Today we were nominated for DailyCandy’s annual Sweetest Things contest! Yay!

So now, of course, I’d love your vote. And your friend’s vote, your family’s, your hair dresser’s, your mailman’s, etc…

Click below to cast your vote, then go tell a friend (or 10!)

Thank you so much!

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If Christmas card pictures are an annual tradition in your house, here’s a no-brainer book idea: your family’s Christmas Card Collection!

Here’s an example to inspire you. The Thomas Family Christmas Cards, from 1958-2005, compiled by mother-daughter duo Maggie and Anna.

For the endsheet pattern we used some of the family’s old Christmas songsheets.

We used a color palette of browns, red, and teal and included a caption for each year explaining the events in the family’s life alongside the Christmas card picture.

Start collecting your pictures now, or email me if you’ve already got your collection ready for book form!

Thanks, Maggie & Anna!

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Christy over at Junebug Weddings wrote a very sweet blog post about our new photo accordion books yesterday.

If you don’t know Junebug, go check them out. Even if you’re not a bride, it is such delicious design eye candy!

Thanks, Christy!

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My mom sent me this link to Oprah’s site over the weekend. It has a great article on how to write your own memoir.

The hardest part to writing any memoir is, of course, getting started. What I loved about this article was the 10 writing exercises to help you get started. They are all 2-page exercises, intended to jog your memory and just get the words flowing.

What I’ve found working on books is that once you’re engaged in the project and writing and gathering the material, it is so much easier to complete it. (The same is true for me designing it…once I get started and know where I’m heading, the design just flows.) So exercises like these can be invaluable to get you going.

The 10 “getting started” exercises:

1. Write two pages of something you can’t deny.
2. Write two pages of what got left behind.
3. Write two pages of something you wrote or did that you no longer understand.
4. Write two pages of apologizing for something you didn’t do.
5. Write two pages about a physical characteristic you are proud to have inherited or passed on.
6. Write two pages of what you had to have.
7. Write two pages of humiliating exposure.
8. Write two pages about a time when you felt compassion unexpectedly.
9. Write two pages of what you have too much of.
10. Write two pages of when you knew you were in trouble.

Let me know if you’d like to talk about starting your own memoir, or helping your parent or grandparent get started with theirs. I’d love to help!

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