How to Alter a Photo Book

Hey y'all! Today I have something very fun to share with you. Last few months I have been brainstorming ideas for things I want to share here on the old bloggity-blog. In addition to some easy gift ideas to get you ready for Christmas I have come up with a few unique ways to preserve your memories. I'll talk more about this in a later post, but I am a big believer in printing out your pictures. In this digital world, where we Instagram every meal and share way too many pictures on Facebook, I think there is something really great about having some physical pictures. Using them to decorate your home  or hold in your hands to share with your family. 

Today I am sharing Modern Memory Keeping Idea #1: Photo Books.

Have you ever made a photo book before? Now, I am a make-your-own scrapbook kinda girl, obviously. And, I know many people don't have the want/desire to spend hours pushing paper around and creating great big books of 12 x 12 pages, but a few years ago I scanned my parent's wedding photos and made books for each of my siblings. They loved them! Photo books are so popular now, my friend makes one every few months with pictures of her daughter. She loves how easy it is to design online. She picks out all sorts of layouts, colors and themes and the book shows up on her doorstep a few days later. 

However, what to do if you want to make your photo book truly personal? What if you have memorabilia you want to save? Ticket stubs, maps, etc. There isn't a great way to add them to a photo book...or is there? 

A few years ago my friend Tiffany and I made a little trip to Europe. She never printed any of the pictures she took (silly girl). I thought it would be fun to print a photo book online, and further customize at home, with some elegent touches right from my own studio!

This will be a birthday gift (shh, don't tell, ok?) and I think she'll love it! 

If you haven't ordered a photo book from Shutterfly their website is really easy to navigate. You can make the pages as simple or fancy as you like. I decided to order an 8x8 soft cover book with one photo per page. I edited my favorite 20 pictures in the Studio app on my iPad, then uploaded them to Shutterfly into the Modern White template. It was exactly what I wanted-just the pictures, printed in beautiful bright color. My book arrived days later and I got to work!
I have a drawer in my work room that holds a random group of travel related ephemera and I pulled it out. Luckily I still had a few things I collected during our trip! I also grabbed a few favorite stamps, some washi tape and my favorite pen that writes perfectly on slick pages-the Sharpie pen. (I linked a few products I used below in case you want to find them for yourself!)

I left the front cover blank, then printed out my own 3x3 photo and glued it down with a frame. I love the little bit of dimension this gives it. Inside the front cover I adhered an envelope that held a few bits and pieces from the trip. I use this trick alot in mini books and it's a really easy way to hold things like that. On that right page I added the 'I'd Rather Be' in the Studio app and the 'In Europe in these letter stickers. Adding letter stickers is a really easy addition to a photo book. You could use them to denote location, add chapter headings or identify family members!
Some pages were pretty enough as is.
The funny thing is- I remember each of these meals- cuz' that's how I travel.
Here you can see how I used my stamps and Black Staz On ink
to add a special, but subtle touch to the page. I really love have I can combine stamps to make a custom look. There's those letter stickers again.
For this page I just used my Sharpie pen to write some thoughts directly onto the photo. Some people might be scared to write directly on a photo book, but not me. I am not in love with my handwriting and I am not an especially great writer, but, I love reading other people's handwritten notes. I think it's something so personal. Plus, by adding it after the book is printed meant I didn't have commit to what I wanted to say until the last minute ; )
Washi tape might be one of my favorite paper products ever. On afew of the pages I used the tape as a border. I love the subtle bit of color and texture it gives. On that right side I also stapled a small tag I found. And, now you know what our feet look like,lol.
This last page was a pretty genius idea. I had an old map of Paris that I cut down and used this dry adhesive to add directly to the last page.  I added one of my all time favorite stamps to the corner.

There you go! I wanted to share my favorite pages, but if you want to see the rest of the book click the collage below to go to the full online album! I hope this inspires you to further personalize some special memories of your own. You don't have to wait for a special occassion or a vacation.This idea would be a great way to document your favorite Instagram pictures, or maybe a book about your house and neighborhood? There's a million different 'occasions' that are begging to be remembered.

Please let me know if you have any questions-thanks for stopping by!  xoxo Michelle

Click the collage to see the whole album!

Products Used
For More Info about the Studio photo app click here >>