Hi! Stephanie here with you today to share another fun mini this month!! I really love the new mini album starter kits and wanted to use one for a "year-in-review" type of album. Although I do Project Life throughout the year, I always love making a mini album or photo book to finish the year off. I love that the books are usually smaller, easy to hold and are kid-friendly.
The Lost & Found Record It albums are the perfect size for this project! And bonus...they include all of the page protectors, inserts and dividers that you need to put together an album. The only thing else you need are your pictures, a few journaling cards and some embellishments! So easy!
1. Gather your supplies
I decided to use the Lost & Found Record It album since I wanted to keep the outside of my book fairly neutral. I debated painting the beautiful embossed front white, but in the end chose to go with a full photo collage. I wanted the book to be jam-packed with photos and having a collage on the cover was the perfect starting point.
I created my photo collage in PicMonkey. You could easily create one in Photoshop, but I find PicMonkey to be so user friendly that I didn't want to bother with opening up my Photoshop program. And best of all…PicMonkey is free!
To create a collage in PicMonkey, simply select "create a collage" from the main screen, upload your photos and drag and drop them onto your canvas.
Tip // If you are using PicMonkey, size your collage at 1800x2400 pixels. That will ensure that you picture prints at the 6x8 size for the album page protectors without being blurry or pixelated.
Once you have added all of your photos, all you have to do now is save and print.
2. Print your cover
Here is a look at my finished collage for my cover. It is sized a little larger than the 6x8 size, so be sure to measure your cover and decide how large you photo should be prior to printing.
3. Attach your cover
Use strong adhesive or Modge Podge to attach your photo to the cover. I printed mine on matte photo paper and adhered it with my tape runner.
And now you are ready to start the inside!!
4. Print photos for the inside of your album
I created a few picture collages for both of my children, my husband and myself. I wanted my book to be pretty picture heavy since I already have tons of journaling and thoughts recorded in my Project Life album. I save all of my photos by month on my computer, so I went through each month and chose a few for the collages. I also created these in PicMonkey! In addition to the collages, I pulled out some 4x6 photos and square instagram photos from my picture pile to use in the album.
5. Create journaling and filler cards for your page protectors
Whenever I start a project like this, I always like to assemble my inserts and journaling cards prior to working on the album. I find that the process runs much smoother (for me) if I have everything all ready to go. I tend to get sidetracked easily if I have to run to my computer, to my typewriter, etc. Having everything already made is a real plus!
For this book, I typed up highlights and memories from this year, 2013. I created one for each of us, and also created a few filler cards.
And now for a look at my finished album! I just love it and I hope you will too!!
Grab a cup of coffee and settle in! I've got lots of pictures to share!
I used one of the tabbed chipboard dividers as my opening page. I added my photo on top of a doily and then the "happiness" sticker in in the middle. It's the perfect title page!
I followed the same pattern for each person throughout my album to help keep it simple and easy, as you will see. Each person has a photo collage or two in a 6x8 pocket, as well as two additional divided page protectors. Making these decisions and setting up my book prior to beginning the project kept me from being indecisive as I added in my photos and journaling cards.
Like most parents probably do , I have way more photos of my children than I do myself or my husband. To keep our photos simple, I printed out one larger photo onto a piece of 6x8 photo paper and then added it to the backside of the collage photo. I actually really love the balance the white adds to the book.
The best thing about albums with page protectors is the "peek-a-boo" effect. I love adding smaller photos, confetti and stickers to the plain pockets. Don't feel like you have to fill up every single slot with a photo or journaling card.
To end the book, I added two photos of our family onto the chipboard divider. Simple and perfect!
Quick tips //
1. Add stickers to the outside of the page protector. It gives your book a little bit of texture and dimension without being too bulky!
2. Create confetti pockets to add a little color and fun to your pages.
3. Use smaller pictures, embellishments or cards inside of your pockets to create a fun peek-a-boo effect.
And that's our 2013 all finished!!
Thank you so much for joining me today! As always, please let me know if you have any questions!
