I shared this album with you last year in honor of Father’s Day, but I thought it was worth revisiting.
I gained inspiration from Ali
Edwards. The album is a tribute to David and what a fantastic father he has
been throughout the last 6 1/2 years. What I like best is that the photos
ARE the pages, which really makes them the emphasis. This compact little
book holds a total of 24 photos, all featuring David doing different things
with the kids. The photos are divided into three chapters, which graduate
in size making the book more interesting and unique. The only thing I
bought to create this album was the three 1-inch binder rings and two pieces of chipboard. Everything else is just cardstock. photos, glue and a little
ribbon for good measure. I really enjoyed sanding the photos for a cool
antique look. It adds a nice homey, weathered feel that I love. All
of the patterned papers are from American
Crafts, my favorite company right now. It took a total of 5 hours to
make, after I already had the photos gathered and copied. I'm anxious to
give it to him! I know he will really enjoy reminiscing about how much
the kids have grown and changed over time. Here are some detailed
instructions and measurements.
1. Chipboard covers measure
6 ¾ x 4 ¾. I covered them with my selected patterned papers and punched
three holes in the spine with my Cropadile.
2. Select 24 (4x6) black & white photos. Divide them into three sets of eight. You want to divide them according to how wide their focal point is. One batch of eight will be cropped to 4-inches wide, the second to 5-inches wide and the third will remain 6-inches. The original height of 4-inches will remain the same for all photos. The easiest way yo get your focal points centered when cropping to a particular measurement is to cut a piece of vellum the size you would like for the final photo. You can then position the vellum over the photo to establish where you would like to crop. Create tick marks with a pencil onto your photo marking where these boundaries are. Your cropping will turn out perfect every time!
3. After your photos are cropped, you
need to create your photos pages. Cut white cardstock in the following
quantities & measurements:
*4 (4x4) pages
*4 (4x5) pages
*4 (4x6) pages
Use a heavy duty glue stick to adhere the coordinating sized photos front and back to each page, basically creating a photos “sandwich”. Photo-cardstock-photo.
4. Create three dividers
for your book from sandwiched patterned paper in the following measurements:
*1 (4 1/2 x 4 1/2)
*1 (4 1/2 x 5 1/2)
*1 (4 1/2 x 6 1/2)
5. Use a corner rounder punch on the two right end corners of all your photo pages & dividers. Trace the holes from the cover onto one of the pages and use that as a guide to punch all the contents of the book. Sand the edges of all pages in a crosshatch motion using a sanding block. Print quotes from computer and cut into strips. Add to pages.
6. To finish dividers, punch six circles from patterned paper. Sandwich them around the edge of each divider.
7. As a finishing detail,
punch a slot in the edge of the first photo of each "size
chapter". Thread with ribbon and create a loop, fastening in place
with an eyelet. Assemble the whole book together by threading the
pages & covers onto the binder rings.
In honor of Father's Day, I thought I would share my research for this album and the great quotes I found regarding fatherhood. I thought maybe one of you might find them helpful and use them in a creation of your own!
"It is not flesh and blood but the heart which makes us fathers and sons."
"A Father is someone you look up to no matter how tall you grow."
"A father is someone
who walks in front of you when you need footsteps to follow...
behind you when you need encouragement, and beside you when you need a
friend."
"A father sees himself in his child's eyes."
"A father's love is Like a rainbow--you can never find it's end."
"A father is neither an anchor to hold us back.
Nor a sail to take us there.
But a guiding light whose love shows us the way."
"Any man can be a father, but it takes someone special to be a dad."
"As many drops that
are in the ocean
and as many grains of sand on a beach may still not
amount to the vastness of the love
between a father and his son."
"Blessed indeed is the man who hears many gentle voices call him father."
"Dad; a sons first hero, a daughters first love."
"Sometimes it's better to put love into hugs than to put it into words."
"Live doesn't come
with an instruction book;
that's why we have fathers."
"My father gave me the greatest gift anyone could give another person -- he believed in me."
"My heart is happy,
my mind is free.
I had a father who
talked with me."
"No music is so pleasant to my ears as that word--father."
"That is how I would
remember my father.
There was never a place he walked
that was not better for his having passed."
"There
is something ultimate in a father's love,
something that cannot fail, something to be
believed against the whole world."
