Photo keepsakes
There are unlimited opportunities to share some of life's most treasured moments. Why not turn your memories into creative photo gifts? They'll be well loved because they come from the heart.

Photo collage

Level: Moderate
Wedding bells ringing, graduation caps flying, a baby's first steps and fun times spent with Dad. With just a few supplies and a little creative energy, you can turn moments like these into distinctive photo collages. They are as rewarding to give as they are fun to create. We've even included designs to help you theme your collage.
Start to finish: 1 hour
View and print instructions for photo collage (PDF format, requires free Adobe Acrobat Reader)

Instructions: Handcrafted keepsake book

Materials:
• Colour inkjet printer
• Scissors or paper trimmer
• Pencil and ruler
• Eraser
• Acid-free parchment paper
• Acid-free photo adhesive tape
• Vellum or other decorative paper
• One piece of heavy black cardstock
• Self-adhesive photo corner
• Hole punch
• 1/2 yard of 1" or thicker ribbon
• Twenty-four 4" x 6" (or smaller) photographs

Preparation:
The finished album will be 9-1/4" x 5". Trim the parchment paper and piece of cardstock to those dimensions and set aside.

Print one of the pages of this PDF onto either vellum or another sheet of parchment paper. We suggest using vellum, as it will allow the first photograph of your album to show through the title page. After printing, trim to 9-1/4" x 5" and set aside.

Instructions:
1. Draw a faint pencil line 1-1/4" from the left-hand sides of the parchment paper, cardstock, and printed cover sheet. This is the "gutter," where the book will be bound -- do not place art here, as it will be covered up.

2. Punch two equally spaced holes into the gutter of each piece of paper. The holes should be placed 1" from the top and bottom and centered in the gutter. Set the printed cover sheet and cardstock aside until you get to step 4.

3. Place your photographs one by one in the remaining space (8" x 5") of your parchment paper. Make faint pencil marks around each photo to help centre it. When the photo is centred, put a small piece of photo adhesive tape on the back of it and press into place. Peel off the backing of four self-adhesive photo corners and attach to the corners of your photo. Repeat this whole process with the remaining photographs and pieces of parchment paper. Be sure to erase any pencil marks you made.

4. Arrange your finished stack of photos in the order you would like them to appear. Place your printed cover sheet on top of the first photograph, using the cardstock as the final page. Run a length of ribbon through the holes from front to back. Tie in a bow and trim ends on a diagonal so they won't fray.

Tip: If you're making multiple copies, you may want to scan your photos into your PC, rather than work with the original pictures. You can use photo-editing software like Microsoft® Picture It! for extra pizzazz!

Here's additional art for four themes

Graduation photo book
Level: Easy
Turn your graduation photos into a lovely and lasting keepsake by creating a handmade memory book.
Start to finish: 1 hour
View and print

Wedding photo book
Level: Easy
Capture precious wedding moments with this handcrafted memory book.
Start to finish: 1 hour
View and print

Father's day photo book
Level: Easy
Let Dad and Grandpa know how much you love them with this creative memory book.
Start to finish: 1 hour
View and print

Summer camp photo book
Level: Easy
Good friends, sunny days, roaring camp fires .. capture all the fun of summer camp in a photo memory book.
Start to finish: 1 hour
View and print