Travel Scrapbooking: Europe

Europe is so wonderfully diverse that when it comes to scrapping those European vacation photos it's difficult to know where to start.  Do you scrap with a theme or by location, what colors do you use, do you use all your photographs or just a few, what can your journal about, and which embellishments will look best? There are so many decisions to make and it can become quite overwhelming.

I've found the best way to tackle this task is to divide my photographs into different categories and produce my scrapbook pages from there.  

History

Every country has a story to tell. Try to capture these in your layouts. Include photographs of special monuments or plaques.  Keep ticket stubs and maps after visits to museums. Tourist leaflets from information centers are useful to pick up when on your travels as they contain all the key pieces of information, making them great as a reference guide to produce your layouts or simply to just incorporate into your pages.

Try making the first page of your album all about the country itself. Why are you visiting? What makes the country famous?  How about including a map of Europe and sticking little flags in the places you visited?  What made your visit special?

I often like to include an image of the country's flag, or I will scrap my pages using the colors of the flag.

Culture

The best thing about visiting Europe is the unusual and varied cultures experienced in each country.

Different languages provide great subjects to scrap.  I created this layout of my nephew Tom on a holiday in Spain. He was taught a word apparently meaning "my fat belly" by one of the waiters at a restaurant and continued to say it throughout the vacation. Language barriers can sometimes cause amusing memories and it's worth getting them on paper before you forget.

There are different religions that you may encounter, including visits to churches, temples, mosques and more.  Maybe you had to cover your head or wear long sleeves when visiting a religious place.  Perhaps you were on a pilgrimage to discover your own faith.

Then of course there is the food. What did you eat? Did you try something unusual? How much did it cost you? Maybe you could include receipts from restaurants you visited. What did it taste like? Would you eat it again?

How about scrapping the little things too? I live in the south of England but often take day trips or weekend trips to other parts of the UK. I scrapped this picture of a red telephone box for which we are famous . Maybe you experienced a different type of transport or a friendly stray kitten adopted you. If you took lots of photos of the "little things" when you were away you can create some really original layouts.

Nature

Wow! Europe has a huge amount of beautiful landscapes and places to visit and I'm convinced your pile of photos will include a fair amount of different locations, from national parks and botanical gardens to castle grounds and mountain ranges. 

What time of year did you visit? What season was the country experiencing? What flowers were blooming? What gorgeous views did you experience? What was the weather like and how did this impact on your holiday? Was there a gorgeous exotic plant you discovered that you hadn't seen before? Did you encounter odd-looking animals?  

People

This is my favourite category. There are so many different characters you will encounter on your trip to Europe from hotel staff to local police; politely ask them to have your photo taken with them and scrap about how they helped you or how you met them.

If you are lucky enough to witness parades or people in traditional dress or uniform these make great subjects for your pages as well as adding to your authentic experience of the country. What accents did they have? What were they doing when you met them?

There are some glorious colorful and unusual characters out there in the world and if you can capture them on your scrapbook pages you will create a great lasting memory of them.

Architecture

In Europe you will experience thousands of years of civilization, particularly in the buildings you encounter: castles, cathedrals, windmills, manor houses, chalets, chateaux, office towers, country houses, town houses - the list goes on. Admire the extravagance of it all and include close-up shots of the architecture you visit.  Why is it different from structures you have seen before? How long has the building been standing? What did it feel like when you were there?

I hope these ideas get your creative minds ticking and provide you with some enthusiasm to scrap that big pile of European photos you have.

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