Please note that in my blog posts below and elsewhere on this site, there will be affiliate links via text or graphic links or ads for products offered by various companies. If you click on a link and make a purchase or in some cases download software, I may receive a commission. Many of the products and companies reviewed here have been paid for by Photobookgirl.com without any request from the company although from time to time a company may sponsor a post or review which will be clearly noted. Above all, be assured that I am giving my honest opinion, as my goal is to provide the best and m ..read more

Thank you for all your entries and well wishes on our 10th anniversary. I enjoyed reading about all of the fun photo books you would make if you were to win a prize! Thank you also to Photobook America who generously sponsored this giveway. So let’s get to announcing the winners drawn at random from all the entries… Congrats to our two winners who have each won a $200.00 voucher to Photobook America! John D. says, “I would do a father daughter book if I won.” Mary M. says, “If I won, I would make an album of our trip to Montana!” John and Mary please check your e-mail inbox for a ..read more

Photobookgirl.com is 10 years old!!! I would not be here today without all of your support and I want to thank everyone for your readership over this past decade and for making this whole journey worthwhile. When I posted on our Facebook page that we would soon be turning 10, I wasn’t expecting all of your messages. That really gave me a boost of positive energy and I ended up writing an unplanned post about backing up your photos from your smartphones. If there’s one thing I really try to impress upon my readers and my friends and family is that it is so important to back up your photos ..read more

In two days Photobookgirl.com will turn 10 years old! A decade in cyberspace is like 70 years (kind of like dog years – you know what I mean?) So much has changed since I started this site. If I were starting this site now I think it would be very different because of how the technology has changed. Do you think I should sign up for TikTok? Haha… But one thing I hope would stay constant are the really nice people that I’ve encountered in the last decade – and that’s not meant to be sappy! I was really encouraged today when I saw all the messages and well wishes from my readers when I posted ab ..read more

This post is going up a little later than I’d hoped but better later than never! At year’s end (usually New Year’s Eve) I take stock of how many photos I’ve taken in the past year. In 2019, I took a whopping 26832 photos! Last year my final count was 16692. I took 10,000 more photos in 2019, than I did in 2018! Honestly, I’m quite surprised about that total. But looking back we did take several trips and whenever we go on vacation my photo taking gets even more prolific than normal. We took trips to the Bahamas, New York and California. Our California trip included Disneyland. I’ve said it ..read more

Happy Thanksgiving! Hope you are all enjoying the holiday and capturing a lot of memories on your cameras! The hustle and bustle of the holiday season is certainly upon us with less than a month to Christmas! I hopped on some early Christmas/holiday card deals this season and unlike my usual “a little bit behind” self I actually have them ready to go this year! In fact I’ve already dispatched a few to overseas family! But I have lots more to do yet in the photo gift department and I bet you might as well. So my goal is to help you get your projects across the finish line. Let’s go! This ..read more

So I’ve been reviewing photo books for almost a decade now (wow really?) and making them for a lot longer. Over the years I’ve refined and narrowed down the type of photo book which is my absolute favorite. For sure most of my photo books in the last few years regardless of photo book company have had the following stats: 1) Hardcover; 2) Lay Flat; 3) Very thick, hard to bend paper; 4) Seamless without a gutter; 5) Full photo cover. So what makes this my favorite type of book? The main draw for me to this type of book is mainly #3 – the very thick paper which cannot be easily bent. Why? Bec ..read more

Happy first day of autumn! Colors have not peaked or even started yet in my area but regardless of higher than normal September temps, the autumnal equinox happens when it’s going to happen. Time stops for no one! So, now that we know fall is officially here, when can we expect our green giants to show off some amazing colors? Using forecasts and historical data from the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration, SmokyMountains.com has provided a great tool for predicting fall colors on its website. Just drag the nifty slider to see when foliage hues are expected to change. While no predicto ..read more

Just before school started this fall we took an end of summer break trip to California. Although we were originally just going to visit with friends in the San Jose area, we decided to make a hop over to Disneyland before heading home. We hadn’t been there in six years. At that time our now four-year old hadn’t been born yet and the last time we took a trip to Disney it was to Orlando two years ago. One of the big draws for us as big Star Wars fans was of course Galaxy’s Edge. Carsland, which is unique to California was also an big draw for our boys. Disneyland did not disappoint! We were h ..read more

It’s finally summer – though I don’t know how the weather is in your neck of the woods, but it’s been unseasonably cool and rainy here. I suppose it has been nice to not to worry about watering the garden, and it’s been quite a savings on the water bill! What better way to celebrate the summer solstice than with a post on summer blooms! Although I think my garden is about two weeks behind where it was last year, and I lost several plants to the harsh winter and surprisingly harsh spring, I keep reminding myself that plants are hardier than they may appear and they are programmed by nature t ..read more