Still around. In fact the shop has been updated pretty regularly. We are currently working on some bridal orders (blessed bridesmaids!) and busy convo-ing behind the scenes. Life has been crazy busy ever since August rolled on by. We took a couple of short trips in the last few months, had a wedding celebration in the family (of course not my kids!) and are preparing for Christmas already.

Yes, Christmas.

But still in the midst of all that jazz, I actually found the time to finish up the photobook. I realised that a number of people were asking and getting pretty darn confused with the wide selection of sites available right now and well, here’s the lowdown on the book.

I went with Photobook Singapore. A gamble of sorts because I am one of the fussiest persons alive with regards to photos, photo quality and print quality. I took a gamble because I hated how the others (like that by HP and Kodak) tended to be really thick paper. They almost felt like the pictures were printed on photo paper and then bound together. HATE. I was looking for the coffeetable book sort of feel. Like what you purchase in stores, heavyweight, about 190gsm papers that last.

all images in this spread taken with iphone 3GS hipstamatic app

Photobook Singapore was ‘selected’ because Groupon had a sale. Hah. And probably the only reason the book is done is because, the coupon was expiring. I sat aside time to select the images and went with the flow. The focus was on the kids, essentially the first 2 years of their lives. I took other gambles and was prepared for a couple of really ugly spreads but thankfully, everything worked out nicely. I was pleasantly surprised to find that my iphone 3GS hipstamatic shots turned out great. Because really, with 2 kids, you don’t always have the hands to lug the DSLR around. (Iphone 4S anyone?)

Here are a couple of spreads I took. The stats on my book are :-

1 x 11×8.5 Medium Landscape Debossed
Paper: 190gsm Photo Lustre Paper
Cover: Japanese Silk Slate 220/361

I ended up with 74 pages. If I went for basic paper, I’d have ‘excess’ value in the voucher that would be forfeited. I could lay additional pages but I didn’t want to disrupt the flow of the book. I decided to splurge on the paper instead, upgrading it to the photo lustre paper. Best decision ever. The result was perfection in my books. (Ok, minus a couple of spreads I didn’t lay too well).

I went for basics. I deleted the backgrounds, resized my photo boxes to whichever size I wanted. And laid them however I wished. Of course there was the ‘auto lay’ format or ready book formats but I liked the freedom to do whatever I pleased. Plus, I wanted something ‘classic’, that in time to come, I won’t go “what the heck was I thinking with this colour scheme / layout / accents / design?”

And so… that’s the story of my photobook.

** I have since learnt that Shutterfly also does books with this sort of thin pages. I do think Apple in house software also has this sort. A slightly thicker paper though and they have a logo if I am not wrong. This comes completely erhmm, ‘plain’. You can add the details if you’d like as an image or text.

The idea of folding books into sculptures is fast catching on. I love these two! Seen via Freshly Found.

Seen via Lushlee, I love this pretty yet functional bookshelf.

A good ten years ago, The Little Prince was on my holiday reading assignment list. And from there, began a love affair with the book, the illustrations and the little merchandise that were linked to it. So when I spotted this whilst window shopping, I really had to resist the urge to grab it.

I don’t use a physical diary… so it will really be just for The Little Prince that I buy it. Should I, should I not?

I let out an audible gasp in delight when images from the book, Little Cat and the Big Red Bus appeared in my RSS reader. Kristine of Townmouse blogged about it and I am tempted to go out and grab it right away. I have a soft spot for illustrated books. Maybe 3 years of literary texts with lines upon lines of words were just too much to bear.

I spotted these pretty Sudoku books on Oh Hello Friend and fell in love with the cover. This is one clear example of when packaging sells. Seriously, the prettiness of the book cover does nothing to hide the fact that inside, the pages are filled with boxes for you to fill in with numbers, 1 through 9.

Why oh why, do I suddenly feel that my plain covered ones are a tad old?

I wonder if these are sold in Singapore. Hmm.

Image from Oh Hello Friend (doesn’t she make them look even prettier?!)

A good many months ago I stumbled upon 3191. The visual blog tells the story of two friends who live 3191 miles apart and share a regular photo conversation. Their first project, 3191 – a year of mornings has been turned into a book and is now available for preorder.

Their photos are simple and clean. Almost with a calming effect as you scroll through the entries. And inspirational to kick you into momentum to take photos everyday.

(photo taken from entry on 31 Jan 08, copyright of Stephanie and Mav)

A couple of weeks ago, I stumbled upon this little cove on the internet, stocked with perfectly wonderful stuffed animals. Handmade by Julie Williams, these adorable animals are so delightful. Her latest post is an ‘interview tag‘ in response to having been thrown a list of questions and she talked about these two in particular.

Apparently this cotton little rabbit had a tale to tell. And it is quite an adorable one too. Check out the full story of her adventures, complete with illustrations!

Now these are the stuff little children’s story books are made of.

A couple of friends are expecting and one of them just posted two of her latest buys. Journals to write a record of her pregnancy journey. Beautiful graphics accompanied by scripture verses to commemorate the on-going journey, these books wormed their way to my heart.

Also thrown into this mix are two books that are great reads. I think these two make great baby shower presents. Not the first. If given at the shower, those would be too late to record the first part of the pregnancy.

1. The Belly Book by Amy Krouse Rosenthal
2. Love Letters To My Baby by Vickey Banks
3. Ma! There’s Nothing To Do Here! by Barbara Park
4. You Were Loved Before You Were Born by Eva Bunting

All titles available from Amazon.com.

Given the fame of Thomas the Tank Engine, this book might look surprisingly familiar. Touted as a new world for Thomas’ fans, Timmy and Tammy’s Train of Thought tells the tale of a brother / sister duo who love trains and are treated to magical ride to brings their ultimate fantasy into life. Carried by Immedium, written by Oliver Chin and beautifully illustrated by Heath McPherson, pre-order yours and have your copy autographed.

Time to unleash the inner child?