DIY Baby Book

When we first got pregnant, I knew I wanted to create something different for my baby book. Registering for one at Babies R Us just isn't my style.  We decided early on that we'd take a front a side shot each week in front of a blank wall in our guest room.  Well, almost blank.  There was a bit of junk.  The first week, I photoshopped it all out and created a blank wall, and used that as a backdrop for all other weeks.

I looked up the info online to figure out how big peanut was each week, and found some of my favorite fonts to create the graphics.  

One of my favorite programs ever is Blurb. In Blurb I was able to type a letter to the baby each week.  I told him all about what was happening that week, how I was feeling, where we traveled.  I let him know how he was growing each week, and generally rambled on and on.  The software is so easy to use, and gives you a variety of simple layouts.  The book quality is unparalleled- I even ordered our wedding album from them!  Heavy paper and an image-wrap cover.

As far as layout is concerned, I punctuated these progression pages with some other fun graphics and goodies. See part 2 for some of those pages.

I wanted to add some fun, colorful graphics to help illustrate our journey through these insane 9 months.  What you're seeing here is a sample of 8 full page layouts, stacked from top to bottom.

I did most of this with simple type in Adobe Illustrator, and typed up the copy in Blurb.  The stuff that I did in Blurb is completely beginner level, although the Illustrator layouts are a bit more advanced (for starters, you'll need to get your hands on a copy of the software, which is really pricey. Blurb, on the other hand, is a free download from Blurb.comwwww.blurb.com)

I had fun taking the weekly pictures, but beyond that I really wanted to add more dimension and a bit of personality to Isaac's baby book.  These are some of the things that I thought were important to include: lists of the foods I had to have and the foods I couldn't get near, a picture of our positive pregnancy test, the baby names we were considering, a special note from dad, and the announcement (we didn't know whether the baby was a boy or a girl!)

I had so much fun doing this, but the pressure is on- I'd better think of another good idea by the time we have another baby!  

Enjoy!
Jen, Jason & Isaac
Ritzy Rosebud