* You can make one of these for FREE for a limited time!*
“I love finding opportunities to get my girls excited about learning and using the skills they’ve learned. What better way to do that than to help them write, illustrate, and publish their own storybook?!
Here’s what you need to make one of your own:
– paper
– crayons or pencil crayons
– a scanner
-FREE photo book promo!
We started by getting Talia (my 5 year old) to draw pictures from her favorite fairy tales (we fit 3 stories in one photobook). I love that the finished book has the added bonus of preserving some of her artwork- I love looking at it!
Check out this awesome wicked witch:
Next I scanned the drawings and saved them as JPEG files.
I opened a word document & had Talia dictate the stories to me.
Make sure you type it in their own words because they can be pretty hilarious.
Here’s Talia’s idea of how long it took Aurora to grow up:
Next, hop online and find your favorite photo book publisher (or whichever one is offering the best deal at the time 😉 and create your storybook!
I used a photo of her for the cover of the book.
I also made sure to officially name her as author & illustrator.
We included a Table of Contents
I found some clipart online of a shoe, a spinning wheel, and an apple for the title pages for each story.
All that’s left now is the most important page of the book: “About the Author”. I included a few notes about Talia & the things she likes at this age. We’re always reading the “About the Author” sections in books we read and now she has her very own!
If you’re going to do a long book or collection of stories like we did, I suggest you give them a couple of days to work on their artwork so that they don’t get sick of it- we did this over a few days which worked pretty well.
It was a fun project to work on together & it’s a proud item for her to share with anyone who comes to visit- I hope you’ll give it a try with your kids!”
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Didn’t I tell you it was good? Is your head spinning with the possibilities? Let’s learn more about the talent behind the idea…
My name is Heather and I’m excited to be with you today! I’m Mommy to 2 cute little girls and I blog about fun things parents can do with and for their children. (Here’s a photo of me with my girls- it’s a bit old- the little one can do pigtails now 😉
5 Fun Facts:
1. I met my husband (Ken) when we were 14 years old.
He’s the only boy I’ve ever kissed (5 years after we met).
2. The first CD I ever bought was Hanson. I know a lot of those songs really really well. You remember them, don’t you? Mmmbop..badoobeedop-ba-doo-wop… *ahem*
3. I’m kind of accident prone. I don’t know what it is- I just tend to walk into things and bash myself quite often. Unfortunately, this transfers to my husband (I often ‘whack’ him too- but not on purpose!) He thinks I’m uncoordinated… psh!
4. The first time I went to a driving range, I broke the head off of the golf club I was using …okay maybe I’m a little uncoordinated.
5. I love photography as an artform and as a way to capture and keep memories close. Also cheesecake. 😉
Super Hero Power Wanted:
If I could choose a superhero power I would definitely have camera eyes. I’d be able to just blink and take a picture so that I wouldn’t have to take the time to grab my camera. My husband says I’d probably need a place in my head to insert a memory card but I’m sure it could be done wirelessly 😉
If you liked this post, come on over & see what else we’re up to at my blog, Raising Memories. I’d love to see you there!”
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Heather, thank you for sharing your talent with us! I am also jumping on your super hero power bandwagon, that is genius.
My little preschooler is going to LOVE making her own fairy tale. I’ve heard of preserving kids’ art this way, but I LOVE your idea to have stories in their own words with it.
You have THE most magical ideas of fun things to do with your kids! I have spent WAY too much time on your blog…and loving every minute.:) Go check it out, and be prepared to spend some time, your kids will thank you.
Mindy says
Such a cute idea! I love the idea of having them write the stories in their own words. That will be priceless to have.
alysha says
Hi Heather! What a fantastic idea! And what a wonderful keepsake for kids to look back on. Thank you so much for sharing, and it was fun to get to know you a little bit!
Heather Lynne says
Thank you Alysha! 🙂
Nesleirbag says
Our own child’s version of the classics would be priceless! Made-up stories spun out of the imagination of a child could also be put in a wonderful book; they might even be the best stories! If you don’t write them down, they’re gone! And I love the idea of including the artwork with the story.
Heather Lynne says
That’s exactly right! Her versions of the stories were so cute and hilarious at moments 🙂 This will be so great to look back on (for me & for her!)
stacy says
This is such a great idea! I love it! My kids love to draw and most often i end up throwing most of their drawings away. This is so brilliant. I can encourage my kids to use their love of drawing and create their own stories. Thank you for this great post!
Heather Lynne says
You’re so welcome Stacy! I know what you mean- I have thrown out a lot of art. I’ve also taken photos of some of the great ones before they get rubbed off of a blackboard/whiteboard or erased from the magnadoodle 😉
Shelley says
I can’t wait until my little man can draw well enough to do this! Such an adorable idea. And I’m sure they feel EXTRA special having their own published book. So so cute. Thanks for sharing.
Alison says
How fun! Thanks for the idea and the free book info! I didn’t know about that one!
Monica says
What an adorable idea!!
Caley says
What a great idea to preserve memories! I would’ve loved to have my own books as a kid…it would be fun to see how I thought back-in-the-day! Thanks for sharing!
Heather Lynne says
I agree! (to see how I thought back then would be fun 🙂 My mom once told me that she used to say that I was “driving her up the wall” and one time when she was flustered, I asked her, “Mommy, are you going up on the wall?” I’d love to know more of those types of things 🙂
Alyssa says
Such a fun idea Heather! Of course you’d come up with something fun like this! I bet Talia loved it. 🙂
Kelsey says
You know what’s crazy?! I got this email because I’m a howdoesshe girl, but I hadn’t read it yet. I just linked to it from Mormon.org’s I’m a momrmon page. Crazy! That thing really works!
Jessica says
Wow this is great i love the idea of this. I’m going to do this with my kids. Thank you for the idea.
Jessica
tami says
Oh rats! My little girl just finished an entry for a writing contest. I should have scanned the pages before I sent them in!! What was I thinking?! I included a SASE so hopefully we get it back … 🙁 She also has tons of fun one-page “Book Reports” that she’s done that I’d love to preserve. Like, “Angelina lost her penny. Then she found it. The end.” Ha ha
Heather Lynne says
lol that is so cute, Tami! You should definitely save up her one page reports to put into a book. 🙂
Hilary says
it’s so cute Heather! I definitely need to do this once sierra gets a little older and more into drawing!
Amber says
What a cute idea. So fun to have the little kid thoughts and to make it their own unique little story. The pictures that they draw are definitely a bonus too. Love the idea!!!
vikki says
What a cute idea. Wish all of this had been available when I had little ones.
Beth says
This could be an awesome last minute mother’s day gift idea as well…have the kids write stories about mom or grandma! What fun! Thanks for sharing!
Dana Irwin says
Is the free promo finished? The link doesn’t take me to anything for a free book. Or am I missing something? Thanks for sharing!
Missy says
The link takes you to a free $20.00 gift card to use as you wish. There is a hardcover pocket book that costs $19.99 so that would be your free book. Or you can upgrade to a bigger book for $10.00.
Marylou Kivler says
Love this idea and to take it one step further there is a company out there that you can do also complete hardbound books, magazine style books, playing cards, canvasas, posters, wirebound books, cards, invitations etc. They have free accounts along with memberships to use points to purchase the items. Your artwork or photos are uploaded safely so that you will always have access to it. If you have challenges being really creative, no worries there are 5400 templates to just drag and drop by theme (also customizable), and over 50,000 pieces of art available and they add more art very often. The items also come with a guarantee, that if they are lost or destroyed they can be replaced for half the price!
Sarah says
I love this! Did you go with the free pocket book (which is BOGO FREE right now) or upgrade to the larger one??
Missy says
The link should take you to a free $20.00 gift card that you can use however you want! The pocket hard cover photo book is $19.99 – so with your free gift card, it is FREE!!! Or if you want a bigger book, you can upgrade for $9.99 – still a SWEET deal! (I am not sure if this deal is only for first time customers – maybe that is where you are getting the BOGO? But I just checked it and it is still active for the free gift card so if you are a first time customer, it should work. If it still doesn’t, maybe give them a call.) Have fun! Photo books are the best!
Cheena Kaul says
This is AMAZING!! And what a SUPER co-incidence 🙂
I have a website (littlesketchers.com) where I promote the concept of preserving the creations and masterpieces of all our little artists. I also encourage parents to write stories as told by their kids…about what they create. Just today, I was thinking of compiling these two things, stories and sketches into a PhotoBook 🙂 I believe in signs!!
Thanks!
Marcia Beckett says
Hi, I saw this awesome idea through pinterest and was wondering if I could use a picture of your idea in a blog post I am writing about many ideas for what to do with your children’s art? It will be posted for the families at my school to see. I teach K-6 art. Let me know! I would link to your blog post of course.
Missy says
Yes of course! We love it when you share our ideas and link back to our site!
Andrea says
Fun idea! I know my 4th grader would love this. I am currently putting together a book for a nephew who is going on a mission soon. It will contain letters from family members. I am going to check out the free book.
Thanks!
Rose Ribbon- gifts and photography says
This is amazing!! My son is three but I can’t wait to make one of these and give them out for Christmas this year!! The photography is gorgeous and just to have your children’s handmade art and imagination preserved like this is just priceless.
Piper says
This would be perfect for my youngest son… for now he wants to be an Illustrator when he grows up (a little eccentric considering he is only 7!! LOl)
Rose says
Found this post via the Twinery giveaway. Great idea!
Beth says
This is a fabulous idea…my boys love to draw and make up stories and games all the time. Smiles~Beth
Mary Ann Koonce says
I made a book for each of my children. Although they were grown I had saved tons of their art work. I took pictures of my favorite ones and also added photos of my children at certain ages. So even if you have started late you can still make these wonderful treasures. Now my grandchildren love to look at the work their mom, dad and aunt did.