Monday, April 1, 2013

The Memento Every Couple Should Have

A friend sent me this article today and I could not agree more!  A few years ago I wrote a post called The Argument for Wedding Albums.  The article in at huffingtonpost.com echoes my exact sentiments:


"Today, a lot of couples think just getting the disc of images is 'good enough.' Here's the problem with that thinking: it's not true. Not by a long shot....

But of all the things you spend money on for your wedding, your wedding photographs are the ONLY thing that will increase in value over time. As the years pass, you'll be more and more glad that you have them. Especially, if you can experience looking through them by flipping through a gorgeous custom-designed album instead of sitting in front of your computer and clicking "next" with your mouse.


So, figure out a way to make it happen. Figure out a way to afford that album. Forgo a centerpiece. Cut back on your guest list. Opt out of the vintage car you'll drive in for all of 20 minutes.


Don't just do it for you. Do it for your children. Do it for your grandchildren. Because when they root around in your attic in 2075, they will have no idea what do with a USB key anymore than they would with a laser disc player." Kathleen Trenske, huffingtonpost.com



Figure out a way to get the album, you won't regret it.  Even if you wait five or ten years to have it made, it's never too late!  I love it when people contact me while pregnant with their first baby because they know it's an heirloom they'll want to pass on.

Kathleen writes, "My parents have exactly 18 professional images from their wedding. Eighteen. I know them inside and out. I could describe each image to you so well that a sketch artist would be able to recreate them.  How do I know them so well? Because I've looked at them hundreds of times. I've looked at them hundreds of times because they were on display, in an album. An album that was made by a professional, filled with prints made through a professional lab and bound in a book available only to professionals."

I can certainly relate to that!  I love looking through my parents' wedding album and even my grandparents' album.  But it's not just important for the future generations.  It's a priceless reminder of the excitement, love and vows you and your spouse shared that day.  And in my opinion, those are things you'll want to revisit and relive and recommit to every single day.

Friday, March 1, 2013

New Year's Eve Wedding

What's better than a winter wedding?  A New Year's Eve wedding!  Two special occasions on the same day equals twice the reason to celebrate.

These stunning pictures are from the amazingly talented averyhouse team, based out of Chicago.  Every album project with them is pure joy.  Opening their image folder to design is pretty much comparable to Christmas morning around here.








The details for this wedding are a designer's dream.  Probably the only thing that could make me happier is actually getting to attend the reception!





Counting down to 2013!



Happy New Year!

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Praise for Winter Weddings

I'm a midwest girl who grew up with changing seasons, and I truly love what each one has to offer.  But after two years of living in Grand Cayman, this Cincinnati winter has been a bit of a reality shock.  Then pictures like these come along and remind me just how beautiful this season can be.


Winter has a bad reputation of being dreary, causing depressing, and just generally over-staying its welcome.  But man, when that perfect white snow falls and those happy strands of lights twinkle, something truly magical happens.



I actually had a winter wedding myself, and was blessed with probably the warmest, sunniest December 15th Cincinnati can remember.  If I could have picked any season, I most likely would have done a fall wedding, but winter is what we ended up with.  And it was awesome.  Venues were already dressed up for the holidays, so we spent very little on flowers or decorations.  The colors of the season - gold, ivory, champagne, silver, and glitter - give your day a natural air of sophistication and elegance.


Winter is generally considered "off-season" for weddings so photographers, venues, and contractors might offer lower rates to fill their calendar.  Plus, as a final bonus, family and friends will all cast an envious eye as you whisk away to a sun-filled honeymoon!  You can't beat that!

 Photography by Zev Fisher

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

The New "Skinny" Flush Mount

When I first started KruBooks, I did a lot of research on printing companies and who I wanted to use as my main suppliers.  Probably 90% of my business is design only, but I like to offer brides and photographers a "whole package" option as well that covers design, print, and bind.  My plan was to keep it simple with two offerings  - a premium flush mount album and a more budget-friendly coffeetable style option.  I picked industry leaders for both and have been very happy with the finished products I've seen through the years.  But, as I mentioned in this post from 2009, I've continued to keep an eye on other companies and new suppliers as they come up.  There's plenty of new developments in the album industry!

For my premium flush mount albums, I have been using Leather Craftsmen's 3500 Flush Series.  I absolutely love their craftsmanship and customer service.  I will continue to offer these albums in 2013, and will blog soon about some new "frills" they have to really make your album stand out from the crowd.  I am also happy to announce that there will be no price raise on these albums this year!

BUT the real news is that I will no longer be offering a coffeetable style option in 2013.  Shocking, I know.  The thing is, while I loved having a less expensive offering for my brides, the simpleness of the album never seemed quite up to par for one of your most treasured heirlooms.  I started recommending it for guest books, engagement, vacation, or portrait albums, but steered brides away from using it for their weddings.  In 2012, I learned about Finao's new playBOOK album.  The playBOOK is a flush mount with a "skinny" page design...still thicker than a normal art book, but not quite as thick as the premium Leather Craftsmen.




Photos by Zofia & Co. Photography

I'm excited to say that I will be replacing my coffeetable album options with these "Skinny" Flush Mount Albums in 2013.  Here's why I love them:

1) No more press printed pages!  Coffeetable albums have the designs printed right on the page, usually at much lower quality.  Finao's playBOOK albums are real photographic prints, mounted to thick pages.

2) See ya, gutter!   Traditional coffeetable binding causes you to loose a good portion of your design in that annoying center gutter.  I hated the discontinuity this brought to the design, and how it limited the panoramic feel of those big gorgeous images.  In contrast, the playBOOK has a seamless construction and layflat design.

3) More bang for your buck!  The playBOOK has the quality of a flush mount, but is cheaper than the coffeetable!  As I looked over the pricing, I couldn't believe that I could offer this upgrade AND have it be less expensive than my current coffeetable album offerings.  The playBOOK has many fun cover options to choose from as well, all PVC free, eco-friendly, non-leather materials.

If you want more information on the pricing for these new "Skinny" Flush Mount Albums, shoot me an email (krubooks@hotmail.com), and I will send the revised 2013 pricing pdf.

Friday, January 4, 2013

Welcome 2013!

I have completely lost all blogging credibility.  It's been seven months since my last post!  The truth is, I thought about closing the blog down since I was worried sharing too many design ideas might invite imitators.  But I have some fun things in store for 2013 and I don't want you to miss them!  One of the things I am most excited about is mixing up my album offerings.  But more to come on that soon!

First, I just wanted to say what an awesome year 2012 has been for KruBooks.  Thank you to all the brides, photographers, and etsy clients who helped make it such a success.  One reason I truly love my job is that I work with the BEST people.  I love my repeat photographers who are sweet, understanding, encouraging, funny, and just truly the most quality people.  I can't wait to continue our friendship in 2013!

2012 was an exciting year for us personally as well.  My husband and I finished the last six months of our Grand Cayman adventure, and moved to Cincinnati in July.  We are happy to be back in good old America, although we definitely miss our island life and friends.  If you want to read more about our Caribbean escape, your can catch up on our Grand Life blog.

Finally, a couple fun stats:  In 2012, I had 117 album orders!  This is compared with 84 album orders in 2011, and 38 album orders in 2010 (when I was doing KruBooks part time).  I also had 108 etsy orders - wahoo!  I love staying busy, and now that I no longer have that amazing weather and clear blue sea tempting me, I hope for even more in 2013.

Best wishes to all my friends for the new year!  Can't wait to see what's in store!

Monday, May 28, 2012

Giveaway Winner!

Thanks to everyone who stopped by and left comments for this giveaway. Time to announce the winner! Lucky #16, Rachel!



Congratulations, Rachel! Send an email to krubooks@hotmail.com to claim your prize!

Monday, May 21, 2012

Who likes GIVEAWAYS?

New prints in the Etsy shop seem like a good excuse to do another giveaway!  I have five new "Favorite Things" pieces to add to my collection.  Keeping with the theme of my other Favorite Things prints, these all feature favorite lyrics, quotes, or movie lines.  Unlike my other pieces these each come with a color scheme option.  Here's a brief intro...

Winnie the Pooh Quote Print:
Sweet lines spoken by Christopher Robin to Winnie the Pooh.  Perfect for any nursery or playroom. 


As I mentioned, each of these prints come with two color options, choose either the "bold" and "bright" scheme.

Movie Quote Prints:
There are two new prints inspired by famous movie lines.  Shown on the left is a quote from Braveheart and on the right is a quote from Moulin Rouge.


Somewhere Over the Rainbow Print:
How have I not already put this in my collection?  Classic!


Blessings Print:
Last, but certainly not least, is probably my favorite of the newbies.  My dad used to say the same bedtime blessing to us every night, based off the Numbers 6:24-26 bible verse.  This is such a meaningful message for me, everything I desire for my someday-kids.  And because I believe in the power of praying a specific blessing over your child, this one can be personalized with your little one's name as well.


So that's the five new prints, now time for the giveaway!  One lucky winner will be getting a free print from my etsy shop. This can be a City Subway Sign, something from the Favorite Things Collection, or a "Letter is For" Print. It gets better - you can increase your odds with THREE chances to win! Leave a separate comment below for each task you complete:

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

CHANCE #2) While you are in the Etsy Shop, pin one of my wall art prints on Pinterest.  Then leave another comment on this blog post saying you've completed this step.

CHANCE #3) Share the link to this giveaway blog post in some way - on Twitter, facebook, or your own blog. Don't forget to come back and leave another comment 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 12:00 PM EST on Monday, May 27th. The winner will be announced that same day - make sure you check back to see if it's you! Must have a US mailing address to be eligible.

Good luck!

Monday, April 16, 2012

Real Home - Wedding Vows

My sweet sister got married last year in a beautiful December ceremony. For her husband's birthday, she wanted to create a custom wall art piece with their wedding vows. I absolutely loved the idea. What a wonderful reminder of that important day and the promises they made to each each. I am thrilled with the way it turned out!


If you would like to create a custom piece like this for your home, send me an email with more information. To see the rest of my wall art, check out the shop!

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

New Wall Art Collection - "Letter is For"

Today is a fun day. Today I am launching my newest line of wall art - the "Letter Is For" Collection. (I admit that's a dumb name. But creative naming is not my strong suit.) This is my first set of customizable wall art, so we'll see how this goes!

The "Letter Is For" series was designed with children in mind. I wanted to create wall art specifically for the kids' domain, whether that be a nursery, bedroom, or playroom. I wanted color options, so you could use your child's favorite hue or coordinate with the room decor. And, most of all, I wanted to showcase the names!

#1 Custom "Letter is For" Wall Art - Horizontal

I love the size of my City Subway and "Favorite Things" wall art collections - 11.75 by 36 inches is unique for wall art, fitting nicely in odd spots and corners, but is also practical since you can find standard 11.75x36 frames at Hobby Lobby, Michaels, or IKEA. But now I think, why not do a horizontal version? Something that would center nicely above a doorframe or crib. And voila!

First picture: mock up of the print in a light wood frame. Second image: close up of the print. Click HERE to shop!



#2 Custom "Letter Is For" Wall Art - Horizontal Monogram

Remember how you deliberated and agonized over naming your child? Does the first name sound good with the middle? Do the initials look ok together? You chose awesome first and middle names (and well, the last name is what it is) - display them all proudly!

First picture: mock up of the print in a light wood frame. Second image: close up of the print. Click HERE to shop!



#3 Custom "Letter is For" Wall Art - Vertical Chevron

But the horizontal size doesn't work in every room. And you know how you've been loving on chevron lately? Well, I've got just the print for you. Wouldn't it look great to have one for each of your kids lined up in the playroom?

First picture: mock up of the print in a light wood frame. Second image: close up of the print. Click HERE to shop!



If I get some comment loving for this new collection, I just might do another giveaway. So let me know what you think!

Monday, March 19, 2012

Britney and Bill

A fresh album design from a new photographer client - I'm a happy girl! It's so easy to do my job when the photography is this inspired. Thank you to Tara Liebeck for the opportunity to work together. If you are in Virginia, you have got to check her out!





Monday, February 27, 2012

Custom Subway Sign Gifts

Last November, my cousin-in-law asked me to create custom subway signs that she could give to her siblings for Christmas. She put together a list of names, places and events, as well as words and scripture that represent each family. She recently sent me the pictures of the finished products, which I'm excited to share here!

She wrote, "I attached two pictures, the one of my brother and sister-in-law who are expecting their first in May, and the other of my sister and brother-in-law and nephew. The reaction I got when they opened their gifts was perfect. I was able to write a note to each, and just having them read that and then open their gifts truly made my Christmas."


I just love personalized and meaningful gifts. What a special memory for both the gift giver and receiver! If you would like more information on creating a custom subway sign of your own, feel free to check out my etsy shop or contact me directly.

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Giveaway Winner

Thanks to everyone who stopped by and left comments for this giveaway. Time to announce the winner! Lucky #20, amicon08!


Congratulations, Courtney! Send an email to krubooks@hotmail.com to claim your prize!

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Audrey Hepburn Print GIVEAWAY

Since starting my "Favorite Things" Wall Art Collection last April, one print has clearly claimed the title of Miss Popularity. And who else is more deserving of this honor than the infamous Audrey Hepburn? It's with much excitement that I am now adding two new versions of the best selling "I Believe in Pink" print.


The NEW Black Background print: Edgy and bold, dress it up, dress it down


The NEW White Background print: Bright and fun, would look great in teen's room or colorful bathroom



Don't forget, the ORIGINAL Pale Pink Background print: Soft and Sweet, perfect for a nursery or little girl's room


Such a joyous occasion is certainly a good excuse to do another GIVEAWAY, don't you think? Next week, one lucky winner will be getting a free Audrey Hepburn wall art print from my etsy shop. It gets better - you can increase your odds with THREE chances to win! Leave a separate comment below for each task you complete:

CHANCE #1) First, leave a comment on this blog post saying which Audrey Hepburn sign you would pick if you won, and what you would do with it.

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

CHANCE #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 another comment 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 Thursday, February 23rd. The winning blog post number will be announced that same day. Must have a US mailing address to be eligible.

Good luck!

Friday, October 14, 2011

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!

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

"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!