DIY: Mothers Day Album

On Friday I posted my latest Etsy Finds, and a blog reader who happens to all also be a funny and witty blogger, PBJdreamer, asked for ideas on how to create etsy find #3. The original was cute, but I knew I could dress it up and put my own twist on it. So while crafting the day away on Saturday, I got to work on an album for my mom for Mother's Day. (my mom's computer is out of commission, so it's safe to post this on my blog before Mother's Day)

Here is the almost finished album (I still need to come up with my 38 reasons inside)

Supplies:

Scrapbook Paper - I used a K&Co paper pack I had purchased a Michael's last year

Chipboard - leftover from paper packs, tablet of paper, you could even used a cereal box

Glue - I used Aleene's Decoupage glue in matte. You could also use Modge Podge or Elmer's glue

Paper Trimmer

Cardstock

Hole Punch

Bone Folder or Scoring Tool

Ribbon

Embellishments

Foam Brush

1. Select the paper you want to use for your cover, making sure you have enough paper for both the outside and inside of your cover. I selected paper that already had a collage look to it.

2. I cut 4 strips of paper for my cover 9" x 4 1/2".

3. I wanted my album to be able to open like a bound book. To achieve this, I scored each strip 5/8" in.

4. Next, I cut chipboard for the base of my cover. I cut 2 pieces of chipboard 8 3/8" x 4 1/2" and another 2 pieces of chipboard measuring 3/4" x 4 1/2".

5. Next I took my foam brush and got it good and coated in glue.

6. And lathered the glue onto a chipboard piece. The glue tends to dry fast, so it is important to only do one piece at time, then lay it down onto your paper cover, and smooth, smooth, and smooth some more, the chipboard onto the paper.

7. Notice how I left a space between the skinny chipboard pieces and the larger ones? This is where I scored the paper cover. By leaving a space between the chipboard pieces, it will allow your book to bend open.

8. Because I didn't want my cover to have harsh corners, I rounded the corners with my Crop-A-Dile Corner Rounder.

9. Here's the backside of my cover. I punched two holes on both covers.

10. I then got to work on cutting 19 pages(19x2 = 38 years young! - moi, not my mom) out of cream card stock. I cut my pages slightly smaller than the cover, 8 1/2" x 4". I lined up the pages with the covers and punched two holes on each page.

11. Because my writing tends to go downhill when writing on unlined paper, I found a stamp in my stash with lines, and got to work stamping each page front and back. If you don't feel up to the challenge of stamping this much, you can always use lined notebook paper. Or also a ruler and pencil to draw lines and then erase them after you have written on the page.

12. Here is how one of the finished pages looks, minus reason 1 of 38 why I think my mom is so awesome. That I will be working on this week! I might also add a favorite picture of my mom and me from my childhood on a few pages.

Here again is my album and some close-up shots. I held my book together with some velvet ribbon and tied it into a pretty bow.

If you're running short on time, or not feeling ambitious, another cute version of this idea would be to type or hand write your reasons onto strips of paper and put them inside a pretty keepsake jar for your mom to keep on a shelf or table and pull out a sentiment when she needs a little lovin'.

Questions? Confusion?? Ask away!

Jenny