Photobook with their own hands of paper and cardboard: step by step master classes and photo ideas for decoration

Photo album is a book designed for photos of different sizes, which keeps our best memories and is passed down from generation to generation.

Nowadays, most often people store photos digitally, but they can be deleted by accident or just because of a phone malfunction.

Photobook can be created your own hands a lot of ways. The main thing is to have patience, to prepare everything you need to work.

Tools for work

A set of necessary tools and different materials depends on what kind of album you want to create, the most basic are:

• Cardboard of good density, preferably white;
• Scrapbook paper;
• Satin colorful ribbons or rings;
• Handy scissors;
• Stapler;
• An ordinary knife (stationery knife);
• Ruler (30 cm.);
• Thin tape;
• Glue (PVA);
• Colored pencils and watercolor paints.

Making a photo album from paper and cardboard

This option is considered the easiest excellent for beginners in this matter.

Material:

• For the cover, thick cardboard;
• Album paper or sheets of A4;
• The material for creating the cover;
• Satin ribbon or beautiful cord;
• Handy scissors;
• A hole punch for binding;
• Stationery knife;
• Scotch tape;
• PVA glue;
• Material for lining;
• Colored pencils or water colors.

First of all you need to make a cover. Take several sheets of heavy cardboard, the size should be like a landscape sheet (A4):

• Lining material cut the same size as the cardboard sheets.
• PVA glue cardboard to the lining.
• The first layer is cut with a seam of about 0.4 cm can be a little more. Accurately use glue to glue the finishing material all over the inside of the cover.
• The cut edges are hidden with a piece of cardboard or any other, but always with thick paper.
• The cover of the photo album can be covered with suede or beautiful decorative paper, and also decorated to your taste.
• Inside, you can add sheets for photos with a binding it is considered heavier.
• On the sheets that will be located inside the album with a hole puncher make holes with identical spacing.
• Through the holes we pass a beautiful ribbon or cord, tie the ends nicely.

An alternative is split rings, which can be purchased at any office supply store.

Standard binding

You should prepare some 3-4 cm strips that are not too wide and should be as dense as the pages for the pictures:

• Cut exactly as many strips as there will be pages in the photo album.
• Using a ruler to find the center of the narrowest part. From this center bend in all directions no more than 2 mm. On the other hand do the same steps.
• Now connect the ruler, a pencil to draw a straight line. In the resulting part of the cut corners are not necessary.
• In the resulting blanks sheets are laid and fastened with glue.

The resulting photo album can be decorated with various beads, rhinestones, beautiful lace, ribbons, you can use the usual newspaper extracts.

Techniques of decorating a photo album

Handmade photo albums are much more valuable than the usual ones from the store. After all, a lot of effort is put into this work, as well as a piece of the soul. To create different techniques and styles.

Scrapbooking .

This type of art direction implies the creation of unusual decorations not only for photo albums, but also for books or notebooks.

With this direction it is simply impossible to do the same work. The resulting decor elements are absolutely all different. Scrapbooking involves the transfer of different emotions, impressions in a short period of time with the help of peculiar decorations.

How to make a scrapbooking technique step by step?

The material that will be needed:

1. For the base, paper is needed. In office supply stores you can buy special thick paper with different patterns;
2. Scissors. It is desirable to use with different patterned blades to create a more effective decor;
3. Double-sided tape. For the creation of volumetric decorations, its good glue base makes the parts stick better than ordinary glue;
4. Glue, which perfectly copes with the gluing of smaller parts;
5. Hole punch. Can be used not only for binding holes, it's great for cutting out patterns;
6. A stationery knife (be sure to be sharp);
7. The chosen decorative elements that will decorate the photo album. Simple buttons or unnecessary beads will be enough. Specialized boutiques sell sets with a large variety of decorative elements.

It is important to decide on the style of the photo book.

Vintage. The style has a reference to the past, the color scheme is quite muted. Most use old newspaper clippings and black and white photos. You can add beautiful beads of different sizes, white lace. A vintage album is great for a gift for any occasion.

Shabby chic. With this style, the album is romantic, light with stripes or polka dots. You can add lace, not bright drawings, small beads as a base on the background.

American style. Each turn of the leaf has a different color, usually using a bright palette (blue, orange, yellow, etc.) showing your mood for the day. Photos are arranged in collage form and clippings of beautiful buildings or clocks are added.

European style. It is used to create mini albums. It is more restrained, very few decorative elements are added. Drawings are created with a usual pen or a simple pencil. The resulting images are cut out and pasted into the album creating the illusion of volume.

Steampunk. Brutal, masculine style. Decorations include gears from old clocks of various sizes, unusual mechanisms from old unnecessary items.

The color scheme is dark, often gray or brown colors are chosen. Most of the decorative elements are located on the cover of the photo album, with a minimal amount of decoration used on the inside sheets.

Ror-ir. Any color scheme is used. The style creates three-dimensional pictures on the cover, as well as inside the photo album.

Decoupage .

The technique is characterized by fixing a carved pattern or pattern to any object. Decoupage translates to "cut out" in French. All drawings or cut-out pictures are necessarily varnished.

To create a photo album in the decoupage technique you will need:

• A simple photo album;
• Acrylic paints (color scheme is not bright);
• PVA glue;
• Special glue for foil;
• Foil;
• One-color acrylic varnish;
• A foam brush or you can use a sponge;
• Decorative napkins;
• Painting tape.

It is necessary to degrease photo album with alcohol or its solution:

• Along the edges, glue the painter's tape. Paint the rest of the photo album with the acrylic paint of your choice.
• On top, we apply another coat of paint, but already light, it is better to use a sponge.
• When the paint begins to dry there will be cracks. Remove the masking tape from the edges. From the napkins tear out the pattern (do not cut it out).
• Remove the bottom two layers from the resulting drawings, so that only the top layer remains.
• Figures put on the album and gently blot with PVA glue. That would not form folds of glue blot from the center to the edges.
• When everything dries, varnish it.
• Prepare glue patterns, to do this, the glue is squeezed out in thin strips on the foil. When the glue dries, it will be noticeably transparent.
• On the edges, where there was previously masking tape, put the foil, gently pressing with your fingers, the color of the foil will go beautiful patterns on the photo album. You can make not only patterns, but also inscriptions.

The photo album with their own hands is ready.

Stamping

This refers to the application of patterned stamps or applications soaked in ink. Allows you to apply the same pattern several times. With this technique, you can create a masterpiece without knowing how to draw. Unusual drawing is obtained with decorated buttons or appliques.

Stamping styles:

• Layered. Soft pads are very easy to create beautiful transitions from one color to another and get three-dimensional images;
• Stencils. For this type, ordinary paints or inks are suitable. They are applied on ready-made or self-made stencils, or on stencil pads.
• Cartoon. Can be used not only for decorating photo albums, but also for themed cards. Usually these are cute cartoon animals, but phone emoticons are also suitable.
• Rotating. Actively used to put a date or signature in a photo album.
• With embossing. Helps to create a rather volumetric image, it is better to apply ink and powder. In specialized stores you can buy felt-tip pens for embossing.

Journaling

A technique that describes the whole story of the scrapbook with various inscriptions or clippings. These can be simple newspaper clippings or beautiful poems.

Journaling styles:

• Heritage. A minimum of clippings is used, and a biography of the occasion must be present. The style of heritage helps familiarize you with the family's history.
• Grunge. Clippings with old scuffs, texts with meaning interesting quotes, impressive philosophical statements.
• Media mix. Concludes in conveying moods, good or bad emotions. Quotes or beautiful single words are chosen.

Cropping

The scrapbooking technique involves cropping photos. Only the main figures, or the most important details are cut out.

Page finishing ideas

The boundaries of photo album decoration are limitless. You can decorate with absolutely everything looks especially good when there are a lot of small details. Use wallpaper clippings, fabric, unusual buttons, colorful paper clips, beads small or large, etc.

The cover can be made of wood or plywood. Such an album looks great. The wooden cover can be painted, varnished, cut out unusual patterns.

Photobook for the newly arrived in this world can not do all the usual rectangular, and in the form of a doll, car, etc. Pages should be decorated with special cards for weight and height, and add prints of hands and feet.

A wedding album

White colors are used for decoration. Usually it is lace, white pearls, you can improvise and add accessories of the bride on the cover. Inside make an interesting pocket for a drive (flash card) from the wedding or disc.

Birthday photo album

The gift will not only be unusual, but also unforgettable. When making an album it is necessary to take into account the interests of the birthday child, as well as to make different sized backing or pockets because photos can be of different formats.

Your handmade photo album is a very hard work, you need to use all your imagination all the unrealized ideas, because there will be photos of the most important and important events of your life.

Photo of a beautiful self-made photo album