DIY Network

Adoptive Family "Book of Me" From "Scrapbooking" episode SCB-503

Project by Rebecca Ludens.

Rebecca and her husband are in the process of adopting a little boy from Russia. They recently went on trip one (of two) and left with him a little laminated book that tells all about his new family so he could get to know them and remember them while they all await trip two. Each page tells about the child, his interests, his family, his house/favorite toys, etc. The pages are laminated and bound with plastic spiral binding. The book is tough enough to be carried around by little hands. Imagine this as a "Book of Me" for any 2- to 6-year-old.

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Materials:

photos
colored card stock
adhesive
scissors
laminating and binding equipment *

* You can also have this done at a copy center or at an office supply store.

1. Take or gather photos of the people and places that are important in your child's life. You can have your young child help take some of the pictures, and be sure to include him in many of them.

2. Create very simple 6" x 6" scrapbook pages, using colored card stock as your main embellishment.

3. Write journaling boxes for each page that simply tell your child's story. Some ideas include, "My favorite thing to do outside is..." or "My favorite food is...", etc.

Note: If you want to save the original pages and photos, have a color copy of each page made. Tip: If you have the pages all reduced slightly, you will be able to get two pages per color 8-1/2" x 11" copy. Cut these apart to once again have separate pages.

4. Adhere each two copied scrapbook pages back to back. Laminate these "sandwiched" pages.

5. When all pages have been laminated, have them spiral bound by your local copy center.

Alternative: You could put a hole punch in the upper left corner of each page and attach them to a spiral key ring to save on the cost of binding. The spiral binding will be stronger and probably last longer, however; the single spiral ring might be safer for younger children.

GUESTS :

Rebecca Ludens
About.com Scrapbooking Guide
Website: scrapbooking.about.com