Feel like fishing?

We have a lot of family that we don't live close to - mainly Shaun's dad and step mom who live in Texas. Pictures are the main way they're able to keep up with Sully's milestones and watch him grow - and god do we have a lot of pictures.

While I really like the photo kiosks at Target and find them really easy to use, its not always necessarily convenient for me - and really your only choice is to print pictures out to take home or frame. I lag in a major way getting things like cards, announcements or pictures sent out to people. It sounds stupid but sometimes its such a hassle to go and get the pictures printed, get them in a envelope and make it to the post office to get them sent out. I need something easier.

I've looked at Target's photo online as well as Kodak's, but by far my favorite has been Snapfish.com Its a lot cheaper than the other sites too, a big plus when you're always looking for ways to save mula. Aside from printing out quality photos and mailing them to you for about 9 cents a piece (without coupons or promotional print rewards) they also have a fairly well priced online store that includes pretty much anything you could think about posting a picture on. One of my favorite things I've done so far is make Sully a book all about the 9 months I was pregnant with him. For about $50 (before I used a coupon) I got roughly 50 pages of a book I was able to design for him. Using numerous templates and pre-designed pages I was able to directly place the 9 months worth of online journals and pictures I kept about our experience into the book. I plan on making him another one following his first year. I personally find it easier than scrapbooking (although maybe slightly less personal with it not being handmade and all) but find it to be a fun and relaxing pastime. Your work can be saved so you're in no hurry to have to make it and get it paid for unless you want to.

I also LOVE LOVE LOVE their flipbooks. They start at $4.99 for a standard 4x6 book which includes 5 pages I think. You can add on additional pages (5 pages for 99 cents). We send them to Shaun's dad and step mom because I don't have to worry about getting the photo's processed, they don't have to worry about storing them because they come in a neat little book and we can leave little comments for each picture for them to make it a little more personal. (You do have to get pretty creative with the comments since they don't give you very much room) Plus, I get to also ship it directly to them. So easy.

They're always running specials, rewards programs for free prints or points towards shipping, and you can always do like I do and find coupon codes for the site. I'm usually always able to find one for 25%-40% off a purchase any given time at another one of my favorite places - RetailMeNot.com

I also ordered Sully's birth announcements from Snapfish. While not a huge selection (okay so another complaint), the price was fair for the amount of announcements you get, plus envelopes.

One of the books I ordered did have problems - a blank page to be exact. I was able to email someone at the site however, and not only did they credit me my entire purchase of the book so I could order a new one (this time with all my pages they promised) they also threw in some free prints for the future for my inconvenience. Pretty nice huh? They let me keep the defunct book to boot.