How to Make a Homemade Baby Memory Book

Make your own book to document memorable childhood moments.

Most parents want to document a child's first moments. A memory book provides a childhood record and allows a parent to organize a gift to give the child later in life. Storebought memory books often include too many pages or pages that do not apply to the child. As a result, the pages go unused. One solution is to create a homemade memory book to which you can add pages as needed.

Things You'll Need

• Baby pictures
• Computer
• Printer (optional with colored ink)
• 8 1/2-by-11-inch cardstock paper (one sheet for each picture)
• Glue
• Markers
• Ruler
• Shape stencils (optional)
• 3-ring hole punch
• 3-hole punched, 8 1/2-by-11-inch page protectors (one for each picture)
• 3-ringed photo album or scrapbook

Instructions

1. 

   Include pictures of your baby's important firsts in the book.

   Gather any pictures you want to include in the baby book. Include pictures of important moments such as first encounters with siblings or grandparents, first holidays or birthday, first haircuts, first smile and so on.

   Select one picture to include on the title page of the book. Sort the remaining pictures into a timeline from earliest to most recent.

2. 

   Use the formating tools on your computer to design each page.

   Use the computer to create a page fore each picture. Begin by creating a title for the page and placing that at the top of the page. Below the title, write a description or small anecdote about the picture. If the picture shows the child's first steps, try to recall the story and any funny or sweet moments and include those in the description.

   To add variety, type the descriptions on different portions of the page. Type some descriptions at the top of the page and others at the bottom. Make sure to leave enough space to place the picture above or below the description. If you have access to a color printer, you can add color to the text. You can also format the page to include a border.

   Create the title page for the memory book on a separate page. The page should include a title such as "(child's name) First Memories." Place the title at the top, middle, or bottom of the page but leave enough room to include the picture you previously selected.

3. View your pages in "print preview" to make sure the format is correct and the paragraphs do not bleed over onto another page. Once you have examined all of the pages, print them on the cardstock.

4. 

   Put all of those baby photos to use in your book.

   Glue each picture onto its page. Add a decorative border around the pictures using the markers and ruler to draw a lined border or stencils to create a border with shapes. After gluing and decorating each picture, allow them to dry.

5. 

   A book with rings allows you to add pages as needed.

   Use the three-hole punch to place holes along the left side of each page and place each page into a page protector. Insert each page in the photo album or scrapbook using the timeline to determine the order. Place the title page at the front of the book.

Tips & Warnings

• If you have several photos of one memorable occasion, you can glue them onto the back of the page.

References

• Scrapbook Scrapbook: Making a Scrapbook