May Flaum and I are teaming up this week to blog about our favorite travel scrapbooking ideas. Be sure to stop by her blog to see what she's got in store today! 

I'm back to share the results of my scrapbooking on the go experiment! If you missed the discussion about how I prepped for this album made while on a trip to Washington, D.C., you might want to check out this post from earlier today.

Before I launch into the actual completed album, I want to share some of my thoughts and results based on my prep and assembly of the album.

• The date stamp/ink pad turned out to be largely unnecessary since many of the tickets and receipts I added to the album already had the date on them somewhere, so I could have just left those two things at home. Next time I probably will.
• Having a pre-made album was both a blessing and a curse. It was great to have a foundation already put together, but my perfectionist self wanted to make everything fit into the number of pages I'd brought with me, so I probably ended up stretching it a bit more than I might have otherwise. Next time I may try binder rings to make it easy to add/remove pages.
• I wasn't sure when I packed the Sassafras letter stickers if I would use them or not, but I totally did, so something like that is definitely coming along next time.
• Thoughts on the mini printer- I could take it or leave it. I did end up printing photos while I was on the trip and scrapping about half of the album one morning as Huong and I sat in the dining room looking through photos on the laptop. I think, though, that if I'd been on any other trip I wouldn't have used it, so it may stay home next time. Instead, I'll probably cut some 2x3 and 2x2 (the most common size of photo I used in the book) placeholder papers to use in my album as I build it on the trip and note what photo should go in which spot so I can print and assemble that part when I get home. That'll also remove a couple of pounds and some bulk from my backpack.
• I found time to sort through and edit photos while in the strangest places- sitting in the passenger seat of a car in traffic, for example- and got it done in the time that I wasn't sightseeing or hanging out with family.

On the whole, I'm completely thrilled that this album is finished already! I usually don't have trips scrapbooked so soon (though I'm sure I'll still do some traditional layouts with the photos I took), and I have the piles of photos and ephemera still laying around my scrap room from vacations past to prove it (more on those later this week).

And, now, here's a look at the finished product!

Be sure to come back tomorrow, when I'll take a look at some ways to deal with the mounds and mounds of photos that are shot but not scrapbooked while on a trip. Hint: It's going to be a three post day!

travel scrapbooking week | mini on the go prep

May Flaum and I are teaming up this week to blog about our favorite travel scrapbooking ideas. Be sure to stop by her blog to see what she's got in store today!

A couple of weeks ago Darren and I took a weekend trip to DC to visit family, and I decided that it was the perfect opportunity to experiment with scrapbooking on the go. I've tried this type of album several times before but have never been very successful at it, so I really wanted to see if I could find a system that made it work for me.

I started off by making a small album to take on the trip. I love Amy Tan's travel mini albums, and I learned how to make a mini similar to the one in her American Crafts product line while taking her very first online class (now available at Big Picture Classes).

I packed a minimal selection of tools and supplies to use on the trip. I like to travel light, and whenever possible I try to fly carry-on only. In this case I was taking only a backpack for the weekend, so the small pile pictured below is what made the cut.

My journaling supplies included a selection of shipping tags, a few of my favorite journaling cards from the Project Life collection, brown and black pens, and my trusty library date stamp along with Tsukineko's Staz-On ink in Jet Black.

The tools were even more minimal- my Tim Holtz Tiny Attacher (yes, it was carry-on friendly!) and a tape runner. I didn't pack scissors since we were staying with family and I knew I could borrow a pair while there (and airport security would have thrown a fit about them anyway).

As for the actual scrapbooking supplies, I turned to the Amy Tangerine line from American Crafts for its die cuts and sticker book, then added some baker's twine, a couple of rolls of Hambly's awesome washi tape, and my most favorite ever woodgrain mini alpha stickers from Sassafras (I'm so incredibly sad that they're no longer making products).

Oh, and I added a couple more tiny things just in case I felt like getting artsy while on travel. Most color mist bottles are a full ounce and a bit bulky to carry in my allotted quart-size bag of liquids allowed by the TSA, but I really wanted to take along some inks to play with. The solution? Sparklers and Fireworks from Tsukineko! The Sparklers are a quarter of an ounce each and in the perfectly shaped package to slip into the extra space in that plastic baggie.

Fireworks are half an ounce per bottle and have the added benefit of drying super quickly, so no waiting time! They're also small enough to fit inside the allowed bag of liquids if you have a little extra room.

As another part of the experiment, I also packed my 4x6 HP Photosmart 330 printer. Yes, that's right, I took a printer. I know that a lot of mini albums made on travel are either put together with Instax photo or photos are added after returning from the trip, but I wanted to see how it would go with having the printer with me while away from home. Plus, it's super light and packed easily into my backpack, so it wasn't a big deal to carry.

So, how did the experiment go? You'll have to come back later today to find out when I share the results (and the completed album!), but for now I'll leave you with some photos of the mini album as it looked before I left for the trip. The papers are mostly from the Amy Tangerine line, with a sheet or two of Basic Grey Basics and October Afternoon's Seaside thrown in for good measure.

American Crafts Amy Tangerine Mini Book	American Crafts Amy Tangerine GOOD TIMES Sticker Book	Tsukineko Sparklers	100 Journaling Cards - 3" x 4" with Grid Design
Avery Manila "G" Shipping Tags, Unstrung, 4.75 x 2.375-Inches, Pack of 1000	Avery Shipping Tags, 2.75 x 1.375 inches, Manila, Pack of 1000	American Crafts Amy Tangerine Collection	2000 Plus Four-Band Date Stamp
Tsukineko JET BLACK STAZON Ink Pad Permanent	Tim Holtz Idea-ology TINY ATTACHER Stapler

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