Classes to mentor teenage moms

[annoliv]

I know this is a stamping thread but maybe some of you are scrapbookers too. My friend and I both feel lead to mentor the teenage moms at our local unwed teenage mom's shelter. We want to do something with them that will be fun and give them something to treasure of their babies. We were thinking of teaching them how to make a mini album for their babies pictures. We want to donate all of the supplies but have limited funds so my question to all of you ladies is... can you give me some ideas of what kind of small album to make that would take up to four weeks (about 2-3 hrs a week) to complete but not too complicated and not too costly. Also do you think it would be okay to ask our local SBS to donate items? I would very much welcome your input.

[buggainok]

What a lovely project. I commend you and your friend on the idea!

I haven't made too many albums myself, but I've always loved the ones called paper bag albums. They are pretty easy to make and you can use a variety of supplies to embellish them.

I would suggest googling paper bag albums, click on images at the top, and check out all the cute ones shown. If you then click on the picture, it will frequently have a link to a blog or tutorial showing how to make it.

Good luck, and again, I think it's a great project.

PS if you send me a PM with your mailing address, I think I could donate some things to get you started.

[Rachelrose]

Why not ask the folks at your local SBS to help you work out and price a "kit" that would enable a girl to complete a mini-album? Maybe you could get members of your church or a club that you are a member of to each "sponsor" a girl by paying for the kit. It would probably not be costly, and would be for such a good cause!

I think your SBS would be the ones who could help you figure out a project that would work well. If they love scrapping, why wouldn't they love to be involved in this? And they might offer to donate material, too.

Good luck with this. It is a really terrific idea!

[fairsinger]

I don't scrapbook much anymore so I'm not sure what products are available, but there used to be smaller-sized, inexpensive albums with comb binding, similar to a chipboard book. They did not have protective covers on the pages, but they were acid free and worked well for small albums (I used one to scrapbook a vacation). Not sure if something like that is available still, but the smaller size is nice because it doesn't require as much time and effort to do layouts and it doesn't need much embellishing. If you can use coupons at the big stores, you might be able to get something like that pretty cheap.

I would imagine they would want to include sonogram pictures (if they have them), maybe a pregnant "belly" picture, pictures of other family members, pictures of the baby's birth, etc. So some of the pages may need to be left blank (or completed except for the pictures) until after the baby arrives. It would be nice to leave some pages for journaling so they could write about their pregnancy and the birth in the book if they want to. I think you could make something very nice in 4 weeks' time, especially if some of the pages are to be filled in after the birth. If you could give them a little packet of acid-free adhesives and an acid-free pen to finish the book after the birth, that would be helpful (and something maybe your local store would donate).

What a wonderful idea you've shared, and what a good heart you have!

[annoliv]

Great idea's ladies, I really hadn't thought about adding journaling pages, but I guess the girls would love to write about their pregnancy and birth experiences. Fairsinger's idea of giving each girl an adhesive and pen is a good one. The girls can stay in the shelter for up to a year after their babies are born so I will have a chance to keep in contact with them so I would love to add enough pages for future pictures and such.

[winnieu]

What a lovely project! I love the idea of the paper bag albums, they are fun and not expensive to make. They also have chipboard albums sometimes in the dollar bins in Michaels and other craft stores. Those can be covered with lovely papers and pictures and journaling can be added. Another fun thing you could add to whatever albums you use, manila tags can be decorated and used for journaling. They are not expensive and can be very personalized.

What you are doing is so inspiring. If you need paper or anything, let me know and I will send you some.

[buggainok]

Watch your mailbox! I sent you a package of paper, ribbons, and embellishments. Have fun.

[cainp]

One other idea is to make a small album out of old CDs. You can do about 5 of them on a ring, and just cover with pretty paper, punch a hole, and put a ring in it to hold together.

You can use any type of CD - I keep ones that come in the mail as "junk mail" to use.

Thanks.

[annoliv]

Ladies I am so in awe at your help and generosity. I am asking God for special blessing to come to you all.
Thank you so much for your support in our endeavor.

[Ldumont999]

A friend of mine bought square gift boxes - I think they were approx 6.25x6.25 and about 2" deep. She used sturdy card stock cut to 6x6. Each page held one 4x6 photo (slightly cut down) or two wallet pics. Then she embellished each card and put pencil lines 1/4 inch apart on the back for journaling. She did one for each grandchild and they were wonderful! I actually liked them better than an album. They would be cheaper than buying albums for sure.

[annoliv]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ldumont999

A friend of mine bought square gift boxes - I think they were approx 6.25x6.25 and about 2" deep. She used sturdy card stock cut to 6x6. Each page held one 4x6 photo (slightly cut down) or two wallet pics. Then she embellished each card and put pencil lines 1/4 inch apart on the back for journaling. She did one for each grandchild and they were wonderful! I actually liked them better than an album. They would be cheaper than buying albums for sure.

This sounds interesting is there a way you can share a picture with me. Did she cut the sides off the boxes or did the album fit into the box?

[Ldumont999]

Quote:

Originally Posted by annoliv

This sounds interesting is there a way you can share a picture with me. Did she cut the sides off the boxes or did the album fit into the box?

No, the boxes were intact and the pages were separate (not bound). You could take each page out and each one was decorated on the front and back. Mostly she put journal tags on the back and talked about the phone on the front. It was especially nice because as she shared them with other members at church, we could pass them around and didn't all have to crowd around one album. ;) The key I think is to us very sturdy cardstock. I will see if I can get her bring the album next week and then I can take a picture.