If you are covering a post bound album, the best way is to take it apart completely and cover the different bits piece by piece. Don’t be afraid ….. it’s simple. I promise. You cover the front, the back and the spine as three separate pieces and then just reassemble it.
If you are working on a smaller size like 8 x 8 then scrapbook papers work perfectly to cover it. If you are covering a 12 x 12 album then, unless you have a lot of joins, 12 x 12 paper won’t work. But – now here’s a radical thought – why not use something different. You could cover it with fabric. The fabric could be stamped on, sewn on prior to covering, embroidered, embellished and generally made very beautiful. Or, you could cheat totally and use wallpaper off cuts. I know they are not acid free but if it is a post bound album and your pages are all in page protectors inside then it really won’t matter. Once you go into the realms of wallpaper or material the world really is your oyster.
You also don’t need to cover the entire album. I have also bought cloth covered albums and just embellished them on the front. I did that with my A – Z Christmas album by adding run-ons and chipboard letters and it was very effective.
Finally there are the lush D ring albums. These are a little trickier to cover as you have to deal with the D ring mechanism, but if you work on it as separate sections it is possible to make a really neat job of them. The D ring albums really lend themselves to having the spine in a different pattern which also deals with the sixe of paper needed. You can add all sorts of embellishments and give your album a title that links everything together.
You can see my covered D Ring album here http://dollysdreamings.typepad.com/dollys_dreamings/2009/12/5210-preparation-time.html It was made as the album for my 5210 project running throughout the year.