by Loni Stel

Created on: March 31, 2009

I love grandparent brag books - maybe because I cannot wait to be a grandma! There are so many possibilities for brag books, from simple to very creative. And for the grandma who has lots of grandchildren or even a couple and wants to do LOTS of bragging, why not have numerous brag books! Keep one at home, one (or two) in your purse, one at the office, one in the car . . . ohhh, the possibilities for bragging are endless!

First, for a simple brag book you can go to any store such as Walmart or Kmart and find the small photography books that you just pop in the pictures. Most of these run just a dollar or two for about ten pages and large ones of course, will cost more. To add in your personalization, you might want to go to a scrapbook store and put the child's name on the cover with sticker lettering or the last name, or "Grandma's Special Grandchildren" lettering. Inside you can put stickers that correspond with the pictures. This all would take only minutes to do and what fun!

Another simple album idea is finding a mini artist's book sketch book. I have one that measures 6.5 x 4.5 inches and has a large spiral to bind it, making it easy to add pictures to each page. I like this for the personalization where it can almost be like a journal/scrapbook for a grandparent, writing nostalgic notes by pictures. The covers on these are a hardcover, making it also easy to embellish with scrapbook paper, stickers, ribbons, and other creative embellishments.

If you want make something more detailed, more unique or more personalized, the ideas are endless just by doing searches on the Internet and even YouTube which will show step by step how to make such a wonderful variety! One very easy mini album that can be made is more or less, cutting out cardstock paper, double the size of a picture, so you can put one on each side, and then stack them (however many you want) and using ribbon to connect them. Here is one description easy to follo. w.

Try searching on-line for a "waterfall album" which is a wonderful mini album, perfect for grandparents! You will find quite a variety, including a step by step process on YouTube, showing exactly how to cut it out, sizing and ideas with a finished display of it. If you can follow printed directions well, here's a great waterfall album tutorial on a website.

Another fun mini album that can be made is a paper bag album created to look like a purse. (You can also do a search just for "paper bag albums" and find quite a variety). This mini purse album takes some time to make, but when completed has 12 pages, perfect for showing off grandchildren along with embellishing and lots of creativity.

Coin envelopes can also be used to make adorable grandparent mini albums. Here's one that shows how to make it in detail, both in detailed writing along with a video. Here's the perfect mini album for a grandfather which is small, does not hold a lot of pictures, but certainly can be a brag book for him, and can be made to look more manly with the way it is decorated.

The ideas are limitless for making an grandparent's brag book, from simple to very personalized creativeness. Having grandchildren make them, with their special notes and little drawings by their pictures, makes this a priceless gift for their grandparents. Once you begin making these mini albums, you might find yourself wanting "just one more"! Enjoy!

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