A picture may be worth a thousand words, but here at Mixbook we recognize that it’s words, not pictures, that people live by. Being a writer and editor by training, I love all things relating to words and always have, from geeking out on diagramming sentences in junior high (yes, I was the one person who enjoyed doing that) to taking part in scrappy high-stakes Scrabble tournaments as a twisted form of entertainment. Great writing, from Hemingway to Haruki Murakami, has always had a profound effect on me, but it wasn’t until I took a class in fine art typographic printing in grad school that I truly fell in love with the form of the letters themselves.

I don’t claim to be any kind of expert—true type nerds take themselves very seriously and are usually artists or graphic designers—but I can say that I’ve hand-cranked the arm of a vintage Vandercook letterpress or two. While I can’t make room for an old-school printing press in my current life and I don’t make use of the amazing facility at the San Francisco Center for the book as often as I should, the beauty of typefaces and letterforms are permanently impressed on my aesthetic sensibilities nonetheless, and I need them in my life to be happy. Want to learn how to make typography? Here are six great ways I plan to celebrate the simple beauty of letters.

1. Write On the Walls
If there’s a word or phrase that’s meaningful to you, there’s no reason not to display it prominently in your home. I keep turning to a Martin Luther King Jr. quote that’s particularly poignant, but even on Etsy, I haven’t found an artist who’s used the quote in a way that I love. So, I plan to make my own using the method outlined on Two Delighted.

2. Take the Bus
Vintage bus signs are ubiquitous, but real ones are expensive and knock-offs can be cheesy. But there’s a lot to love about big bold stenciled letterforms on a black ground. Make your own bus sign, complete with fictitious “stops” that happen to coincide with every street you’ve ever lived on, or a sign that features the last names of all your favorite people. White Nest outlines just how easy it is to create a piece of wall art that’s as striking as it is meaningful.

3. Claim Your Seat
Let everyone know where they sit with custom table linens. And while you may already have a good idea who leaves the most crumbs at the table after each meal, these personalized placemats (brought to you by The DIY Club), make messy Marvins accountable once and for all.

4. Spray It to Say It
Curbly shows just how easy it is to make typography by turning a cheap canvas or a piece of scrap wood into gorgeous graphic art with just a couple of cans of spray paint. Choose a single letter in serif or sans whose form you love and make it pop with bold black ink on a white canvas or neon paint on plywood.

5. Do Some Pillow Talk
You see them everywhere: flax-linen pillowcases with the rustic appeal of a French flour sack, painted with some quaint quote in red, black, or Navy blue. It’s a great look—if only the words printed on the pillow actually meant something to you. Enter Wit and Whistle’s DIY pillow case project. It’s easy to learn how to make typography pillowcases, and it’s cheap! And the words you choose to stencil are words that mean something to you.

6. Celebrate the Scrawl
You don’t have to look far on Pinterest to find tons of examples of handwritten statements, proclamations, missives, and musings that have been turned into custom art. Your scrawl—no matter how crooked, illegible, or how many fundamental rules of good penmanship it breaks—is like a fingerprint. Nobody else in the world has writing like yours. Play around with painting your words by hand on a canvas. Or write them on paper, scan, enlarge, and frame them for added impact.  We’d love to replicate To Dry For’s scrawl tea towel.

Have you ever attempted to make typography-inspired art?

Here at Mixbook, we’re a creative bunch. But we also like to get off our butts once in a while and do something active. And if we can add a little creativity to the getting-in-shape process, we’re naturally that much more motivated to track exercise progress and weight loss benchmarks.

A year ago, I decided to see what kind of transformation I could undertake in twelve months if I did it right. For me, that meant eating well and challenging myself to get active—really active—every single day. To make sure the process was as enjoyable as possible, I created a Mixbook in collaboration with my sister, who lives a few states away, to track my exercise and weight-loss goals. Now that we’re at the end of our journey (as of yesterday—hooray ), we have proof of all that we went through. The book tracks our increased fitness with photos, organizes the recipes that kept our eating on track, and displays all the fun and folly that happened along the way. Here’s how we did it—and how you can too.

1. Find A Friend (or Go It Alone)
One of the most amazing things about creating a Mixbook photo book is that you can invite one or more people to collaborate. Whether you’re goal setting with a friend, a group, or by yourself, start with a concrete objective. You might be working toward weight loss, but we think it’s way more fun to choose a fun event to participate in, then set yourself up for shedding some lbs along the way. With a race or other event to work toward, you have a specific date that’s not going anywhere. Look for local races (try here and here) or find a destination event that benefits a great cause like finding a cure for cancer (try Team in Training). Consider participating in the Susan G. Komen walk for the cure or AIDS ride.

2. Start Your Mixbook

Once you choose a theme for your book, roughly layout the pages. If your goal is one year off, for example, you’ll want to have about 12 spreads dedicated to the pictures that will track your progress each month. In between those pages, add plenty of additional pages where you can  track exercise, log fitness, and collect photos and recipes.

3. Put Your Goal in Writing
Write a statement of intent on the very first page of your Mixbook photo book. You can make it as funny or as serious as you want it to be, but be specific so your end goal is measurable. Use affirmative language by beginning your goal statements with “I will” rather than “I won’t.” Above all, make your goal reasonable and healthy. Take a “before” picture to include at the beginning of the book. Whether you’re working out alone or with friends, mark dates in your calendar every two to four weeks as reminders to snap a picture and upload it to your book. Every time you upload pics, you’ll also want to add to your funnier, more lighthearted pages to strike a nice balance in tone (and to keep you smiling throughout the process!).

4. Intersperse Silly Pages

Throughout your serious monthly update pages, sprinkle some lighthearted pages that you can add to on a whim throughout your project. Ideas for page themes include

• Things We Gave Up (and Didn’t Miss)Your entries on this page might be things like: Playing Angry Birds, wasting time on Facebook, etc.
• Kick-Butt Recipes That Kept Us On Track Upload favorite recipes for meals, smoothies, and healthy desserts. Bookmark dedicated runner Mark Bittman‘s cooking blog for advice and find great daily recipe inspiration.
• Our Daily Mantras & Inspiration This page can feature a collection of favorite quotes or affirmations. You can also create a collage page of all the pictures that acted as motivation—pictures torn from magazines, pre-baby photos of yourself, or just pictures of yourself when you were a little leaner. In addition, you can pay homage to the blogs that kept you going. Some of my favorites include Well, Runner’s World Daily, Jillian Michaels‘ Blog, and Women’s Health‘s Gotta Run.
• We Mixed It Up! Photos of crazy workouts that kept it interesting: a mud run, ropes course, boot camp, CrossFit, Zumba, Wii, playing soccer, or climbing on the jungle gym with your kids, a night out dancing
• We Did It for ______! If the event you’re working toward benefiting an organization, include photos of the person or people you’re honoring.
• We Couldn’t Have Done It Without You! If you’re raising money on behalf of an organization, consider having the people who support you submit a few words of encouragement to include in your book.

5. Print Your Mixbook!
At the end of your challenge, your book—like mine—will have come together little by little along the way. Take your “after” photo, then comb through the book to make a few tweaks to ensure your layout remained consistent. You’ll have tactile evidence of a goal achieved, including “before” and “after” photos of your own. There’s nothing more motivating than seeing your incredible progress over time! Your Mixbook will become a treasure, forever reminding you of what you can accomplish if you set your mind (and body) to it. Our year ended yesterday, so we’re about to order copies of our own Mixbook. I can’t wait to have my year of transformation printed in book form.

Mixbook is a dog-friendly work space. Seriously! At any given hour of the day, there can be as many as 12 paws prancing around the office, darting in and out of conference rooms and scavenging under desks for crumbs. So it comes as no surprise that one of our favorite photo book themes is the pet photo book. And it’s clear that Mixbookers love their furry friends too! All you have to do to be convinced is visit Mixbook’s gallery of recently published pet photo books to see how many books are created by real Mixbookers like you and dedicated to their sweet, silly, and utterly lovable four-legged children. Below find five ways to honor the mangy muts in your life that give you comfort when you’re sad, company when you’re lonely, and unconditional love when you need it the most.

1. Give Your Pet a Voice

After so many years together, we know our best friends so well that it feels like we can read their minds and almost hear what they’re saying to us. Why not create a pet photo book from your precious angel’s point of view? That’s what Melissa M. did in her pet photo book called “The Life of Czar.” In it, Czar the cat tells the story of how it felt to arrive at a forever home and the times when curiosity resulted in multiple spilled water cups. We adore this truly personal approach to creating a commemorative pet photo book.

2. Quote Charming Sayings

“A dog is a bundle of love wrapped in fur,” “Every boy should have two things: a dog, and a mother willing to let him have one,” and “Home is where the dog is” are just a few of the funny-but-true sayings sprinkled throughout Marilyn R.’s pet photo book, “Tribute to Mr. Big.”

3. Record the Story of How You Met

Patti G.’s precious kitten, Sebastian, was found in the backyard one day along with his 3 tiny sisters. Patti writes, “I just had to keep him, he was so cute.” We don’t blame her! Just look at that little guy getting his first bath. What a trooper! The details of how Sebastian joined Patti’s family will forever be remembered in her charming pet photo book, which tells the story of a “lucky gato” named Sebastian.

4. Organize a Decade of Memories

Chances are, you’ve got piles of pet photos sitting in boxes or collecting dust in drawers. Mixbook makes it easy to organize all of your memories in one place. Jeanette R. created a pet photo book starring her dog, Cleo, and featuring over ten years of memories. Carefully chronicled photos memorialize a lifetime full of adventure, holidays, playtime, and those big, irresistible puppy-dog eyes.

5. Allow a Poem to Speak for You

In a pet photo book named after her cat, Nakita, June P. created a beautiful tribute to her special feline friend. June wove the popular poem “Rainbow Bridge” throughout her book, which expresses feelings of love, gratitude, and anticipation of one day reuniting.

Whether your pet is the newest addition to your family or has been around forever, there’s no better time than today to memorialize your special friend in a pet photo book with a little help from Mixbook. Get started now!

Just like champagne bottles, corn, and big bubbles of chewing gum, we like our color to pop! While some fashion designers showed pastels on recent runways, and even though loads of style bloggers have already begun flaunting a subdued albeit ladylike color palette, we’re all about bold brights this season. We can’t help but feel our spirits lift when we add a dash of attention-grabbing color to our outfits. Beyond supporting a rebellion against grey February weather and allowing us an easy way to jazz up our outfits without looking too over the top, today’s neon color trend gives us all the energy we need to tackle our daily agendas. Need some real life evidence, straight from the streets? See how Julie of OAGJ, Mimi of Lipgloss & Binky, Tavia of Nine to Fly, and Mandy of Juggling Chic are all rocking our favorite color trend of the moment.

Here at Mixbook, we’re constantly scouring the latest fashion-centric color trends to find inspiration for new photo book, card, and calendar designs. Below are three of our favorite card designs that feature bright, bold pops of color.

“Hot Pink Damask” wedding invitiation

“Life Saver” thank you card

“Love Birds” engagement party invitation

When it comes to color trends, are you ready to bring it (ne)on this Spring?

Have you ever wished you could align images in your Mixbook perfectly, without having to zoom all the way into the editor? Are you sick of holding your hand steady trying to nudge the photo a little to the left, and the sticker a little to the right, desperately hoping that when the book goes to print, it will all line up perfectly?

Believe us, we know how tedious this process can be, and it usually ends up in complete frustration! Worry no more! We have a layout design tip that will prevent all the eye strain! Our alignment tool allows you to align images in six different ways: top, middle, or bottom, in addition to left, center, and right!

First, let’s try vertical alignment. Vertical alignment allows you to align images vertically, so that they align to the top, center, or bottom of the page.  Let’s take a look at the following page:

On this page, we have two photos and a text box. Vertical alignment will align all the selected elements with the top or bottom photo, or have them meet in the center. First, click on each element while holding down the shift key. A yellow line will now border your selected elements and the alignment tool bar should appear:

Here is a closer look at the alignment toolbar, with the first three buttons cirlced:

We will use the first three buttons for vertical alignment. The first button will align images to the top, the second to the middle, and the third to the bottom. Keep in mind, your elements will simply shift up or down depending on which button you choose. It will also align with whichever element is furthest to the top or bottom. For middle alignment, the elements will center themselves based on the center of the box the shift-clicking has created.

Here is how the elements will look when clicking the respective button.

Top Alignment (Vertical)

Middle Alignment (Vertical)

Bottom Alignment (Vertical)

Now let’s try this with horizontal alignment. This will align images to the left, center or right. We will use a different page this time. Space out your elements from bottom to top. In the following screen shot, you will see that we are using a photo, some text, and an envelope sticker. Once you have achieved your desired spacing, shift-click on all the elements. This will bring up the alignment toolbar and border your elements with the yellow line once more. This time, we will be using the last three buttons.

Here is a closer look at the toolbar once more.

The fourth button will align images to the left, the fifth aligns them to the center, and the last button aligns them to the right hand side. Again, your elements will slide to the left or right depending on which button you choose – aligning with whichever element is furthest to the right or left. For center alignment, the elements will center themselves based on the center of the box shift-clicking has created.

The next few photos will show the different types of horizontal alignment.

Left Alignment (Horizontal)

Center Alignment (Horizontal)

Right Alignment (Horizontal)

We hope this layout design tip helps! Start lining up the elements in your project now!

Wondering what to do with all the time you’ve saved, now that you no longer have to align images manually? Why not watch a fun tutorial video showing how to upload photos from Facebook to your Mixbook?

The simple chevron stripe is kind of like your coolest friend—just as at home tucked into a corner of a bohemian dive bar as rocking the luxe lounge of a boutique hotel. With bold graphic lines, classic appeal, a little irreverent edge, surprising sweet side, and comfort with color, chevron has everything going for it.

Since it’s Friday, A.K.A. DIY day here on Mixblog, we rounded up four ways you can show a little love for the big bold stripe this weekend by making chevron work for you.

 “Simple Geometrics” wedding invitation, chevron ceiling fan blades, chevron serving tray, chevron shoebox wall art

1. Say “I Do” to Chevron
Easy going and versatile? Yes, please! Can we write that into our vows? Even if your guests never take the time to deconstruct the meaning of the chevron pattern on your wedding invitations, the message has been sent regardless. As a couple, you’re modern, relaxed, and ready for every turn in the road that lies ahead. Make chevron a symbol of your relationship by customizing Mixbook’s perfectly chevron-striped wedding invitation!

2. Serve Up Stripes
The angular stripes of the almighty chevron have a way of anchoring the style of your entire room—even when they’re present in the smallest gestures. Make a chevron-wrapped serving tray by covering a rimmed baking sheet with chevron-printed fabric. Even if said tray has the lowly task of organizing books on a bedside table or corralling bureau-top baubles, it will steal the show on the style front. Martha Stewart has the final word on how to make this minimum-effort tray with maximum cool.

3. Canvas the Walls
Striking wall art is easy to create with nothing more than a few shoe box tops, some painters’ tape, and spray paint. Depending on the price tag of the shoes that came in the original box, this may just be the most budget-friendly big-statement DIY project ever. The stripes themselves make you look twice and the whimsical palette will dare you to smile. Spunky Junky shows us how to make chevron wall art. Using whatever colors you fancy, know that chevron will take your style for a ride—on the cheap!

4. Cool Off
If there’s a country-kitchen style fan hanging from a ceiling in your home, it may be time to cut the cute factor by adding some striking chevron stripes to its blades. Design Sponge gives us the low-down on how to make chevron fan blades. Not only will you up the style of your standard ceiling fan, but your room will instantly be a few degrees cooler without ever flipping the switch.

Find even more chevron inspiration on our “Everything Chevron” Pinterest board! Did you try any of our weekend DIY photo project ideas from last Friday?

No disrespect to Z-Bars (Clif Bars for kids) as a last-minute breakfast option, but when I can do a little cooking from scratch in advance to serve a real-food breakfast, my kids are more well-nourished and I can avoid the self loathing that comes with handing out breakfast bars in the car. I won’t be making a different breakfast treat every morning, but my goal is to make two quick recipes from the list below each week, relying on a little nighttime prep plus leftovers to get me through to Friday.

“Family Recipes” photo book

1. Make-Ahead Egg Cupcakes
These are really mini fritattas, but food expert Jamie Oliver calls them cupcakes! Brilliant spin, right? Just like Simran and Stacie of A Little Yum say, “It’s always helpful to have a small stash of these in the fridge for when hunger strikes.” A couple days a week, I grab one or two mini egg cupcakes for each of my boys, pop them in the toaster oven for a couple of minutes, and there you have it—a quick protein-rich breakfast that will hold the whole family over until lunch.

2. Melty Chocolate Ice-Cream Milkshakes (A.K.A. Fruit Smoothies)
Since Jamie gets away with calling mini fritattas “cupcakes,” we’re going take the liberty of calling fruit smoothies “melty chocolate ice-cream milkshakes.” I actually add a little cacao powder to my smoothies when my boys are watching to make sure they know the “chocolate” part is legit. I also add a scoop of Green Superfood made just for kids. I used to think I would have to sneak that part in, but my kids genuinely love it. Check out The Kitchn for more tips on making awesome smoothies you and your kids will love. As with all these quick breakfast recipes, do your prep work at night so all you have to do in the morning is blend.

3. Fruit-and-Nutella Crepes
This biggest misconception about crepes is that they’re hard to make. Not the case! As long as you make the batter in advance, this quick breakfast recipe saves precious time during chaotic morning scrambles. First, mix crepe batter and place it in your fridge. Then, go to bed. After you’ve woken up and had your first cup of coffee, simply mix the batter and pour it on a hot pan. Get creative with mix-ins like Nutella, bananas, and strawberries. That’s it! Check out Chinese Grandma’s tips for making crepes. She includes tons of specific photos, so don’t get intimidated by all the steps she shows. It really is easy. Make sure you also check out the buckwheat version.

4. Make-Ahead Egg Sandwiches
These little muffins are pure love. Seriously. They take a little extra prep work, but it’s all done the night before. If you happen to have a night with nothing going on (I’m funny, right?), prep these while you’re watching a prime time television show. Pioneer Woman makes hers with bacon, but they’re delicious without meat as well. If you prep a full batch, you’ll have at least two weekday mornings-worth of breakfasts for the whole family, assuming you don’t have 12 children (in which case you might have to make several batches). These breakfast muffins are another perfect grab-and-go meal full of protein, whole grain (if you go that route with your muffin), and plenty of calories to hold your kids over until lunch.

5. DIY Yogurt Bowls
If you’re a true homesteader, you can handle making your own yogurt with a simple recipe from Heidi Swensen’s wonderful blog, 101 Cookbooks. Next time you’re at the grocery store, pick up a bag of toasted almonds or other nut, dried cherries or other fruit, toasted coconut, and granola. I like to serve my kids a bowl of plain or vanilla yogurt, then put the add-on items in little prep bowls (you can even put them on the table the night before!) so they can create their own bowls. You can also chop up any fresh fruit you happen to have on hand. For the finishing touch, add a little drizzle of honey or maple syrup.

At the end of the week, if I’ve tried enough of the above quick breakfast recipes so that I  can count only one morning when I’ve relied on protein bars, I consider it a successful one.

What are your tricks for feeding your kids quick and healthy breakfasts during the week?

Picture this. Your BFF’s b-day is coming up in a few weeks (thanks for the heads-up, Facebook!) and you want to create a photo book on Mixbook full of heartwarming photos of the two of you together to give to her as a birthday gift. Great idea (we think she’ll adore and treasure it forever)! But wait. The memory card inside your digital camera doesn’t house any images from the wedding in which you were both bridesmaids last year.

Don’t despair! This is where Facebook comes in. No doubt there are entire albums full of photos featuring the affair, uploaded to Facebook by wedding guests, groomsmen, the shutter-happy Mother of the Bride, etc. Jackpot! All the pictures you need to create a beautiful Mixbook are available at the tips of your fingers (try our AutoMix magic wand tool to instantly populate your entire Mixbook with photos). How? View our fun tutorial video or read the below instructions to discover how to populate your Mixbook with your (and friends’) Facebook photos!

Video Transcription:

Let’s face it, without Valentine’s Day, February looks pretty drab. To that we say, don your proverbial rose-colored glasses and invite a few sets of friends over for a Valentine’s Day party full of love-themed snacks and crafts. Start by converting a Valentine’s Day card into a party invitation, and encourage guests to wear their hearts on their sleeves by dressing in pink and red.

Snacks Made with Love

“10 Reasons Why I Love You” photo book theme

The Big Squeeze
Break out your Panini press or simply set a cast iron skillet on top of sandwiches while they sizzle away on a regular old sauté pan. Make a sweet and a savory version for breakfast sandwiches that satisfy every craving. We love strawberry, banana, and nutella paninis and Valentine’s Day Monte Cristo Paninis.

Love Goes Pop
Serve up a batch of sparkling juice for the kids. Pour individual servings into little bottles with fun, colorful straws. We love to make our own fresh juice and simply mix it with sparkling water so there’s no added sugar.

Love in a Mug
Have a pot of homemade hot cocoa simmering on the stove with a ladle and bowl of homemade whipped cream or marshmallows nearby for self-serve love in a mug.

Hearts of Jelly
Whip up a batch of buttery sandwich cookies complete with a little window in the middle to expose sweet jelly hearts. My mom always made heart-shaped jam cookies when I was a kid, so they’re super nostalgic for me. It’s just not Valentine’s Day without them.

Love at First Sip
Mix up a sweet surprise for your adults guests. Around Valentine’s Day ,there’s no better drink option than a St. Germain Cocktail. Simply mix a little sparkling white wine—Brut Champagne, Cava, or Prosecco—with a shot of the not-too-sweet elderberry liqueur, splash of soda, and twist of lemon or lime.

Quick Crafts for Grown-Ups

“XOXO” Valentine’s Day card

Vintage Arrow Valentines
Have a table set up with all the supplies needed to create quirky vintage-style Valentine’s Day arrows. Grown-ups can make the traditional weighty wooden arrows, and kids can make our flying straw version below.

Love Pillow
Set squares of fabric and pre-cut letters out with simple sewing supplies so guests can whip up a sweet, comfy pillow cover quickly and easily.

Crazy-for-You Kids Crafts

“My Valentine” photo book theme

Arrow Valentines
Encourage kids to get a little messy. There’s only so much glitter, glue, lace, and lettering most active kids will tolerate before they start throwing things. In the spirit of Valentine’s Day, we say, “Embrace it!” Set up a station where kids can create valentine arrows meant to take to the skies. Inspired by the arrows pictured above, achieve our version by replacing dowels with drinking straws and wooden labels with paper ones.

Broken Crayon Hearts
Set up a station where kids can magically transform all their broken crayons into beautiful, giftable heart-shaped crayon art. Use scissors to pre-cut crayons into small pieces, then have kids drop the pieces into heart-shaped molds bound for the oven. And, voila!

Origami Lollipops
Provide older kids with a more challenging craft idea. If your kids can sit patiently while following directions (and we dream fervently that this day will come), we suggest they craft origami hearts to house sweet lollipops. If children can churn out enough of them, they can even serve as Valentines to share with classmates.

Jar of Love
Extend holiday fun by modifying a winter snow globe. Ever since our kids started belting out “Jar of Hearts” by Christina Perri, we can’t help but be drawn to crafts that are the physical embodiment of the song. We love Camilla Fabbri’s Jar of Love. We made it using the same Mason jars and Twisteez Wire, but by filling the jar with candy hearts instead of glitter.

Looking for Love Scavenger Hunt

“Circles of Love” Valentine’s Day card

Burn off some of the sugar in sweet Valentine’s Day party snacks by setting up and allowing your Valentine’s Day party guests of all ages to compete in a scavenger hunt. Start by splitting kids up into teams of two, then sending them off on a seek-and-find mission for a few Valentine-inspired items.

Some items you might prep for hiding include

• Heart
• Red shirt
• Flower
• Poem
• Pair of wings
• Pink crayon
• Chocolate chips
• Some lace
• Arrow
• Candy

Type your list on paper, adding pictures for the not-yet-reading set. Have a little gift ready for the winning team. Any little thing will do, but if you’re feeling ambitious, make Heart-Shaped Bath Bombs a day ahead to pass out as prizes or party favors.

Is there a Valentine’s Day party treat you make year after year? We want to hear about it!

No matter which chapter you’re writing now—whether you’re googly-eyed and head over heels, teaching little ones how to love, or reflecting on the reasons you fell for your Valentine so many years ago—there’s never been an easier way to capture the essence of your love than in a gorgeous new Valentine’s photo book. This Valentine’s Day, choose one of Mixbook’s three new photo book themes to commemorate your love story. Thanks to Mixbook’s unique two-page photo spread options and clever storytelling opportunities, you’ll have the perfect way to say “I love you” this February to your leading lady or man.

1. Our Story

Young couples’ lives are oftentimes whirlwinds of first dates, vacations, family events, and holidays. The best way to capture the passion of young love is with Mixbook’s “Our Story” photo book theme. Chronicle favorite moments, trips, first anniversaries, and favorite places in this fresh photo book. Record the details of how you met and where you shared your first kiss so that you’ll be able to relive each moment for years to come. Take turns filling in the blanks describing each lover’s favorite hobbies, colors, movies, and more in this special “to be continued” photo book theme.

2. My Valentine

Who says your Valentine has be your significant other? When you’re knee-deep in toddlers and teaching moments, you may want to spread Cupid’s love around your family. Mixbook’s updated “My Valentine” photo book theme is the ideal opportunity to show off every single member of your family who makes sentimental holidays so special. Celebrate the love between a mother, father, son, and daughter in this kid-friendly photo book theme.

3. 10 Reasons Why I Love You

This year, Mixbook challenges you to count the ways in which you love your life partner. We bet it won’t be too difficult to come up with just ten reasons your special love has lasted this long. Maybe it’s the way he surprises you with breakfast in bed on your birthday each year, or perhaps it’s the way she sings (however well) in the shower. Whether it’s an intimate detail (like inside jokes that inspired our team to create custom Valentine’s Day cards) or a shared quality everyone can see, Mixbook gives you an easy way to list the characteristics you fell in love with in our “10 Reasons Why I Love You” photo book theme. Perfect for seasoned veterans of the love game, this new photo book theme is the simplest (and quickest!) way to say, “Thanks for being you.”

Which chapter of your love story are you most excited about recording this year?