Beautiful Brag Books

As the mother of four children I take a lot of photos, and who would enjoy the spoils of my photographic excess more than Grandma? My guess is no one! I decided to put all of my favorite excess photos to good use by creating “Grandma’s Brag Book.”

I started off by purchasing a pre-made brag book that was intended to hold 4” x 6” photographs. Rather than simply place the photo inside I trimmed them down and created miniature scrapbook layouts dedicated to each child. This was also the perfect project in which to use some of the many wallet-sized photos we’ve amassed in school and holiday package deals.

I made a cover page for the album using small tag-shaped alphabet stickers, wire, hand lettering, and small pastel alphabet stickers. Throughout the album I used the same inking and matting style to give my little project continuity.

A few items I found especially useful were my label maker, little alphabet stamps, stapler, and small tags. With the pages being quite small I tried to keep my embellishments to a minimum so that they didn’t overwhelm the photos. Another issue is that the album is already bound, and too many bulky embellishments make it difficult to get the album closed when all the pages are inside.

Here is a sampling of the pages I created for my Brag Book. I chose two colors for each layout. I used one for the background and another to create boxes that I layered on an angle. I inked all of my background pieces for added dimension.

For the most part I used solid colored cardstock, but you could easily add in patterned papers that coordinate in theme or color with your photos. On the page entitled “Shaelyn Rose” I chose to add some polka-dotted paper and vellum floral stickers for added interest. I made small tags listing her favorite things and slipped them into a small pocket on the side.

Ribbons are also wonderful accents that don’t add a lot of bulk to your pages. On the layout about my daughter Alaina I used dotted ribbons on tags and on the corner of the layout. Try using both black-and-white as well as color photographs in your brag book. You needn’t worry about keeping them all the same. If you do want to keep all of your photos the same style for continuity I suggest using your computer to convert them to black and white. It gives your album a clean and cohesive appearance.

So scour those dollar stores for pre-made brag books and get a head start on holiday gifts! With just a few dollars, a few hours, and a few scraps of paper you can create a gift for Grandma Rose, your Great Aunt Mary, or that good friend who’s recently given birth to a child. A little imagination and a few photos go a long way towards creating a meaningful and adorable brag book.