How To Decoupage A Photo Album

This past Christmas, I decided to make the gifts for my family. I know a lot of people will roll their eyes at that, but I think homemade/handmade gifts show how much that person means to you. I didn't give handmade gifts to the little ones because I knew they'd want actual toys. I can't make toys! I'm not Santa!

My nieces are all grown up and two of them have families of their own. I believe between the two of them, they have 5000 or more photos of their kids! I chose just a few and decided to put them on a photo album with Mod Podge. I love working with Mod Podge! I printed the photos using an ink-jet printer and used regular copy paper. I chose to work in B&W because I like the way they look, plus my color ink had just run out! There's not much to explain, but I will show the steps below.

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Supplies:

• photos copied to printer paper
• photo album
• large paintbrush
• Mod Podge (I used matte)
• scissors

Directions:

1. Print black and white photos on printer paper.
2. Print black and white designs on printer paper. These will be used as filler and as borders. I found my designs by going to Google and doing an image search of "black and white swirls".
3. Cut out photos and designs.
4. Before gluing photos to album, place photos on album to get an idea of what will go where. If you have a digital camera or phone handy, you could even take a quick photo to refer to.
5. Hold photo and brush Mod Podge on back of photo. Don't put too much, but don't skimp either. Make sure the whole back is covered.
6. Lightly place photo where you want it to go. For a few seconds, you will be able to shift the photo if it's not exactly where you want it. After that, you're pretty much stuck (no pun intended) with where it's at.
7. When you have the photo where you want it, press lightly to smooth out any air pockets. You could even use a popsicle stick to smooth.
8. After all photos and designs are placed on album, start brushing Mod Podge on photo album. I usually go in one direction only, but make sure all sides of each photo are covered.
9. Let dry, then repeat process on spine and back.
10. Wrap with pretty paper and make someone smile!