DIY Photo Books

Photos are a gift that any grandparent would love to get.  I know my grandparents do!  They are a way for them to see a little glimpse into the day to day stuff and a way to show their friends and visitors their favorite people.  I have heard these books called brag books, and some just photo books, but whatever they are called, they are cute, easy to carry around or store, and so easy to make!

Let's get started.  I love instagram.  I decided that I wanted to use the photos from my instagram in the book since they are photos of the silly day to day things that I knew the grandparents would love to see.  I thought it would also give them a laugh.  I mean, who wouldn't when you saw pictures like this? :)

I started by putting my photos into a 12x12 square using photoshop. If you don't have photoshop, don't worry.  You can still make this!  All you will need to do is print your photos as a 4x6 and then cut them down to size.  You can follow the rest of the tutorial from there.

The photos are 3 inches square.  I cut them apart using a paper cutter to get really straight lines.  

Next, I cut some cardstock to be 3.5 inches square and mounted the photos to it so that they have more of a framed look.  Plus I really liked having the contrast between the paper behind the photo and the paper used for the actual book pages.

The pages of the book are going to be 4 inches square.  Once you have the photos mounted to the 3.5 inch square pieces, you will mount them to the 4 inch pieces of paper.  I put the photo a little to one side to account for the book spine being put in place.  

All you need to do now is embellish the cover a little.  I took a pretty piece of scrapbook paper and attached it to the front.  Then I used one of my favorite things-washi tape-as a border of sorts and used a mini alphabet stamp kit to write the word "moments" on the front.  The very last step is to bind your book.  I used my dad's book binder.  If you aren't fortunate to have one available to you, don't even worry about it.  You can take it to your local Kinkos, or other print shop and they will do it for you at a really reasonable price.  

There you have it!  A really cute, personalized, and fun gift to give to grandparents (or aunts and uncles, or anyone that would enjoy seeing photos of your family).  I originally wanted to get these to my grandparents for grandparents day (which was last Sunday) but the stars did not align and they didn't get them.  They will be getting them shortly though, and I know they are going to love them.