Supplies
- 6x6 Book-Look album (Karen Foster Design)
- 12"x12" Cardstock pack (Rose by Anna Griffin)
- 12"x12" Patterned vellum pack (Rose by Anna Grffin)
- Alphabet stickers (Anna Griffin)
- "B is for Best Friends" sticker sheet (7gypsies)
- Journaling pen (Pigment Pro by American Crafts)
I had so much fun creating this album for my older sister. It was fun to look through old family photographs and remember some of my favorite times growing up. I created this album to showcase a few favorite childhood photographs, and also to record a few special memories for my sister. Finally, I used the album as an opportunity to let my sister know how much she means to me. This album came together super quickly, and the design can be easily copied. This project is great for those times when you want to create a truly meaningful album, but don't necessarily have a ton of time to get it all put together. One of the things I loved most about creating this album was that since I was using a coordinated paper pack, I could combine all of the patterns in any way I wanted, without having to worry about whether or not things "matched." Before you begin, you'll want to select your photographs. You'll need between 8 and 10 photos, all printed to 4" square. You can print in this size using your home computer, or order specially sized prints from Scrapbookpictures.com. You may also want one smaller photo to use on your title page, as I've done.
Instructions:
Your album consists of two types of pages: photo pages and journaling pages. Placed next to each other, the two pages create a beautiful 2-page spread. Plan how many spreads you'll want to have in your album according to the number of photos you have, and the number of page protectors in your album. (Remember that extras can always be removed.)
1. Begin by cutting your patterned paper to size. For each photo page, you'll need one 6"x6" sheet of patterned cardstock and one 5"x5" sheet of patterned vellum. For each journaling page, you'll need these same two sheets, plus one 4"x4" of patterned cardstock for your journaling. Each cardstock pack contains a few sheets of cardstock with a very subtle pattern--these sheets make an excellent choice for your journaling.
2. Now you'll want to assemble your pages. It's easiest to do all of your photo pages first. Begin with the 6"x6" sheet. Mount the 5"x5" vellum piece in the center. Then add your photo to the center of the vellum. Add 3 word stickers to the bottom left corner of the photo, overlapping the patterned papers behind it.
3. Next, create your journaling pages. Assemble these to match your photo pages, but use a block of cardstock in place of the photo. Then use a journaling pen to add your memories and text to each page.
Helpful Hint: Decide on the order of your pages before writing your journaling. This will help your text "flow" from page to page, and keep things simple as you're putting the album together. I put my photos in chronological order, and then wrote a note to my sister that travelled from the first journaling page to the last.
4. You'll want to finish off your album with a title page and perhaps a closing page. For my title page, I simply used a 4"x2" photo on top of a piece of plain patterned cardstock. I then added a title with alphabet stickers, and details with a journaling pen.
5. To finish off my album, I selected a recent photo of my sister and I, and added a fun phrase sticker.
Tips, Hints, & Ideas:
This is a great album for almost any occasion. I love the elegant look of these papers. They set the stage for a personal, beautiful album. Just a few ideas:
• Mother's Day album
• Event album for a baby or bridal shower
• Gift album for a special friend
• Wedding mini album
