Keep a calendar of daily events. Write down notes on the calendar. This will help you remember when things actually happened. Keep a notebook of important events. It is best to sit down after an event and write down some thoughts while it is clear in your mind. Try to be a specific as you can about where, when, who, what and why.

 

Decide how you want to display your photographs. Do you want to have a book for an event, a child, a year of life, a lifetime, a vacation, sporting events, birthdays, major life experience, scouting, and many more.

        I have a book for each year of my children's life, a family book of vacations, an entire book on a trip to Disney World (very fun book), a "Heart" book collecting all the well wishes and events of my daughter's surgery, and books with professional and school photographs in order from birth. The chronological book of birth continued is a great way to see the changes each year of my children's life.

     

Separate your photographs in separate boxes or containers depending on how you want to display them. That way when you are ready to put the photographs in a book, all you have to do is grab a box and start working. It is really helpful to put the calendars with the corresponding box, when applicable.

        I use small Rubbermaid® containers large enough to hold a years worth of photographs, ticket stubs, awards, brochures, post cards, programs, other memorabilia, and the calendar.

 

Keep memorabilia with corresponding photographs. This is a time to put those award certificates, programs, or tickets to use. These items will date an event, as well as, add useful information to your collection of memories.

 

Depending on the amount of photographs you have for a book, decide on the size of book you want. You have several options:

                

SIZE	DESCRIPTION	NUMBER of PAGES	APPROXIMATE NUMBER of PICTURES*
5x7	Small - Event	20	1-2 per page
8x10**	Medium	30-60	3-5 per page
8½x11	Medium	30-60	3-5 per page
12x12	Large	30-90	5-8 per page
12x15	Huge	30-90	6-9 per page

        *The number of pictures per page depends on many factors including the actual size of your pictures and how much you crop. The estimates given are based on 4x6 photographs.

Organize your pictures. This sounds like an overwhelming job at this point but once you get started it all comes together.

 

With all your "tools" at hand, start laying out your page. See "Supplies." This is a time to arrange your photographs on actual memory book pages.

        Tools include:

ITEM	DESCRIPTION
Mounting adhesives	To attach photographs, etc. to page
Colored paper	To coordinate color with "theme"
Cropping tools	To crop pictures
Corner Rounder	To round corner photographs
Acid Free Pens	To journal each page
Stickers and Die cuts	To add color to your book
Oval/Circle Templates	To make photographs and paper more decorative

        I use the corner rounder on almost every photograph I mount after I crop. This gives the page a cleaner, more professional look.

Journal. Write down what, when, where, and who.

 

Cover your finished page with a clear protective cover

        I use a cloth diaper to wipe off fingerprints on photographs before covering page. You can purchase a product called Googalies that is a photo-safe cleaning cloth.