Digital technology and the ability to take pictures at any second, it would seem, should have squeezed paper photographs out of our lives as a relic of the past. But not a single monitor is capable of conveying the feelings and emotions that you experience while turning over a family album. DIY photo albums are in fashion now. Creating a family album is an exciting experience. It allows you to show creativity and imagination.
There are many different options for making your own photo album. Some are available for beginners, while others require skill and professionalism. Having tried once to make a small memorable album, it’s so hard to stop and not realize new ideas ...
Theme
Before you start making your own photo album, you need to decide on the theme or plot. For those who are taking their first steps in this matter, the choice of theme will be the starting point in the design and design. It can be the birth of a child, a trip, graduation at school or in kindergarten, a wedding, anniversary or other bright, memorable event.
How nice it will be for your beloved teacher or teacher to receive at the graduation party a photo album made by the hands of students, which contains shots of school life throughout the entire period of study! Such albums can be presented to each subject teacher and issued in accordance with the lesson taught by him.
In accordance with the theme, pictures, decorations, additional elements are selected. On each page, it is important to keep the proportions between the photograph and the decoration.
Stylistics
DIY photo albums can be designed in different styles, choosing the one that is most suitable. Each style has its own subtleties and nuances.
So, minimalism implies a minimum number of decorative elements: plain sheets, photos, laconic signature or vignette. In the European style, a minimum of decorations is also used, here the main element is photographs cut out as a certain subject.
Fans of antiquity can make photo albums with their own hands in vintage or retro style. These styles are distinguished by artificially aged pages, black-and-white photographs, newspaper clippings and antique jewelry, as if found at the bottom of a grandmother's chest. The style of shabby chic is characterized by an abundance of lace ribbons, bows, flowers in pastel, discreet colors.
The American style is characterized by an abundance of bright decor elements. You can come up with your own style and design it: hippies, jeans, rock and others.
Performance technique
Making your own photo album is a fascinating and creative process. It is recommended that all pages, as well as the cover, be performed in one technique, which is selected in advance. For example, when decorating using decoupage technique, pages are decorated with clippings from newspapers and magazines, original pictures and ornaments.
Stamping technique - drawing on landscape sheets as decorative elements of stamps and seals.
You can make your creation using the cropping technique, in which the main elements are cut out of the whole photograph and glued to the page along with the decor, a kind of collage is obtained.
In the journal technique, each photo in the album is complemented by a brief description or comment.
These are just a few ideas for making photo albums yourself. Styles and techniques can be combined as you wish.
Layout
Before you make a photo album with your own hands, it is recommended to create its layout. To do this, you need to take a notebook and sketch out each page of the future album and its cover. Ideally, the size of the layout and the future album are the same. At this stage, inscriptions, decorations, details and photographs themselves are thought through and selected. If you have at hand a detailed layout, the main work is greatly simplified.
The form
DIY photo albums can be made of any shape: square, round, triangular, in the form of houses or cars. Depending on the chosen topic, the shape and size of the future album is selected. But curly shapes are extremely difficult to perform for beginners, so those who first make a photo album need to choose simple shapes: a square or a rectangle.
Pages
Thin cardboard, which is sold in office supplies, is best suited for pages. But you can take whatman. On top, you can stick sheets of decorative paper so that the background is not white.
Pages are connected in different ways. They can be fastened like a book binding or punch holes in a hole punch and fasten blocks to connect them with rings or thread a tape.
Cover
The cover is the “face” of the photo album. It should correspond to the internal content and reflect the essence. On the cover you can make an image or a commemorative inscription reflecting the ideas of a photo album made by yourself.
As a cover, you can use ready-made options that are sold in needlework stores. Or buy document folders with metal rings. For those who make a large photo album for the first time, this option is optimal. Folders are also convenient in that you can always add additional pages to the archival record. The front part can be issued at your discretion.
Photo
In the album, photographs can be glued directly to the pages or inserted into specially made slots at the corners of the picture. Under the photo, you can glue a backing made of contrasting paper or fabric cut with curly scissors.
Small clamshell album
To make a small photo album with your own hands, an option in the form of a folding book is offered step by step. With this design, the child will also cope. You can make such a photo album for mom on holiday by pasting photos of all family members into it.
Work sequence:
- Pick up photos.
- From a piece of paper, cut a strip of paper with a width slightly larger than the size of the photo.
- Mark up the pages, given that there should be enough space on each sheet for both photos and decorative elements. European style or cropping is suitable for this method, when not the whole photograph is pasted, but only the cut out part.
- Fold the strip of whatman with an accordion, making bends according to the number of pages.
- Stick photos, draw frames, write memorable words. It must be remembered that the first page is not decorated, because it will stick to the cover.
- From a thick cardboard, cut a rectangle that is 0.5-1 cm wider and 1.5 cm long than a page spread. Mark the center of the book and, stepping back half a centimeter to both sides of it, draw straight lines with a pointed object, such as the end of scissors. This will be the fold line. Cover the cover with beautiful paper or cloth.
- Lay out the cover on the table face down and glue the accordion with photographs. When the glue has dried, finish decorating.
Scrapbooking
Scrapbooking is very popular for creating a DIY photo album. A simple manufacturing option is given below. For work, you need color cardboard or with drawings, scissors, an awl, and for the cover - thick cardboard, fabric and synthetic winterizer.
From cardboard, cut strips 3 cm wide and corresponding to the size of the page. Fold each strip in half lengthwise. Glue cardboard sheets cut to the size of future pages, glue in pairs, inserting on one side one edge of the folded strip. Thus, the album turns out. For gluing the cover to the first and last strip, glue cardboard on one side only.
Fold the prepared pages in a flat pile so that the folds look in one direction. Punch holes with an awl and sew with a strong thread. So it turns out a book cover.
The cover is made of thicker cardboard than the pages. A used packing box or special binding cardboard is suitable . Cut 2 blanks to fit pages and spine. The width of the spine corresponds to the thickness of the album. Spread the blanks and spine in a straight line, leaving 0.3 cm between them. Lubricate the spine and adjacent edges of the covers with glue and glue the fabric. If self-adhesive material is available, you can use it. Allow to dry under pressure.
After drying, you can decorate. Cut the synthetic winterizer according to the shape and size of the cover, fix with a few drops of glue. From a decorative fabric, cut a rectangle that is 2.5 cm larger than the cardboard blank in each direction. Glue double-sided tape on the inside of the cover and fasten the fabric by straightening the edges. You can use transparent glue.
Assembly and design
All parts should dry well. Now you have to put them together. Glue the first and last pages of the binding to the inside of the cover. After this, the album must be closed and put under the press.
This is a preparatory work that requires thoroughness and accuracy. The appearance and quality of the future product depends on them. If you unevenly cut or glue the pages, you get a messy look.
The last stage is decoration. It is made to your liking. We must not forget about the design of the cover. It can be decorated with embroidery, applique, decorative stitching and other methods.
Newborn album
Making a photo album with your own hands is better to do on a topic. So, you can organize the first photos of the baby in the album of the newborn. In it you can paste the photo of the mother at different stages of pregnancy, ultrasound images, put a test, paste the envelope in which the baby’s lock from the first haircut will lie. A children's photo album made by yourself can be decorated with tiny booties, a small bonnet.
Wedding album
A wedding is a solemn and unforgettable event in the life of every family. Many interesting and unusual commemorative shots remain after the celebration. They can also be combined into a stunning album. On its pages will be reflected the whole love story of a couple from the beginning of dating to a wedding or honeymoon. The album can be supplemented with cinema tickets from the first date, dried flowers from a wedding bouquet and other elements.
Wedding paraphernalia can serve as decoration: rings, champagne glasses, hearts.
Family album
You can recreate a family genealogical tree in a photo album. On the first pages, place the oldest photographs of family members that are available in the family archive. It can be supplemented with signatures with the names of people captured in the picture and brief information. If there are newspaper clippings, they will also be appropriate in such an album. This is an opportunity to get acquainted with the history of the family. It can be made a heirloom, inherited.
Traveler's diary
In memory of a fascinating journey, you can make a photo album with your own hands. Photos, tickets from those places that were visited during the trip, sand cones from the beach, small shells and other little things brought from the trip will become its decoration. You can paste the map of the country and indicate the route of the trip with flags or other labels. You can make handwritten notes about places of stay or sights visited.
How to make a photo album with your own hands step by step, as described above. You can take this information as a basis and make your own unique creation. Such a photo album will become a relic in any family. It can be presented as a gift, in which a part of the soul of the donor and his painstaking work are enclosed.
For the first time, you should not take on a grand multi-page project. It is better to make a small photo album with your own hands in memory of some event in life. In such works, the individuality of the performer is manifested, because these are piece exhibits, analogues which can not be found.