Create an instant family treasure by creating an annual family magazine!
Today I am sharing a project/idea that is near and dear to my heart.
About 5 years ago, my MIL approached me and asked me if I thought there was any way I could figure out how to do some kind of a family magazine. Her brother has been putting together a HUGE family “newsletter” for her extended family called the Thompson Tribune for years and years. Mary (my MIL) was wondering if I could start doing one for just our immediate family. She also had the cute idea of making it more like a fun gossip magazine rather than your standard family newsletter. We decided to call it US Yearly (a play on the magazine US Weekly) and we usually write our news up in a reporter like style… “sources say” and “Landee was overheard saying”… you know, stuff like that. It makes for an entertaining read along with documenting what we were all up to that year.
But I’m getting ahead of myself…
My main issue was to find a company that would print it out like a magazine. I wanted it to be soft covered, stapled down the fold, glossy pages, etc. After doing some research I came across lulu.com. They had just the services I was looking for! They offer a variety of book sizes and types but one of them was the soft cover magazine style I wanted. They required jpeg or PDF images for their pages so, with remedial photoshop skills anyone can make one! You just need to know how to add photos and text to an 8.5×11 blank photoshop canvas. You can also create pages using the design site Canva. User-friendly and fun!
We’ve been doing them for about 5 years now and I gotta say, they just keep getting better and better!
Here is the basic outline of any given US Yearly Issue:
THE COVER
1. Cover: I have the most fun putting these together. These are two of my favorite covers I’ve created so far.
THE INSIDE PAGES
2. Letter From the Editor: Written by Yours Truly. Not a big deal but a little blurb, usually related to the cover story. My musings on whatever I want really… basically self-indulgent nonsense. The rest of the family tolerates it. 🙂
3. Throughout the magazine I will put in collages of family get-togethers we have had throughout the year. These are nice for when you need two particular pages to be facing each other so you need a random filler page and things like that. Not to mention that you just want these fun events in the magazine!
4. Anniversaries: This is an idea I stole from Mary’s brother’s newsletter. We all write in memories that happened 5, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60 and 70 years ago in our family. They range from big things like “Reid and Shelly get married” to not-so-big things like “Chrissi voted ‘Biggest Spaz’ in the 8th Grade.” And since not many of us were around 50, 60 and 70 years ago, we get to learn a lot about Grandpa and Grandma’s childhoods and early married life! This is one of my favorite pages in the magazine each year.
5. Main Body of Magazine: Each person gets their very own page! We try to do 5-10 photos of each person along with a write-up of what they had been up to that year. I do the adults in order… oldest sibling and spouse facing each other, next oldest sibling and spouse facing each other, etc. Then I do the grandkids in order of their age as well. It’s just easier that way. I have one SIL who does her own pages and sends them to me. The rest send me photos and the text and I put their pages together for them.
6. More random pages of family events as needed…. maybe you recognize the Cousin Carnival? 🙂
7. Every year I have everyone answer the same 5 questions. It has been funny to see how the answers have changed over the years! Oh, and I had them text me “silly faces” for this section this year. I do the photos a little different every time.
The questions are:
1. What is your proudest accomplishment from this past year?
2. What is your favorite way to waste time?
3. What is your latest obsession?
4. What is something new you tried this year?
5. What is your favorite thing to do with your family?
EXTRA IDEAS
Other things we have done but don’t do every time:
- Our second issue was dedicated to my FIL’s mother who was turning 90 that year. Everyone wrote up a memory about Grandma Dot for the magazine. She loved it, of course!
- One year we had everyone write up any childhood memory. These are a great read and our kids love them.
- The first year I did a Crossword Puzzle Quiz in the back, drawing the answers from the magazine content but no one wanted to write in their magazines so I haven’t done it since. 🙂
SOME THINGS I’VE LEARNED AFTER FIVE YEARS:
1. Ask for news and photos early and work on the pages as they come in. It’s a big job if you try and do it all at once.
2. Take a lot of photos throughout the year! It definitely helps that I know how to work a camera and that I have an AMAZING professional photographer for a SIL. I then have many beautiful photographs to work with which makes the magazine just that much better. But I believe ANY photos would look great put together in this way!
3. Simplify the individual pages! For the first issue I was addicted to digital scrapbook papers and embellishments. Each page was a “work of art”…. but now, they are already looking dated. I now have all pages be on white backgrounds and the only thing I play with is the fonts. This makes the pages come together so much easier and they look more like that classic magazine style.
4. Make sure your pages are at least 300ppi. I had a bad experience there with low resolution once.
5. Get started now! I am so grateful that we started this magazine when we did. Look at how much these two have changed in 5 issues!
Plus, since the first issue we’ve had 4 babies born in to the family and my MIL has gone through fighting and surviving breast cancer. I am so glad we have it all documented for future generations.
Hopefully this has inspired you in some way! Let me know if you have any questions!
OTHER POSTS YOU WILL LOVE!
- Pretty and Budget Friendly Ways to Organize Your Home
- Free Organizational Printables
- DIY Office Organization Ideas
** PIN IMAGE BELOW TO SAVE THIS IDEA FOR CREATING A FAMILY MAGAZINE FOR LATER! **
This is gorgeous and what a treasure for your family! I don’t know how you find the time in a day to accomplish all that you do!
Thank you so much for this post. I want to let you know that I posted a link to your blog in Creative Busy Bee Craft Inspirations, under the Page 2 post on Sep. 06, 2012. Thanks again.
LOVE this Landee!!! I’m starting this tradition this year! I want to see one of yours next time we meet 🙂
Gah! I served with Stacey in Hungary, and we had copies of the Thompson Tribune in our bathroom! I think I read it cover to cover 🙂 This is even better – I love it!
Holy cow – can I just be in your family? What a ton of work but so worth it and wonderful!
OH MY GOSH . . . this is the best idea ever. What a fabulous, fun thing to have. What a treasure these will be to the kids when they grow up, they’ll have so much fun looking at all the issues.
K dude. This might be the BESTEST idea of all times. I want to do this SOOOOOOOOOOO bad. You are going to be the victim of a total rip off. Because I am in love with this. It’s freakin’ genius. Why am I surprised? You are a genius!
When do you print them up and give them out?? For Christmas presents or at the first of the year? This is such a great idea, especially for families that are spread out like mine.
Wow! I’m so jealous of these…what a great idea. You make it sound easy, but I’m thinking I wouldn’t be able to do it without any photoshop knowledge. I LOVE this!!!
This is such an AWESOME idea! I wish I could see your magazines in real life!!! I would enjoy all the little details! Since I am into genealogy, I would LOVE to do something like this with our family. But, I don’t think they would participate like your family does. I can’t even get them to share family history with me! LOL! What a great tradition you have started!
A quick practical question — How many words are the individual write ups? I’m wondering how much legible text can fit on a page while still leaving room for pictures, etc….
Which type of book do you use on lulu? How much does it end up costing? Could you do a kind of tutorial on how you use lulu? I am in love with this idea but SO intimidated by it!
Oh my! What a beautiful thing for a family to have! The Anderson family is amazing. The funniest Stake President I’ve had and will ever have. You are one lucky lady and they are lucky to have you as an addition to their family!
Wow! This is fabulous for those with a big, extended, or scattered family. I posted on my blog.
BTW, I am featuring this at somedaycrafts.blogspot.com today.
I remember seeing your family magazine on your other blog several years ago and thinking it was fantastic (and wondering where you printed it). Thanks for the in-depth look. I’d love to make one of these for a family reunion. Very cool.
Tiff this looks just like the real magazine! Love thIs idea!!
I shouldn’t be surprised… so I am not. But I am awed. This is amazing. I’ve been trying to start a family newsletter for a while now… and this might just be the thing we do! So, so cool, Landee!!
wow, that’s awesome! so do you use templates for the layouts from lulu? i love the silly face/same 5 questions page/idea.
@Lisa: We submit the news occurring between May 1st to April 30th. I start nagging for news and submissions in March and people start getting their news and photos together. I wish I could say I have it all done by June 1 but that has never happened! It always takes longer than expected but I figure as long as the content of the magazine goes from May to May of any given year then it doesn’t really matter if they get their issues in June or August, right? Right. 🙂
@Mandy: We do the US Letter size, saddle stitch option. That means it will be 8.5×11 and be stapled down the middle just like a real magazine. Our last issue was 40 pages long and cost $13.50 each. The more pages, the higher the price. Personally I don’t think $13.50 is much for such a piece of family history but of course I am bias! 🙂
@Kristen Duke No templates! I do each layout individually depending on what they send me. I wouldn’t hate templates but I haven’t used them so far.
@One: There is no limit on words per page. I just make whatever I get work! Sometimes the font is smaller or photos are smaller if I get tons of stuff but it’s always just worked out!
Do you think this would be just as exciting with a small family? I’m trying to figure out how I can put a full magazine together with only about 10 people or so by Christmas…! This sounds super fun!
Do you do a different magazine for each side of your family or just with the Andersons? {Love them by the way!}
Great job on this post Landee and Love Love Love the magazine
Great job on this post Landee and Love Love Love the magazine
This is so precious!! I cannot believe the hard work. Congrats. I am exctired to try one of these for my immediate family this year and spread out to the siblings and parents for Next!!
one more question: You say anyone with remedial photoshop skills can do this… Are you using photoshop? Or are you creating PDF format sheets? If photoshop, I would assume you make blank page 8.5×11 and add photo, text in layers?
This is adorable!! Thank you for sharing!
thank you! I’ve been thinking of writing a family magazine for the past 3 months. today i decided to seek help from the net and i visited your blog! what a treasure i found!
Oh so glad! They really are the best! My kids love looking back through old issues and it’s a great way to keep those memories alive! Good luck!