Ziplock book for baby

Lately, I haven't been able to get much scrapping done but I've been spending a lot of time on Pinterest.  I've found so many great activities to do with my DS.  My DS and I are going to visit family and it will be the first time that we will be away from the DH for a long period of time!!  It's also the first time I will be flying with my DS!!  Aghhh!  I'm so nervous so I'm trying to plan, plan, plan!

So I found this awesome craft from the "I Can Teach My Kid" blog on Pinterest that I figured would be great to get my DS ready for the trip.  This blog shows how to make a Ziploc "My Body" Book.  I chose to do a family book for my little guy so he can become familiar with family that he will be meeting for the first time and also be able to see pictures of family that he'll be missing while we are away.  This was a super easy craft and my son already loves it.  So here's my final product...

I did a few things different from the tutorial at "I Can Teach My Child" blog.  Here's how I did mine and what I'd do differently next time (there will be a next time!!):

• I opened up my scrap software, picked out my photos, included the name of the person and a simple paper and border.  
• Next I printed out the pages on glossy 5x7 photo paper.  The actual size was 5x5 so I had to cut off the white edges after it was done printing.
• I found card stock paper that I wanted to use (I went with a rainbow theme because the printed parts were so simple) and then I cut it down to size (6.25inx5.75in)
• To make the pages thicker I doubled up on the card stock and included a 4x6 piece of photo paper in between the card stock.  So each ziplock had 2 pieces of colored card stock paper, 1 4x6 photo paper in between the card stock, and 2  5x5 printed pages.  The nice thing about the glossy photo paper is that it sticks to the plastic ziplock and I didn't have to fuss with glue!!
• The binding (this is where my creation differs from the "I Can Teach My Child" blog tut): I bound my book on the zipper part of the ziplock.  First I took a couple pages (in the appropriate order) and stapled them.  I did this with the next few pages and then stapled them all together.  After the were all held together I got a couple strips of white duct tape and covered up the staples and the zipper part of the bag.  

In the "I Can Teach My Child" blog she uses fabric for the binding and shows how she sews it onto the book.  She also leaves the zipper part showing so that the pages can be taken out and replaced with something else.  I really like that part of her book but I also like the fact that the zipper part isn't showing on mine.  I may make a few like she describes for easy switching of pages.

So what would I do differently next time??  

• I would decrease the width of the card stock paper slightly so that the binding can cover the zipper section more.  
• I would like to experiment with the binding and attempt to use fabric and possibly batting because I don't really like the way the spine of the book is so flat in comparison to the book.  
• If my book has less pages then I will probably include some thin cardboard in the cover and back part of the book to make them sturdier although my pages are pretty sturdy as they are.  

So there you have it.  I actually made something from Pinterest, my son loves it, and I had fun making it!!