How sad is this? The Twilight Saga has been read millions of times more than Gone With the Wind (one of my fave books) and the Diary of Anne Frank. And this is really only keeping track of how many copies have been sold, not the amount of times its been borrowed from the library or friends, or digitally(?).
Have you heard of Blurb? Its a photo book making website, where you do the designing and creating with your own photos and words! You can make a cookbook, publish your own book, create a wedding album, or even an Instagram or Facebook photo album! Blurb has just launched a new template collection, the Designer Book Collection!
And now I’ve got a great deal to share with you today, Blurb is offering 20% off on your Blurb Designer Photo Book, now through March 31, 2013! The Designer Book Collection features six 7″x7″ book templates, ready for you to pop in your photos to feature an art portfolio, photography portfolio, or just your favorite collection of photos! These six templates are all about highlighting your beautiful photos, while including spaces for journaling. The books are easy to create with a new drag-and-drop process. Designer Books make great birthday gifts or for capturing memories of a wonderful Spring Break!
Use code DESIGNMYBOOK to save 20% on your Blurb Designer Photo Book, coupon code expires 3/31/2013.
New Designer Templates
• Designer Collection: six beautiful photo book templates for our 7 x 7 inch books, created with designer Laura Brunow Miner.
• Create a quick, high-quality Small Square book with our streamlined drag-and-drop process.
• Choose one photo to highlight per page, switch photo orientation, add captions if you wish – even import photos from Facebook and Instagram.
• Ideas: These books make great birthday gifts, are perfect for capturing your child’s Sports season, make lovely host/hostess gifts, ideal for capturing your Spring Break memories, and much more!
• Well-priced: starting at just US $10.95.
I have been looking through their wonderful book ideas for the past week! OMG! I have seen this site before but could never come up with any ideas of what to make. However I think I have finally decided what I will make my book about- all my graphic design and paintings and other artwork! I have artwork dating back over 20 years! I would love a solid collection, with beautiful colors of all those pieces in one spot! Of course I have to scan a lot of my artwork, because lots of it was on paper because I used to draw all the time as a kid. So this will take some time to finish, but I am excited to get working on it! I loved creating a book design when I was in college, this should be a fun experience full of all sorts of perfectionist complications! haha I can’t wait tho!
I just downloaded the Blurb Booksmart application so I can get started making my book:
This is a snippet of the description of the Blurb Booksmart application you can download on their website. I am so excited to get started designing my own book!
*Fine print: Get 20% USD, AUD, CAD or EUR off your Blurb Designer Bookify product total up to $150. Offer expires March 31, 2013 11.59pm local time. May only be used once per customer and on books created by you. May not be combined with any other coupons, volume discount or applied retroactively to previous orders.
What will you create your book with??
Disclaimer: The opinions within this post are my own, I was not paid to give my opinions, however these are links to my affiliate account and I will receive a small commission from any purchase you make through them. Thank you for clicking from my website.
Daily Prompt: What was your favorite book as a child? Did it influence the person you are now?
I absolutely loved the Beatrix Potter Peter Rabbit series! I have read those stories thousands of times!
The drawings are beautiful and detailed without being overwhelming.
The stories are simple for any level to understand with a touch of whimsey.
Did you know there is also an interactive Peter Rabbit book you can get on your Kindle?
*Peter Rabbit links to my affiliate link, where I would get a percentage of sales.
My room is for reading, because I love to read – not so much with the writing!
My room is full of books, floor to ceiling and the ceiling is so high I have one of those rolling ladders!
The room isn’t a square or rectangle, it has alcoves and smaller “rooms” within the big room.
There are couches and lounges and over-stuffed chairs, side tables with lamps, large desks with ornate lamps, chandeliers hanging from the high ceilings.
There are floor cushions and pillows, luscious floor rugs, places to lay down, places to prop on the pillows, places to sit and read anything I want!
My awesome “reading room”
I just checked out this book from the library, A Daily Creativity Journal 365: Make Something Everyday and Change Your Life! The idea of starting a 365 project sounds really exciting and overwhelming to me. The good news is I can do anything I want, I can pick a theme or just try to express myself in any way. While reading the prompt suggestions last night I came up with a similar idea that’s not so “hard to reach” perhaps. What if instead I pick something “new” for every month? I can focus on one art medium or one idea/action that I really want to explore!
So I will schedule each month to participate in my Year of Something New:
January: Organization– I will work in the house, my room, my art supplies, and organize as much as I possibly can, and maybe even get rid of the excess stuff! (no promises, but maybe look for craft supply sales soon 🙂
February: Books– let’s try to actually read some of the free novels I’ve been collecting on my Kindle, but nothing how-to or crafty.
March: Babies– My twin sister is pregnant with twins, this month will be focusing on making things for babies and preparing for them to be here!
April: Sewing– There is so much I want to learn to do, I bought a book with simple patterns and instructions, let’s get started!
May: Food: I want to try a bunch of new Gluten-Free recipes, I got a new cookbook for Christmas so this is the month for cooking!
June: Outdoors: This is all about spending time outside, making things or just enjoying the environment in a new way.
July: Polymer Clay– I bought these different colors but haven’t done a thing with them, its time to play!
August: Watercolor Paints – I am anxious to learn to use my pencils and paints and make those beautiful color blends!
September: Acrylic Paints – Time to take my acrylic paintings to a new level!
October: Christmas Gifts – thats right, gotta start early to make handmade gifts, possibly from something I have learned new this year.
November: Family Time – time to slow down and refocus my energy on family and friends, maybe reconnect with long lost pals.
December: Pick Your Fave – time for me to revisit my favorite Something New’s of the year.
What can you look forward to? Photos and posts about my progress. I may not take all my “before” photos of my disorganization, its pretty bad. I may even be able to walk away with a few DIY’s and How-To’s for you guys. This is coming up to another busy year, I want to get started painting right away, but I know I have other very important things to focus on during the first few months.
Organization is big on the list and will help me fix the clutter when I have the opportunity to get started on my new artsy ambitions. No worries tho, I will not stop making art or jewelry during these months! I will continue to create and post items in my Etsy shop. Also while I explore new mediums, get excited to see those items in my Etsy shop as well!
Is anyone else participating in a 365 Something project for the new year? If you are, link your blog/project in the comments so everyone can check it out!
We Give Books Read a Book. Give a Book.
“We Give Books is a new digital initiative that enables anyone with access to the Internet to put books in the hands of children who don’t have them, simply by reading online.
We Give Books combines the joy of reading with the power of helping others, providing a platform for caregivers and educators to inspire children to become lifelong readers and lifelong givers.
We Give Books also helps some of the world’s best, most inspiring, literacy organizations by spreading the word about their great work and by providing books to the young people these organizations support.”
Christina Designs Art 