My baby is only 8 months old at the moment, but I wanted to create a book that would encompass his whole first year - and also be able to grow with him.

I designed this "Baby's First Year Tag Book" with the intention being just that. In addition, it's something that can easily be put together with minimal paper crafting supplies and a few key Fiskars tools. It can be quickly adapted to fit any child's age range or any other theme you may want to create a mini-book about!

Start with a chipboard book base (like I did), or just pieces of chipboard cut to the size of book that you'd like (you can bind your chipboard however you like if you choose this option). Then print a black and white photo from each month of your baby's first year (i added in a newborn shot as well). Black and White photos will provide a cohesive look to your finished mini-book project and also give you the flexibility to select any color scheme for your book. I went with an aqua and lime color scheme - and pulled papers from both of these hues from my stash prior to assembling the book. You will also need kraft cardstock (or another neutral, light colored cardstock) to create your journaling tags with.

Start by creating enough journaling tags for your book (you'll need approximately one per photo page). Trim a piece of kraft cardstock to 2.75 x 6 inches and then use the Fiskars "1/2 round" corner squeeze punch on the top two corners. Trim can be added now or later by machine stitching a loop of ribbon/trim to the top of your tag.

Next, trim a piece of patterned paper to fit your page base. Place your photo where you'd like it on the page, and tuck a journaling tag underneath so that it sticks out slightly (this will be a good reminder of where NOT to stitch in the next step). Use your sewing machine to stitch around three sides of the photo (NOT the side with the tag sticking out). This creates the "pocket" for your journaling tag to live in, inside your minibook. Adhere the page to your chipboard base page. If needed, use the Fiskars craft knife to trim around the corners of the page (like I did, since my corners were rounded slightly).

Use favorite Fiskars punches - I used the cloud, circles, and star shapes - to embellish your pages. Punch shapes from kraft cardstock or from coordinated patterned paper scraps. This is a simple and inexpensive way to create a uniform embellishment look throughout your book. Add the month (of your baby's age) to the photo, punch embellishment or tag once all pages have been assembled.

Finally - journal your tags. Because I wanted this book to be as easily assembled as possible, I choose to hand write my journaling. I don't use a lot of my own handwriting on my scrapbook pages and thought that it would be nice to include it here, on my hidden journaling tags. Journaling ideas for each month's photo can range from simple stats like weight and height to nicknames from that month to what your baby loves and hates that month to milestones, etc.

Your finished book - or almost finished if your baby is not yet one(!) - is something that both you and your family will treasure for years. I'm so glad that I completed this project for my little one, and I love the end result.