[aclee]

I have some questions about our adoption profiles and what everyone else did...not that we want to be just like everyone else, but I want to be similar. Originally our profiles were entirely scrapbooked. Pictures I had printed, and I used stickers, and hand wrote descriptions, and used nice paper and had them spiral bound at staples. I figure these cost us about $12 each to make, but they each took about 3 hours to complete. After about 8 of those, we moved to getting the pictures and text printed on card stock double sided and then I added the stickers and photo descriptions, and had them bound. These cost about $20, but only took about 1 hour to complete, less of I did them assembly line.

Now agencies want more and I'm starting to realize, it isn't real important to these agencies how much we're spending on the profiles. They send them far and wide with little attempt to retrieve them. I need a better way, without compromising quality to get these done. I've listed a few ideas below, and I'd love some feedback on them.

1) getting the pages printed on less expensive paper, single sided and then putting 2 pages back to back in a plastic cover. Putting them all in a thin (1/2" maybe?) 3 ring binder.

2) Instead of making the profile about 16 pages (8 pages double sided) by having our Hello Letter essentially inside with the pictures, I could do a 1-2 page Hello Letter first, and then only a few pages, double sided with our pictures. I feel like I spend a lot of $ getting pages printed that are mostly text.

3) Taking pictures out. Right now it is set up so that text is on the odd numbered pages with a picture, maybe 2 and then on the facing even numbered pages (the back of the page before) are more pictures about either the text, or our lives in general. I like having a lot of pictures, but they also take up a lot of room.

Any thoughts? I would love to hear about what everyone else used that was more cost effective than what we are doing now!

Thanks!

[mommamarci]

I just made ours. I scrapboked it just the way I wanted it and then went to Kinko's and had color copies made, had them spiral bound with a black back page and a clear cover. Our book was 19 pages total (this is not front and back. I only did front side.) They cost about $10 each. And they look great!

[snoqualmiemom]

I did the same thing as mommamarci ! I scrapbooked mine and then went to kinkos and had them color copied. I had to make 24 pages (standard with our agnecy) in each book and then make 6 copies of the book. It was about 90 bucks total, and they turned out great!

I would highly recommend it. It may have been cheaper If I stood there myself and did it, but I have a three year old, so I paid about 10 bucks total to have them do it!


Good Luck!

[Shadowfaerie]

We used a paint program on my pc to put the photos and digital scrapbooking on each page. We printed out the pages (regular printer paper) on a color laser printer. We went to Staples and bought 5 folders (the type used for reports) at 4.00 a piece, and sheet protectors at 12.00 for about 100.

We were matched in 2 weeks. And that's all we did.
All the best~

[srusse24]

I did all of ours on cardstock and used some scrapbook materials, but didn't go overboard.

We had color copies made at OfficeMax and then had the entire book laminated and bound. I think it was around $100 for 6 copies.

I cannot imagine doing each profile book by hand. Hopefully having copies made will save you some time and sanity!

[mg1970]

I used digital scrapbooking software and then wrote it to PDF and printed it off on the high quality color printer at work. I put the pages into a presentation binder. The cost was $4 for the binder.

I am told that the potential birth parents like to see photos, the more the better -- so I wouldn't cut those unless you aren't showing your best photos. I think they scan the photos and then if they are interested they will go back and read. If you cut anything I would consider editing the text. As a writer almost every profile I have looked at is way too wordy in my opinion. I find myself saying blah, blah, blah ... get to the point already!

I wordsmithed my text for weeks but the first cut of my book had 30 pages, mostly pictures. I realized that while my text was succint, my photos were not so I edited them down too and I am really happy with the result. My book is now at 20 pages.

Since you already have a handmade scrapbook you can scan your book and print it on a color printer or make color photocopies. They will still be able to see how much time you put into it even without an original -- if that is your concern.

I've never heard anyone say that the reason they were chosen was because their book was on really pretty paper.

M

[quiescentfury]

I scrapbooked on 8x11.5 scrapbook paper. I had 10 front and back pages. Took it to staples and would make five copies at a time and have them spiral bound with card stock back page and clear cover. It cost about 20.00 each time.

Once the original was made all I had to do was take it to make copies so it really was no time at all.

Our letter was always seperate from our book. Our letter was about three pages and we had a generic one and then if we knew our book was going to be shown to a specific pbmom we personalized the letter to her and provided more details on what the pbmom was concerned with. Ex. Religion, our jobs, multiracial family etc. Then we would print and give this along with our book.

[sbaglio]

We used an online photobook publisher (picaboo.com). It's really easy - you just upload your pics, write in your text, and choose the colors, textures, and designs that you want. It came out beautifully. The large hardcover book cost about $30, and the smaller one about $19 (hardcover) or $12 (softcover). The prices may have changed, since we did ours a year ago. There are other sites as well (shutterfly.com etc).

[Vogi2002]

Luckily our agency required us to only do a once page letter, front and back, letter in front and pictures on the back.

It was bittersweet for me because on one hand you have to fit a lot in a little space, but then again it's also nice because there isn't that "20 page" pressure and cost. I also think eparents like it better because it's not so overwhelming to look through the different ones. If they want more info after they set up a face to face meeting or ask for more...

We did scrapbook it though and then go to Kinkos and make copies.

[Eponine]

Our agency had a specific format we had to use as far as number of pages and what went on each one (letter, type of pictures, etc.)

We did ours with desktop publishing software and had them printed - one sided - at a print shop in our town because we didn't have a good quality color printer. The printing was fairly expensive, around $40 for 3 copies of our 12-page profile, but like I said we didn't have access to a color printer otherwise.

Then we put them in presentation books from Staples that cost about $3 each. The presentation books we used were the only ones our agency allows so that decision was easy.