Panda Photo Album, an upcycled project

I was planning to make a Mother's Day photo album but instead ended up upcycling an old 'hot pink' album. Why did I ever buy such a bright color? It must have been on sale...LOL!  Anyway, my first step for this remake was to remove the heavy see-through plastic cover.  This revealed that this not-so-pretty vinyl album also had a big hole in the back...aargh!  Okay, so now I had to cover both the front and back of the album.  In my stash of printed washi paper, I found a beautiful piece (with gold accents) that was just the right size to cover the whole album.  (I spied some great looking printed washi paper in the Hilo HM Ben Franklin Crafts and I imagine the other HM BFCs have a supply of Japanese washi paper too.)  Cutting the washi paper on my paper trimmer left slightly ragged edges, so I found some light pink cording (Clover brand from HM BFC) which I glued around the paper that was already glued down with Fabri-Tac glue. (The back of the album was finished in the same manner to cover up the hole.)  Next, I decorated the front of the album with a fuzzy panda sticker (Jolees' Boutique) and an oblong metal plaque that had some Asian characters on it. (I hope the characters say something favorable.  It was purchased in a bulk lot from a closeout sale.)  If you look carefully at the bottom photo, you can see that I covered the inside covers with a cute panda print washi paper.  Not only does it match the panda sticker on the cover, but the pandas are mothers and babies so it IS a Mother's Day photo album after all. Hahaha!  P.S. The original pink album had a plastic cover which I removed for the photo shoot but will probably be kept on the finished album to protect it from moisture or 'not-so-clean' hands. I hope this post has given you some ideas for remaking and upcycling your 'treasure-to-be' album. Make one for a friend, family member, or yourself...have fun!