A Special Book from Blurb.ca and a Contest!

Our Blurb photo book arrived!!!! 


This Christmas, I decided to make a special book about Zackie.  All of our favourite family photos with him, some silly shots, photos from his therapy and with his loving brothers.  I spent several nights uploading all of the photos and using the templates to create the perfect layouts, background colours and space for text.

Christmas was an emotional and stressful time, another year without our son, another celebration without feeling like celebrating, so I totally missed the deadline for Christmas deliveries on this special project.  I spent hours going through old photos, which we save by month, and sorting them so I’d have the perfect glimpse into our live with Zack.  I wanted to show his laughter, his meltdowns, his favourite things and his love for his family- especially his two brothers.  I wanted to use photos that showed his determination to walk and the pride he had when we accomplished the impossible.  I wanted the “walnut cheek” to be captured when he belly laughed for his daddy and I wanted those deep brown eyes to glisten on each page.  It was almost impossible to choose which photos made the cut, but after hours and hours, I think I got it right.  I shed several tears making this masterpiece, but what was clear to me, in looking back on our years with Zack, was that he was deeply loved and he loved back with his whole heart. 

I didn’t want to rush the process or put added pressure on an already emotional project, so I was lucky that Blurb has an ebook feature.  Just before Christmas, I was able to send an electronic copy to my parents, Zack’s godmother, Paul and keep a copy myself of the work I had done to preserve our sweet memories of Zackie. 

My love of photo books started when my amazing husband created a fabulous book about me and my boys and gave it to me at my surprise 35th Birthday.  The concept was pretty new at the time and he used an American site where the shipping cost MORE than the book!  We’ve preserved our family memories in this way several times since then- our 10th anniversary, birthday books for our boys and a book to remember a romantic trip to Vegas.

The site that I feel the most comfortable on is Blurb.  Yes, there are many others and I’ve tried them too, but I was introduced to Blurb when a sweet friend, Jacki, had my blog turned into a book just after Zack died.  It was her way of getting my blog into my hands to document our journey and the way our life was with our son.  I am still so touched that she took the time to create such a special gift for me. 

Do you have hundreds of photos from Christmas?  Preserve the memories with a book from Blurb.  Family recipes you want to compile in a proper book?  How about turning your blog into a real coffee table book?

You can easily and affordably publish your own bookstore-quality books and ebooks with Blurb, a creative publishing platform that lets you design, publish and share professional-quality books starting at just $4.95 and ebooks for a one time publish fee of $9.99.