A Traveling Scrapbooker

Do you find yourself constantly going someplace with your scrapbook supplies? Do you go to a lot of crops, or scrap at a friend’s or family member’s place? If the answer to one or both of these questions is “YES” then you are a ”traveling scrapbooker” like me!

A traveling scrapbooker has to have most of her supplies held in multiple portable cases that are easy to lug around. Even if you don’t travel with your supplies, maybe you can learn some organization tips from the way I store my scrapbook items.

To start off, my photos and scrapbook supplies like glue and embellishments are stored in Cropper Hopper photo cases and Cropper Hopper 12” x 12” supply cases.

The supply cases are cool because there are two sides to them. I own two of these in different colors so I know which one holds which supplies. One side is sectioned off by dividers. You can remove the dividers to make a larger section for long items if needed. The first case holds my adhesives, wire and other items. The other holds tags, miscellaneous letters, magic mesh, fibers, etc.

The supply case also has a bottom side that is deep enough to hold many more embellishments. So many, in fact, that I was constantly wading in multiple embellishments of all different types. I finally categorized them into Ziploc bags by type (metal plaques, silk flower, fabrics, clips, etc.) and now I can go through the Ziploc bags and easily find what I’m looking for.

I have two photo cases, also in different colors so I can tell the two apart. They come with dividers to make 10 sections for your photos. My photos are organized by time frame. I made each of my own tabbed dividers by taking a 4” x 6” index card and putting an adhesive folder tab on it.

I have a Crop-in-Style XXL that holds my sketches binder, my trimmer, my eyelet/brads/fibers case, a bunch of oversize sticker embellishments and all of my pens, markers, etc. There is also room to add idea books or whatever miscellaneous items I want to take along. This case is on wheels so I normally put my photo and supply cases on top of it and roll the whole thing into a house or store for a crop.

The bead case (which I keep inside my XXL) is used to hold eyelets, brads, charms and fibers. I got this case at Jo-Ann’s. I bought floss cards, wrapped my fibers on them and organized them by color.

Now that you know what I take with me, this is what it looks like when I’m out traveling. I have everything I need with me. Because I’m able to put my photo and supply cases on the rolling XXL, I only need to make two trips from the car to the place where I’ll be cropping.

You may be thinking to yourself, that’s all great but where is your PAPER?

First of all, most of the time I work with pre-made kits, and those are located in the canvas bags pictured here.

If I do need to store paper, it’s in one of two places. I keep my 12” x 12” paper in a Cropper Hopper tote that I can carry, though it’s heavy. I normally keep this on a shelf at home and just take what I need with me.

If you love to take your paper with you, then I suggest you invest in a Crop-in-Style P3 carrier. I have one and it’s a cinch to move all your paper with you. It’s small and looks like the XXL when you move it and it expands (like shown) to show multiple trays filled with paper.

I have more sticker embellishments and 8.5” x 11” paper stored in two different 8.5” x 11” carriers. I bought these at Jo-Ann’s in the storage department. These are made to hold hanging folders, so I have my embellishments stored in hanging folders organized by theme, such as vacation, love, baby, sports, etc. My other case like this only holds 8.5” x 11” cardstock and patterned paper (not shown).

I do scrapbook at home occasionally. It’s important that all my supplies are put away and out of reach, because I have a little child. At the current time I have a scrapbook desk in an upstairs living room. In a closet behind mirrored folding doors, my scrapbook supplies can stay hidden when I’m not using them. I also have Iris carts inside the closet to hold my stamping supplies, another cart to hold miscellaneous supplies, and a mini 3-drawer container to hold my paper scraps. Here’s what the scrap space in my home looks like. Notice how everything is put away and in the closets?

I hope you were able to learn some travel or organizational tips from this article. I’ve been traveling now for four years with my scrapbook supplies and I have accumulated many traveling cases and tips to make it the easiest it can be on me. I hope it works for you too!