Family Photo Albums

For Christmas, my friend Sarah wanted some custom-designed photo albums for the women in her family. I was exciting to take this project on, as I'd never re-covered existing photo albums before. Below are the final results. To start, I found several inexpensive albums that held at least two hundred 4x6 photos. Needless to say, I snatched them up!

After disassembling them and peeling off their original covers, I covered each album based on Sarah's preferences. She had come to my studio the week prior, and can I just say that it made this project go SO smoothly. She knew exactly which materials I would be using for the covers and had a lot of input regarding the final product. I love knowing my clients will be totally satisfied!

For the Clarks, I covered their album in my Red Velvet paper and used black facing pages.

insides

Half-inch white satin ribbon closure ties were added.

ties

Metal letters were affixed to the front cover using ruby gemstone brads.

clarks

I kept the original spine from the album (complete with bow), as it gave the album an elegant touch.

spines

For Kerr family #1, I was told to stick to very natural textures and colors. I used a natural brown distressed paper for the cover.

cover

I used white marquee letters to spell out "Kerr" on the front cover.

kerr

Half-inch brown satin ribbons served as tie closures.

knot

This geometric leaf pattern was used as the inside paste pages.

insides

This book style was different from Album 1, in that the paste pages were attached directly to the first page of photos.

pastes

With clear sleeves and space to write in memories or captions, I was thrilled with how this album turned out.

spreads

Next, was Kristen's book. Sarah's sister Kristen loves childlike, playful patterns, so this brightly colored polka dot paper was perfect for her!

cover

Inside paste papers were a shockingly neon green!

insides

I removed the bow from the original spine...

cover2

and instead added a "K" brad.

k

On the cover, I used neon green marquee letters to spell out Kristen's name.

kristen

Sarah brought me a swatch of fabric to use for her mom's book. It was this amazing textured paisley. Since the fabric was a bit stretchy, I wasn't sure how well it would work as a cover. I'm happy to report that it turned out great!

fabric

I added 5/8" black satin ribbons as tie closures

ties

and used black Canson paper for the paste pages.

insides

cover2

Black letter brads spelled out the family name.

kerrs

Book #5 was for Sarah's sister-in-law. Sarah chose an olive green fabric with chocolate brown polka dots for the cover.

ties

To balance the black photo pages, I used black paper for the inside pastes.

insides

Half-inch brown satin ribbons functioned as tie closures.

ribbons

A label holder held in place by peridot gemstone brads showcased the family name.

Shers

I kept the original spine, complete with bow, as it gave a nice flourish to an otherwise simple design.

spine

Book #6 was for Sarah's other Sher sister. Sarah chose this purple and turquoise flocked paper from my supply inventory. ((Digging through piles of supplies with a client is the most fun part about a studio visit!!))

cover

To balance the black photo pages, I used black Canson paper as the paste pages.

insides

I removed the bow from the original spine and replaced it with a black satin ribbon with amethyst brads and slide-on letters.

spine

Silver letters beautifully spell out the family name.

sherspine

Sarah, thank you for asking me to make these albums for your family! I hope they enjoy filling them with photos for years to come!

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