Keep Your Family Memories Alive: Blurb Photo Books

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As a young girl, I remember climbing on the sofa next to my grandmother and spending hours looking through her photo books. She had dozens of them. No kidding, picture books literally lined the shelves of her walk-in closet. I believe it was those old photo books, my grandma's detailed recollection of her own childhood memories, and her love of sharing her family history that led me to become so passionate about my ancestry.


Nearing thirty, my love for exploring my heritage has only grown. I've spent hours upon hours working on my own photo books and heirlooms to share with my family and, one day, pass down to my children.

Blurb, an American self-publishing platform, has made that so easy for me.

For my most recent photo book project, I wanted to create something special for my parents. My parents don't have many family photographs. They both come from large families and the beloved photo books were passed down to the eldest children. We still get the chance to see photos every once in awhile, as my aunts, uncles, and cousins are kind enough to share the photo books across social media.

Because I had access to these photographs, I compiled dozens of virtual images — family photographs from both my maternal and paternal side — to use in a photo book. My goal, using Blurb, was to create a photo book that my mother and father could hold in their hands and cherish for years to come.

And that's exactly what I did.

Blurb's Online Photo Book Software

Blurb's platform was user-friendly. I loved feeling in control of the design and layout. It made the whole experience far more personal, which I liked.

To start, I chose my book size, which was a "Standard Landscape" in the "Elegant" style, which is a classic white background. Once you've chosen your size and style, Blurb Bookify™ will open 

As soon as Blurb Bookify™ loads up, you're able to begin importing photographs for your photo book. Blurb makes it easy to import photos from your computer, Facebook, Flickr, Instagram, and more.

Once your photographs have been successfully imported, Blurb Bookify™ will give you the option to automatically arrange photos for you or to drag and drop them yourself. I thought that the auto-arrange was an amazingly convenient option, but because I tend to be particular, I decided to go with the drag-and-drop option.

From there, you can add more images, text, borders, backgrounds, and rearrange and adjust your layout to perfect your book. If you're still unsure, you can even go through a virtual preview before you make your purchase!

After spending some time making my book absolutely perfect, I finally placed the order and the book arrived within two weeks. I was in love with the results! And my parents were incredibly thrilled to receive the book — lots of happy tears were shed.

Want to share the love with your family? Start your book online!

My Family History: A Blurb Photo Book

When I designed the book, I went for a very basic cover — minimalist and elegant. I wanted it to be able to fit in with my parents' home decor.

They both loved the crisp, clean design. The cover of the photo book turned out beautifully.

When I designed the book, I chose the matte style paper — my parents were never really into the high gloss images, so I figured the matte was better suited to their taste.

On the inside cover, I wrote a "dedication" of sorts to my parents, whom my children call "Peepaw" and "Meemaw."

And of course, I had to include one of my favorite family quotes of all time...

After the quote, I began the book by including a photograph of both my father's parents and my mother's parents. Without those two couples, my parents (and therefore I and my children) would not be here today. 

The photo book turned out so beautifully. I was able to give my parents images that they haven't seen in decades — some that they haven't ever seen before! Once they received the book, they wrote down some of the names in the photographs. I could have done this with Blurb Bookify™, but I didn't even think about it at the time. My parents didn't mind. They loved going through the book and talking about old memories from when they were younger.

All-in-all, the Blurb Photo Book experience not only produced a beautiful, cherished family heirloom, but it also brought my family and I closer together. And that, my friends, is more than what I could have ever asked for.