Guest Author - Sandy Laipply

In our family, as in many, people are scattered all across the country, and we don’t get to see them as often as we would like. When our grandson was about 3, I made him a special book so he could get to know his relatives – and recognize them when he saw them! I called it “ Everybody Loves Ryan” and he loves his very special book. Here’s how I did it – and you can, too!

1. Pick a theme. I used the ” Everybody loves”…..and made one page for each person.
2. Pick a color scheme – I decided on red, white and blue.
3. Pick a repeating element – I used stars – because, of course, Ryan is a star!
4. Pick a size – I made my book 5” x 5”.
5. Create your template. I used a photo of Ryan with each person in the family. If this isn’t possible, Photoshop would be a great way to “fake” it.

I started by cutting several pages to my desired size. I used a light blue textured cardstock. (Buy extra in case you want to add more pages as the family grows!). Then I used a rubber stamp of a star to stamp stars randomly on the page in a slightly darker blue ink. Next I cropped my photos to 3”x3”. I adhered the photos offset to the right side of each page, one photo per page.

Now my computer came in handy. I picked a font I liked, and wrote “ Grandma Loves Ryan”. I adjusted the size until my words fit nicely inside a star die cut. By playing around a little, I found I could fit 6 “ journaling points” on a page. I printed them out, and die cut my stars. I used red ink on white paper. I adhered the stars on each page with the appropriate photo, overlapping it slightly on the lower left. I went thru the entire family – Uncle Jason, Aunt Susie, Cousin Elizabeth, etc. I even included the pets! You could also handwrite this information if you prefer.

Next I lined up all my pages, and punched a series of holes down the left side. I used special binding rings, but you could use ribbon, wire, a spiral binding, or even clips to hold the pages together.

This is a great bedtime book, and reinforces the idea that there are so many people who love this little boy. It also helps Ryan remember all the family members he doesn’t get to see as often as he would like. A similar book would be a great gift for anyone. Think about making one for a family member who’s off at college, hospitalized, or in the military!