Q: Is there any quick way to assemble my digital photos from this summer into a scrapbook?
A: Even scrapbook traditionalists have discovered photo-sharing sites like Snapfish.com and Shutterfly.com. These sites offer great options for creating printed photo albums easily from digital photos. These programs allow you to create a free account, upload your photos and arrange your snapshots, add captions and order soft and hardcover photo albums in a variety of sizes.
With the popularity of social media, there are a few new options that allow you to draw from the photos on your social media sites, like Facebook and Instagram.
Most of these programs will work best with a little pre-project planning and require more than the two minutes promised to really create something great. But their unique formats and product offerings can make quick use of your social media postings to create a fun photo keepsake.
Walnuts is a Facebook app you can use to create a cute book based on Facebook posts and photos. The app promises that in less than two minutes, it will pull from either your most popular posts or a particular Facebook photo album. The program automatically uploads and arranges photos, and you have options to replace or delete those you don’t want to include. Your finished album can be shared on Facebook, or you can buy a printed version.
Blurb loads your Instagram photos into a program that creates a high-quality hardcover photo album. The small (7 by 7 inches) square book includes up to 60 pages beginning at $18.99 and is a nice complement to the Instagram photo dimensions.
Keepsy is another program that pulls in Instagram photos to create an album or a calendar. Great for folks who don’t want to worry about lots of writing, this program focuses on photos instead.
Prinstagram lets you make a Tinybook using your Instagram shots. And I mean tiny – 1.7 by 1.5 inches! It also has other unique products, such as a mini spiral album, posters and printed snapshots. Create a tear-off calendar with 365 photos for $40, or try the Memory Box, which holds 280 of your Instagram shots printed out and organized in a cute keepsake box.
