Blurb Make Your Memories Into Heirlooms

It all started years ago when my mom and her siblings had the idea to make a *book of love* for their mom (my grandma) – each wrote a letter telling her the things they’d learned over the years from her, the example she’d been, and all the reasons they were grateful to have a mom like her, etc. They scrapbooked the pages with photos of their families and presented it when they all gathered to celebrate her birthday. It was amazing – and so meaningful and stands now as a family heirloom, that I know means so much to each of them especially since she passed 6 years ago. Since then, a few of them have received their own books celebrating their lives in the same way. And with each book made, more memories are captured and turned into lasting heirlooms.

Earlier this year, with my mom’s 60th birthday approaching, I had the idea to do one for her. And was confident in the decision when she suggested it herself – lol. I knew, that above all else, she wanted her own heirloom book. Her own, *book of love*. So I got to work – wanting to make this the BEST it could be. Initially planning to scrapbook it, I quickly discovered my plan was much too involved to make scrapbooking worthwhile. It would have taken me FOREVER and I know would have created an insane amount of stress. Remembering some friends and family members who have used Blurb.com I decided to give it a shot.

BEST.IDEA.EVER.

The software was easy to download, easy to navigate, and awesome to work with. When my parents were gone for a day trip, I went and stole all their photo albums, going through each one, scanning photos that I wanted to use. It was an amazing experience for me – being able to relive so many incredible memories and remember what an awesome life I have had. This was so much fun!

So I spent DAYS – AND NIGHTS – putting this together….receiving letters from family and friends and organizing the book. Having never used this program before I was unsure how it would all come together from what I saw on the screen to what I would see in the finished product.

But let me tell you….It is AMAZING!!!! Beyond amazing – and I could not have been happier with it …okay aside from a few errors I made and didn’t notice with my rushing to get it finished. But I could not believe the quality of all the photos. Everything is amazing and I can’t wait to make another one – I have a few ideas floating around that I need to get started on. The goal behind this book, aside from letting my mom know how important and loved she is to so many, was to give her a condensed memoir of her life…if ever there was reason to evacuate, rather than worry about all the albums and photos in the house, she would need only to grab this and it would hold all of that. I absolutely LOVE this book – and LOVE Blurb! The quality of their products and the affordability – mixed with the ease of use – makes this a company that gets the *Cute Like Me Seal of Approval* – HANDS DOWN.