Any ideas on doing autograph books?

[ReinerFam]

Our first vacation to WDW is in less than 2 months - YIKES! Just wondering if anyone has any ideas on making autograph books for their youngins? I don't want to purchase the Disney ones because they are soooo expensive. Thanks!

 

[UP Disney]

Here's a thread about making your own autograph pages. http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1004360

 

[disneypharm]

Our first vacation to WDW is in less than 2 months - YIKES! Just wondering if anyone has any ideas on making autograph books for their youngins? I don't want to purchase the Disney ones because they are soooo expensive. Thanks!

We actually bought Disney autographs from Disney store in our local mall for $4.99. They are very cute and have pictures of Mickey, Minnie, and others. They actually had 3 or 4 different kinds at the store. The ones at WDW were $16 (I think).

 

[rie'smom]

Here's my web address @ photobucket. My pictures start with the Woody picture. Feel free to copy any of them. I made 2 books last year using these pictures and the characters flipped-DD and her friend got loads of attention.
http://s23.photobucket.com/albums/b387/jtmsp/?sc=3

 

[thompsonfamily]

I will try to post a picture of our autograph book that I made for my DS (8). He is autistic so I tried to make something easy for him to use. I made my book out of a paper bag and then decorated it. I have the directions that I can post if you would like them (I did a class on paper bag books) Just let me know.

Thanks,
Kim Thompson

 

[thompsonfamily]

I will try to post a picture of our autograph book that I made for my DS (8). He is autistic so I tried to make something easy for him to use.
I made my book out of a paper bag and then decorated it. I have the directions that I can post if you would like them (I did a class on paper bag books) Just let me know.

Thanks,
Kim Thompson

 

[themudd4]

a tip I would give ya would be to make sure you use acid free card stock...that way if you want to turn it into scrapbook pages they will keep.

Just FYI...I don't think they are that expensive @ WDW, but just my 2 cents. My son bought his that is also a picture album for $12 I think...(about twice the price of the regular books) but we love it, and he has pictures of the characters next to their autograph.

 

[Tinker326]

We are trying something new this year....

I purchased cheap plastic photo albums (you can get them for like $1-2 at walmart) and decorated the cover with disney stickers & alphabet stickers with their names. Then we will have the characters sign the clear photo sleeves with a sharpie marker. When we get home, we can slip the picture of my kids with that character into the sleeve that the character signed.

I find my kids enjoy looking at pictures so much more than just autographs, so this allows the best of both worlds.....

 

[4EverFigment]

What we've done is:

get a spiral bound notebook of cardstock that's about six inches long and five wide;

get a piece of sticky-backed Velcro;

a fine-tipped fat bodied Sharpie in my DS's favorite color, blue;

put the Velcro on the cover of the book and the pen, so they stay together when in the backpack;

Decorate the front of the notebook with Disney stickers, and DS's name;

When asking for the autograph, say Please and Thank You; and prompt the character to write only on one side of the paper;

Take lots of pictures;

So when the book is read, the autographs are only on one side, leaving the opposite side free for photos and stickers to be added;

Additional touch, the pages can be laminated or otherwise preserved.

The notebooks have very firm covers, so there's no worries about bending them. They come in many colors too. Sharpies also come in lots of colors and are easy for the characters to get their (often gloved) hands around. Also the size of the pages lends itself well to the characters who like to draw little pictures or doodles or say more than just the name; Lunar Wolf Power Ranger for example draws an awesome signature, and both Mickey and Goofy drew stuff at least once for my DS.

Honestly while the premade ones are cute, they're all the same. Making your own means 1. you've saved some dough, and 2. It's totally unique for your child.

have fun!

peace,
figgy

 

[ReggieB]

We are trying something new this year....

I purchased cheap plastic photo albums (you can get them for like $1-2 at walmart) and decorated the cover with disney stickers & alphabet stickers with their names. Then we will have the characters sign the clear photo sleeves with a sharpie marker. When we get home, we can slip the picture of my kids with that character into the sleeve that the character signed.

I find my kids enjoy looking at pictures so much more than just autographs, so this allows the best of both worlds.....

Just make sure the Sharpie doesn't smudge, sometimes (not often) they do on some types of plastic. Test a little corner of the plastic with the pens that you will be using.

 

[matt&jakesmom]

When my DS's were 6 & 4 we made an ABC autograph book. Prior to the trip we decorated each page with a letter and the sticker to go with it. For ex. A-Alice in Wonderland, Alladin. When we saw the character the boys would have to think what letter Alladin started with and go to that page for him to sign. It was a great teaching tool and they didn't even realize they were learning. The characters really seemed to like them. In fact the Mad Hatter was giving us some "grief" because we didn't have a sticker for him. I told him they didn't make stickers for him. He continued to joke around with us about it. It was fun.

 

[DisneyBlonde]

I'm going to buy sheets of pretty paper at AC Moore, cut them into squares for the characters to sign...then use each square in a scrapbooking page for that character.

 

[mecllap]

To add to figgy -- put the loop side of the velcro on the pen, with the hook side on the book cover (so the pen doesn't stick to the character).

I always wonder how people who make special pages ahead of time find the right page for each character without taking a lot of time, or the child losing the page again. We find it can be hard to get the book open in time to a blank page, and keeping it there, even with the spiral binding.
____
Also -- I don't think loose pages would work very well - they would be hard for the characters, without a hard backing to work on.

 

[ReggieB]

We are trying something new this year....

I purchased cheap plastic photo albums (you can get them for like $1-2 at walmart) and decorated the cover with disney stickers & alphabet stickers with their names. Then we will have the characters sign the clear photo sleeves with a sharpie marker. When we get home, we can slip the picture of my kids with that character into the sleeve that the character signed.

I find my kids enjoy looking at pictures so much more than just autographs, so this allows the best of both worlds.....

Just thought about this today, as I was thinking of stealing your idea...some of the characters don't sign, but have a stamp (Buzz springs to mind) Which probably wouldn't adhere to the plastic, so take some spare pieces of paper with you.