Easy DIY Accordion Photo Album

Mother’s Day 2020 will look a little bit different for families across the nation. Local restaurants will not be open for taking Mom out for a sit down meal. Essential shopping has shifted to online shopping to find the perfect token of your appreciation for mothers and grandmothers.

This year try using the resources you have at home to create an easy DIY accordion photo album that can easily be slipped in the mail if you are not able to gather with your mothers and grandmothers on Mother’s Day.

Materials Needed for Accordion Photo Album

2 – 12×12 pieces of cardstock (white or color of choice) or 3 – 8.5×11 pieces of cardstock
10 photos that can crop to a 4×4 square
Cover image
Paper trimmer or ruler and scissors
Glue stick or double-sided tape
Optional – colored washi tape to decorate edges, ribbon for tying book closed

Gather images that you have at home, print photos on your home printer, or send to your local 1 hour photo lab. I was able to print 4×6 images at my local Walmart 1 hour photo lab. If you have more time you can send to your favorite online photo lab.

I was excited to be able to to pull 10 of my favorite images from the family portrait session we had with Spoiled Rotten Photography on the Spring Daydream Set.

To include 10 images in your Accordion Photo Album you will need 5 – 4×8 strips of paper. Below you will see how I used a paper trimmer to cut those strips from 2 pieces of 12×12 cardstock.

Next fold each of your 4×8 strips of paper in half to create 4×4 boxes.

To put the base of your Accordion Photo Album together, lay each of the sections out, alternating the direction of the folded point.

Use a glue stick or double-sided tape to attach each individual piece to the accordion chain.

Use a glue stick or double-sided tape to attach 6 images to the front side and 4 images to the middle squares on the back side of the accordion chain. You will need to leave the first and last square to fold up to be your front and back cover.

If you have more or less than 10 images that you would like to include in your Accordion Photo Album, you can modify the number of 4×8 in. strips you add to your base. Use 4 – 4×8 in. strips for 8 images, 6 – 4×8 in. strips for 12 images and so forth.