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Scrapbooking Your Travels on the Go
by Gwynn Asbury
(Feb 25, 2013)
I love to scrapbook. I dream of scrapbooking. And if you are anything like me, you do as well. The only thing better than living, breathing, and doing scrapbooking is creating memories to scrapbook. I have begun to notice that many of the everyday moments I scrapbook come from the trips, outings, and vacations I go on. In December, my husband and I took a trip overseas to Korea. This provided a unique opportunity for the both of us - he has never been and I have had the opportunity to go several times before. Knowing my husband and his love of saving everything we collect while out and about for me to scrapbook later, I took this opportunity to plan ahead. This brings me to my next confession. If you are anything like me, then the photos and plans for all those awesome outing, vacation, and trip photos wait around for a while before they are actually scrapbooked. Not only that, but some of the little bits and pieces you collected on your travels have been lost, misplaced, or scattered in numerous places in your scrapbooking area. I'd like to share some tips on how to prepare for a trip, stay organized, and return home with a complete album documenting your trip. With getting a leg up on your trip documentation before heading out, you will have an easier time of putting together your beautiful memory keepsakes after you return. Often times, I have found that although I have all these photos documenting my travels and adventures, sometimes those photos are not great at capturing the small little moments that make our adventures so memorable. My solution to this is to save all the little receipts, cards and so forth, that don't get scrapbooked but are still important parts of my travels. As a result, my scrapbook travel preparation takes the form of a type of smash book. Assembling Your Travel Book Let me start off by saying that there are numerous ways to get this process done. Several companies now offer premade smash or junk journals. I prefer to make my own because I have all the supplies on hand, and it adds a more personalized touch - which I like. As this is the case, I am going to focus on making your own from the supplies you have on hand. 1. Think of what you and/or your family collect while on vacation. I save receipts, brochures, cards, etc. Therefore, I want my book to be able to accommodate all of these things. I include pockets, paper bags, plastic bags, and journaling pages in my books. 2. Decide on the overall dimensions you want your book to be and the type of papers you will use. Generally, I make books that are large enough to hold brochures and other long slim ephemera and small enough to fit comfortably in a purse and to carry around. Remember that the homemade journal you are making is going to accommodate a lot and sometimes large items - make sure to have a book large enough to not be a pain, but small enough to bring with you. I recommend making a book that is no smaller than 8" x 5" and no larger than 8 ½" x 11". Also, because I make my own books, I can choose paper lines that reflect the theme that I want, such as Disney papers for a trip to Disney, map papers for a cross-country road trip, Asian papers for a trip to Asia, etc. Because I am choosing my own papers, I can make everything coordinate, or not. 3. Cut down your papers, assemble the book, and bind. Make sure to save all the scrap bits of paper. These can be used to create additional smash book elements such as envelopes, pockets, journaling spots, etc. There is one thing to keep in mind: don't think about this process too much. This is a very informal way of tracking your journeys through life. This little book can be used later to remind you of small details, or to gather materials you want to include in your scrapbook pages. Cutting down the pages and putting together my books takes no longer than 30 minutes from start to finish. Traveling Craft Kit One of the hardest things about traveling and crafting is the urge to bring everything. In recent years, I have noticed that this desire and tendency to over-pack craft supplies has decreased my feelings of relaxation and enjoyment. One of the fabulous things about having a memory journal that is less formal than a scrapbook is that you need fewer supplies which are able to do double duty. Following are some recommendations of items to include in a small pack of supplies. I keep my supplies in a small makeup bag.
Remember the purpose of a journal/smash book for travel is to not spend a whole lot of time planning and thinking. Limited supplies and the smashed-together nature of a homemade book really bring this home. When I am traveling and using my journals, I collect items throughout the day, and in the evening when relaxing in the hotel, I will spend 15-20 minutes placing all those items into the book. |
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