People increasingly use electronic photos, share them on social networks, send them to friends. But at the same time, good old paper photos, carefully collected in an album, have not been forgotten. Homemade models of albums are especially popular now. The only question is how to make a photo album with your own hands beautiful and original. For beginners, this article will tell you step by step and in an accessible way.
Necessary materials and tools
For beginners, before making a photo album with your own hands, you need to study the step-by-step instructions, stock up on patience, the necessary tools and materials. The easiest way is to buy a ready-made kit for creating a photo album in a store, but it is much more interesting and cheaper to create using improvised means. In addition, all family members can participate in this entertaining process.
Looking at the finished album, one gets the impression that it is simply unrealistic to recreate something like this on your own. But nothing is impossible!
So, to create such a masterpiece you will need:
- thick white cardboard;
- paper;
- fabric for the cover;
- soft lining;
- ribbons or rings;
- small scissors;
- hole punch;
- stapler;
- stationery knife;
- ruler;
- scotch;
- glue;
- pencils and paints.
The use of decorative details is also important in the design. These can be lace, fur or leather details, chains, beads, locks, etc.
How to make an album cover
First, you need to decide on the size of the future photo album and choose the design style. There are many interesting original design ideas. The cover can be soft fabric, leather, paper, decorated with various elements.
To make the back of the album cover measuring 25x25 cm, you need to do the following:
- Measure and cut out a square from thick cardboard with a side length of 25 cm.
- Cut a soft lining of the same size from synthetic padding or foam rubber.
- Connect these parts using glue.
- Cut a square of the chosen fabric, measuring 26x26 cm. This extra centimeter is necessary for the convenience of folding and gluing the material to the lining.
- On top, you need to attach a sheet of white cardboard, which will hide the foam rubber and the edges of the fabric.
- The back cover of the photo album is ready.
The algorithm for making the front part of the cover is slightly different due to the use of decorative elements. For example, you can make a window for a photo that will tell about the contents of the future photo album in advance instead of the title.
To do this, the following steps are required:
- Measure and cut out a square of the given dimensions from cardboard again, but in the center you need to cut out another square or rectangle.
- The soft lining and fabric for the cover are also cut out using the hole.
- Connect all parts together using glue.
- Insert and secure a photograph into the window from the inside.
- On top, everything is covered with a sheet of white cardboard.
Then, neat holes are made in both blanks with a hole punch at a distance of 1.5-2.5 cm from the edge. Rings or tape are inserted into them to connect the parts of the cover.
Pages and binding
You can not connect the photo album with a ribbon or rings, but design it as a three-dimensional book with a binding. Accordingly, then the holes in the parts of the cover will not be needed. For the pages of the album, it is better to take thick white paper.
The sheets are connected to each other as follows:
- It is necessary to cut strips of white cardboard 3 cm wide. They will be used to connect the main pages.
- Then fold each strip in half lengthwise. To get a wider distance between the sheets, bend the connecting strip in the shape of the letter U.
- Carefully glue the folded strips to the pages. The uniformity of the entire photo album depends on this process.
The number of pages can be arbitrary and is determined only by the master's desire and the availability of the necessary materials. After this, you can begin making the binding.
To do this you will need:
- Take a bandage or thick gauze, cut out a rectangle 25 cm long and 3 cm wider than the resulting album blank.
- Glue the fabric to the joints of the pages.
- Then you need to attach a piece of tape or ribbon along the top and bottom edges of the future binding. This will give the album a neater and more aesthetic appearance.
- From thick cardboard of a suitable color we make a spine that will hide the entire binding.
- Parts of the cover are glued to the folds of the spine.
Do not attach the spine to the pages of the product, otherwise they may not open well.
That's the whole secret of how to make a photo album with your own hands. Step by step for beginners it will not be difficult to create such a masterpiece. Now all that remains is to fill the album with photos.
Scrapbooking technique in creating a photo album
Scrapbooking is a form of art that is used to create and design original photo albums. Transforming an ordinary boring photo album into a unique story of our lives.
The origin of this technique goes back to the distant 16th century. At that time, notebooks for recording important dates, valuable advice, recipes, etc. were at the peak of popularity. By the end of the 17th century, books with additional blank pages for making notes and pasting in illustrations began to appear. This was the birth of the scrapbooking technique.
In the 19th century, with the beginning of the mass distribution of photographs, a real revolution occurred - special pockets were made for photographs, and the pages were painted with various colors and pictures. Albums for girls with pictures, photos and various inscriptions were especially popular.
Today, there are many ways to design photo albums, and scrapbooking is popular all over the world.
Ready sketches for pages
A sketch is a small template of a page for a future album. In scrapbooking, a sketch is a prepared sketch to speed up and make the work process easier. Ready-made sketches are a godsend for beginners wondering how to make an original photo album with their own hands. By selecting shades and photos step by step, you can easily create inimitable pages for a future album.
These ready-made sketches are simply an inexhaustible source of ideas and inspiration! Gradually, in the process of work, templates will be used less and less often, and soon they will completely recede into the background, freeing the way for the unstoppable imagination of the master. Everything depends only on the desire to act and create. Such ready-made sketches are also useful for visualizing the future photo album.
After all, it is a draft, where there is always the possibility to change and correct something without causing damage to valuable creative materials in the process of making corrections. Sketches are used not only by beginners, but also by experienced masters. After all, sometimes one glance at a finished sketch is enough to start to form your own idea for the design of the photo album pages.
This way, unique masterpieces can be created easily and simply with your own hands.
Themes of homemade albums
Making an original photo album with your own hands is not at all difficult if you have the necessary tools and materials, as well as ideas for its design.
All that remains is to choose a plot and some significant event from life, for example:
- the birth of a baby;
- the first year of a child's life;
- graduation from kindergarten or school;
- wedding;
- birthday;
- trips.
In general, the theme of a homemade photo album can be any bright event from life, the memories of which you want to keep in your memory for a long time.
Another reason to do this kind of handicrafts can be to create a gift for relatives, colleagues or friends. It is enough to simply make an original photo album and present it to a loved one for any holiday. Such a surprise will not leave anyone indifferent!
Wedding Album. Step-by-Step Instructions
The process of creating a wedding photo album is incredibly interesting and exciting, because a piece of your own soul is put into it. Beautiful happy newlyweds, their sincere smiles are the main characters of the emerging fairy tale, the beginning of a completely new life together.
It’s an incredible feeling to pick up a tattered, dusty photo album many years later, leaf through it and understand that love, true love, is not subject to the passage of time.
For beginners, before making a wedding photo album with your own hands, it is worth studying the step-by-step instructions for its design:
- Cover. You can decorate the cover with various elements. Flowers, butterflies, snow-white doves or connected wedding rings are perfect for this. A win-win option would be to use photos of the young spouses. Such tricks will prompt the thematic direction of the photo album in advance and help create the appropriate mood before viewing.
- Name. It is recommended to indicate the names of the newlyweds and the date of this special event on the cover. Famous quotes can be used as the title of the album.
- PagesIt would be appropriate to arrange the photos in chronological order. You can even create a detailed story, a wonderful fairy tale plot in photographs. You should not place many small photos on one page. They will only distract the viewer's attention. One of the pages of the album can be left blank. On it, guests can write their wishes to the young spouses, for example, on their first wedding anniversary.
- Decorating. Sometimes it seems that photographs alone are not enough to express all the emotions and feelings of this day. In this case, various details will come to the rescue: ribbons, beads, glitter, lace, part of the wedding decorations, napkins, a piece of the veil. Everything that can awaken pleasant memories.
- Photo captions. You can use quotes, poems or song lyrics as photo captions that are appropriate to the special occasion.
When creating an album, it is important not to overdo it with additional elements and decor, because the main thing is still the photographs.
DIY Newborn Album
The birth of a baby is a new exciting stage of life together, filled with emotions and experiences. You want to remember every moment, every smile of the child, his first clumsy steps. But over time, even the brightest memories are erased from memory, dissolving in the daily bustle. Therefore, it is worth thinking in advance about preserving these emotions.
A handmade newborn photo album is perfect for this purpose. It will be interesting and exciting not only to look through the baby's photos in the future, but also to participate directly in the process of its production. Loving parents can show all their creative fantasy and imagination, putting a piece of their love into the work.
Materials for decoration
When designing a newborn album, you want to use the softest materials and the most beautiful, elegant elements. So that even through them, tenderness and boundless love for the baby are conveyed. Velvet or velour in pastel colors are perfect for the cover.
Additionally, it can be decorated with the following details:
- small plush toys;
- felt figures;
- lace;
- bows made of satin ribbon;
- beads and glitter;
- a lace cap, booties, a strap from a romper, a pacifier;
- tags from the newborn's handle;
- buttons and rivets.
When decorating, it is important not to overdo it with the number of additional elements and to combine them harmoniously with each other.
Designing photo album pages step by step
For beginners, before making a photo album with your own hands, it is recommended to pay attention to the step-by-step instructions:
- It is better to make the album pages from thick white paper or thin cardboard.
- It is better to paint them in the color you like with gouache, taking into account that the dried paint becomes a tone lighter.
- It is worth adding PVA glue to the paint - this will prevent it from smearing from the pages after drying.
- You can paint all the sheets in one color, or you can use shades to divide the baby’s first year of life into periods (trimesters or half-years).
- Any design techniques can be used: cut off corners, crumple them, draw patterns, glue appliqués.
- The album must include the following headings: the child’s height, weight, date of birth;
- photo taken upon discharge from the maternity hospital;
- first steps;
- photo with parents;
- first birthday;
- palm and foot print.
- If desired, you can attach an ultrasound scan or even a positive pregnancy test.
- It is advisable to supplement images and photographs with inscriptions and comments from parents.
The homemade album is ready. All that's left is to put the baby's photos in it, and it's important to fill the pages of the album regularly and with love.
Ideas for decorating a children's photo album
There are many ways to design a children's photo album and make it unique and inimitable.
Here are some of them:
- It is better to save more little things that in a few years will seem even more significant and interesting. For example, a tag from the baby's first clothes, a label from the first jar of puree or juice, the first diaper, a cut lock of hair.
- A note about the child's name is welcome. What it means and why it was chosen.
- You can attach photos of your baby’s favorite toy and his first drawing.
- It is acceptable to write down the words of your child's favorite lullaby.
- It is recommended to describe the process of introducing new products into the child’s diet, and consider his daily routine: rest, wakefulness, meals.
In general, it is worth listening to your heart and not being afraid of experiments! And then it will be easy to create a wonderful gift for a child.
Family Photo Album Step by Step for Beginners
You can make an album with your own hands not only for some special event, but also to tell a story about family life in general.
To create it, you can use the following sections:
- Candy-bouquet periodWith the help of photographs, you can tell about where and how the spouses met, how their relationship developed, and celebrate their first joint holidays.
- Directly family life. You can start the story from the wedding day. Let the photographs tell in general terms about the past celebration, the young spouses and the invited guests.
- RestIt would be a good idea to highlight joint trips, family holidays and traditions in a separate section.
- Children and pregnancyIt is definitely worth paying attention to children, their birth and subsequent growth and development, attaching more general photos to the album.
- Living togetherIt's worth telling about everyday life with the help of photos, how you did renovations or how you all cooked Sunday dinner together.
Creating a family album will require some effort and time, but the results will definitely be worth it.
Vintage style photo album
An interesting idea for creating an album with your own hands would be a photo album in a vintage style, i.e. “antique”.
This genre of creativity has a number of features:
- It is necessary to artificially age the pages, as if they were made many years ago. This effect can be achieved, for example, by dyeing the paper with strong coffee or tea.
- All decorative elements should be selected in accordance with the chosen style.
- The pages can be made from textured wallpaper in a beige shade. The edges of the sheets must be cut unevenly, creased or folded in places, and made a tone darker than the main canvas.
- The use of bows, antique lace, paper or fabric flowers, and embroidery on paper is permitted.
It should be noted that black and white photographs with frayed edges will look more organic in such an album.
How to decorate pages and cover in an original way
Before starting work, it is necessary to think over the idea of the future creation and sketch out the sketches. On the draft, depict everything that is planned to be included in the album, down to the smallest details. This will allow you to clearly examine the result of the work, taking into account all the nuances. The number of pages is calculated based on the number of photographs.
Each sheet of the album should contain:
- the photo itself;
- photo title;
- description of each frame;
- artistic design;
- additional decorative elements.
It is important to think in advance about what ink, color, font size and slant of letters will be used to describe the photos. You can also use letters cut out of a newspaper or magazine and assembled into whole words.
First of all, flat details are attached to the album, and at the very end – volumetric decorations.
For an original cover design, you can use a collage made up of small photos. It can be created in the form of a simple geometric figure or come up with a more complex artistic design. For beginners, before making a photo album with your own hands, you should figure out step by step how and what the finished copies are decorated with.
Otherwise, the process of creating the first album may cause some difficulties. It will be more convenient to design the pages before they are fastened into a finished product. It is important to remember that on one sheet, attention should be focused on one bright element, in order to avoid information overload on the page.
Video on how to make a photo album with your own hands step by step for beginners
How to make a photo album using scrapbooking technique, watch the video:
Simple DIY Album: