Baby Nicknames Album

Design by Erica Hernandez

Erica made an album to showcase the funny nicknames her daughter has been given. She used the Bind-It-All by Zutter to punch the pages and covers and to add a coil binding to the book. Erica painted the sturdy album covers with bright acrylic paint.

SOURCES: Cardstock: Bazzill Basics Paper. Patterned paper: BasicGrey. Font: Industries off the Internet. Covers, spiral, binding tool: Zutter Innovative Products. Stock photos: Ladybugs by Antigain (ladybug), African Animals Cartoons (monkey) by Lee Daniels from iStockphoto.

Design by Erica Hernandez

The book is filled with gatefold pages that contain information about the nicknames with photos to match. Erica used her computer to print the nicknames on white cardstock, often adding little design elements or color to keep the look playful.

Design by Erica Hernandez

Each gatefold page reveals a beautiful patterned paper, journaling about the origin of the nickname, and a single photo. Erica maintained design consistency throughout the album by using papers from the same line and placing journaling blocks and photos in the same spots.

Design by Erica Hernandez

To make a gatefold page, cut a 12x5" strip of patterned paper. (You'll be able to get two pages from a 12x12" sheet of paper.) The back of this strip will show when folded, so avoid using double-sided patterned paper. Fold the strip at 7" and set aside.

Design by Erica Hernandez

Cut a 6-1/2x5" piece from coordinating paper. Adhere the piece to the 12x5" piece of patterned paper, lining up the edges at the fold.

Design by Erica Hernandez

Print, stamp, or handwrite Baby's nickname on a 6-1/2x5" piece of cardstock. Adhere it the back of the gatefold page, over the top of the short panel of the patterned paper.

Design by Erica Hernandez

The first page of Erica's book is printed with the nickname her daughter was given before she was born. To make the Zs stand out, Erica used an outline version of the font and changed the size and color. She chose colors that complement the page's patterned paper.

Design by Erica Hernandez

When unfolded, the first page reveals a playful patterned paper and a simple journaling block printed on white cardstock. A single sweet photo fills the right-hand side of the gatefold. Erica added a white border to each pic and printed her photos on her home computer. If you can't print photos at home, ask your photo lab to add a white border to each shot. It's an easy way to get a matted look without spending the extra time.

Design by Erica Hernandez

To create this page, Erica used a stock photo image for one of the letters. Search for free stock photos online. If you can't find a photo that works, try clip art. Most word-processing programs come with a selection of clip-art images you can use in your projects. Check the Internet for free clip-art sites for a bigger selection.

Design by Erica Hernandez

For a bit of whimsy on this page, Erica created a circle design that looks like bubbles and placed it behind her type. She overlapped different-size circles and changed the colors of some to make them look like highlights. You could do something similar in most word-processing or image-editing programs.

Design by Erica Hernandez

On some pages, Erica illustrated images based on clip art she found online. If drawing isn't your thing, simply look for free clip art or stock photos that match your message, or dress up pages with stickers, die cuts, or rub-ons.

Design by Erica Hernandez

To finish the book, Erica added the painted covers and embellished them with a border sticker and a fancy journaling block, which houses her pink and white letter-sticker title.