How to Create a Personalized Accordion Fold Photo Display
If you want to see a person's face light up, give her a gift that features that face. A handmade, personalized accordion fold photo display will represent her personality through photos and your descriptive words. With a few items and a lot of photos, this project will inspire your creativity. This is a can't-miss gift for any occasion that shows how much you care about and love the recipient.
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Things You'll Need
- Accordion fold album or heavy card stock
- Ruler
- Bone folder (optional)
- Many photos of the same person
- Plain or decorative scrapbook paper
- Adhesive
- Tall letter stickers
- Markers
- Embellishments
Instructions
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Use the number of letters in your recipient's name to determine how many display "pages" you want in your album. If it's a long name, consider using a shorter nickname.
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Create the accordion fold album if you didn't purchase one. Cut a 12-by-12-inch sheet of card stock to the desired height (4-inches-by-4-inches and 5-by-5 are popular sizes).
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Measure 4 inches from the edge of the page and fold your cardstock at that mark, using a bone folder or ruler to make a crisp crease. This creates a 4-inch-by-4-inch page. Then reverse the fold 4 inches and continue until you have run out of paper. To make more pages, cut another sheet 4 inches in height and use the adhesive to attach it to the end of the first sheet and continue folding.
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Size your background paper to cover each page and make it adhere in place.
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Crop your photos tight to the face and use the adhesive to attach one to two per page. Leave a thin strip of space all the way down the left side of each page to accommodate the letter stickers; leave space along the bottom to write your descriptive words.
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On the first page---as it sits displayed on a table---attach a sticker of the first letter of your recipient's name in the open space on the bottom left. In your own handwriting, finish a word to describe her. For example, the J in Jenna could be Joyous; the E could be Energetic.
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Continue attaching stickers and writing your descriptions until the name is complete.
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Add pictures on the back of the album, too. You can spell out your recipient's name again or just add pictures and embellishments.
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If you want to fill the "white space" on your pages, add buttons, other stickers, jewels or anything that represents your recipient.
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Tips & Warnings
Depending on the number of pages in your album, your cover page may not be visible when displayed. If this is the case, attach a picture and write your recipient's name in stickers or your handwriting to serve as an introduction.
If you have a picture of yourself (or your child) with your recipient, include it on a back page. Sign your name or have your child sign hers on that page.
Use a craft machine that laminates the front of your photo and makes the back adhesive. This will protect the photo and make attach it to the page much easier.
Create a card stock sleeve or attach a ribbon to the album to keep the pages together when it's not displayed.
To make your pictures stand out, sand the edges with a nail file and ink around those edges, or mat them with card stock.
