{Sponsored}
While many moms dream about flowers, chocolate, jewelry, and other “things,” the best gift my family could give me this Mother’s Day is a memorable day filled with good food and lots of laughter. I gave up my 20-something moments of indulgence when I became a mom, and while a day at the spa or a shopping spree would be dreamy, it’s my children’s hand-drawn cards and projects that touch my soul. And because I tend to be quite simple, my husband struggles with buying gifts for all types of occasions, including Mother’s Day.
I love taking photos, particularly of my children, but the advent of digital photography means that I have THOUSANDS of photos stored on computers and drives in our home, many of which have never been looked at more than once. I struggle with deleting photos, particularly of my children, but I can’t fathom printing all of them out. During my Fall visit to Walmart’s Headquarters last year, I learned a bit more about their Photo Center and decided that I’d try the services out by creating a photo book to gift to my mother, my in-laws, and my husband’s grandmother.
The Walmart Photo Center offers a variety of services including prints, enlargements, greeting cards, invitations, and photo gifts, including photo books that can be created and printed in as little as one hour! If you’re looking for a last minute Mother’s Day gift with a personal touch, I highly recommend a custom photo book from Walmart. If you’re pressed for time, Walmart offers a Hard Cover Photo Book that can be ready in as little as 1 hour. You’ll also find a variety of same-day photo books available starting at under $20. The most time-consuming part of this project is gathering your photos and “putting the book together” online, particularly if you have a lot of photos you want to include.
The very first thing you’ll want to do is create a Walmart account or log into your existing account. I made the unfortunate mistake of creating a very detailed photo book without logging into my personal account and ended up losing the entire project. Once you log into your account, be sure to save your work regularly.
The very first thing you’ll want to do is create a Walmart account or log into your existing account. I made the unfortunate mistake of creating a very detailed photo book without logging into my personal account and ended up losing the entire project. Once you log into your account, be sure to save your work regularly.
After you’ve decided which photos you want to include, simply upload them all at once to Walmart’s Digital Photo Center to begin working on your project. I recommend placing all of the photos you want to use in one folder on your computer so you can easily upload them at the same time (as opposed to individually).
If you have photos already uploaded to your account, you can select the ones you’d like for a specific project easily.
Select the size, color, and texture of your cover, making sure to note both the price and the amount of time it will take to create your particular photo book. I opted for a simple, elegant black linen cover.
One of my favorite aspects of this project was selecting the backgrounds. Walmart’s Photo Center offers a ton of fun, inspired backgrounds including a handful of those inspired by Disney! I opted for the Elegant Seasons backgrounds which is a vibrant twist on the traditional version.
I was pleasantly surprised at how much detail I could include while I was designing the photo book. Walmart’s Pro Pix tool affords you the option of resizing and rotating each photo, layering text, creating custom collages, and more. This tool is relatively intuitive and easy to navigate with a bit of practice.
The Embellishments options allows you the freedom to get uber creative with fancy text and graphics.
Once you’ve designed your photo book, you’ll be able to preview it before placing your order.
I absolutely love how this photo book turned out, particularly given the quick turnaround (it was ready the same day!
After working on this project, I thought I’d share some tips for ensuring your project is completed as quickly and seamlessly as possible.
1. Use crisp, high-resolution photos.
2. If your photos require editing, use a program like PhotoShop and reserve Walmart’s Pro Pix tool for simple edits like resizing and rotating. While there are additional editing options, the workspace is small and the tool is limited to basic functions like zooming in/out, moving/rotating, and brightening a photo.
3. If you plan to include more than one photo per page, consider the Auto Fill option. I had nearly 100 photos and utilizing this function saved a ton of time. I simply went back and made a few quick edits, however, this would have taken much longer if I had done it all myself.
4. Remember that adding more pages increases the price of your photo book AND the amount of time it will take to create it. I stuck to around 25 pages, which kept the cost under $25 and it was still ready the same day.
5. Remember to save your work regularly.
Looking for a last minute Mother’s Day Gift? Check out the Walmart Photo Center for personalized gift ideas.
- Discover Luxury at Sonesta Irvine: Your Ideal Staycation - August 8, 2024
- CHOC Walk Returns to the Disneyland Resort – Special Events and Ways to Support - June 28, 2023
- Beastly Ball Returns to the Los Angeles Zoo - May 8, 2023
Leave a Reply