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I got the printed book for my son-in-law yesterday. I am very happy with the result and the quality I got from Staples. Here is the "reveal".

Another layout. I saw something like this in the background on a TV show. I like that I can try to replicate something, even if it doesn't turn out the way I imagined. The cutout circle background gave me so much trouble, don't know why. I wanted to give it more depth but just couldn't add a bevel or any other 3D effect to it. The file seemed to be so slow to load and save, just glitchy I guess. It's created as a .png but had to also save as .jpg to use here. Have no idea what I'd use it for, but enjoyed doing it.

Wasn't sure if I would do something for this, but I got to playing this morning with that BAS Globe that was offered somewhere here last Christmas or the Christmas before. I made it a mask and then came up with this. Working with the magic wand wasn't cooperating at first, not sure why, but I extracted the shape of the placque and then filled it with a color similar to the placque background; used Arial Bold for the text and then effects>cutout with a fill color of yellow, and this is what I came up with (also changed the background color from red since it wouldn't go with this picture. The picture is of the manger scene at our church.

I Love your book your so Awesome, loved all the pages Happy Holidays your so cool. Hugs all

It is absolutely beautiful and a wonderful gift of memories for your family.

It is so nice when the work you put in turns out to be so fantastic! I know that feeling when you get a book/album printed and it turns out just as you wanted it to be, especially when it is such a precious gift. It will be great to see their faces when daddy opens his present. Enjoy!!!!

JUMPING UP AND DOWN!!!! Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwww It turned out so GREAT! I knew all your hard work would be awesome, but I could not wait to see how Staples turned out! It is truly magical!!!! It's amazing how REALLY GREAT this turned out! I especially like the glossy effect....and I think the size of the type turned out just right. It was well worth the wait. Love it, Cassel...JUST LOVE IT!!!!

As soon as I saw that this freebie was about cookies, a song came to mind. In Germany there is a nursery song about the Christmas bakery and every year there is a children's choir in one of the big shows on the telly that is singing it. Cristina, Anja and Doska will certainly know it. It is called: "In der Weihnachtsbäckerei" and for those who want to hear it, you can google it and get many hits. Carole thanks, I can't get it out of my head now and am singing/humming it for the last 2 days!🗣️ I even found a sticker about that bakery, it was on a white background but thanks to the blendmode hard light the white disappeared. I have the cookiescript 2 and have "baked" a couple of cookies with some sprinkles and glitter, put them on a plate with a doilie behind. The picture of the bakery shop I had in my stash and I used a mask to get rid of the ugly torn edges. And of course I used the freebie cookies for the text.

The font is Brush Script MT. The graphics were downloads from C F. The Cookies Alpha is of course the Christmas Cookie Alpha from Cassel. The other Alpha is one I downloaded a long time ago from who knows where.

I eventually get 99% of my layouts printed. For my personal use, I get 12x12 prints from Persnickety Prints out of Utah. The normal price is $1.99 for prints or print credits but have sales probably 4 or 5 times a year where they only cost $1.49 (not sure if they have raised prices lately though). I usually buy the print credits then order prints when I have at least 50 layouts to print. Although I usually wait until I have 100 since the shipping is a flat price no matter how many prints you order! And, yes, I have a lot of layouts I've done since 2008 (over 2500). I then put the layouts in page protectors in Creative Memories strap hinge albums. I have also used Shutterfly to print books. My first one was a soft-cover 8x8 about 10 years ago to see how they were. I then did an 8x8 hard cover using layouts I had already printed for me for my cousin in 2013. I definitely liked the hard cover better. Since then I have done several more books for that cousin all using the layflat pages with hard cover and each one has at least 100 pages. I have one sitting on a shelf waiting to give to them when I see them next (they are in FL, I am in OH). I also did 2 books for another cousin (brother and sister) in the last several years. I did layouts documenting COVID from January 2020 to May 2023 and chose to make a Shutterfly book out of those layouts. I always wait to order Shutterfly books when they have a sale on "unlimited pages" which really helps keep the cost down. I started getting the 10x10 size from Shutterfly when I started getting the layflat pages. This size is closer to the size of a regular book and for me the journaling is much easier to read.

What a wonderful gift. I got tears. You did an awesome job with the photos and the story. I think you should get it published for libraries and such. Can't wait to see "Dad's" reaction.

Cassel - the book you are giving to your son-in-law is precious. I have made 3 layout books now - all 8X8 standard from Shutterfly. Quality is good with the standard and the journaling shows up with the 8X8 standard format. My almost 50 page book of the travel challenge i just completed came out ok, but I learned that there is a special way you have to handle the double pages for printing when you are not ordering the flat book. I've shown it to my daughter and my granddaughter, whose critique I respect, and they are happy with it. the best one I made was of the chattanooga trip my daughter and I took last year. That one was made with layouts on a single page (not double page) although I created the single pages with the idea of 2 pages facing each other - and I got them printed that way. The first book I had printed was a hit with one of my other granddaughters - as she was one who was on that trip. that one was of the first travel challenges I made with you. All in all, I'm happy with printing layouts and when there is a sale, it is definitely worth it.

Impressive, Carole! I'm sure that will be a hit with the whole family. I think your idea of the watercolor strokes for the background is perfect. I see Staples did an excellent job for you, too. I'm pleased with my calendar for Jackie. Glossy is the way to go!

All you pages are so delicate and your photo is great! I would love to see her fall backwards, that must be funny to watch.

I had already used the cookies for the Christmas challenge, so I used the cookies for a birthday, not intended as a card to print but to use as a digital image to wish a birthday, for example on Facebook or somewhere else. I'm not sure the shadows are okay, but I had fun all evening with making this. Cookie Monster and his party hat are from PNGwing, the balloons are freebies, but I can't remember where I got them The Alphas are from digidelights blogspot com

I've had this Christmas/Hanukkah cartoon for a while and don't know where it came from other than on the internet. The background is from the greenery in the art. Added a selection frame with inner bevel.

What a family heirloom that will be! Imagine in 20 or 50 years, when someone looks at that labour of love! A treasured and very special keepsake.

SO beautiful and so touching. A wonderful gift!

I would say it was more fun than work.

The format is not the easiest to get published on platforms like Amazon (like my other books), and I am not sure he would want his photos published further. In his line of work, it is not "safe" so to speak. However, I was thinking that maybe someone would want a SIMILAR book with their photos. However, since every photo has to be edited for the out-of-bound effect, that would vary from photo to photo so it is not like I could sell a template to Staples for example. But yes, I was also wondering if anyone else would have wanted a book of that sort, if/how I could offer it. The text would also have to change based on the photos. We'll see. Maybe I will get some requests and if so, I'll go from there.

If it were the Netherlands, I could answer yes to all your questions, because the printing service I use over here has all that options and I have used them very often.

Nice to see you again Cindy! Have a wonderful holiday.

Superbe Carole, belle idée de cadeau et ce sera un magnifique souvenir pour toute la famille!

What an amazing gift it is for the whole family! This is something to be handed down through generations.

OMG! This is precious. Fabulous shot, you can see how she savors it. It must be quite funny when she falls over. It is fun to watch all the antics out my dining room window too.

Moving on from bumbershoots and old folks....🙃 Not only do I feed peanuts and seeds to the critters in the backyard, but sometimes I watch their behaviours and silly antics. This particular girl (my photo) savours every peanut she gets, leans way back to eat it, and sometimes falls right over! It looks like she's in raptures with her treats.

Here is my Elf Self - just call me Twisty. I stuck pretty close to reality with the accessories.

I know, right? 🤣 I gave myself long hair, different color and *GASP*...LIPSTICK. I'm ready for a night on the sleigh.

cool , here is my avatar and Elf name

Not sure where to put this. It is Christmas related. At least I put some lipstick on! Even thought I never wear makeup; today was special and just for you all. This is exactly what I look like (NOT). Yikes on the GrumpyFingers part. Makes a perfect excuse..."I'm sorry, I can't come to work today, my fingers are feeling grumpy". 😋

I was really lazy this year and most of my graphics and the font are from Creative Fabrica. The photo collage is from a free download, but I removed the background and moved it to my card. The card was made for my grandkids and their girlfriends who live in Las Vegas. I know it's pretty busy, but I have trouble restraining myself. The font is a glyph font called Helo Angel from Creative Fabrica. The gold snowflakes are also from a free template. This card is the front and needs to folded in half. Original is letter size to fit my card paper.

It turned out great. I know it was a lot of work, but I bet he (all of them actually) will treasure it forever.