With Michele’s baby shower book, you can see one form of accordion book. I wanted this card to stand up for later display, so I used another type of accordion fold that allowed me to tell a story on both sides of the card (it’s technically a book, but we’ll stick with card because that’s the function it was serving).

Because this couple is game for a joke, I designed the front of the card to appear just as sentimental as all the store bought cards they’d be receiving. But the moment you unfold the card, one side shows a collage of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles with the heads of characters, people, and pets that the couple loves. The other side shows the pyrotechnics from a Kiss show above which I hand lettered a portmanteau of the couple’s names (not shown because I apparently only grabbed in-process shots) in the style of Kiss’s logo. I saved space on the back of the card for the note (also not pictured).

Should you commission a card or book like this, be warned: may induce head banging!

Traditional guest books in which attendees simply sign their name and jot down well wishes or advice are always a solid option, but I knew I could create something more dynamic that would add a little something special when Michele wanted to look back on the day. Instead of providing the expectant mother with both a guest book and a photo album, I combined the two, using an accordion style book to allow guests a fold each for notes next to which I affixed a photo of them from the event alongside photos of Michele and the event itself.

This structure was only possible because I had access to the guest list and was also serving as the event’s photographer, so I could ensure that every attendee made it into a snap and could then match faces to signatures after printing. To allow for inclusion of photos of the event and any extra snaps Michele wanted included, I designed the accordion style book to contain more folds than guests.

The book required some sort of housing after I edited, printed, and affixed the pictures using photo corners. Michele wanted the top photo tantalizingly visible, so we settled on a clear acrylic box that she could secure using some of the ribbon from the event’s decorations, turning it into a bit of shelf decor in her own home.

See the gallery below for paintings I created as take-home decor for Michele’s nursery. For the decor that I coordinated and/or made for the full event, see my blog post on planning the baby shower. See post Baby Shower Book, vol. 2-3 for more books Michele commissioned to contain memories from the baby shower.