Hobbies And Interests
Things You'll Need
Instructions
Locate vintage fabric. Think outside the box; even car upholstery fabric can be re-appropriated as an attractive photo-album cover. Thrift stores, estate sales, and flea markets can serve as sources for pretty vintage finds. Websites such as Etsy and eBay can also provide vintage fabric to cover photo albums stylishly. You will need at least one-half yard of fabric to craft the album cover. Aim for more in case you mess up, or to make a larger sized album.
Find a photo album. You can use a three-ring binder, a scrapbook, a hardcover diary, or a proper photo album. Whatever you use, ensure that its spine is somewhat thin and flexible. Spines and covers that are thick or rigid can be hard to fit with fabric, especially if your vintage material is delicate or can be easily torn.
Place newspapers down around the work area. Lay the fabric down on a table. Open the album on top of it. Wrap the fabric over the album, to ascertain how much will be necessary. With scissors, cut the fabric so that you have about 1 inch worth of extra fabric around the album.
Spritz the outside of the album with spray glue, one side at a time̵2;the front cover, then the spine, then the back. Cover the album with the fabric, smoothing out any air bubbles. Glue that extra 1 inch of fabric to the inside of the album.
Fold the top and bottom edges of fabric down. Use a glue gun to fix them in place. Fold the extra inch of fabric at the spine in half first, then fold it in half again; then glue it down.
Cut two pieces of cardboard to be one-eighth-inch smaller than the inside covers of the album. Cut two pieces of fabric to be one-half-inch bigger than these pieces of cardboard.
Glue each piece of cardboard to a piece of fabric with the spray glue. Fold the extra half-inch of fabric over the cardboard piece, on all sides, and glue it down. Use the spray glue to affix the now-covered cardboard pieces to the front and back inside covers of the album. Be sure the album opens and closes easily.
Add your pages for the photos. These can be sheets of stationery paper, or photo album refill pages. Then add your pictures to the photo pages.