One of the families on Cole's Ranger hockey team this past season are moving away. The dad was one of the coaches and his son, a fellow defenceman who ended the year brilliantly, learning and improving a ton over the season. All of the players did.
We are unable to attend the big "going away" bash for them Saturday night.
What were we to do? A gift was in order, but a bottle of wine didn't seem enough for all of the hours and hours of together over the course of the last 10 months! So, I did what I know how to do:
I made an album!
Lucky for me, as team photographer, I had oodles of shots from which to choose, but because I don't have permission to post their photos, I'll just outline what I put together.
A simple, 24-page 4x6 album. The perfect quick project.
I'm typing this all out with specifics because I plan to do a couple of more albums similar in format for some special friends - and maybe it can give you some structure for your album!
Cover Page: Photo of Subject, in this case, pee wee hockey player :)
Page 1-2: Team Photo (top) Team Roster (bottom)
Page 3-4: Off Ice Conditioning Photos
Page 5-6: Social Events (in this case summer party and garage sale)
Page 7-8: Season in Review (tournaments, regular season and playdowns with all stats)
Page 9-10: Team Photos with trophies
Page 11-12: Team Photos with trophies
Page 13-14: Lined Card (top): My memories of this season with the Oakville Rangers for player with a photo of player bottom
Page 15-16: Lined Card (bottom): My memories of this season ... for coach with a photo of coach on top
Page 17-18: Lined Card (top): My memories ... for mum with a photo of mum below
Page 19-20: Photos of player
Page 21-22: Photos of player (top) A few game details (bottom)
Back Page: Note to family from us!
A few notes on the project:
In the case of this album I used a Creative Memories PicFolio. The sleeves are a big bigger than your 4x6 photos, so each had to be mounted on a 4.5x6.5 piece of cardstock. All stats and information was typed onto 4x6 Bazzill white cardstock and also mounted to create consistency.
Total supplies used:
- 1 album
- 1 sheet Bazzill white cardstock
- 8 sheets Bazzill red cardstock (4.5x6.5 is a brutal size!)
- Thickers for title
- 24 Photos (all extras tucked behind mounted photos)
The beauty of this kind of album is that, due to it's construct, there is not enough space for a lot of embellishments. I really prefer a streamlined and clean album and this kind just forces you not to stray too far from that idea.
What a sense of accomplishment when it was finally done. Not only that, but when I delivered it on Thursday, the look on Marilyn's face - and the tears in her eyes, let me know that it was the perfect gift. So much better than a bottle of wine!
ETA: Permission Granted (Thanks Marilyn & DiBenedetto men!!)
These photos were taken not to be posted, but to remind me of the album order and idea so they just happen to be shot in a very sunny window with tons of shadow, but you get the idea. If you're a visual person, like me, this kind of thing always helps!
