Mixbook, A Review and a Super Exciting Giveaway!

There is something so satisfying about holding and turning pages of a book. I mean, all hail web publishing, e-books, etc., but there is nothing that quite compares to being unplugged. As in, off in a quiet in the corner of the library and immersed in a really good book (I'll add with no Smartphone, iPad, or laptop in sight).

Now, it's easier than ever to turn your digitally published works such as a blog, photos, etc. into a printed book! I have wanted to take my family blog and turn it into a hardcover book for quite quite some time, so when Mixbook entered the picture, I was very excited! I have tried other publishing sites, but none have been so user friendly, and creative. Other sites I have tried have only certain templates or formats for your photos and posts arrangement on pages, but Mixbook allows you to pick up your content and drop it wherever you want it!

Being able to turn our family blog in to a book was exactly what I wanted. It's a journal of sorts, and I wanted my kids to see it all. They are still young and not into the whole blog thing yet, and I love having a printed version of their stories and pictures for them to sit down and flip through.


When the book came in the mail (2-day shipping!), it was exactly what I had laid out. The pages were crisp and clear and exactly what it looked like when I pieced it together online.


My kids loved it!  Their smiles made it worth it times a hundred. Then my husband came home and couldn't put it down, then my brother in law came over and walked out the door with it! (He brought it back an hour later, don't worry!)  It is something my family has enjoyed whole-heartedly, and I have plans for more Mixbooks (hopefully a recipe book!) in the future.

They have templates for anything you could possibly want to print: digital scrapbooks, yearbooks, photo albums, recipe books, wedding books, guest books, baby books, announcements, calendars, invitations, cards, and more.  You can make all kinds of Mixbooks!

Choose your colors, backgrounds, embellishments, fonts, sizes, etc. It's so fun to turn your digital work into something tangible!


SHOP: Check out Mixbook HERE and you can take advantage of a 20% discount for Moana Saves readers when you use the promotional code MOANAMX20.  Happy Mixbooking!  

WIN: You are lucky because Mixbook is offering one lucky Moana Saves reader a 20-page 11x8.5 landscape hardcover book and free US ground shipping!  Here’s what you need to do to enter: As the mandatory entry, tell us who or what you would make a Mixbook for. (Mandatory entry means that if you don't do this first, all of your other entries will be disqualified.)

To earn an additional entry, do one (or all) of the following and leave a separate comment for each thing you do:

1. Become a public follower of Moana Saves via Google Friend Connect in the sidebar. 
2. Become a Networked Blogs follower of Moana Saves (in the sidebar).
3. Follow Moana Saves on Twitter.
4. Follow Mixbook on Twitter.
5. Tweet about this giveaway (limit one tweet per day) using the following:
#Win a 20-page 11x8.5 landscape hardcover book from @Mixbook and @moanasaves #giveaway ends 2/16 http://bit.ly/dVSojT
6. Subscribe to the Moana Saves feed via RSS reader and/or email updates (in the sidebar).
7. Like the Mixbook Facebook page.

8. Like the Moana Saves Facebook page.

Only one person per email/household/IPaddress can enter this giveaway.  He/she must be 18+ years old and reside in the U.S.  This giveaway ends on Thursday, 2/17/11 at 11:59 PM HST (Hawaii Standard Time).  One winner will be chosen randomly via Random.org.  I will notify the winner via email and he/she must respond to claim the prize within 48 hours or I will draw another winner.

*I was not paid to review Mixbook, but was given the opportunity to make and print a Mixbook at no cost so I could tell you amazingly talented publishing peeps what I think. True story.