Easy Fabric-Covered Photo Album
by Rachel Paxton
rachel@creativehomemaking.com
Crafty-Moms.com:
http://www.crafty-moms.com
These thoughtful, inexpensive keepsakes are easy to make and personalize for
any friend or family member.
I decided to make mini cloth-covered photo albums for my mother and
mother-in-law. These instructions apply to any size photo album--you just
have to measure the album to get an idea how much fabric you're going to
need.
Materials:
- 3-ring binder/photo album (doesn't have to be new--you are going to be
covering it)
- Pages for photos (add when album is finished, or you might get glue on
them)
- 1 large sheet white poster board
- 1 can spray adhesive (3M works well)
- Craft glue or glue gun
- Scissors and/or rotary fabric cutter
- Fabric—1 piece long enough to cover the outside of the album, and 2 pieces
to cover each of inside covers. Allow extra inch to fold over edges of
album.
- Silk flowers, appliqués, beads, ribbons, lace (optional)
You will need three pieces of fabric. You want the piece on the outside of
the album to be one piece that folds around the outside of the album. Leave
1 inch of material around the edges.
Use spray adhesive (available at most craft stores) to glue the fabric. Make
sure to lay newspapers all around you and spray carefully or you'll end up
with a big sticky mess. Also try not to let your fabric stick to the
newspaper. Spray the glue directly on the outside of the album- -one side
first, then the spine, then the other side. Smooth the fabric as you go,
gently smoothing out any wrinkles quickly before it dries (you have a few
minutes). You should now have the outside totally covered with fabric with 1
inch extra all around the edges of the album. Glue the extra inch of
material on the sides down to the inside of the album. Now fold the top and
bottom edges down and glue in place. The inside of the spine will still be
visible after the inside covers are in place, so fold the extra inch at the
spine in half first, then again and glue in place. The remaining exposed top
and bottom edges will be covered with the inside covers.
The next step is to make the inside covers. Cut 2 pieces of poster board
approximately 1/8-inch smaller (on all sides) than the inside covers of the
photo album. Make sure to lay them in the photo album after you cut them to
make sure they're the right size. You want to make sure the album can still
open and close easily when they're in place. Cut 2 pieces of fabric to be
1/2-inch bigger (on all sides) than the pieces of poster board. Using spray
adhesive, glue each piece of poster board to a square of fabric. Fold over
the remaining ½ inch of fabric on the top, bottom, and sides, and glue to
the back of the poster board. You should now have completed inside covers
with no exposed fabric edges. Using spray adhesive, glue the inside covers
into the inside front and inside back of the photo album, again making sure
the album can open and close easily. You're done! Now you can add the pages
for the photos. Here are some more options:
- If the album is big enough, you can cover a photo mat with fabric and glue
it in the center of the front of the album. You can purchase the mat already
cut, or you can make your own out of extra poster board, making it any size
you want.
- If you want to have lace around the edges, glue the lace around the edges
of the album after covering the front of the album with fabric, and before
gluing in the inside covers. The inside covers will hide the bottom edge of
the trimming. Glue in place with craft glue or a glue gun.
- Embellish the cover with appliqués, beads, and silk flowers. Glue in place
with craft glue or a glue gun.
After you practice on one of these albums, you'll see how easy it is and
you'll be able to see all the millions of possibilities. These albums can as
fancy or simple as you want, and can cost a lot or next to nothing. I made
one for my sister as a wedding present that cost about $50 after I bought
the nice fabric, appliqués, lace, etc.
For Mother's Day, however, I found some mini photo albums on sale 2 for $3.
They hold up to 4 x 6 photos. I'm going to find a photo to cut down a bit to
fit on the front cover, one for my family, and one for my husband's. If I
get in a bind for time I will try to find some fabric on sale (should only
require approximately ½ yard each for the small albums). If I have time I'll
do a little yard sale shopping and try to pick up some fabric that way. If
you sew or do many crafts, you may already have some fabric on hand. It's
also a good idea to stock up on different sized albums when they're on sale.
Keep on the lookout for extra trimmings on sale and at yard sales. Don't
forget the unconventional, like sequins and buttons. These thoughtful albums
make great gifts for all occasions.
Originally published at http://www.suite101.com. Rachel
Paxton is a freelance writer and mom. For scrapbooking, card making,
gift-giving ideas, and more family memory-making activities, visit
http://www.crafty-moms.com .
This article provided by the Family Content Archives at: http://www.Family-Content.com
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