Paris is an amazing city and I truly loved it. To be honest, if I hadn't made this album, the photos would probably stay on my PC and that's it. I'm sure I'm not the only one who takes hundreds of photos while travelling and then just makes a digital copy. Just like a computer might stop working, paper can be damaged, so if you're making an album, make sure to have a hard cover and strong binding.
I used binder rings that I took out of an empty folder. Yes, that's not the best idea, but that's the only thing I could get. If you have a laminator, it's a great idea to laminate at least the cover and the last page. What's even more important than photographs are any tickets, brochures, flyers, information tags, checks and everything else you can collect.
I had a few duplicates so I took one and pierced a hole to be able to slide it down the ring, but I used envelopes to hold bigger pieces. That way, I could just slide them out instead of having to pierce them and open the rings every time I want to take them out. Wherever I could, I made sure to write down the name of the place because those things fade fast. Even though I studied a lot about Paris and French culture and I'm sure I won't forget any of those places, I wanted to write it down for anyone else who might open the album.
I used some labels and banners that came in design bundles. There weren't any craft shops where I live, so I had to print everything at home which is why this album doesn't have many embellishments and anything dimensional. Almost everything inside, excluding travelling keepsakes, is just printed paper. Oui, it's too simple and not that attractive, the colour choices are not the best, print quality isn't that great either...
Mais, c'est la vie. I didn't chuck it into the nearest recycling bin because it's a wonderful keepsake. If I were making a new album today, I'd have to use the same low quality photos, but I'd definitely go for a completely different look and different materials. The album size is A4, so I could fit a lot of photos inside, but these are just a fragment of what I had.
It took a long time to browse through all the shots and edit the best ones on my laptop, but it was worth it. For editing, I used online tools and free applications that I still use today. All in all, I like how you can make something out of recycled materials, scraps and freebies. There's no need for paid softwares to edit photos or brand new craft supplies to decorate the album.
I printed most of the photos in a smaller size to save on paper and printer ink. In total, there were about 20 sheets of paper containing photos, which seems like a lot, but some don't come out good (ink splotches or faint colours) which is why you won't be using all of them at the end so it's good to have a few extra ones. I hope you enjoyed this and that it inspired you to make your own album. If you have any questions about the supplies I used, don't hesitate to drop them in the comment section below.
Have fun creating, don't worry about how it's going to look. As long as you like making it, it's perfect. Au revoir and thank you for watching..
