If you've got an old photo album sitting in your stash — maybe one you picked up at an op shop for 50 cents, or one that's been quietly falling apart in a drawer — this video is for you. Over the course of one long crafting session (plus a five-day break in the middle, which you'll hear about), I pulled a single photo album apart and turned it into more than twenty different things: sticker books, planner inserts, an infinity accordion book, shaker cards, floating pockets, dried botanical specimens, journal covers, and more. It's one of those videos where the ideas just keep coming, and honestly, a few of them surprised even me.
What we cover
This is a roundup-style tutorial built around one photo album and the question: what can you actually make with all those plastic pockets? I work through the pages one by one — sometimes cutting, folding, and binding them into new books; sometimes using individual pockets as journal elements, packaging materials, or organizers. The cover gets its own treatment too, ending up as a fabric-wrapped mini album. There are more than twenty distinct ideas here, ranging from a two-minute floating pocket to a more involved eyelet-bound photo album with a fabric-lined cover.
What you'll learn
Why photo album pockets are so useful for making new things — the pockets are already sealed on two sides and made from clear plastic, which makes them ready-made for sticker books, shaker cards, floating pockets, and specimen slides without much prep.
How to make a DIY sticker book from folded album pages, including:
- Folding pages in half to create four pockets per page
- Stacking multiple folded pages to build up pocket count (seven pages gives you 28 pockets)
- Binding through stiff leather, cardstock, and plastic layers using strong linen thread and a three-hole pamphlet stitch
- A flat, secure finishing knot — threading both ends underneath and crossing them so the knot sits on the side rather than on top
How to make ring binder planner inserts from album pockets, including:
- Using an existing planner page or a Kiki K template to mark hole placement
- Sealing the open edge of a trimmed pocket with washi tape to create a cleaner, closed-top insert
- Punching holes to match your specific planner's ring spacing
How to make an infinity accordion book (24 pockets and counting), including:
- Hinging pairs of pages together first before adding more — rather than chaining them one by one — so everything opens flat without buckling
- Placing washi tape or clear sticky tape exactly halfway across the fold so both pockets stay the same width
- Understanding the zigzag fold direction so pages open in the right sequence
- Using this format as a December Daily, a gift card organizer, a die cuts organizer, or a tag booklet
Using a single album page as a journal cover, with a simple signature dropped inside — quick enough to make as a gift, and easy to embellish with trim or art glitter glue.
How to make an over-the-page journal element — two pockets sewn or glued onto a folded paper spine, giving you four pockets that clip over any journal page and can be moved around freely.
How to make a shaker card (or bookmark) from a single album pocket, including:
- Trimming the pocket down to size and inking the edges
- Distributing sequins evenly before sewing shut so they don't clump at the curved edge
- Sewing plastic with a start-stop technique to prevent buckling and sliding
How to make a fabric-covered mini album using eyelets, including:
- Lining a secondhand book cover with patterned fabric using fabric glue
- Setting eyelets through both cover and pages, and reinforcing with twine when the eyelets aren't quite long enough
- Working through stiff covers: piercing the cover and pages separately first makes binding much easier
Using individual pockets as floating pocket journal elements, including:
- Trimming to size, inking edges, and sewing around the outside
- Removing the back pocket when you only want a single-sided insert
- Replacing the plastic with vellum for a softer, more elegant look
Featuring dried botanicals inside a clear plastic pocket — gluing a dried flower onto the backing paper before sewing the pocket shut, essentially creating a specimen slide you can use in a journal or as a standalone piece.
Slanted pockets — cutting the top of a pocket at an angle and sewing the sides shut, making it easier to slip oversized or layered items in and out.
Using album pockets as packaging and display for craft fair sales — showing buttons, bookmarks, or small goods inside a sewn pocket with a handmade-style label on the front.
Tip-ins, flip-outs, and flip-downs — attaching folded or single pockets to existing journal pages using washi tape or double-sided tape to add pockets after the fact.
Turning the album cover itself into an art journal — inserting folded pages into the existing plastic spine pockets so each pocket holds one folded signature, using the beautiful original cover as-is.
Tips & gotchas
When you're binding through a stiff leather cover plus multiple layers of cardstock and plastic, pierce the holes through the cover and pages separately before you try to bind them together. I didn't do this on my sticker book — I eyeballed everything at once — and it made for a much harder time than necessary. The holes were slightly off and the awl kept slipping. Separate piercing first, then bind: that's the lesson.
Clear or see-through tape is the right choice for hinging album pages in the infinity book. Coloured or opaque tape will obscure the pockets and reduce their usable depth. Along the same lines, place your hinging tape exactly halfway over the fold — if more tape lands on one side than the other, one pocket ends up narrower than the other, and anything wider than that narrower pocket simply won't go in.
When sewing plastic on the shaker card (or any sewn pocket), work in short start-stop bursts rather than one continuous pass. The plastic wants to stretch, slide, and buckle as it moves under the presser foot. Going slowly and repositioning as you go keeps the seam straight and the plastic flat. A little buckling is almost inevitable and honestly not very visible once it's done — but you can minimise it by smoothing the plastic flat with your hand before each pass.
Before sewing the shaker card shut, distribute your sequins or fillers so they're spread evenly rather than piled at the bottom curve. Once the pocket is sewn, you can't redistribute them.
If you're using fabric glue to line a cover with fine fabric, the glue can seep through and show on the right side. Choose patterned or thicker fabric — anything with texture or weave variation — and it won't matter if there are a few patches of glue showing through, because the pattern hides them. I used a fabric with a lot of thread texture and even the chunky bits of glue were invisible.
For cork surfaces (or anything very porous), all-purpose glue is worth the extra step. PVA or glossy accents might work, but if you can only glue a small edge — say, the rim of a decorative piece sitting on a cork surface — you want something that really bonds porous materials. I used it for the cork piece on my mini album cover and it held without shifting.
Check your eyelets carefully before you commit. They need to be long enough to go through both the cover thickness and all your pages. Too-short eyelets won't set properly, and too-wide eyelets will wobble in the hole. If you're not sure, thread everything together dry first and test before you set anything permanently.
There's always one sitting there for a dollar or two, and now that shelf looks like a sticker book, a planner insert set, a dozen floating pockets, and an art journal cover all waiting to be made. I still have the original album cover to turn into an art journal — that one's going to get its own video. And the leather wraparound cover from the sticker book project is another tutorial I've been thinking about. So there's more to come from one single old album.
