Play Eat Grow: {Guest Post} Play: DIY Mother's Day Photo Albums

We are so thankful that our friend, Amy, agreed to share how to make this fun photo book for a Mother's Day gift. She's done this several times over the years, and her mom and grandma have LOVED them! You could take pictures of an event (i.e. hiking trip, playground, etc.), and make the whole photo book around that theme. Another fun idea is to get all the grandkids together and make this a joint gift! Either way, this is a cute idea that's easy to do. Hope you enjoy it. Thanks again, Amy!

Supplies:

12x12 heavy scrapbook paper

Scissors or a paper cutter

Tape

2 pieces of Cardboard, foam board or other heavy stiff material cut to 7x7

3 ½ x 5 photos

Stickers, markers, decorations (optional)

Step 1 – take your 12x12 paper and cut in half to form 2 pieces of 6x12

Step 2 – take your 6x12 paper and fold it in half to form a 6x6 square

Step 3 – Repeat steps 1 and 2 to make as many pages as you want. Always make an odd number of squares (3, 5, 7, etc.). Each square will give you room for at least 2 pictures. So 3 squares=6 pictures, 5 squares=10 pictures, 7 squares=14 pictures.

Step 4 – using tape (I recommend archival safe double sided tape), attach the back of one square’s side to the back of another square’s side, like this:

Step 5—once your pages are all connected, you can tape in your photos. You can either attach the photos directly to the page or you can mount them on a slightly larger piece of coordinating paper (for 3.5x5 photos, use a 4x5.5 piece of paper) and then tape the paper onto the page. It’s best to use archival safe double sided tape. Don’t forget that you can put pictures on the back side too.

Step 6—decorate the pages as desired. Write directly on the page or on a scrap of paper and tape in the scrap. Label the photos with names, dates, descriptions, etc. Use stickers or markers to liven up the pictures. Be careful to use archival safe products and it’s best to use flat objects. Thicker items don’t work well in a paper album.

Step 7—make your cover. Take a 12x12 piece of paper and put the good side face down. Take your first piece of 7x7 cardboard, foam board, whatever and put it on top of the paper. Wrap the cardboard like wrapping a present. Try for neat corners since they will be visible. You can use the full sheet of paper so that you cover as much of the back as you can or you can use a paper 8x8 so you have less bulk. Repeat for the other piece of board.

Step 8— Using tape or glue, attach a ribbon to the underside of the front cover. Repeat for the back cover. This will let you tie the album shut. Any kind of ribbon will work as long as it’s long enough to tie.

Step 9—Using tape, attach the starting side of your chain to the center of the back side of your cover. Once that is secured, attach the ending side of your chain to the center of your other cover.

Step 10—Decorate the cover if desired. Add stickers, text, ribbons, etc to decorate the outside of the cover. Try to leave the backside flat.

Tips:

These books make great gifts (Mother’s Day, Christmas, birthdays, etc.) and can be done with lots of themes (family vacation, pictures of the grandkids, family history).

3.5 x 5 photos fit nicely in a 6x6 album but you can make the album any size you’d like.

Thanks again, Amy, for this fun Mother's Day gift idea. What mom or grandma can get enough pictures?! :)

{This is Christina here: I was so inspired by this tutorial, I tried it myself for a present for my mom, mother in law, and grandmothers in law. I made it smaller and was able to complete it all in one day. I think it turned out great! What do you think?}