Holiday Cards 2011

It's (almost) that time of year! Ok...it may seem a little early, but let's be honest, I start thinking about Christmas cards January 1st. And why not get a jump on the holiday to-do list? I had a previous customer ask me on August 31st when I would be listing my holiday card designs. That alone is plenty of validation for posting these mid-October.

The other reason I wanted to get these out early is because I will be out of the country December 10th-January 3rd. That means...no printing Christmas cards after December 9th! Get your orders in early, people!

This year, I felt inspired to design four new cards, and I'm very excited to show off these contemporary styles. Behold the 2011 KruBooks Holiday Card Collection:





Check out the listings on etsy for more details!

"You Are My Sunshine" Wall Art

Introducing the newest member of my Favorite Things Wall Art Collection - "You Are My Sunshine"


Last week, my sister-in-law told me that her sister (my other sister-in-law) used to sing this song to her twin girls when they were babies. I couldn't resist adding these sweet lyrics to my collection - wouldn't this print be perfect for a nursery or playroom?

The sign measures 11.75x36 inches and is printed on heavy coated bond paper. Custom colors are available for an additional fee.

Just in time for the holidays! Order your "You Are My Sunshine" print now!

Erin and Bobby

Another lovely wedding from photographer Julie Wilhite

 

 

 

Congratulations, Erin and Bobby!

Jessica and Aron

This wedding comes from Boston photographer Zev Fisher.  Zev and I have now produced seven albums together, and it is truly a joy to have him as a client.  He is extremely talented and prefers a nice clean style which I love.

If you are planning a wedding in the Boston area, you definitely need to check Zev's availability!

Real Home - Baby Nursery

In May, a friend of a friend asked me to design her wedding album. She and her husband have been married for three years, and are now expecting their first child. I had a blast working with Heather on her album. She is such a sweet girl - I like to now consider her my virtual friend :) Here's a link to her blog to see the post she wrote about the album.

A couple weeks ago she asked if I could help with some wall art for the nursery. She liked the Rod Stewart "Forever Young" print, but wasn't sure if the colors would work. So she sent me some pictures of the room decor and the corner where the sign would be hung. I did a couple variations, with different shades of grey and yellow. But when she found this beautiful grey frame at Michaels, I knew a cream background would be the perfect fit. I matched the yellow accent to the pillows and ribbons in the room and...voila!

I'm so excited to "meet" Heather and Christian's sweet little one. Now that the nursery is ready, Baby can come any time!

Amanda and Bradley

Another pretty album to share. I love the details from this wedding. Most items were handmade or bought on etsy. The invitations on the first page were custom designed by her bridesmaid Chelsea Windlinger. To see more pictures from the wedding, you can check out their featured post on the Ruffled blog.

Photography by Brooke Schwab

Erum and Moiz

As a friend pointed out this weekend, I've been behind on updating the KruBooks blog with recent work. And it's not for a lack of having beautiful things to share! First up, this gorgeous South Asian wedding shot by photographer Julie Wilhite. Luckily I've done a Hindu wedding album before, so I was prepared for the number of pictures and festivities. There are so many different events involved in the traditional South Asian wedding that Erum and Moiz decided to do two albums - one for the Mehndi and Sangeet, then another album for the wedding ceremony, reception, and crying ceremony.

Featured on Dream Albums Blog

Things are heating up around KruBooks - welcome to wedding season! I'm taking a quick break from designing to let you know that our album design was featured on Dream Albums blog! You may recognize this design from last June when I posted about the album. I always love seeing my layouts make their way off the computer screen and into a real live book.

Real Home - Custom Subway Sign

I always love showing off my client's subway signs. I was thrilled when Emily sent this picture of her freshly framed custom wall art. She picked a quote from her favorite TV show (One Tree Hill - love it). The sky's the limit when it comes to these things!


Check out my etsy shop to see more fun wall art!

Crystal and Jeff

I recently got a request for a special "vintage" style album from photographer April Smith. Her client wanted a design that used wallpaper, but maintained a classy and elegant look. The end product was soft and sweet, the perfect compliment for April's romantic images.


The bride and groom seeing each other for the first time


Reception details


First dance

GIVEAWAY WINNER!

Thanks to everyone who stopped by and left comments on my first ever blog giveaway. I'm thrilled with the success of this contest. And I'm inspired to do more in the future, so stay tuned!

The lucky winner is...
#62 - Kelly Shields

Kelly wrote, "AHH! Decisions... Decisions! Rod Stewart takes me back to my own childhood and would look great in our family room reminding me to cherish my babes and keep the young... Audrey - classic - would look AMAZING in my little missy's room!! I am going to go with Rod!"

Congratulations, Kelly! Please send an email to krubooks@hotmail.com to claim your prize!

To everyone else, thank you for sharing your excitement for my new line. I really appreciate all the feedback and enthusiasm. I'm excited to do even more!

Have a great weekend, everybody!

Wall Art GIVEAWAY

My first ever blog giveaway! How exciting!

Most of my work revolves around designing custom wedding albums, but I also have a KruBooks etsy shop. I sell some cards (especially around the holidays), and I also sell city and custom subway signs (you can catch up on my past subway sign posts here). This week I am introducing a new line of wall art I fondly call my "Favorite Things Collection." This line includes favorite quotes, lyrics, sayings, and verses. I am starting with four so far, but I'm sure more will be added down the road.


Check out this link to see bigger pictures and read descriptions of the newest collection. Of course the Favorite Things Collection would not be complete without the "My Favorite Things" Sign!


The signs measure 11.75x36 inches and are printed on heavy coated bond paper. Custom signs are also available so you can proudly display your own favorite lyrics, quote, saying, or verse. If interested in this option, send me a message for more information.

So that's the introduction, now on to the GIVEAWAY! This week, one lucky winner will be getting a free wall art print from my etsy shop. This can be a City Subway Sign or something from the new Favorite Things Collection. It gets better - you can increase your odds with THREE chances to win! Leave a separate comment below for each task you complete:

1) Check out the Etsy Shop then leave a message on this blog post saying which sign you would pick if you won.

2) Head on over to the KruBooks Facebook page and "Like" KruBooks. Then leave a message on this blog post saying you've completed this step. If you already "like" us, you can just leave a message to say that.

3) Share the link to this giveaway blog post in some way - as a Twitter update, facebook status, or in your own blog. Don't forget to come back and leave a message saying you've completed this step as well!

**Note: You can leave a separate comment for each task you complete so you have three chances to win!**

Giveaway closes at 8:00 AM EST on Friday, April 8th. The winning blog post number will be announced Friday morning. Must have a US mailing address to be eligible.

Good luck!

New Look

You may notice that the blog got a bit of a spring make-over. Well, the website is sporting a fresh look too! I decided this week that it was time to update my KruBooks site with more recent work, and then I realized that the new work deserved new surroundings, and soon the site and blog were completed revamped! I'm excited for this change as it more accurately reflects the design style I desire for my albums - clean, simple, and sophisticated. It's amazing how one's work evolves through the years. I love looking back on albums I did four years ago when first starting KruBooks. They are like old friends, and it's a nice bit of nostalgia. But there's no reason for my website and blog to dwell in the past. Welcome to 2011, friends!

Karen and Brian

Congratulations to Karen and Brian, married November 13, 2010. I am a friend to any couple who includes their dog in the wedding pictures!

photography by Julie Wilhite

An Argument for Wedding Albums

It's true that the times they are a-changin'. This world is getting increasingly digital, and with the development of the ipad and Kindle, books and magazines are becoming less...well, necessary. It's interesting to think how this will affect the world of wedding albums. A while back, I was asked if instead of printing the layouts and getting them bound into an album, if I would just give the couple the jpgs so they could show it to others on their computer or iphone. I had no problem with this, and they did save money on the printing, but I couldn't help thinking how sad it would be for the couple 20 years down the road when they don't have anything physical to hold and show the kids. I made sure to mention that they could hold on to their files and contact me at any point if they wanted an album printed.

The other day I stumbled upon this photographer's blog post detailing how his daughter recently discovered her parents wedding album and how much fun they had looking through it with her. Dave writes:


"I think the most striking thing about our daughter discovering this wonderful time capsule is that she could discover it. If it were a DVD, she would have read the title, found it boring and moved on. Also, after several moves and boxing and unboxings, I doubt it would ever be found and if it were, we certainly wouldn’t have been able to share the warmth of a family moment on the couch, turning the pages and sharing part of our past with our little girl. An album is so much more than the 1′s and 0′s so many of us photographers burn down to a DVD. An album is immune to advances in technology. If the DVD format changes and drives are updated and the jpg format becomes a thing of the past, your album doesn’t care. An album is unaffected by power outages. Light’s go out, it still works. Brides are often referred to as princesses, what self-respecting princess doesn’t have a book to tell the story of her wedding!

I realize that so often the issue with buying an album is price. I would rebut with the simple fact that if a bride is going to pay $25,000 for her wedding, she should trust her photographer to put together the best !#@%$ book they can to show off their big day! Forever! In a medium where, should their daughter (who, by the way, believes in true love, fairy tales and princess stories) find it on the bookshelf, she can bring it to her mom and dad and ask them who every person was at their wedding."

Wonderfully written and so TRUE! There are many brides today who walk away with just a CD of their images, intending to get an album made later but never do. Well, let me tell you, it's not too late! I've done plenty of albums for people who have been married for several years and are finally ready to get an album. In fact, this Christmas I designed a wedding album for my husband's sister and brother-in-law who had just celebrated their five year anniversary. And because I hate having a blog post without pictures, I might as well sneak in some favorites from their album!

It's even sweeter to remember this special day five years down the road. And now Lorren and Cole have two precious girls that will LOVE to look through the book about their princess mommy and prince daddy!

Allison and Alex

Be still my beating heart - another gorgeous wedding from Julie Wilhite. I'm so thrilled I got to be a part of this one. How adorable is this couple?







Congratulations, Allison and Alex!