DIY SCRAPBOOK and PHOTO ALBUMS

How to make your own photo album? Quick and easy!

A photo album is the best way to store dear memories with love and an interestingly designed album. Specialized stores and photo studios offer dozens of beautiful albums with different cover designs and content designed for different photo formats. But it's much better to make a photo album with your own hands. It can be carefully stored as a family heirloom or as a gift to loved ones filled with your warmth and care for them.

How to choose a photo album?

The photography industry is constantly developing, new formats of photographs are becoming popular. For example, Polaroid photographs were popular some time ago, and now so-called instaphotos are in trend. Therefore, the producers of photobooks and albums quickly adapt to changes and offer an assortment with parameters that take into account new trends.

If the problem of choosing a photo album as a wedding, graduation or birthday gift is urgent for you, then before buying it you should pay attention to the following criteria:

Number of photos that the album can contain. The weight, and thickness of the album depend on how many pockets for photographs every page contains.

Format. It depends on personal preference. More small photos of small sizes can be placed on one page, but larger format photos make you eager to have a closer look.

Quality and quantity of album pages. 
Pages for photo albums are made of cardstock, high density paper and even recycled materials. The quality of the materials used in the album determines its ability to withstand the destructive force of time.

Cover. The same rule works here as for internal pages. The better the cover and the materials used in its production, the longer the album will be preserved. Manufacturers usually try to make covers from durable, dense natural and synthetic materials: plastic, leather and leatherette (eco-leather), thick laminated cardboard or even wood.

Decoration of the album cover and internal pages. Traditionally, heavy, monumental classic album covers were made from dense, rough or finely crafted leather. Such albums are quite expensive, and the final price depends on the degree of dressing and quality of the leather used in the production of the album. In addition, leather covers can be inlaid with precious stones or decorated with monograms of various metals. On covers made of leather or leatherette, sometimes hot stamping or laser engraving is used. Manufacturers cover simpler covers with fabric or PVC-based paper, sometimes decorated with bugles, beads, metal charms and other 3D elements.

Nowadays, the assortment of photo albums offered by different manufacturers is varied and huge. If you have enough time to search and an appropriate budget, it is always possible to choose something suitable for yourself or for a gift.

But what to do when you have many photos of different sizes and they are all timed to one significant event in your life or the life of a person to whom you would like to make a special gift? In such a situation, a standard photo album will limit both the number and format of photos that it can be loaded with. In addition, it is not always possible to find on sale the album that will stylistically suit the captured event. There are two options: to order a photo album from a master (which is not cheap) or buy a blank album and make an unforgettable gift with your own hands.

How to make a photo album with your own hands and what is needed for this?

The most difficult thing is to make a base for the required number of inner pages and flyleaves. Firstly, it is necessary to find good quality cardstock of acceptable density for the cover. Secondly, to select the material for the inner pages, which is also a rather complicated task. You can find blank albums on the Fabrika Decoru website of goods for arts and crafts. The section contains blanks of the most popular and widespread formats 30cm x 30cm, 20cm x 20cm, 15cm x 20cm, 15cm x 23cm.

Each blank consists of a cover, an inner block and two flyleaf sheets. The album cover is made of high-quality Italian binding cardstock. The inner part consists of a certain number of sheets of bleached cardstock of 400 g / m² density. The flyleaves are also made of bleached cardstock. Album inner pages are usually 5 mm smaller than a cover.

After the basis of the album has been selected, you should decide on its design and embellishment, and select the necessary materials and tools. We also offer you to watch several tutorials that will help you make an album with your own hands:

Necessary materials and tools to create a photo album

• Blank photo album of the required size;
• Colored cardstock and scrapbooking paper of selected design and style;
  

• Paper or vellum with gold or silver embossing to create page dividers;

• Fabric or thick paper with a suitable print, leather or leatherette, for making an album cover. Pay attention that Fabrika Decoru offers blank albums with ready-made soft fabric and vinyl covers.

• Die-cut frames of different sizes for photos;

• Scissors, knife, assembly mat;

• Glue and double-sided tape;

• Embellishments (shakers, flair buttons, chipboards, flowers, feathers, etc.);

• Paints and sprays to create background sheets or make accents.

The main thing is not to over embellish pages of an album and leave enough space for photos. It is also important to remember the composition, so that the album does not look like a kitsch magazine. When using sprays or paints, it is necessary to correctly combine the colors, shades and tints of the materials. The process of creating a photo album is scrupulous and time-consuming, but it will bring a lot of pleasure, and the result will surely satisfy.

Where to buy blank photo albums?

You can buy blanks for photo albums on the Fabrika Decoru website. Here you will find everything you need to create an original gift. The store offers blanks for photo albums of various formats and with different content. You can make wholesale and retail purchases. We ship to Ukraine, european countries and all over the world.