When I was a little girl, we had these photo albums with a little oval on the front that I loved flipping through the sleeves of developed film. My mom always had one in her purse, and she called it her "brag book." So when Chatbooks reached out to collaborate on a design for their "Monthbooks", I jumped at the opportunity to create something nostalgic and special for our family (and yours).
If you haven't heard of Chatbooks, they are my go-to resource for getting photos off my phone and into a high quality book that our whole family can look through and treasure for years to come. Their specialty Monthbooks is a subscription photo book that arrives (you guessed it) every month. Each book includes 30 pages and is just $10 for a softcover or $15 for a hardcover, plus free shipping! I love to use them for making a monthly collection of what we did that month! Truly genius and convenient for people like me who want to just set it and forget it.
When it came to the design, I wanted these Monthbooks to feel like the photo albums that I used to have when I was little–the oval on the front. To make it feel a little more modern, we went with a linen look and included some delicate black lines and a sophisticated serif font. I think they look so classic and timeless. These little keepsakes are like everything we do: a mix of traditional and modern, which is so important to me if I'm going to be putting them out on a shelf as a design element. (And I am.)
I'm all about functional design, and these books serve as both keepsakes, journaling and decor: They stack so nicely on a bookshelf, a coffee table, or even a nightstand and look beautiful. I'm already envisioning our shelves filling up with these books over the years, and it warms my heart to see such beautiful sentiments taking up space in our home.
To get started with your own Monthbooks, download the Chatbooks app, select the "Monthbooks" option, select the Chris Loves Julia books, and set up your monthly subscription. Get a free Monthbook when you subscribe with code CLJXCB. Can't wait to see your growing collection of books filled with your own cherished photos!
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Beautiful! I'm curious: Is the cover a standard glossy finish that you'd see on chatbooks like these, or is the texture linen-like?
It feels smooth but is printed with a linen look.
Love this! Are you able to go back and do previous months?
Oh yeah!! Totally!
So great! Love the nostalgia and updates look! Any chance there’s a landscape version? I’m old school like that and rarely take portrait format.
Oh darn sorry! But you can still upload landscape photos on the pages
I LOVE Chatbooks!! This is such a beautiful collab!
I love the story of your mom's brag book. My mom had the same!
YESSSS!
I LOVE Chatbooks…I make them every year for Mother’s Day gifts for all of our moms and grandmoms. Now, I just need for Chatbooks to start making photo calendars! (That’s our holiday gift to our extended family!)
First, congratulations!! They are beautiful! I have been wanting to look into this, so now is the time!!
Julia! You outdid yourself with this collab, so beautiful!! I usually do yearly family books, is there that option on chatbooks? I’m so excited to start collecting!
I believe there is!
I love this idea. I don't take enough pictures on my phone for it to be useful for me but this is really a great idea.
Such a beautiful design!
Do we have the ability to customize them instead of it being a "monthly" book --could it be a "my child's first year" "family trip 2021" etc?
I've subscribed to Chatbooks for several years. Mine is linked to my IG, but I have also created separate books just to remember certain events, fathers day etc, so you should be able to make a First Year or Family Trip book! They really are great :)
This is so neat. Love this idea! Is this available for Canadians?
I believe so, yes!
Yes, Emily, they are! Although of course you’ll get bit by the currency exchange, and shipping is not free (last I checked)! But I haven’t ordered one from there in awhile so maybe that has changed.
Oh love love love!! I used to subscribe to chat books and I think somewhere along the way a couple years ago a ccnumber changed and I never corrected it on my subscription so we stopped receiving them (obviously). Time to change that!! Gorgeous design, I can’t wait to get to work on some, and I dread working on pics 😍 Thank you!! 🙏🏻
Love them!!