Mini Album Monday #5- An Album Featuring Your Child's Notes/Artwork

     My boys are pretty delightful. They have always been very busy and very silly little boys. I've kept a notebook since they were little in which I've written down the funny things they've said and done. Sometimes I go back and read these stories. . and I laugh til I cry. No joke.
     In addition to writing down these anecdotes, I also saved some of the things they've written. I made this simple book to store them.
     I totally recommend that you get a notebook and write down your children's funny stories. You always think you'll remember, but if you do this, you'll be surprised at how much you would have forgotten if it wasn't written down.

 

For this album, I just used a regular file folder. I cut off the folded edge so that the two sides of the folder became my album cover. I covered it with strips of dictionary paper and used a couple pieces of pattern paper that have letters on them. Since this is focusing on the boys' writings, I decided to use a letter theme throughout the album.

I named this album "Words of Wisdom." For the title, I used scrabble letters and an old negative strip.

To bind it, I just punched holes and used two office rings. This way I can easily add to it.

 

 

This is what it looks like when you first open it. I used several layers of pattern paper on the left side. I wrote a quote by Dr. Seuss that says, "Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind."

The next two photos are close up photos of these pages.

 

 

If you decide to make a book like this, you can keep this page simple by using only one piece of pattern paper or by leaving it blank.

 

This is the introduction page. It says, "You boys delight me in so many ways. . . The things you do, the things you say, and your darling little notes and writings. This album is a collection of some of these writings."

 

I tried to keep this as simple as possible to keep the focus on the boys' work.

For each entry, I added description.

This is my brother's business card that Ethan used to make his own business card by crossing out my brother's name and adding his own. 

 

I just punched holes in the papers and added them in chronological order.

 

This is a funny picture Sam had drawn and hung in the hallway.

 

I added a couple of envelopes for the smaller papers.

  

 

I added a few photos here and there. This is my menu board with notes that the boys added.

 

You'll notice that the album pages aren't all the same size. I like the randomness of it.

 

This is a quiz that Ethan wrote for my mom to answer. . . he was testing her knowledge of Spartans.

 

This is a cute thank you note with a drawing.

 

There are lots more pages in this album, but I think you get the picture. It's packed with cuteness.

 

I printed off a large photo to cover the last page of the book.

This is actually the only photo of the boys in the album. 

 

 I covered the back of the file folder with strips of dictionary paper.

 

See how simple it is? Once you make the cover, you just have to add your child's notes or drawings. If you're not a scrapbooker, but you'd like to do this, you could even use a preprinted file folder. 

 

This would also be a great way to store your child's artwork or the school papers that you want to keep.

 

Thanks for stopping by and God bless.

 

I am the bread of life.

John 6:48

 

This post is linked to Craft-O-Maniac, Making the World Cuter, Skip to My Lou and Between Naps on the Porch.