Make a Clear Album

I have a sweet new baby niece and have been wanting to make my sister-in-law something with some new photos I took of her a few weeks ago – and I figured a hybrid clear album would be perfect! It was very quick and easy to make, I finished it in an evening.

Ingredients:

• Digital Kits from TheDigiChick.com: Happy Land Kit by Mira Designs, and February Grab Bag from Sugarplum Paperie
• Clear Album by Pageframe Designs
• Big Deal Alphabet Stamps from Stampin’ Up!
• White Signo Pen
• Large Star Punch from Stampin’ Up!
• Blue Mini Rhinestones from KaiserCraft
• Glitter Sticker Letters from Little Yellow Bicycle
• Pink Rhinestone Strips from KaiserCraft
• Kraft Cardstock
• Stampin’ Dimensionals from Stampin’ Up!
• Chocolate Chip ink from Stampin’ Up!

The first step is to find the photos you want in your album and add some digital elements to them using Photoshop or your favorite image editing software. Just keep all elements in the size of your existing photo as you will be printing these out in a 4″x6″ size.

Next you will need to open up some digital papers and resize them to be 4″x6″ in size. You will be printing these as well to adhere behind your photos. Since the album is clear we don’t want the ugly backs of your photos to show when you turn the pages.

Once you have added your digital elements to your photos print them at home or send them to your photo printer, along with your 4×6′s of your matching backgrounds. I got 2 of each background printed, one to use for the backs of my photos and an extra one to punch my stars out from.

Once you have your photos and backgrounds printed out you are ready to assemble your album.

COVER:
My cover is very simple, I just used it for the “BABY” letters to overlap the photo on my first page, and added a rhinestone strip at the bottom. Since your first page will show through you really don’t need to make your cover very complex. This will also protect the photo on the first page since the cover is clear. You may even want to do your cover after you do your first page so you can add your title letters so they overlap your photo on page 1 in the right place (and not overlap some important elements of your photo)

Pages 2 and 3 (and the backs of Pages 1 and 2)

Using the duplicate background paper photos you had printed punch out stars using your large star punch. Adhere a small rhinestone to the center, and add some Stampin’ Dimensionals or foam adhesive to the backs. Make enough of these to add to the front and back of each page besides the cover.

FRONT OF EACH PAGE:
Just adhere your 4×6 photo with your regular scrapbooking adhesive. You won’t need to worry about the adhesive showing since you will be adhering the same size photo behind it. You can put the pictures on each page straight or tilt them – I tilted mine to the left and right to allow some of the bottom photos to show through to the cover, but it would look just as great if all of your photos were in the same spot. Using your white signo pen dot around the edges of each photo just on the front (they will show through on the back which means you don’t have to make them twice!)

Add your star to the front overlapping your photo and the dots you just made, and you can also add more rhinestone strips on the photos or wherever you would want – I put them a different place on each page.

Pages 4 and 5 (and the backs of pages 3 and 4)

BACK OF EACH PAGE:
The first step to creating the back of the page is to flip it UP as if you would be flipping the page if there were rings through the holes. If we weren’t putting text on the back it probably wouldn’t matter as much but since we are writing something we don’t want it to be upside down once we put the rings in.

On the back of each page you will want to adhere one of your 4×6 backgrounds over the back of the photo you have on the front of your clear page. Your white dots should already be showing through as a border from where you made them on the front of the page. Add another coordinating star from a different pattern than your background paper to the back of the page right on the other side of where your star is on the front so they sandwich in the clear page.

Cut a piece of kraft or other coordinating cardstock at a smaller size (I cut mine approx. 3″5″ in size). Draw a single border line around the cardstock you just cut with your white Signo pen and adhere at an angle over your background 4×6 paper.

Using your alphabet stamps and ink stamp your words on each background page. As you flip it mine says “Our Sweet Baby Girl”.

I hope you enjoyed today’s album and have a lot of fun making your own clear hybrid album – I can’t wait to see what you come up with!
{Holly}

Other Articles by HollyVanDyne:

• Spring Gable Box - April 3rd, 2009