Mixbook Review and Giveaway

Are you one of those photo people who constanly has a camera with them, taking pics of everything and everybody (not so hard now that cell phones all have cameras on them!)?  Then do you take those pics and do amazing things with them like scrapbook or make video montages?  You are?  Then I so hate you right now.  Kidding!  I kid.  I'm actually super jealous of your organizational skills and creativity, both of which seem to be just out of my reach since having kids.

If you are one of those people who loves to document life events with photos and scrapbooks and such, then you need to check out Mixbook.  Mixbooks are photobooks that are 100% customizable in that you can choose to start with blank pages or use a template that can be edited to your liking.  Mixbook even has "stickers" that allow you to personalize your pages, giving it more of a scrapbook feel and look.  

Here are the things I like about Mixbook:

• You can choose a "theme" to help you get a certain look, and Mixbook will create a template for your book, so all you have to do is drop in the photos and maybe add a few embellishments. This a great time management tool for someone like me who tends to get stuck when I have too many choices.
• Mixbook also lets you choose and change backgrounds from all of their themes to use on individual pages.  So if you don't like the background that the template gave you on one page, you can create something totally different by pulling individual components from other themes.  If you like a sticker from a Wedding theme, you can add that to your stockpile of stickers.  If you want a background from a holiday theme, you just add it to the background choices that came with your theme.
• You don't have to choose a theme at all!  You can go completely custom and use your imagination to create some amazing and unique designs by pulling different backgrounds and design elements from all of the choices Mixbook has to offer.  Personally, I need help getting started, as the ideas and flow of creativity seem to be stifled lately.  But I have friends who are amazingly talented scrapbookers who would love Love LOVE this feature!
• You can access your Photobucket, Facebook and Picaso accounts right from Mixbook to pull photos from those sites, as well as from your computer. 
• You can invite other people to contribute to your book!  Say you and your siblings are spread out across the country and want to do an "anniversary book" or a "memory book" for Mom and Dad.  Instead of just emailing photos and putting one person in charge of designing and putting the photo book together, each family can log into Mixbooks and do their own page, with their own unique design!  The end result is a book that everybody helped create and it's totally personalized.  And nobody had to travel across 6 states or spend tons of money and time scanning and mailing photos.  The whole family can participate from their own homes!  (Okay, does anyone here have the brother or uncle who always trys to throw in an unflattering photo and then when you bring it up they go find an even MORE unflattering photo?  Because I could totally see that being an issue in some households.) 
• Mixbook has lots of help and tutorials available if you get stuck.  They also let users post their projects for others to view, which is a great resource to help you get ideas for your own book.  There is even  a live chat feature on the site so someone can walk you through whatever issue you might have while you work on your book.   

As an honest reviewer, I do have to say, I was a little disappointed that Mixbook doesn't have more "boy" type themes or stickers.  I mean, I Am Boymom, right?  So most of my pics are about boys.  They have a few sports themes and one for boy babies, but nothing really for boys my age.  Having said that, I'm not sure I have a lot of input regarding how they can fix that issue, other than adding more "boy" oriented stickers, like maybe army guys, legos, bottle caps, pebbles and rocks, skateboards, bikes, cool flame type things, little crawly creatures - you know...boy stuff.  That is really the only downside I have found about Mixbook.  

So basically, Mixbook is like Shutterfly on steroids. So many more choices and options and after some research, I found the prices are lower at Mixbook as well.  And right now?  You can save even more money at Mixbook!  I Am Boymom readers can get an extra 20% off with this code:  BOYMIX20  

Okay, I'll tell you! I wanted to wait until my Mixbook was done to tell you about it.  But it is taking me waaaaay longer than I had planned to finish it because of the custom options that are allowing me to create the "exact" look I want and because I am still sorting through some old photos to put in the book.  But I want to get the giveaway underway so the winner can use their book as a gift if they want to.  So...

Wanna Win a Mixbook Photobook?  The good people at Mixbook are giving away a 20 page, 11x8.5 hardcover landscape photo books with free US ground shipping to one of my readers!  The winner will have until January 31st to redeem the prize code, all you have to do is leave a comment on this post.  The contest will end on November 30th, 12 Midnight MST.  US residents only.  You can gain extra entries by

• Following my blog (if you already follow, just leave a comment saying so)
• Posting the giveaway on Facebook
• blogging about the giveaway
• Tweeting the giveaway on Twitter

Be sure to leave a separate comment for each extra entry so I can count each one. 

**Disclosure - I did not receive monetary compensation for this post.  Mixbook gave me a Mixbook photobook to help facilitiate this review.**