Digital Scrapbooking

Carrie is the artsy one of the two of us. She has amazing scrapbooks she's created. I, on the other hand, have some old photo albums, boxes of photos that have never been put in a book, and a million digital pictures on my computer. (actually, during my big de-cluttering experience this past month, I'm proud to say most of the pictures are now in an album....)

My solution: digital photobooks. They're quick, they're creative, and they're a terrific birthday gift idea. I just did one for each of my twins (they turned 2 on April 18). Kids love to get books as presents; it's even more fun to get one of yourself! I do a basic book from the past year, beginning with the previous birthday. It's okay if the book gets a little "loved" on the big opening day because the book is saved on the internet and my pictures are saved on the computer. If a disaster happens, I can re-order one.

This is one way the digital revolution has helped simplify my life! The catch: not to get too involved in creating the perfect book in such a way that it takes away from the here and now time with my children. Tools of the trade: most sites that develop digital photos also do digital books these days. I've used Walgreen's and Shutterfly most recently and both have been good.