Cut Now, Measure Later : DIY Disney Autograph Book

Hello friends!

Well, I had more than a little bit of fun with this week's project. I won't be posting next week, because I'll be in WALT DISNEY WORLD. I'm pinching myself as I type. ;)

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/

I am so excited to travel with my husband and family, including 6 of my nieces and nephews. :)

Part of any kid's Disney experience has to include autographs from some awesome characters. So for this trip, I decided to make some autograph books for the kids!

Pinterest gave me some great ideas:

I also did a little digging and found my own autograph book... circa 1994. ;) (And yes, I feel ancient now.)

I looked through several tutorials that called for sketchbooks, but the sketchbooks I found were too big or too expensive. I decided to make my own using 4.5"x6.5" card stock.

Supplies:

-1" Album rings

-Card stock, white (4.5"x6.5")

-Decorative paper/card stock

-chipboard (you can repurpose an old cereal box!)

-Stamps/ink (optional)

-Washi tape

-Hole punch

-Mod Podge

Check Hobby Lobby for 50% off card stock sales!

The pages of the book will be plain card stock, so really, the only work you have to do is to make the front and back covers.

For the front covers I cut a piece of chipboard and glittery card stock to the same size as the white card stock.

I found some great Mickey Mouse washi tape at Hobby Lobby, and covered one side of the chipboard with strips of tape. I allowed myself 1/4-1/2" excess tape on each strip to fold over onto the back of each piece.

This was a great and easy way to cover space and carry on the Disney theme!

I used roll-on adhesive tape to attach the card stock to the back of the chipboard.

To make the back cover, I cut plain black card stock and the glittery card stock to size, then glued them together with the roll-on adhesive.

To customize the front covers, I traced a few circular objects to make a shape like Mickey Mouse, and cut one in a different color for each book.

For the boy-version, Mickey received some sunglasses. For the girl-versions, Mickey received a bow and became Minnie. (I found a bow template on Pinterest to trace.) :)

I also used some opaque ink and stamps to write each name on the cover and to write the year on another piece of card stock.

Use the roll-on adhesive to attach these pieces to the cover.

Now, it's time for the Mod Podge! I used a foam brush to apply a layer or two of Mod Podge to each side of the front and back covers. This will make both covers a bit more sturdy and protect them from the potential drink/food spills in Disney World. :)

Mod Podge is dry!

Time to punch some holes! Hopefully your hole puncher is more powerful than mine. I punched two holes in each cover, then used those holes to mark where the holes should be on the white card stock for each book. (I gave each book ~50 pages.)

Side view--- 50 pages seemed pretty substantial, but use as much as you like!

Back Cover View

Use album rings (mine were 1") to bind your books!

I took this next tip from a few of the tutorials I found. Tie a ribbon on one album ring that will be long enough to save your place in the book. You can also tie the Sharpie of your choice to the other end of the ribbon to make sure it doesn't get lost!