Make a Mother's Day Scrapbook for a New Mom in Less Than 5 Hours

Is there a new Mom in your family this year? Is she expecting, recently given birth or adopted a precious little one? She means a lot to you and you want to do something extra to have a special gift for her. You can make a scrapbook, even if you have never attempted one in five hours or less if you follow my instructions. A scrapbook is a wonderful gift for the new mom to keep memories in of this new wonderful time in her life. This is a project one person can do or an awesome activity for a baby shower or group get together. The best tool for a successful scrapbook album that can be done in a day or weekend is planning.

If this is to be a baby shower Mother's Day gift scrapbook for the new mom it is very important to plan ahead. There has to be a definite plan to stick to and one creative leader to make decisions or this will take hours longer than needed. Layout components can be planned ahead and it will be more enjoyable to have an 'assembly line set up' to get the project nicely done.

Step One: The shopping list Set a budget for yourself. This project can be as simple or advanced as you want it to be. These instruction are for a simple, elegant album. You can choose to use more photos and embellishments. If you already are a scrapbooker you may have most of these items on hand. A crafter will certainly have scissors.According to the size chosen a Mother's Day scrapbook gift for a new mom could cost $20.00 and up. Planning ahead is crucial.

1. Album

2. Straight edge paper scissors (You do not need 20 pairs of shape cutting, zig zag scissors.)

3. Paper or card stock in the size you have chosen. This would be best in solid colors for a fast paced project. You need to decide what colors are going to work for your album. Will you go traditional pink or blue? What about several pastel colors? If the baby is on the way you can go with lavender, yellow and green pastels for pretty layout backgrounds. If you have an album that has 10 page protectors you will need 20 sheets of paper. They must be acid and lignin free.

4. Adhesive You need 2 kinds of adhesive. Photo safe double sided tape, Hermafix dots or tabs are some preferred choices for affixing those precious photos on to the layout. The second kind of adhesive is used to put embellishments like the title, mats and ribbons etc. on the layout. This saves on the use of the more expensive adhesive used for the photos.

5. A permanent , waterproof ink pen which will be used for the title or journaling block. Zig markers are a brand I have used constantly. They come in many colors and tip sizes.

6. Card stock or baby print paper in complimentary colors to the background pastels are needed for for titles, photo mats, frames, tags, journaling blocks etc. For quick and easy title and journal paper there are scrapbook paper by the pound packages that can be found in many stores. I find mine at WalMart. These pieces of pre-cut cardstock are the perfect sizes. If you choose to cut your own the straight edge paper scissors or a straight edge cutting tool works. 8 sheets of this paper should be sufficient.

7. Stickers, ribbons, die cuts, sticker letters and embellishments like buttons if desired. Go very easy here. Do not overwhelm yourself. Keep embellishments to a minimum especially if you are a new scrapbooker. Remind yourself, the photos are the feature.

This is not the place to skimp and use anything else. According to your budget and paper choices you can buy single sheets or packages of same size color coordinated sheets. The store coupon comes in very handy here if you buy a package.The Album This can be one of the most expensive parts of the project. If you are shopping at a craft store that offers weekly coupons here is the way to save 40 - 50%. Scrapbookers love those coupons! What size album do you want to use? There are several size albums.
See photo. 12 x 12 is popular and gives a larger space to make a layout on. 8 x 8 is another popular and comfortable size to work with. There are many brands of albums. My personal favorites are Colorbok and K&Co. When you shop for an album look for these important features.

1. The cover should feel sturdy and the spine or binding area should be firm. Post-bound albums are excellent and give room for more pages to be added into the book.

2. The album should have page protectors already in place inside. If you have never scrapbooked these pages are open at the top and you will be able to slide your finished page or layout into it for protection.

3. Make sure the album is a color that will work with the project you have in mind and appears to be something that can take years of use.

Step Two: Your shopping is done, the work area is cleared. Now what? Don't be over whelmed. It is time to follow a new list and assemble your layouts.
Assembly list

1. Titles Here are my suggestions My Pregnancy for the first single layout, There You Are! for the ultrasound layout if there is a photo. Mommy's Baby Photos, Our Shower of Love, The Nursery, Mommy's Cravings, Mommy and her Mom, Special Delivery Day the journaling block will describe date, time, weight and height, Our Hospital Visitors, Mommy, Daddy and _____ blank can be left for baby's name, Dressed to Go Home, Welcome Home!! , Our First Visitors at Home I'm sure you have more ideas. If the baby is adopted there are wonderful ideas you can use instead including Judge ______ Declares We Are A Family. Titles can be done by hand with the archival pen, computer printed in fonts of your choice or put together with sticker letters.

2. Layouts to match titles. A layout can consist of a title, a 'journaling' box where the new mom can write about the photo on the page and the mat where the photo or photos will be adhered at a later date. The mat is a solid piece of paper which is larger than a standard photo. An 8 X 8 layout will look fine with one or two 4 1/2" by 4" photos and a 12 x 12 works well with one to You can also add stickers or embellishments to decorate the layout. Do not over clutter a page/layout. The photo is your central eye catching element for the layout. You have to also be careful not to go overboard with embellishments because the photos are not going to be in the album when you give it to this new Mommy for her Mother's Day scrapbook gift. To plan and finish a layout you should lay your background paper on the work surface. Place photo mats, title and journaling box on the paper until the effect is pleasing to your eye. Adhere items to the page. If you are adding frames to go over the outer rim of a photo make sure to leave one end with no adhesive so photo can be slid into place under the piece. When you open an album after the first page there are two pages visible at once. This is a double layout. In this quick and easy project it is important that all the components on these two pages match. This will be easier for you. Place the two foundation papers on your workspace. You can plan and put this double layout at once.

Let's begin your first layout. This will be the My Pregnancy page. Place one piece of background paper on the work surface. Complete title block and set aside. Will there be one photo or more? Place mats on page so you can decide where the photos will be. Add a journaling block. Place title and journaling block on page and adjust all items until you are satisfied with the look. Adhere these all to the layout permanently. You've done your first layout! Having trouble envisioning how the layout could look. There are free photo galleries at scrapbooking magazine sites, The Sunroom Library (see my AC article), current issues of Simple Scrapbooks and Scrapbook etc. for you to get ideas. Make sure all adhesives are thoroughly dry before easing the page into the page protectors that are in the scrapbook album.

3. At the last set of two pages of the book you could save a double layout for different family members and friends to write a paragraph of advice on separate cardstock or paper journaling blocks. If anyone makes a mistake it will be easier to start a new block instead of the entire layout. Having the new mom's grandmother's advice written in the lady's own penmanship will mean so much. Just make sure it is with the permanent pen. Example: Say I Love You Every Day. This will add so much for the Mother's Day gift scrapbook for the new Mommy.

4. The last page can have the title Mommy's Best Gift This First Mother's Day This layout will feature one larger photo of the new Mom and baby.
Remember, this is an album to commemorate this new mothers First Mother's Day Gift. It is about Mommy and baby . A mother will want to have albums for each child in the future. When you wrap this album for the mommy make sure to include the permanent, archival ink pen and photo adhesive for her to use on the pre-made layouts you have lovingly crafted.