Easy Craft Idea: A Custom Board Book for your Grandchild

These days, you can buy all sorts of customized board books by searching online. But I think it’s extra-special when you make your own custom board book for your grandchild. This is an easy craft idea to try. I fashioned some for my own children when they were little and now I’m making them for the next generation.

These board books aren’t very slick, but they serve a purpose:  they help babies to identify the most meaningful people and objects in their life, and to recognize the name for each one.

What you Need

• White cardboard
• Paper cutter or box cutter and ruler
• Close-up photos
• Sharp nail scissors
• Heavy-duty glue stick
• Alphabet stamps and ink pad
• Clear self-adhesive film, such as Con-Tact Paper
• Regular scissors
• Hole punch
• 2 loose-leaf binder rings

Make the Pages

Determine the dimensions of your book.  Mine were 7 inches by 8 inches.  Cut cardboard to size with a paper cutter.  If you don’t have a paper cutter, you could use a box cutter, using a ruler as a straight edge.  (Be careful not to cut yourself!) My books consisted of six cardboard rectangles. With images back and front, you’ll have a 12-page book. Use scissors to round off the sharp corners of the book pages.

For a summer activity with you grandchildren, have a go at water play, where kids “cook” with water.

Prepare the Images

Now take photos of baby’s most important people and favorite things; get prints made or print the photos yourself.  I use a compact Canon Selphy portable printer that my son and daughter-in-law gave me for Christmas. Next, using nail scissors, cut out the backgrounds from your photos.  The background is a distraction for baby and makes it harder to focus on the subject. Finally, glue the photo images onto your pages with a glue stick and use alphabet stamps to name each image.

Assemble your Book

Now you’re ready to trim the self-adhesive film to the size of the book pages and adhere the film over the photos on each page.  This ensures that the photos stay permanently affixed.  Use a hole punch to punch two holes on the left side of the book.  Secure the pages with the loose-leaf binder rings.

Have fun reading to your baby!

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