For 18 years, I’ve timed our family photo book to coincide not only with the kids’ birthdays but also with Black Friday sale pricing at Blurb. As the years have passed, the tools have improved, and the laptop has gained power. It’s possible that as the kids become less cute the photo volume may be shrinking. I like to think it’s mostly because I’m smarter and my workflow has improved. Whatever the reason, where I used to struggle to upload the 200 page book ahead of the deadline, this year, I’ve finished with a week to spare.
Inspired by the books at the IPMS show in October, I’m tacking a model book onto the order. Blurb makes two small square formats – 5” (12.7 cm) and 7” (17.8 cm). Spurred by The Boy’s comment that I like writing about my models too much, I’ll go with the larger format.
I took an hour or so to throw together a proof of concept, based on the coal dock. Each two-page spread consists of a blog post on the left and the relevant photos on the right. Most of my modelling blog posts are quite short, so they fit on the page without a problem. Usually there are only one or two photos, and I made them bleed to the edges because I like books with full page photos.
The first and last pages are special because they are not part of a 2-page spread. I left the back one blank, and Blurb will place their logo there. On the first page, I cribbed the construction, detail and finish sections from the NMRA Achievement Program
Part of the appeal of these little books is winding up with a tidy shelf of them, and being able to quickly find one about a particular model. So, I will try to give them all white spines with a 1” colour band at the top to denote category (for example blue for buildings).
Notes to future self:
- The band on the cover is 1″ deep
- Interior text is 10pt Georgia; the two text blocks are centred on the page, and the title block is pressed down on them.
- Cover and interior titles are 24pt Arial
- The spine text is right justified to the top of the safety margin
Pembroke:87 