My Very Own Alphabet Book .... { Hello You Books }

It's as easy as ABC! Create your child's very own alphabet book with this fresh, clean design. Imagine how engaged they will be looking at all the familiar faces? Choose pictures of your little one like in this sample, or snap pictures of their favorite people, animals, toys, places, etc. We can provide stock photography for hard letters such as Q, X, V, etc.

# of Photos: 26
Sizes available: 6 x 8.375" and 8 x 11"

All Hello You board books are durable and waterproof. They are professionally printed and available in multiple sizes for a perfect fit. Email me today to discuss your book!

Front Cover

Pages 2 & 3

Pages 4 & 5

Pages 6 & 7

Pages 8 & 9

Pages 10 & 11

Ready to order? Select the size below, and click "Buy Now". Provide me with your email address when checking out, and I will contact you ASAP to get started.

Sizes

6 x 8.375" $29.99 8 x 11" $39.99

Hello You Books

Hello You Books are all about YOU! We provide busy people like you with custom designed photo books and personalized photo board books for babies & toddlers. We help you share life’s joys! Deep down in your heart you have an intrinsic desire to capture life’s moments and preserve them for future generations. Yet you don’t have the time (or even know where to start!) to create the photo-based products yourself on the many online photo service companies.

Today, through the evolving technology of digital cameras and technology, you’re capturing more memories than ever before – pregnancies, births, birthdays, vacations, holidays… and everyday life! Now with Hello You Books you have the opportunity to tell those stories through custom designed photo books and personalized photo board book for your little ones.

Live Life. Capture Moments. Forever.

Photography Tips

Digital cameras are great, aren’t they? We’re snapping more pictures than ever before and there is no fear of “wasting” film because we can just delete the files we don’t like. Here are ten simple tips to keep in mind when you go to pick up that camera and capture a special moment.

1. Resolution. Use the highest resolution possible on your camera. Most digital cameras these days offer very high megapixels, but be sure yours is above 3. You can set what resolution your camera takes pictures. Set it to the highest possible level in order to give yourself crisp pictures that can be enlarged to an 8x10 or larger.
   
   
2. Focus. Most digital cameras require you to press the shutter button halfway in order for the camera to focus on your subject. This allows the camera to lock in the focus, and then you can depress the button completely to take the picture. This should avoid most, if not all, blurry pictures. In low light situations, the shutter speed is slower (meaning the shutter stays open longer) so you’ll want to steady your camera on a solid object or use a tripod.
   
   
3. Zoom In. Keep it simple!! Think about what you are taking a picture of, and zoom in on that subject. Avoid any distracting elements around the subject. And when taking pictures of your babies and toddlers, get down on their level. This may mean you have to lie down on the floor, but trust me it will be worth it!
   
   
4. Lighting. Great lighting makes a great picture. The use of natural light is best, and outdoor photos always look the best especially when it’s overcast and you avoid squinting eyes. Early and late sunlight are best. Always have the sun to YOUR back while taking a picture. If you take the photo into the sun your subject and colors will look washed out. When taking pictures indoors, pay attention to the amount of natural light entering the room. Turn your flash off and your subject will have a soft, glowing look. Either indoors or out, if needed, use a fill flash in order to cast a soft light on your subject’s face.
   
   
5. Be an artist. You don’t always have to have your subject in the middle of the frame. Imagine your viewfinder is a tic-tac-toe pattern and place your subject at one of the intersections, off center. Or let the personalities of your subjects shine – allow them to relax and have fun, add some props, rearrange them in a fun position, or have them do something together (like jump or act silly). You can also use different angles to capture a variety of looks. Stand on a chair and shoot down on your baby, or photograph upward if they are in someone’s arms.
   
   
6. Capture your everyday moments. Don’t wait for holidays or special occasions to take pictures. Keep your camera handy and you’ll find yourself snapping candid pictures of the most random things. This your life! You’ll soon find that it’s really not so random (or boring!) and worthy of documenting for future generations. Snap a shot of your child’s favorite toy in the spot he/she dropped it. Capture a casual picture of your kids watching TV on the couch. Or running through the sprinkler on a hot day. Or your husband and toddler wrestling on the floor. These are all worthy of documenting and will tell a rich story of your life today.
   
   
7. Capture everyday emotions. Especially with your babies and toddlers. They communicate through their smiles, cries, and body expressions and worthy of documenting. Snap pictures of your babies and toddlers smiling, frowning, screaming, smirking, etc. You’ll be glad you did!
   
   
8. Capture friends and family. Don’t forget to include your children’s friends and family in the pictures. These make for wonderful memories down the road.
   
   
9. Capture You! If you’re like me, you take all the pictures in the family and there are very few photos of you. Make it a point to hand the camera to others to get some shots of you. Better yet, let your children take pictures. You might be surprised what you’ll see through their eyes.
   
   
10. Have fun! Take lots of pictures. You’ll be sure to capture more than a few great shots. Live life. Capture Moments. Forever!

Journaling Tips

While a picture is worth a thousand words, there are some things a photo just can’t say. That’s where journaling comes into play. Journaling tells the story behind your picture(s). Here are ten simple tips to capture the words behind the photos.

1. Start with documenting the simple facts – name, date and place. Your children and grandchildren will thank you! How many times have you looked at a picture from your ancestors and asked “Who is this?” or “What year was this?” Jot down these facts and you have the basics of journaling.
   
   
2. Tell the story behind the photo. Imagine you were sitting down showing the picture to a friend. What would you tell them about it? Adding the story behind the photo allows your book to tell the story itself. Let’s face it, we won’t always be around to tell the story.
   
   
3. Capture the emotion. Try not to keep your story to just the facts. Include how you felt at the moment in order to bring your story to life.
   
   
4. Focus on your senses. You can see the photos. So, in your words talk about how the weather felt or how the food tasted or smelled.
   
   
5. Start a notebook to write down all those cute things your kids say or do. If it’s small enough, you can carry it in your purse and always have it ready at-hand. As much as you’d like to think you’ll remember, most of those precious moments will be forgotten if not documented.
   
   
6. Create a list. When I have a hard time writing a story, I resort to developing a list. For example, “Things I love about you”, “Your favorite things”, “Our Saturday Activities”, “My Santa List”, etc.
   
   
7. Include your favorite quotes or poems. When in doubt of your own words, use someone else’s! Just be sure to give credit where credit is due.
   
   
8. Share a recipe. Especially for your holiday and/or event photos. This is a great way to capture your favorite family recipe, but it also brings to life those tastes and smells we talked about earlier.
   
   
9. Hand someone else the pen (or keyboard!). Hearing from another viewpoint adds interest and depth to your story. One idea is to have each of your children write a few sentences about the day. You’ll see how the details transform into a rich story.
   
   
10. Have fun! Don’t stress over your grammar or style. Your voice is what’s important to the story and will be cherished for generations. Live life. Capture Moments. Forever!

About Me

Hello You! My name is Amy and I’m so thrilled to meet you. My whole life has been grounded in design and creativity. Heck, one could argue this business was inspired way back in the 70’s when I designed my first book report in Mrs. McLaughlin’s 4th grade class. I wasn’t content on simply writing the book report, I had to cut out pictures from the “old” encyclopedias my mom (reluctantly) allowed me to use and artfully frame them to support my writing. Then in the 80’s I could be found cutting out headlines and words from Seventeen magazine to place on self stick photo albums pages amongst the many pictures of my friends.

Once my Seventeen magazine days were over, I attended Indiana University in Bloomington, IN and graduated with a Bachelors of Science in Business. My major was Marketing/Advertising with minors in Creative Writing and Psychology. During my time in college I held the position of Advertising Director for the Student Association, and was lovingly introduced to the Mac computer as a design tool. Through trial and error I learned how to master Adobe Illustrator to create advertising designs for the many different student organizations on campus as well as several student election campaigns.

College was a blast! But the real world beckoned me, and I began a career in Marketing Management with a focus in marketing communications, advertising and direct marketing. Now I had the opportunity to learn the business side of design and copy. While working full time, I went back to school and received my MBA in Marketing. Then I turned 30… and hopelessly believed I was meant to be single the rest of my life. And then I met my husband! The first of many times I was reminded that life was not meant to be planned, but lived!

Meanwhile – back in the “real world” – I loved any opportunity to create handmade invitations for family and friends. Anything from baby showers, wedding showers, birthday parties, anything! Then along came Sean, our bouncing baby boy, and I set off on the adventure of announcing his birth, planning his Baptism, and documenting all of his “firsts” and simple everyday moments. My digital camera became a third eye for me, one for which all of these incredible moments could be captured. Suddenly, all of those creative endeavors from my past culminated into a new digital format whereby I could passionately design announcements, invitations, and photo books.

But do this only for myself? Nah! My life is meant to be shared with others. I’m a stay-at-home mom to Sean. My husband is humored by my attempt at housekeeping. I teach Fundamentals of Marketing online for hundreds of college students every year. And now, Hello You Books.

Ready to get started? have questions? just want to send some love? email me!

Live life. Capture Moments. Forever.

Not even a little bit pregnant

It sucks. But I'm dealing with it. I haven't "felt" very pregnant all week. No sore breasts. Not much cramping. No fatigue. So I decided to take a home pregnancy test yesterday morning. Jeff had gone for some tests at the hospital which gave me a perfect opportunity to either 1) surprise him when he came home or 2) wallow in my self-pity. I peed on a stick, and within seconds knew it was going to be negative. I brought the stick with me to bed and laid it on my nightstand. Every minute or so I would roll over to look at it again, hoping I just didn't see a small shadow of a line the time before. And as each minute passed I cried a little harder. After about 20 minutes I gave up and stopped crying. Not too bad, huh? I told you before that I felt emotionally more stable this time around. I had to applaud myself.

Then Jeff called. Literally about 5 minutes after I stopped crying (and applauding myself). Quickly I had to determine if I was going to tell him over the phone or wait until he came home. He easily figured somethin' was wrong and asked immediately. I felt horrible telling him over the phone, and then the crying started again. It was hard enough wallowing in my self-pity but now I was letting down my husband, my best friend, the father of my son! I know, I know. This is a two-person job to get pregnant but why do I feel all the pressure? Ugh! Then you have to throw in oodles of hormones to make the woman even more sensitive!

Anyway, I resigned myself to the fact we weren't pregnant and got on with my day. I had to wake up Sean finally at 9:20am. The little sleepyhead was still out cold. But he still gave me a big smile and I smothered him with kisses and hugs. Thank goodness for this cute little guy otherwise mamma would be miserably sad.

I took another pregnancy test before going to bed. Again, nada. In fact, the spot where the line was meant to be actually looked whiter than the rest of the strip. Almost as if to say, "duh, I told you you're not pregnant!".

Today was the real bloodtest at the fertility center. There's no second-guessing that number. They measure the HCG in your blood, which is the hormone your body starts producing when you're pregnant. It's the hormone home pregnancy tests measure in your urine, but they don't detect the hormone until 40 so I was holding out a little bit of hope. Then my acupuncturist told me last week she detected I was pregnant in the feel of my pulse, but today not so much - maybe a little bit. So I headed home with a very small glimmer of hope. And was shot down by 2:30pm when the nurse called to tell me it was negative. The measurement was less than 1... so I'm not even a little bit pregnant. Bummer. I cried just a little bit more.

The worst part of all of this is I feel like I sabotaged the whole process by not getting myself in better shape. In my heart of hearts I felt that played a HUGE role in our success with Sean. But I never had the raw motivation to do anything about it this time. The embryos we transferred were genetically tested and known to be chromosomally normal. It was our best shot of getting pregnant, but I wasn't in the best physical state I could have been. I blew it. I'm sorry. Really sorry. I have two choices -- beat myself up over it, or forgive myself and move on. I've sent an email to a personal trainer. No more excuses. We'll try again in February or March. Plenty of time to get myself in the best physical shape I can without losing too much time. I have to forgive myself.

Oh, and we're going to Disney World in January. Plan B is in action.

Latest crazy thoughts on possibly being pregnant...

I feel relatively normal. And 78% of the time I forget that I could possibly be pregnant. A very busy 18mo will do that to a gal. But the other 12% of time could drive me to the nut house. Every once in a while I think my boobs are sore, but then when I squish them purposefully - nothing. One thing is for certain, food tastes different to me. Nothing tastes good. Which sucks. I love food. The science experiment feeling in my uterus comes every now and then. It's reassuring for some reason. And it reminds me to sit down and put my feet up. I'm also starting to get that exhausted, tired feeling. Today I laid down on the floor in the playroom and said to Sean, "Mommy is so tired and could use a kiss." He promptly walked over, leaned down, and planted a wet one smack on my lips. How lucky am I?

All of these symptoms can simply be effects from the drugs. Estrogen and mega-doses of Progesterone (shot into my ass with a a needle rivaling the size of Seattle's famous skyscraper) bring about a host of pregnancy-like feelings. Nothing like whigging out an {in}Fertility patient with the possibility of false hopes.

Maggie, the cleaning lady, comes tomorrow. Gotta love that. Except tonight we have to clean for the cleaning lady. Which sucks (not as much as the non-tasty food, however). I've had to take a few breaks from the effort. Hence, blogging.