How To Make A DIY Baby Photo Book

Written by: Murad Huseynov

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Time to read 10 min

The time you have with your little one goes by in a flash, so why not immortalise this beautiful time with a baby photo book? By making a DIY baby photo album, you can create a heartwarming keepsake that will last for years to come. 

Key Takeaways

  • Making a baby book is a fantastic way to celebrate your little one growing up.
  • By deciding on a clear purpose or theme, your DIY baby book will tell a beautiful story.
  • Use high-quality materials to make every page shine and create a long-lasting memento.
  • You can add whatever you’d like into your DIY baby book, from letters for the future to cute handprints of your little one.

Murad Huseynov

Murad is the founder of Mosaic Journal, based in London, United Kingdom. He is an expert on photo gifting, photo printing and photo journaling.

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How To Make A Baby Photo Book

Making a baby photo book is an incredibly rewarding pursuit that will stay with you and your little one for years to come. It’s an opportunity to capture the growth of your child through pictures and curate each photograph to create a beautiful story. So, let’s dive into learning how to make a baby photo book that you will enjoy for the rest of your life: 

Deciding On The Book's Purpose

The first thing to do when making a baby photo book is to decide on its overall purpose. By determining this early on, you can guide the rest of the creative process so that it has a clear narrative and story. There are a few popular ways to outline a baby photo book, such as:

  • Monthly baby photo book: With a monthly baby photo book, you’ll be documenting your little ones growth and development on a month-by-month basis. This method offers a great structure as you take photographs of your baby every month to watch them grow up throughout the year.
     
  • Baby’s first year book: Another popular option is a photo book that captures all of the best moments of your child's development throughout the year. You have more breadth with this option, as you can capture special moments across days, weeks and months. 

There isn’t a hard-and-fast rule for how you decide to create your baby photo book, so feel free to get creative. You can bring the two ideas together, create a different purpose for the book or extend it beyond your child’s first year. 

Gathering The Necessary Materials For The Baby Book

Once you know the general direction of your baby book, it’s time to gather all of the materials you’ll need to make it. As before, you can get really creative when it comes to selecting the materials for your baby photo book. From choosing different accentuations like ribbons to using paints, marker pens or pencils to design the book itself. There are a few key elements you’ll want to bring together though, including:

  • A photo album or blank journal.
  • Photographs of your little one.
  • A way to insert the photographs, such as photo corners or glue dots.
  • A way to write or draw on the pages, such as pens, pencils or paints.
  • Decorations such as stickers, labels, ribbons or stamps.
  • Ruler
  • Scissors 

This isn’t an exhaustive list, so if you would like to add more details that’s absolutely fine. Just remember to tie everything back to the overall purpose of the book so that it remains cohesive throughout.


 

Picking A Theme Or Style

Next, you’ll want to focus on what style or theme you’re looking to use for the baby photo book. You can be as creative as you like here, just remember to tie it into the overall purpose of your book. Some popular examples of different themes and styles include:


Colors: Using colors is a classic way to style your baby book. You can choose the classic baby blue for boys or pink for girls. Alternatively, you can choose bolder colors to make the book more playful.

  • Seasons: Another popular style is using seasons to guide the style of the baby book. You can change the style depending on the time of year each page denotes, with snowflakes for winter and flowers for spring.
  • Narratives: You might want to tell a story through pictures with your baby photo book. You can weave classic fairy tales into the book or re-tell a fond trip away using photographs to guide the narrative.
  • Traditional: One of the classic ways to create a baby photo album is to stick with tried-and-tested designs like floral patterns, vintage accents and soft colours.
     

No matter what theme or style you choose, if you stick with the theme throughout your baby photo book you’ll have a cohesive look. By taking the time to pick a good theme or style, the rest of the book will accentuate the aesthetic you’re going for.

What To Include In The Baby Picture Album

One of the big things you’ll need to decide is what goes into your baby picture album. Obviously there will be plenty of photographs that you’ll have curated for the book. However, there are plenty of other things that could work really well. So, let’s go over a few different things you might wish to add into your baby photo book: 

Monthly Milestone Photos

If you have a good timeline of your little one in photos, it’s a good idea to add some way to denote monthly milestones. You can use stickers or simply write in the month that the photo was taken to showcase your child’s progression clearly. This addition can really showcase how quickly your child grows up and can make your baby book even more heartwarming. 

Hand And Footprints

Another really popular addition to a baby book is castings of footprints and handprints. You can pick up baby-safe ink and create the prints directly on the page. This is a timeless reminder of how small your baby was and how big they have grown since. It’s also a beautiful way to celebrate the growth and development of your little one. 

Baby's Firsts: First Word, Step, Smile, Etc.

There are loads of ‘firsts’ for babies, so celebrating each stage of development can be tracked in the book. From their first smile to their first word, you can cherish each moment by including a picture for each big milestone in their life. Add a blurb to provide a little more context around these milestones so that the narrative remains cohesive.

Notes, Letters, Or Thoughts You'd Like Your Child To Read In The Future

Baby books can last a lifetime - or even longer if they’re handed down. So you can use it as a way to leave messages for your child to read in the future. From hopes and aspirations about what their future holds to funny stories, you can add a lot of context and depth by including your thoughts during this time. You can also include other things like notes or letters to give your child something special to hold onto in their future. 

Mementos

Mementos could be any item that you hold near and dear to your little one. From a piece of their favourite blanket to strands of their baby hair, feel free to include heartwarming mementos alongside your photographs.

How Do You Make A Good Baby Book?

If you really want to get the most out of your baby book, there are some things you can do to make it truly shine. So, let’s go over a few tips to help you make your baby photo book as good as possible:

  • Focus on quality: Although it may be tempting to include as many photos or your baby as possible, try to whittle it down to the best ones. By focusing on quality instead of quantity, your baby book will be more impactful and refined, making it more enjoyable to browse through.
  • Consider spacing: Using white space effectively can really let the photos shine. Be consistent with spacing and don’t be afraid to let the white space frame particularly good photos. This will enhance the focus of the good shots and add to their importance on the page.
  • Add captions: Captions, blurbs and annotations are all great ways to provide more context to the pictures. You can include cute notes that mention how you felt during the time. Or, you can add in anecdotes to enhance the story the pictures tell.
  • Varied layouts: To keep each page interesting and dynamic, consider varying the layouts of the pictures in the baby book. If you have any particularly good photographs, you can place them as a full-page shot to make it a focal point. Or, you can create a collage of smaller pictures on a page.
  • Review your work: If you really want your baby book to be as good as it can, make sure you review your work and double-check everything. Look out for spelling errors, wonky photograph placement or any other missed details you’d like to cover.

By following the tips above, you can create a truly spectacular baby book that’s worth passing down the generations. You have a chance to create a cherished keepsake with this book - so make sure it’s amazing!

black camera placed on top of photo album

Ideas To Create A Diy Baby Photo Album

As baby photo albums are an incredibly personal memento, opting for the DIY option can work really well. Even if you aren’t a talented hobbycrafter, creating DIY elements in your baby book adds a certain charm and beauty that shop-bought decorations simply can’t reproduce. So, to help you create your own DIY baby photo album, consider some of the following ideas and concepts: 

  • Milestone ribbons: A great way to mark milestones is through home-made ribbons. You can attach a ribbon to a specific photograph that shows a milestone to highlight it. You can even include a note with dates or a blurb to add some context to each important photo.
  • Fabrics: Include small samples of fabric to some of the pages from your little ones blankets or babygrows. This will add a great personal touch that will evoke a strong sense of nostalgia down the road.
  • Sketches: If you’re a keen sketcher, then you can include some drawings to accompany the photographs on the page. From drawings of your child’s favorite storybook characters to funny sketches of fond memories, you can really go wild with this concept.
  • Growth chart: Another fun addition to your baby book could be a growth chart to show the baby’s progression. You can add their height and weight alongside key photographs to create a more contextual story.
  • A letter to the future: Include a letter for your little one to read in the future. You can share your hopes, dreams and aspirations for your child here. You might also want to include details about what life is like right now or share stories of them growing up.
  • Mapping travels: If you have any photographs taken outside of the home, consider adding a map which shows where the picture was taken.

Your baby photo book can be as personal or creative as you’d like - that’s part of its charm. Let it act as a platform for you to show how much you love your child and how much fun you’ve had raising them.


 

From Where Can You Buy Monthly Baby Photo Book

If you want to document your baby’s progress, then opting for a monthly baby photo book subscription can help. By using the services offered by Mosaic Journal, you can upload pictures of your child and receive printed copies as part of a monthly subscription. They even have a handy app for your smartphone so that you can upload your photos in an instant.


Or, if you fancy a professionally designed photo book for your baby photos, you can opt for the Album & Prints bundle from Mosaic Journal. You can sign up for the same monthly photo delivery service, but you’ll also receive a beautiful linen-bound photo album to insert the pictures into.

Frequently Asked Questions About How To Make A Baby Book

How To Make A Baby Book

Making a baby book is an incredibly rewarding process that begins with gathering a good variety of pictures of your baby. Then, you’ll want to prepare all of the materials for the album including a journal, crafting materials and other decorations. With these ready, you can begin structuring your baby book to craft a heartwarming visual novel of their early weeks and months.

How Do You Make A Good Baby Book?

If you really want your baby book to shine, then take the time to include personal touches. From hand-written notes for each important photograph to establishing themes like ‘baby’s first steps’, you can elevate the album so that it’s more contextual. Ultimately, the best way to make your baby book as good as possible is to be creative and genuine. Use the book as a way to demonstrate your love, affection and pride in your little one. With that - and opting for high-quality photographs and decorations - you’ll end up with a beautiful baby book that will last generations.

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