Alright DIY Craft Geeks! This handmade project was FUN! I made them for four of my nieces and nephews. The older two already know their ABCs. If you missed part one click here.
When I was in the planning stage of this project I was going to out source the printing to a local store in town. The further along that I got I decided to put a little more work into it. It’s handmade so why not have it 100% “hand-made”~
I LOVE THESE PHOTO BOOKS! They are the same ones that I used in the recipe book tutorial I post earlier this week. Another added bonus of using them is that the photos will stay clean and protected. The photo albums can be purchased at Michaels and if you catch them on sale you’ll pay $1. per book.
I always make templates for every project. Makes it easier if I go back and make more later. In this case I’m creating four Polaroid ABC books so the templates are a great time saver.
I first measured a 4×6 piece of black cardstock. This is the base of each photo that will slide into the sleeves of the album. Next, I measured a white piece of glossy photo paper (to give it the shiny effect).
One additional piece of black cardstock was cut to give the Polaroid effect. I used double faced tape to attach everything. Didn’t want to use anything shiny like staples or brads that the kids could potentially pull off and put in their mouth.
Okay, that’s the time consuming part. Twenty six pieces of three different sizes of paper.
I used all of my photography to match each corresponding letter of the alphabet. After sizing each photo to fit into the space a sticker was added. Some photos were printed to big so I utilized Walgreens online print services and ordered wallet sizes for a few. For example you can see the photo of our family below. I couldn’t fit it in the space so I ordered wallet size version. Worked just fine. If you’re into graphics you can easily adjust each photo to be the same size.
I used the same image that I shared with you in part one of this project for the book cover. You can see the cover in the image above. Adding some color cardstock and scalloped edges with the scissors.
I added the “is for…” myself.
The album holds 36 photos so obviously I had extra openings. After searching through my incredibly large supply of scrapbook paper I found one that went with the theme of the book. I scanned the whole sheet and then cropped a 4×6 section to create the print. I liked the shine of the gloss paper to accent well with the others. Again, you can do whatever you want here.
On the back cover I add my own little message for the recipients.
Hardy decided to hang out with me throughout the entire process of assembling the books.
It was a late night and included a lot of paper cutting.
But so worth the final product!
Make your own using photos that the child will recognize. Learning their ABCs will be so much fun.
Did you enjoy this project? Feel free to “pin” it and share the love.
This is such a wonderful, wonderful gift! So personal – something they will treasure for years. Now I wish I had a relative young enough to make one for!
Thanks Emily! Two were given today to the twins. They loved them. They stopped and stared at the photos and started to name them off. Two more will be shipped this week headed to Spokane.