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Giveaway & Review: Best of 2010 in a Kodak Gallery Photo Book ($75 AMEX GC) [CLOSED]

Thinking of an original gift for our children to give to their father for the holiday was tough. We have had 6 years of Christmas gifts, birthday gifts, and Father's Day gifts from one or more children, so I was starting to run out of ideas. When Kodak Gallery came to me to try their custom photo books, I realized that this would be the perfect gift for our children to give to their Dad. They could even help me select the photos to include.

The Kodak Gallery Photo Books have two options for getting started. You can either utilize the SMARTFIT Technology, which sorts your photos for you and inserts them into different layouts on different pages. The other option is to make an Original Photo Book where you start with a blank book and build everything on your own, including the layout and photo selection for each page. I tried the SMARTFIT Technology and personally would have preferred the Original. I ended up redoing every page anyways. The SMARTFIT would be good for anyone who was publishing a random assortment of photos, rather than wanting to group the photos chronologically or by theme.

I was very pleased with the options for the book size, cover type, cover color schemes, page backgrounds, and page layouts. Both the front cover and the back allow for you to select a photo and text. I titled my book "Silly Moments of 2010" and personalized the back with a holiday greeting from my children to their Dad.


The first content page allows you to add a message or a dedication. Although it is an option to add captions throughout the book, I opted to let my photos speak for themselves. I did customize the background of each page and tried to alternate the layouts through out the book to make it more interesting to flip through. The photo layouts gave you the options of tilted or straight photos, framed or unframed photos, and even full-page photos.

The photos of the book do not do it justice. I hope they at least give you an idea of the print quality. I am extremely pleased with being able to show off my photographs in this format.

Although ultimately I was very pleased with our book, the site's software does have a few kinks. One bug they are currently working on fixing caused the photos on only one page to shift out of the frames even though it did not look that way in my preview prior to ordering. I did notify Kodak Gallery of the issue and they were able to fix the problem for me. The replacement book I received reflected the correction. Although the books shipped quickly both times, I would highly recommend your not waiting until the last minute to order a photo book for a gift. That way, if something does arise, then you will still have time to have it corrected.

To learn more about Kodak Gallery Photo Books, visit KodakGallery.com, Kodak Gallery on Facebook, and @GalleryExposure on Twitter.


Thank you to Kodak Gallery for sending us a gift card to use towards the purchase of this book and for providing a second gift card for our contest prize.




What you can win:
One lucky reader will receive a $75 American Express Gift Card (to create a photo book of their own).





Limitations:

This giveaway is open to U.S. entries only. You do not need to be a blogger to enter, but you must have a valid email address and be age 18 years or older. If you enter anonymously and do not include a valid email address in your comment entries, I will not be able to notify you should you win this random drawing.




How to Gain Entries:
Leave a comment telling me what style of photo book you would like to make AND what would be the general concept or theme of your book. You MUST do this to be eligible to win this contest.


Extra Entries:
1)  For 5 extra entries, leave a relevant comment on one of my non-giveaway posts. Then leave FIVE separate comments with the name of the post on which you commented. You will earn 5 extra entries for each different non-contest post you comment on.
2)  For 5 extra entries, enter one of my other contests. Leave FIVE separate comments here telling me which contest you entered. You will earn 5 extra entries for each contest you enter.
3)  For 10 extra entries, join the Kodak Gallery (top right of homepage) and sign up to received special offers via email. Then come back here and leave TEN separate comments telling me you did.
4)  For 1 extra entry each, if you are a Friend of mine on Facebook and/or if you have "liked" the 3 Garnets & 2 Sapphires Facebook page, then leave a separate comment here telling me so with the link to your Facebook profile.
5)   For 1 extra entry each, follow Kodak Gallery on Twitter and/or "Like" Kodak Gallery on Facebook. Then leave a separate comment for each with the link to your Twitter or Facebook profile.
6)  Follow me on Twitter. Then leave a separate comment with the link to your Twitter profile.
7)  Tweet about this giveaway linking back to this post. Then come back here and leave the link to your tweet in a separate comment. You may do this once per day until the end of the contest.
8)  Subscribe to this blog's feed. Or you can follow me through Blogger or subscribe via email (widget is on sidebar). Then leave a separate comment telling me you did so.
9)  Subscribe to A Blog of Goodies' feed (the sister site to 3 Garnets & 2 Sapphires). Then leave a separate comment telling me you did so.
10)  Add my button or blog link to your blog's sidebar. Then leave a separate comment with the link to your blog.








(All entries will be verified prior to awarding this prize.)




Random Drawing:
This contest will be closed on Monday, January 10th, 2011 at 11:59pm EST. A random number drawing will be held shortly after. The winner will be announced here and will be contact via email or through their blog. If the winner does not respond within 48 hours, a new number will be drawn.

Good luck in the drawing!