insert, what borders/etc to use, etc. I don't think they were all that expensive. She used shutterfly.com and I was considering using it to make some books too. HTH

Just to give a couple sites no one else mentioned...

Picaboo.com & Scrapbookflair.com are other options. Scrapbook Flair has tons of awesome backgrounds available. I hope you find one that you'll absolutely love!

L.

Many of the sites for scrapbooking are simple - snapfish, shuterfly, etc. The biggest difference between those and say Heritage Makers and Creative Memories is quality. They make a good book if you are looking for inexpensive books. I say this from experience. I made my son's baby book on snapfish and it is nice - but not great. I later discovered Heritage Makers and made a book and the quality is excellent. I will be honest they are a bit more expensive, but the quality is hands down the best. No software to download or purchase. Just go to the site and sign up, and make your book. I loved it so much I became a consultant.

I will say though if you have a tight budget snapfish, etc will be your best bet. Good books, just not as high quality.

One thing to keep in mind - find out if you have to pay per page - at $4 a page it can get costly. Some sites are by page and not by book.

Good luck and most of all have fun sharing your story!

I used shutterfly once to make a book. Turned out good I thought. Well, this past June I became a Creative Memories consultant, and so I made one that Creative Memories makes. The quality is even better. True, it would be cheaper to go with Shutterfly or Snapfish, but what they say is true, you get what you pay for. I invite you to check out www.mycmsite.com/cassiehull and check out the digital section. There is software that you can buy if you get really into it, but there is also FREE software that you can download right from that website. Then you can download free templates (which there are baby-themed templates on there for free) or there are more that you can pay for.

Honestly, if you want something simple and low cost, go with shutterfly or one of those other sites. But if this is something that you want to cherish, and if you think you will get into this hobby and make several books over time, then I encourage you to give CM a try. I don't even care if its with my site or not, I just want people to have quality photos that they're happy with. :-)

I did one through Yorkphoto.com and it turned out GREAT. Twenty pages for 14.95--it was a special price, I think it's usually 19.99. I was able to work on it in short increments of time over several days, saving it as I went along, until it was finished. Super easy!

I love shutterfly. I made two different books from there and they are so awesome and it is so easy and so much less expensive than scrapbooking. I highly recommend it.

I haven't used the digital sites before, I'm strictly paper & adhesive, but I know quite a few people have used shutterfly and have been very happy with the results. A great place for advice on this subject is another website: Creating Keepsakes, they have a new Beta site where most of the members of this community chat you want to go to www.abc123.sewnews.com You then click on the "community" tab, then select "scrapbooking" and post a question. They are very very helpful and filled with great advice. They may even have an idea for a site that produces an equal product for a better price. Good luck & enjoy!

Before my daughter (who just turned one) came along, I was a huge scrapbooker. Since then, I haven't had as much time, but I do use Wal-Mart's site. I have made 5+ books, and they always turn out great, especially for gifts. Plus, you an keep as many pictures as you want on your "site", share them with others and it's no charge! Plus, the prices on their memory books are great!

Photobucket.com has a great scrap book and you can not only get backgrouds for any picture you have you can also view different user's scrapbooks for examples. (I do that) Plus it saves time and it looks great.

Have fun!

My sister has made multiple books from shutterfly, and they are GREAT! I would highly suggest using them. She said it does get addicting though, so beware! :)
Enjoy!

Hi A.F.!

I have researched many companies because I am a consultant for Heritage Makers. The quality of HM books is HEAD AND SHOULDERS above the rest. They are all hardbound, library stitched and heirloom quality. In fact, if anything happens to your book (naughty dog chewing it, fire at your home, etc.) they'll replace it at half the cost. If it's due to their error, they replace it FREE!

They have the BEST and easiest to use system out there and hundreds of templates to choose from. All you do is drag your pictures in and drop them into place! And best of all it's all done online so you don't need any extra software to bog down your computer. You can literally do it from any computer connected to the internet.

I've seen so many other books out there and have heard about their poor quality. One person let her daughter have the book that she made for her on Shutterfly and it fell apart in 2 days. My books ride around in my purse and my boys (4&6) look at them all the time!

While I've not been working my business so much the last few months because of some bad circumstances in my life, I still stand by the product 100%! You can also earn free product by hosting a workshop which will get you going. Check out the website for a quick overview...www.YourDigitalStory.com

Whatever site you choose to use, have fun and get your stories told! Your boys will treasure them forever!

Hello! I have been using Shutterfly for 3 years now, and I have had excellent results. The scrapbooks are adorable in person, and as long as your picture quality was good when the picture was taken, it prints as it would a regular photograph. I think you will be quite pleased using there site. There are so many ways to get creative with your own book. What an excellent way to preserve memories! Happy scrapbooking!

I use Snapfish.com. for lots of reasons....my computer crashed at home and I learned the hard way to have your pics somewhere other than just your home computer, so you have a back up in case that happens!
It's also a great way to share photos with other family members, anyone can join and order prints from there.
It is no cost to join and all you have to do to stay a member is purchase something once a year.
recently we had a family reunion and i created a photobook for my grandmother...it turned out great! and it was only $28 to her door!!!!!!!!
Their print prices are reasonable, and they even have a deal with meijer, you can pick them up there if you don't want them shipped.
Also...you get the chance to "invite" others to join, and if they join using your invitation, you get some free prints!
the website is www.snapfish.com
let me know if you want me to "invite" you....i'll just need your e-mail...
but you can go without the invite too!

I use Shutterfly, we have a Sharesite on it. I've ordered pictures, some products and even a book. It's all been great. I really like them. Their Sharesite stuff is new and still has some gliches/delays, but overall the pic quality is great. I loved the book I made!

Creative Memories has a wonderful line of supplies. The quality is the best. They also have ways to speed up the process of getting your memories taken care of. Check out my website for info if your interested. www.mycmsite.com/cindyhonold

It really is the best quality compared to the other companies and I know that is how I want my memories taken care of.
They also have a free digital download if you are interested in digital books.

I LOVE the Shutterfly books/baby books I've made for my girls! I do one each year for them, instead of traditional photo albums. They are fantastic!! My sister-in-law made her whole wedding album from Shutterfly and it's gorgeous.

I'm sure all the sites are very similar. But it's very easy and you'll be happy! good luck!

I have used Shutterfly and it was OK. The software I really like is by Creative Memories. They have a great package for digital scrapbooking and it is not expensive - I belive they are comprable to the other online sites.
I am not at all creative either. The CM software makes it easy for anyone to make beautiful scrapbooks. It's really easy.
I am not a CM consultant, but if you would like the name of one please let me know and I can put you in touch with her. Good Luck!!!

I have used and ordered a scrapbook from Shutterfly and it turned out awesome. I love to scrapbook, but just don't seem to have as much time now, so I tried the shutterfly site for my daughters 1st birthday book and was very impressed at the ease of use and the quality of the book when I received it. I am thinking about using it again to make a mini scrapbook for my mother in law for christmas

Creative Memories has some beautiful digital books. If you go to my website www.mycmsite.com/ahendershot you can research a little information on the digital scrapbooks that they have to offer. The designs are gorgeous and it is very user friendly.

Why bother with online when you can walk into your walmart with your pictures and walk back out with a book, scrapbook page or any of the new mosaics and such in an hour (that they have the program for on their Fuji kiosk)? If you run into help, someone in the lab can help you, and you pay a fraction of the price you would online, also no shipping.
Good Luck!
C.

I haven't tried any of these sites yet, but here are a few online scrapbooking sites that were mentioned in Parents magazine. I think they're all free or relatively inexpensive.

smilebox.com
scrapblog.com
howfasttheygrow.com

AF ~
I had taken some very old family pictures that I had, scanned them and uploaded them to Kodakgallery.com. I then made a photo book with some of my favorites and it turned out beautiful! It's a great way for me to be able to keep the photos out and share with visitors without worrying about the originals being destroyed. I don't know about the other sites, but Kodak turned out great.
D.

Scrapblog is a great site too. They even have "stickers" and neat tricks you can do. I think it has an affiliate that you can print your pages too.

I have used all of the big companies and they are all pretty great. I have found a site called http://www.smilebox. com . It is great. They have a ton of templates that you digitally insert your pictures or videos into and then you can just print out and put in a book and you can also email them to family with music set to it. On Grandparents day, I emailed my dd's grandparents & great grandparents a video of her saying happy grandparents day set to music and with pictures of her with them. They were totally impressed with my ability! All I did was insert pictures! Check it out! I can't remember what it cost, but I don't remember it being too much!

I have used My Publisher, Kodak and Snapfish. Currently, I like Snapfish for a couple of reasons...it's so easy and it tells you if the quality of your photo will work in the space you are placing the photo. Secondly, I have also been able to get some books for just the shippng cost through mycokerewards.com. Here's how I have done it, I save the caps from sodas, fridge packs and Poweraid Drinks which have a point value and then I redeem them for the Snapfish Book vouchers online. I think I have about four or so that I have done that way. I have found that it is really easy for me to do. I have made them as gifts - - perfect end of the year gift for a teacher!

I just made two books with winkflash and love them. I waited for a sale. I have had many comments about them and people wanting to do them too. I have a friend that absoultly loves "Blurb". I want to try that one next.

My sister is a shutterfly and snapfish addict. :) She's made tons of books this way and says the sites are very easy to navigate through. I don't like these sites as I don't want to take the time for it to load each time I want to work on the book, so I've used a few downloadable programs instead. I like blurb the best so far, as it has more layout options. I'm still looking for one that I can create my own template instead of using theirs...but that may not be an option for a while. :) They're very easy and user friendly. We printed my pregnancy journal this way and it has been so nice as a coffee table book. I"m currently working on books for the grand and great grandparents for Christmas presents.

Good luck

I used the one that Snapfish. I created and sent it to Meijer - it was done within minutes (they said I overnight I think when I sent, but I got confirmation that they were done within 30 min or so). I thought they turned out well and were fairly easy to do.