So I have had lots of people messaging me on MouseScrappers asking me for a tutorial on how to make the autograph books. I came up with this idea after seeing all of the other books available out there. I saw lots of traditionally scrapped books and they were awesome. However, given I am 100% digital these days I came up with this idea last year. This helps my digital kits get a little extra use and it's dirt cheap. I made 3 autograph books last December for less than what ONE costs at Disneyland. :) Intrigued? Then let's dive in!
Hybrid Autograph Books Part 1 by Kayla
Materials
*scissors
*glue (whatever you prefer, but I found Glue Dots do NOT work well)
*digital scrap kits
*printing service (I swear by Kodak Gallery for picture prints)
*book rings (I buy mine at Walmart for $1.50 for 8 rings)
*ribbon (optional)
*hole puncher (they have hand held single punch ones at Walmart for .75 cents to $1, or you can pickup a 3 hole punch for about $5)
Step One // Create Your Autograph Pages (or print at home to eliminate Step Two!!)
Use your favorite program using your digital kits to create your book. I prefer the 4x6 size because they are small enough to carry, especially if you have to carry around multiple books. I just open up a new document in Photoshop CS4 and size it 4x6 at 300 dpi. Save all of your pages as JPGs. One other thing to keep in mind is to have an idea of the order of your book, that way you know which corners not to put lots of embellishments in since you will be hole punching the pages.
CREDIT TO BRITTISH DESIGNS for the use of her kits in this project.. "A Halloween Nightmare" & "It's Good To Be Bad".
Step Two // Order Your Prints & Wait For Arrival
I have always ordered from Kodak Gallery and I am so pleased. If you are a new member you can get 50 free prints and shipping charge is very fair. I love the glossy prints they offer, they are always stunning and the colors are great. Be sure to order according to how many of each photo you will need. For example, if you are creating 2 books, you will want 2 of each print, one for each book.
Step Three // Gather Your Materials
Here is a photo sample of what I used to create my books, after you have your prints the hardest part is over. From here on it literally takes minutes to complete your books.
(Hole punch isn't shown in the photo as it was missing in action when I was snapping away, lol)
Step Four // Put Your Prints In Book Order & Punch Holes
**NORMALLY this is the part where I glue each of the pages together in book order so that it makes the pages tougher and easier to turn, however, this time I am waiting to glue them so that way I can remove unused autograph pages after the trip in order to prevent from extra blank pages. Here is a photo to show where you would place the glue on the white backs of the pictures. Pay special attention to lining the pages up straight. Usually I would glue and let the pages dry before hole punching.**
Since you need to know where to punch a hole in the page, you will want to find an order to your book. I usually just punch one hole in the top left corner of the book. I divide each book into 3 parts so they fit into the hole puncher, but still keeping them in order, and punch. Then I take the finished stack and set it aside then move onto the next book and punch that as well.
The photos below demonstrate sort of what your pages will look like when you flip through them, be sure to double check be for you punch holes!!
Step Five // Adding The Book Rings & Optional Embellishment Of The Rings
After the holes are punched I add my book rings. Normally I will get into my old ribbon stash and cut a few pieces in colors that match my books. It's fun to cut them in different lengths and add frayed edges to some of the pieces to add more flair to the books. Then I double knot the pieces of ribbon around the book ring. You can even add a little dab of glue to the knot to keep them from coming undone. I had all of the colors I used for the cover of the book, how lucky was that?!?
And you're done!
Part 2 will show up next week and it will basically consist of me glueing and removing some of the pages that went unused. Also, I will showcase the autographs I got! :)
Alright, I'm out for now...gotta go get my bags together..leaving in a few hours! Please let me know if you enjoyed the tutorial!!!
