I wanted to give Heather a photo album for her birthday in February (okay, I may have sent it out in March, and it may have gotten lost in the mail, and we may be really sad about it, but we’re moving on). Anyway, 90% of the pictures I take when we visit are of her children…So, instead of going out to buy an ordinary album, I decided to make my own accordion album. Here’s how…

Step 1: Make Front and Back Covers:

A: Cut Cardboard into 7″X 7″ Square (or something like that): I used the box from my earth shoes. I wear them to work. They make a WORLD of difference. Get it? earth…world…? That has nothing to do with this project, though, so I’ll keep going.

B: Choose paper for your covers, and cut it with 1/2 to 1 inch extra on each side. Lay the cardboard in the middle of the wrong (or back) side of the paper.

C: Fold over the edges of the paper, (like wrapping a gift) and secure with glue or tape. I used regular tape, because my double-sided sticky tape wasn’t working very well with the glittery paper, and I was not patient enough to use glue.

Step 2: Use Manilla Folders to Make “Accordion”

A: You can use any paper, but manilla folders are convenient because they already have a fold in the middle, and they aren’t flimsy. Measure out squares slightly smaller than your cover on either side of the fold, then cut along your lines (but not down the middle!) You can do this with as many folders as you want. You will get 4 total pages from each folder.

B: Once the folders are cut, you’ll need to attach them to each other.  Again, I decided to use regular tape. I held 2 folders together so that they made an accordion shape and attached the edges with tape. You’re not actually taping the two pages on top of each other- more like putting the edges of the paper right next to each other on the tape, and the tape acts like a hinge. …I hope that makes sense…

Step 3: Attach Accordion Pages to Covers:

A: When all of the folders are attached to each other, you can attach the covers. Use glue, double-sided tape, or whatever you prefer, to attach the end page of the accordion to the “wrong” side of the cover. Do the same with the other end and the other cover.

Viola! Now you have your accordion album:

Step 4: Add Pictures!

My favorite part….decorate both sides and add pictures