Autograph Book for the budget mind..

[Tigpooh]

This is my kids 1st trip and I am really trying to think of the best way to do an autograph book for EACH of them, w/o spending a fortune or carrying books that are just huge. What I really liked was to have an autograph page on one side and the an empty page so I can glue a picture of the kids w/ each character on the opposite side of the autograph. So, I actually bought a small "scrapbook" made entirely of cardstock at a craft store. It ties w/ a ribbon and has 24 pages, size 5x7. I thought it was going to be great till I decided I want to add pictures and realized just how many characters there are going to be to snag autographs from! Now I am just blown away! In order to add a pic and autograph to a 5x7 book I am going to need at least 160 pages, which seems just crazy when I think of having 2 books!

I am not all that worried about having it bound or it needing to be hardback right now, but I am just lost as to how to keep this inexpensive and yet still very special for my kids. Has anyone made a "simple" autograph book that was not too expensive? I just can't afford Shutterfly(or photo book) right now or even printing a lot of pics on my printer or at the store. My initial idea I was just putting cute stickers of each character on the page they were going to sign, until I thought about want to add pics to it. I am also worried about carrying both books in my pack each day if they are huge. Am I trying to do too much? Is it going to be impossible to make what I want? My kids are only 5 & 3 and I know we won't be able to go again for a while so this needs to be special!

 

[MusicMouse]

First, cut your workload in half and make one autograph book (ie. "The Smith Family Autograph Book" or "Emily and Anna's Autograph Book"). I made albums for both of my boys when we went for the first time last year and my DS3 never used his. He just wasn't old enough to get into the idea of autographs. My DS6 loved his, though. Even though they will be 8 and 5 the next time we go, I am still going to make only one autograph book. It's just easier to deal with!
As for keeping it less costly, if you sign up for a new account at Shutterfly, you can get 50 4x6 prints for free. At Artscow it is 100 4x6 prints. All you pay is the shipping. Walgreens and Target also run specials fairly often for photo printing. If you want to avoid printing characters that you may not see, I would suggest printing out cards for the characters that are most comon, and then printing out a bunch of generic card designs. (There is an updated list of characters currently being seen in the Parks in Post #2 of the Autograph Book Thread, and a character frequency list in Post #13.) If you want to put the cards side by side with pictures of your kids, you can put them in an actual photo album side by side or scan them into your computer and make your own book digitally. For other good suggestions and pics, scroll through the Autograph Book Thread. There are a lot of great examples and ideas there!

 

[Tigpooh]

Thank you, I really appreciate the tips! I was worried about doing just one book for the whole family because the kids won't be able to take them with when they move out(long way off but trying to think ahead) - do you just plan on keeping it forever at your home and they can see it when they visit kind of thing. Or do you think they just won't be interested when they get that age? I am all for making only one, just need to put my mind at ease! LOL!

Also, what do you think it the cheapest way to "bind" the pages? I have no idea how to do the spiral or if I should just use a photo album and take the pages out for signing.... Will be checking out the AB thread as well!

Thanks!

 

[bababear_50]

Just sharing another option

How about taking a t-shirt and having it autographed by the various Characters?

Here is a link which discusses this topic.

http://shine.yahoo.com/event/yahooc...disney-autograph-t-shirt-memory-quilt-2489581


I'm going to go with framing instead of the quilt option as I don't sew

Hugs Mel



example



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[MusicMouse]

Thank you, I really appreciate the tips! I was worried about doing just one book for the whole family because the kids won't be able to take them with when they move out(long way off but trying to think ahead) - do you just plan on keeping it forever at your home and they can see it when they visit kind of thing. Or do you think they just won't be interested when they get that age? I am all for making only one, just need to put my mind at ease! LOL!

Also, what do you think it the cheapest way to "bind" the pages? I have no idea how to do the spiral or if I should just use a photo album and take the pages out for signing.... Will be checking out the AB thread as well!

Thanks!

It cost me $9 to have 2 books spiral bound at FedEx/Kinkos. The photo album is also a good way to carry them and keep them organized. You don't actually have to bind them at all. You can punch a hole in the corner and attatch them together with an "O" ring. You can also carry them in a ziploc with a mini clipboard (for signing on). That way you can use them later for scrapbooking or a photo album.

 

[bababear_50]

It cost me $9 to have 2 books spiral bound at FedEx/Kinkos. The photo album is also a good way to carry them and keep them organized. You don't actually have to bind them at all. You can punch a hole in the corner and attatch them together with an "O" ring. You can also carry them in a ziploc with a mini clipboard (for signing on). That way you can use them later for scrapbooking or a photo album.

Hi MusicMouse
Hmmm
please tell me you live in Mississauga Ontario Canada??
I have a bunch of things I need to get spiral bound and am so happy you said FedEx/Kinkos, because I have one right around the corner from me.
I like the Idea of having them on a "O" ring also,
Thank-you for sharing
HUGS Mel

 

[Snappy in OK]

Before our last trip I made 3 autograph albums - one each for DD, DS and myself (I'm just a kid at heart!!) I printed out autograph pages for each character that I thought we might see on 5 x 7 unlined index cards, and then I took them to Staples and had them spiral bound. I think it cost less than $10 to have all 3 books bound, and to have front & back covers added. The front cover was a soft opaque clear plastic that we could see our covers through.

Once we got home, I took the pages out of the book and I put together a small (8 x 8) scrapbook album for each of the kids and one for myself that holds the autograph cards along with a picture of teh character with the kids/family.

I also took blank 4 x 6 index cards to use for characters that we had not made pages for.

I am planning on doing the same thing for our trip this fall. One change I will be making is organizing the autograph cards. Last time I put the cards in alphabetical order by the characters' names. This time I am going to put the characters together by story/theme - Aladdin/Jasmine, Cinderella characters together, etc. This will make it easier to find the cards when the characters are together.

 

[MusicMouse]

Hi MusicMouse
Hmmm
please tell me you live in Mississauga Ontario Canada??
I have a bunch of things I need to get spiral bound and am so happy you said FedEx/Kinkos, because I have one right around the corner from me.
I like the Idea of having them on a "O" ring also,
Thank-you for sharing
HUGS Mel

Sorry, Mel - I'm a Northern Girl, but not that far North!