Want to show the one you love how loved they are this Valentine’s? Want to do it in a personalized, creative and unique way that’s sweeter and longer lasting than a box of chocolates? Here’s the recipe to make one thoughtful Candy Hearts Brag Book.

Ingredients:

• Scissors
• Construction paper
• Marker
• Camera (or phone)
• Teaspoon of creativity
• Teaspoon of sweetness
• Dash of sauciness [optional]

Assembly:

Take 14 pieces of construction paper and fold them in half. Cut hearts from each piece. Then write sayings like “Be Mine”, “I<3 You”, “U R Cute” as well as some of your own [sweet if for your child, saucy if for your SO]. Once your hearts are ready, take pictures or have someone take pictures of you holding each heart. Upload them and create a book. Add more sweet nothings by adding text boxes. And since the minimum Inkubook page count is 20, you could make a few more hearts and take a few more pictures.

Candy Hearts Photobook

Give a sweet gift that’ll last way longer than a chocolate filled heart.

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We recently interviewed Inkubook member Abbey Wilson to find out about how she learned of Inkubook, why she likes us and she is incorporating photos, photo memories and photobooks into her upcoming wedding.

Engagement Photobook - Show off those gorgeous pictures

Inkubook – Tell us how you learned about Inkubook.
Abbey – I discovered Inkubook via the promotional Groupon deal this summer. I was not previously familiar with the company or the products, but frequently use Groupons to “test” new companies and businesses, so I thought this was worth the shot. I was also impressed with the simplicity of the website interface design when I checked out the site.

What made you come back after your first photo book order?
For “testing out” Inkubook, I hit the jackpot. I ordered 2 Classic Landscape books and they were printed beautifully. Not a single misprint or margin out of line – no pictures cut off and the colors I’d chosen printed exactly as shown on the website. I also worked with Inkubook Support to have their standard logo removed from the back cover, and the associate I worked with was kind and prompt in responding – 2 essential customer service qualities!

Was using Inkubook the first time you made a photo book?
I’d never made a “virtual” photo book until my experience with Inkubook, and I barely scrapbooked as a kid. I typically print pictures and slide them into blank albums, but Inkubook has changed my mind about how I want to display, share and keep my photographs.

Why do you like making photo books?
I like clean, simple designs and organized displays, and Inkubook photo books are perfect for this. I also like the simplicity of Inkubook’s “drag and drop” design, and the upload time for images is very fast.

Tell us about some of the books you’ve made?
The book I’m currently working on will be my wedding guest book. It highlights some of our favorite pictures from the time we started dating to our engagement, including our engagement pictures. I’ve designed it with small captions near each picture to tell our guests where each was taken, and left plenty of space on most pages for guests to choose a picture that they were present for or reminds them of us and sign their well wishes near it. The book is a nice touch to our wedding which is entirely personalized and unique to the look of most modern weddings.

Wedding Photo GuestBook

Did you use any tools outside of Inkubook in the creation process?
No, I just uploaded my own pictures directly to Inkubook and designed from the site.

We understand you’ll be getting married in May 2012, do you have any ideas in mind for using photo books and cards as part of your wedding planning and gifts?
As I mentioned, I’m creating our wedding guest book via Inkubook. I plan for this to be a beautiful display of pictures as well as our guests’ thoughts and comments we have for a very long time. I like the idea of customized thank you stationary, which we’ll also design for our wedding. Life’s too short to be boring – customization and beautiful design are essential, especially when planning a wedding! Inkubook gives you the potential to be anything but cookie cutter.

Congratulations to you and your fiancée on your upcoming wedding. Thanks for using Inkubook – we can’t wait to see your wedding album.

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Every family has its special holiday traditions from when they put up the Christmas tree to where they put the Minorah. Traditions are part of what make the holidays special and memorable.

Cookies & Trees

Since they first had teeth, my daughters each get a 99 cent Advent calendar with the waxy chocolate on the evening of November 30^th. They enjoy the daily candy and I enjoy it helps countdown the days until Christmas instead of being asked each day. Come to think of it, my mom did the same for me and my sister. And, while we generally skip seeing Santa at the mall, we do have breakfast with him every year. Another tradition is my father reading ‘Twas the Night before Christmas by Clement C. Moore on Christmas Eve to all of the grandkids complete with voices and sound effects. Partnered with that, is the “you get to open one gift on Christmas Eve and it’s going to be holiday pajamas” tradition. A good friend of mine has his children decorate the tree without adult interference and they spend a Saturday in the kitchen making all sorts of good treats to give to the church, neighbors and family. What special holiday traditions does your family have?

Santa Visit

From the first snow, St. Nicholas Day, breakfast with Santa, and the first night of Hanukah to the First day of winter, The Twelve Days of Christmas, and exterior illumination, December is full of photo ops. Capture your special traditions in a Holiday Traditions photo book and smile the whole year through.

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The lights, the music, the holiday cheer and the big guy in the red suit – something about the Christmas season seems to bring out the child in all of us. And while you may not look as young as you feel, you can relive the days when you did with Inkubook vintage Christmas photo books.

This year, while you’re up in the attic getting down the decorations, look around for some boxes of old photos. You’re bound to find stacks of forgotten pictures that will rekindle the memories of Christmases and haircuts past. Once you’ve collected enough pictures, simply scan them to a computer and upload them directly into an Inkubook. Vintage Christmas photo books make great presents, especially for those in the difficult-to-buy-for category.

But photo books aren’t your only option. Instead of hassling with getting the entire family together for a picture, use one of the classics for this year’s holiday greeting card. It’s sure to be one of the most unique cards anyone receives, and it’s much less embarrassing than the matching holiday sweaters families usually wear in the pictures.

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Your wedding day is one of the happiest days of your life. All of your friends, family and loved ones are gathered to celebrate your transition into the next phase of life. After months and months of countless hours of planning, the day itself will go by faster than you can say, “I do.”

And with all the activity and excitement it can be easy to miss out on special little moments. So, to capture everyone and every event from your reception create an unofficial wedding photo book with Inkubook.

All you need to do is place a disposable camera on each table and let your guests be the photographers. Afterwards, collect the cameras or invite others to upload their own pictures with Inkubook’s photo sharing feature. You could also include cards on the table to allow friends and family to write well wishes to the newlyweds to include in your book. While the majority of the pictures probably won’t make the cut for your official album, together they can create a fun flipbook to help you relive the more casual side of your special day.

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Thanksgiving is the perfect holiday to kick off the season. It is the calm before the shopping storm that allows us to drop everything we are doing for one day to relax with family and enjoy a feast of homemade food. If your family is anything like mine you know the yearly schedule all too well; eat, watch football, eat, nap and then eat some more.

This year, sometime between seconds and thirds, or at halftime of the football game, add a new tradition into the routine. Have everyone write down what they are thankful for and begin compiling a Thanksgiving Inkubook. Include pictures from Thanksgiving dinner or find pictures of what each person is thankful for. Your book will become a cornucopia of thanks and help give some perspective heading into the craziness of the holidays.

Once you have your pictures and “thankful” pages uploaded, simply pick the dimensions of your book and the number of pages and, if you get started soon enough, come Christmas everyone will be thanking you for putting together such a creative and thoughtful photo book.

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More so than any other time of year, the holidays are about spending time with family. This is the season when everyone, whether immediate or distant relatives, clears their schedules and comes together in one place. But now, with Inkubook, you can keep the entire family in one place year-round with family tree photo books.

It seems that from Thanksgiving until New Year’s we are surrounded by family and loved ones. And in the midst of traditions, stories and family recipes, wouldn’t it be fun to take a look back to see just how you and your family came to be where you are today?

Hundreds of websites, such as Ancestry.com, exist to help you trace back your lineage. But exploring your family history can be as easy as gathering stories and pictures from other family members. Either way you will be creating a beautiful photo book that celebrates your history. And with Inkubook, shipping photo books within 7-10 business days of purchase, you could be ready to share your book by the end of the year.

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Let grandma and grandpa know they are loved with each passing month by creating a calendar of messages from your little ones. Have your children write messages and draw pictures saying things like happy birthday, Happy Valentines’ Day or simple messages like “Hi”, “I love you” and “I can’t wait to see you this summer”. If your kids are very young, you can write the messages and have them color them in. When you have 12 messages complete, take a picture of your child holding up each one. Consider changing outfits to match the season or switching locations. Then, upload the photos and build a calendar.

When you use Inkubook you can choose seasonal and holiday backgrounds to correspond with the months or you can choose all white or black for a sleek look and allow the images to stand on their own. Have the kids help with the calendar design and make it a gift from everyone.

Grandma and grandpa will smile and feel loved each time they flip the page of their very special gift.

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Before too long, countdowns to Christmas will be everywhere you look. This year, keep track of the December days with something more true to the Christmas tradition by making an advent calendar photo book.

While it might not have daily candy treats (let’s face it, who needs more candy around the holidays anyways?), it will have something even better, a favorite memory on every page.

Fill each spread with photos from the year that’s nearly gone or from Christmases past. Or you can keep it classic by using each day to tell a piece of the Nativity story, or your family’s favorite Christmas tale or song.

No matter how you choose to adorn your pages, the important thing is choosing a theme that’s special to you and your family. So give it a shot. You might just make a new Christmas tradition.

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The alphabet book may be the most quintessential children’s book of all time. It’s safe to say that the majority of kids began their reading career with the line “A is for Apple.” Books such as these are timeless, to say the least, but maybe it’s time to put a new, personal twist on the classic with custom Inkubook alphabet books.

Now, you can personalize every letter from A to Z with pictures of family members, vacation spots and other familiar things. Just think, instead of illustrating “D is for Dog” with a generic drawing of a random dog, you can show your child a photo of the family dog, a dog that your child knows and loves.

Putting your own special touch on the traditional ABC book will create a family keep-sake that your children are sure to treasure. So, start thinking of what pictures you want to use for each letter, especially X, and get started on your own personalized ABC Inkubook.

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