Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Lulu Giveaway!

A rep from Lulu contacted me about making a book via their schnazzy website in exchange for a review on my blog. I had never worked with Lulu before, but was very impressed with how easy it was to get around & upload photos & organize my book.
I created a 20-page, 12" x 12" book entitled "The Adventures of Susan & Nikki: a photo story" & gave it as a gift to my adventure pal last night. (There may or may not have been some tear shedding involved.)
 The book captures our 1st year of great fun & hijinks. And it makes me smile every time I look at it!
I kept it strictly photos only (except for a personal quip on the last page)---but I had the option to include captions if I wanted.

When the book arrived on my doorstep I literally had an intense "ooh" & "aah" moment. I couldn't stop gawking! I was very impressed. VERY. And I'm now a Lulu fan. 100%.

 Prior to uploading many of the photos, I created picture mosaics through bighugelabs.com
And I love how I can create books & even sell them if I wanted to. Makes me tinker with the idea of popping my favorite photos in a book & mass producing them. Ok, maybe not the mass producing part. Yet.

 
And guess what?? Lulu wants to give away one 20 page 8.5" x 8.5" hardcover photo book to a WhiMSy love reader!!
So, leave a comment: Why not tell me your wish for the new year, your dreams for 2011...
Drawing will be held this Sunday, January 9th.

39 comments:

  1. I have never heard of Lulu but your book is darling! My hopes for 2011 is health and happiness- with some fun surprises here and there.:) Thanks for the giveaway! Lori toosillysisters@cox.net

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  2. FOr the new year I wish to meet new friends!

    Kelsey!

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  3. My wish for 2011 is to make a positive difference in the lives of my students.

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  4. great book! Thanks for the giveaway!
    My wish for the new year is to be content in whatever situation I'm in.

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  5. My hopes for the new year include lots of craftiness & baking..

    Weight loss, of course, but this may be hindered by my baking. :)

    And reconcilation between hubs & his girlies, always my hope & prayer though.. maybe this will be the year..

    Oh & don't forget about that road trip tp YOU! Still trying to talk hubs into that one ;)

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  6. Wow, what a giveaway! Just a few of my wishes for the new year is to Be Joyful, Breathe and Give Blood(I'm afraid of needles...so this is a BIGGIE!)

    Gonna go check out Lulu now!!!

    TSF and the giveaway!

    xx-Kristyn

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  7. I have not heard of Lulu...will go check them out after I leave this comment!!

    I am hoping to do 5 out of the box....crazy new things!!!
    Make some new friends....rekindle old friendships.....LIVE without limits this year!!

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  8. My hope for 2011 is to take time for myself! :)

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  9. Happy New Year, Nikki! Your book looks pretty neat-o!

    My goal for 2011 is to scrapbook my son's first year of life. He is 14 months old now and I don't want to get too far behind on it!

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  10. Interestingly, I had not heard of lulu until recently and now they are everywhere. I've only heard good things about them and their quality/service. Yeah for another recommendation!

    My 2011 Crafty wishes (resolutions) are:

    1) use it or lose it. Finally use up the myriad of crafty supplies I seem to acquire.

    2) better organize the copious amounts of supplies I have until I can either use them or pass them on.

    3) knit a pair of socks

    Love your blog!

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  11. My wish for the new year is for my husband and me to be happy and healthy. I hope that this new year has no major setbacks, and that I get through the next 2 semesters of nursing school unscathed. :)

    P.S. Happy new year!

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  12. For the new year we're trying to rebuild our savings, live a thrifty but quality filled life, and enjoy the little things with our kids....possibly take a 2 week cross country driving road trip with the kids this summer (first time ever -- am I crazy?!)

    xoxo
    Happy New Year! The book is fabulous - a perfect gift to yourself to celebrate the new year.

    MaryLea

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  13. I totally neeeed one of these! My boys would love to see a book of all their pictures! Is it bad that I haven't even had photos printed out since the end of 2008? Oops LOL :)

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  14. Make Time for Community Service

    ~ theresa

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  15. My wish is to be more organized.

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  16. Your book looks so amazing. And you said...'easy'. Love that idea. My wish for 2011 is to actually get my blog {3 years worth} into a coffee table book. This is perfect timing!!

    Thanks also for the tip for mosaic making.

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  17. Love your book. My wish is for a more healthy year in 2011. I am not used to being ill and really don't like it at all and don't want sickness anymore!!!

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  18. I adore your cover picture. And your title!! Looks like an awesome book.

    My wish for 2011 is that we all enjoy each other more. And that both my kids spend all night in their own beds more often than not. Or maybe that is the dream for 2011...

    I am hopeful anyway.

    Thanks for the chance to win!!

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  19. My dream for the new year is to have the courage to act on my dreams!! I have big plans and big dreams and I'm so ready to take the steps to start living them.

    Thanks!

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  20. Happy New Year! I love the idea that you don't have to be published to make a book anymore! I wish for health for my loved ones and to (mostly) maintain balance in my life this year.

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  21. I've heard of Lulu before, and was always curious about it. Your book looks very nice and vivid. I know your friend must have loved it. Such a sweet gift to recieve. As for my wish for the new year, I wish to get into better health so I can become more involved in the online communities I lurk in instead of living it through reading awesome blogs like yours. :-) If I could experience half the things you do this year I'd be a happy gal. :-)

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  22. Never heard of LuLu before either but that looks so neat.

    One of my goals for 2011 is to try and complete at least 12 things off my bucket list. :)

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  23. I have never heard of Lulu...but excited to find out more about them!

    I am hoping to tone up my body and get my body more consistently! And eat more veggies and better protein.

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  24. Would love to make a book. My wish for the year is to have lots of new experiences and learn some new skills X

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  25. happy new year!
    My wish is that my moms test results will come back with the all clear and my wishes are to learn some new skills and grow my little business

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  26. ooh... i've been thinking about trying photo books for a while... this would be a great way to test it out!

    my goal for this year is to FIND MORE JOY. I don't comment here often, but I lurk (I never understood lurkers when I first started blogging, but I actually find myself lurking more and more) and you are truly an inspiration for finding the joy.

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  27. I hope to to spend more *quality* time with my 4 year old...the dishes and housework will always be there...4 years old snuck up on me!

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  28. I am praying to be more intentional in the new year.......as a christian, as a wife, as a mother and as a friend, daughter and sister. <3

    pamelaferguson1979@gmail.com

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  29. This is so cool. I would love to put a 2010 book together for my husband and I. We have 7 kids and a LOT of pictures!! Oh! My wish for the new year is to lose 30 pounds and run a half marathon :)

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  30. Health. Good health for myself and my loved ones is always my hope at the beginning of a new year.

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  31. I am a librarian at two schools: a middle school and an 3-5 elementary school. We have been working on creating student and staff written books for our library through BLURB. We catalog the books and put them on the shelves for checkout. We have 3 books in process: Fourth Graders on a Mission (a book about the process the 4th graders went through to build California missions), Famous Women Across the World and in Our Own Backyard,(an anthology of short biographies of famous women and women at our school), and Nightmare at Stefani (a story written by all the classes about the custodian at our elementary school, Stefani Elementary). I would love to win the giveaway for our students, so we could compare the two book publishing companies to see which would work best for us. Money is tight in education right now. This may not seem related to New Year hopes, but I have wanted to publish a book by students since last year. I can't wait for them to see their own book on our library shelf or to check it out themselves.

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  32. I made some photo books from another site for Christmas and they were a big hit. I'm excited to find another source!

    My wish is to remember to find the blessings in the everyday.

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  33. I recently found out about Lulu through another blog and I've heard such glowing things about it!

    Since I'm getting married in May 2011, I guess my wish for the New Year is for lots of patience and good humor to endure the inevitable mishaps that will happen with the wedding planning. Come to think of it (and being less selfish) my wish is more generally for the world to be filled with more patience and good humor to endure the inevitable mishaps that come with being a human.

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  34. My wish for this year is that I get to spend more time snuggling my sweet baby girl. :)

    ERobertson29@gmail.com

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  35. That is SO cool. Wow.
    What an awesome friend you are- not just that you gave her a book of adventure memories, but just that fact that you make a point of doing it in the first place!
    On that note, my hopes for 2011 are contrasted- on the one hand I would dearly love to actually develope the friendships I have at the moment, but at the same time I feel very convicted to do less; say no to more and once again make my family a priority in our crazy time of life. So- conflicted hopes, but, as reminded today- nothing is impossible with God.

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  36. For my family to be blessed and happy!

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  37. Hmmm ... lots of wishes and dreams for the New Year :) I think the biggest wish would be to bring our Ethiopian babies home!

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  38. To fan the flame of creativity that has been ignited in my little heart :)

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