Listen. I'm not special. Yes, I love preserving my memories in pages, so I'm rarely more than a month or two "behind." But all it takes is finding something you love and a plan you can stick to.
Because after that, it's just fun. It's not hard. Not even a little.
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We are going to focus today on digital memory-keeping--creating digitally with a printed result (and a digital copy, too). The non-negotiables below still apply to traditional paper scrapbooking and to simply sliding your photos in photo albums purchased at a craft store or a big-box store, so make sure you can check all those boxes even if you're not interested in digital memory-keeping.
The Non-Negotiables
No matter the memory-keeping system you choose, there are some non-negotiables that you should not budge on:
- quality: Look for acid-free, lignin-free pages printed with high-quality inks and best-in-the-industry bindings. Do not use any company that uses glue in their bindings because over time the glue will crack, causing pages to fall out. The best binding would be either stitching (a library binding) or a PUR binding which is a chemical bonding process, not glue.
- a place to write: Photos without stories are the 21st century equivalent of an old shoebox in the attic--if you don't know who is in the photo and why it was taken, it actually loses its value!
- guarantees: Don't accept anything less than a 100% satisfaction guarantee and a privacy guarantee. These days, it's very easy to find online sites that will print your books, store your digital photos, etc., but it's shocking how many of them have fine print that allows them to shut down their site without notice, sell your information, and even sell your photos. Make sure you have a guarantee on all those things. I wrote about privacy guarantees and common fine print here, if you'd like to learn more. And, really, a 100% satisfaction guarantee for something you're paying for only makes sense. You want your book to be amazing.
These non-negotiables do eliminate a fair amount of options, it's true. And that's for good reason. You really and truly don't want something that is going to fall apart. You really and truly don't want your photos to be data-mined and sold. You want a photo-memory book you can give as a gift and can pass on to the next generation.
The Magic Solution: a hack
We will definitely get you to a solution here, but I first want to tell you the biggest secret in finding a memory-keeping system that works for you.
There's not a "latest and greatest" you should be looking for. There's not some magic solution.
There's just a hack.
And the hack is this: The right memory-keeping system, the best memory-keeping system, is your favorite one. It's the one you will do and love.
That's the honest truth. Make sure your chosen system meets the non-negotiables listed above, and if it does, you're in the right place.
If you're still looking for the right thing for you, we'll talk next about how to choose the right memory-keeping system FOR YOU. Something you'll do and love.
How to Choose the Right Memory-Keeping System for YOU
There are a few good questions to ask yourself in order to help you choose the right system FOR YOU. Is your goal to spend time or save time? Would a creative option or a pre-designed option be your choice?
Again, we're just talking about preserving memories and photos in pages here, but if you'd like to preserve them digitally in the cloud, this video will show you the digital equivalent--best quality, privacy, and longevity guaranteed.
NOTE: I am a Forever affiliate called an Ambassador (a decision I made because I love it so much), so you will find affiliate links in this post. I earn a commission from anything purchased at my website, and being your Ambassador means I'm here to help you with questions, too.
Two Recommendations
I've seen so many people use this simple method with beautiful results.
And more than the "beautiful" part... They have RESULTS! For anyone stuck (not moving forward) with memory-keeping, this might be the most important thing of all. Something doable can make all the difference.
Create & Print templates are professionally-designed and free to use. Choose the size, number of pages up to 99 (the price of the book is for 21 pages, then you can add pages at a per-page price), and the cover type (hardbound or softbound). There's just one design for the cover, but you can choose each page of the book individually based on your needs (a page with 3 photos, a page with 4 photos plus text, etc.). And there are hundreds of templates available for you to choose from, in many themes from vacation to wedding to everyday memories.
Another big win with Create & Print is that it uses very intuitive software that really only takes about 4 minutes to learn. You can see exactly how easy it is to use Create & Print here (or at this playlist)
With Create & Print, you can even make a book right from your phone.
Some people love designing their own pages for full creativity and flexibility when making digital photo-memory books. That's Option B, but I always suggest that if you're stuck or behind on your memory-keeping, you can get books done rather quickly using Create & Print, and you may like getting last year's photos into a book with Create & Print and then move on to this year's using Artisan, an amazing and fun digital scrapbooking software program I'll tell you about next.
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I've seen this in action, by the way. If time is of the essence or if you've been sitting on a photo-memory book goal for too long, Create & Print may just be your best friend.
I have a friend who waited on putting together her daughter's wedding book for about 4 years because her go-to memory-keeping company was going through some changes and had some problems. I suggested Create & Print and she put the entire book together--and ordered it for printing--in 4 days.
OPTION B: Artisan digital scrapbooking software
I have used Create & Print several times for projects I needed done quickly, which is fantastic, but I absolutely love Artisan for full creativity, flexibility, and freedom of design. Artisan is definitely my go-to. With Artisan, I use fonts from my own computer (and 1001 Free Fonts is my favorite tool for always adding new, fun fonts), and I love creating!
Artisan is a program you purchase and install on your computer (like you do with Word or any other computer program). There's a free 30-day trial, too. Then, you can purchase digital art to use with Artisan so, again, you're getting exactly what you want.
While some people like--or some circumstances necessitate--quick and easy photo-memory book completion, if you enjoy the creative process like I do (it's, quite honestly, needed Me Time), you may love Artisan as much as I do.
Because there's SO MUCH you can do with Artisan, and it does take a little time to learn the program--just like with any computer program--I have created a whole Artisan Quick Tips with Jennifer series of tutorial videos that show you one thing at a time, such as how to add a drop shadow, how to create a wrap-around cover, how to crop photos, etc. You can see them all at that link, and this video will show you how to make a basic page:
What Now?
Get books in your hands! Choose the system that works best for you, and just get started. Don't wait. All the benefits of memory-keeping that I listed above are waiting for you!
Get started following the steps here.
Remember, too, that books make great gifts--for yourself, for your family, for grandparents, for kids. Emailing pictures really isn't the same thing. Something you can hold in your hands is precious.
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