DIY Photo Album Box for Mother’s Day

And, to be fair, you have unlimited time to make one of these for ANYONE, because this is a gift for all occasions. I originally posted this DIY tutorial years ago, on a sponsored post, but I don’t even think that agency still exists and I really wanted to share this again. You see, my mom is an art teacher and an artist and she taught me how to make one of these, and then Cassidy also stepped in to help. So while I won’t be making one of these for them (because they’re the ones who made the ones in this post), I can think of a dozen or more people who would so love this special gift. And as a photographer, I am ALL ABOUT the photo gifts. They’re the best, everyone!

DIY Photo Album Box for Mother’s Day:

What You Need:

4-6 pretty pieces of 12″ x 12″ thick cardstock (two for extra, just in case)
Pencil
Ruler
Scissors
Glue stick,
X-ACTO blade or something similar
Favorite photo prints – go crazy here!
Patience, diligence, creativity, and help. Help is always good for DIY projects

What You Do:

1 – Start with the outermost layer, and use a pretty paper! We used flowers for ours! Mark your paper with your ruler every 4″ along the border. Then connect your marks with straight lines. The ruler is important for this part! It will look like a checkerboard when it’s done. This might have been the most time-consuming part of the project. I had help!

2 – Now, make your “walls” of your box. Cut off the four corners of your “checkerboard” so that you’re left with this:

3 – Fold your paper to create four walls, and make sure the pretty side is showing as the outside.

Layers!

4 – Now you’re making the inner layers. Layers! That’s what this is all about – to get that “exploding” part of the box. The layers will hold all your gorgeous photos. You’re going to make middle layers that are identical to the first one, but the measurements will get smaller each time. Get it? They all have to fit in each other! So trim your middle layer cardstock to 10.5″ x 10.5″. Then, mark your paper at ever 3.5″ all around the border to create a checkerboard like the 4″ one, but smaller!

5 – Cut the corner and fold it into the first one! For the third inner layer, trim your paper to 9″ x 9″, and create your checkerboard with 3″ marks. Cut your corners again and fold up your walls. You should now have three layers.

6 – Lastly, make your lid. Trim your final piece of cardstock/paper to about 6″ x 6″. Create a 1″ border around all four sides of the stock. Start at the bottom right corner of your cardstock and cut a vertical line up the horizontal line to make a “flap.”

7 – Fold the cardstock along the inner border to create the sides of your box lid. You’ll have to glue your flaps to the sides. A final step would be to glue the bottoms of the layers together so the layers all fit nicely together and aren’t loose.

8 – Here’s the fun part. Glue decorations. Cut up prints. Glue on prints. Make your photo album!

9 – Make it so uniquely YOU! Stickers, ribbons, bows, expressive photos!