Handmade ideas to brighten up your preschool graduation album: fun to create, delightful to receive!
We’ve gathered wonderful ideas for parents and teachers creating handmade graduation albums.
You’ll find tips for heartfelt albums, including decorations using construction paper, ways to incorporate children’s drawings, and how to make individual pages.
We also introduce ideas you can use for albums presented to teachers, as well as decorations with origami and felt—perfect for capturing kindergarten and nursery school memories.
Try making a one-of-a-kind graduation album together with the children!
Brighten up your kindergarten graduation album with handmade touches! A collection of fun-to-make and delightful-to-receive ideas (1–10)
punch needle embroidery
Do you know about hole punch art? It’s a craft where you use the small circles made by a hole punch to create various things.
Here, we’ll make Easter eggs using the round paper pieces from a hole punch.
First, punch plenty of holes in any leftover construction paper.
It’s handy to sort the dots by color into plastic containers.
Next, prepare a base sheet cut into an egg shape.
Apply glue to the base however you like, and before the glue dries, sprinkle the small circles on top—and you’re done.
It’s super cute.
A trick with a bouquet
A cute pop-up card where a bouquet and message spring out when you open it is perfect for gifting to someone who has helped you.
When making the bouquet, be sure to create a sturdy base with construction paper.
To cut the bouquet into fluffy, scalloped shapes evenly, stack the number of sheets you want, staple them together to hold them in place, and then cut.
Prepare blank message cards in advance so they match the size of the bouquet.
You might also delight the recipient by replacing the character holding the bouquet with a photo of the person you’re giving it to.
A mechanism where pulling it opens the letter
Pull to open the letter! I’ll show you a cute handmade album.
You’ll need construction paper, glue, a pen, and an album.
First, take a piece of construction paper measuring 5.2 cm × 14 cm and fold it at 5.5 cm to make a crease.
Next, glue a 7 × 5.5 cm piece of construction paper onto the section folded at 5.5 cm.
Fold the glued section 0.5 cm from the left edge, then attach a 7 × 5.5 cm piece of black construction paper.
Cut white construction paper into letter-shaped parts and stick them onto the black paper.
Next, cut out a character illustration to match the size of the letter.
After gluing your favorite paper onto the album’s backing page, attach the illustration to the top of the page.
Apply glue to both ends of the letter and stick it in place aligned with the illustration, and you’re done!
Mechanism for Opening School Lunches
Open your lunch and get a surprise! Here’s how to make a pop-up photo album.
First, fold a 18×10 cm sheet of construction paper in half to make the base.
Place a 6×12 cm sheet horizontally, draw 3 cm lines at both ends and a cross (X) in the center.
Fold it in half horizontally, then fold along the cross lines, collapse it, and glue it in the center of the base.
Next, place a 6×16 cm sheet horizontally and fold it into four vertical sections.
Take four 5.5×3.5 cm pieces of paper and glue them onto the four folded sections.
Fold inward, place it in the center of the base, glue the parts that stick out onto the crossed paper, and fold it so it tilts to the right.
Finally, make your favorite school-lunch decorations and stick them onto the base to finish!
Use felt letters
https://www.instagram.com/p/9uwxMbuLta/Motifs made with fabric are a great idea because they give a graduation album a warm, tactile feel.
You can buy washable felt at 100-yen shops, which is convenient because you can redo it if your child gets it dirty.
Also, choosing a thicker fabric will create clearer contrast and make it look more polished.
Felt that’s pre-cut into hiragana shapes is especially recommended—you can easily combine the pieces to create messages.
Bouquet of cherry blossoms
Here’s a message card featuring a bouquet of cherry blossoms, perfect for graduation season.
Let’s make the wrapping portion—the base for attaching the message—using construction paper.
By lining the base of the wrapping with pink origami paper, it will look more like a graduation ceremony and appear more festive.
The cherry blossom petals can be made with a simple kirie (papercut) technique by folding origami paper.
When attaching the cherry blossoms, apply glue to the center to give them a three-dimensional look.
Changing the ribbon color depending on the recipient would be lovely, too.
Colorful balloon
https://www.instagram.com/p/C3C2j7sJ710/Perfect for decorating graduation albums! Here’s how to make an adorable hot air balloon with animals that gently sway.
Coloring with masking tape makes it extra fun, so be sure to try it with the kids.
You’ll need crayons, a hot air balloon template, string, animal pieces for the gondola, white drawing paper, and clear tape.
First, stick masking tape onto the drawing paper.
Color anywhere you like with crayons, then peel off the masking tape.
Cut the paper into a balloon shape using the template.
Attach the string and animal pieces to the back, and you’re done!