Scrapbooking on the Road, Pt. II - Products!

This is the fun (and difficult) part -- figuring out what products to bring with you when you're traveling. If you are like me, I avoid attending crops because I cannot for the life of me limit myself to just a Cropper Hopper (or three). I need EVERYTHING. I mean, you know the second I leave the house without that turquoise blue button I bought in 1997 that has been sitting at the bottom of my button jar, I'm going to NEED that button! 

But I digress. When traveling, you have to put some limits on what you bring, particularly with today's weight restrictions and bag fees at the airport (if you are traveling by car, you have nothing to worry about, so why are you even reading this??). 

 

Okay, seriously now. If I'm traveling, I'm limited. So to make the most of the space I have, I pack KITS. Now, this is not anywhere near what I do when I'm scrapping at home. I hate matchy-matchy Garanimals-type scrapbooking where everything comes not only from the same manufacturer, but from the same line. It's too contrived for me in my normal scrapping mindset, so I always break up sets and use different product lines together.

But when I am on the road, it makes  a lot of sense to bring matching items. Think about clothes. You probably would never buy one of those "capsule wardrobes" and make it your uniform of choice unless you were on a 12-day business trip (or pregnant -- did anyone else out there have that pregnancy uniform kit? With the skirt, dress, leggings and top? Me! Me! Mine was from Belly Basics). 

But when you're packing, you have to think smart, and think streamlined -- whether you're talking clothing or scrapbooking supplies. Capsule scrapbooking is smart packing because:

1. You limit the amount of stuff you need to bring. Everything goes with everything else.

2. You spend less time actually scrapbooking; you can grab-and-go, which is typically important when you're trying to whip up a page with the rest of the family hovering over you, breathing down your neck and swatting you with the towel because they are ready to head to the pool and you are SCRAPBOOKING of all things.

3. You will be forced to stretch your creativity. If you are like me and don't want every page to look like the other (or every page to look like someone else's) you will force yourself to use the products in new and different ways, pushing the envelope to create something unique.. 

On my recent trip to Boston, I packed the entire Zinnia line from My Little Yellow Bicycle. I loved the bright colors and the variety of prints (stripes, florals, etc.) . I found myself using a lot of the Clear Cuts and stickers, and I really enjoyed the ability to mix and match the embellishments, using buttons and brads together with the flowers or separately. There were also some letter stickers that I used on a few layouts, but I wasn't crazy about their sticking power (one of my pet peeves), so I'm not showing them here. 

 

Now here's the funny thing (one of the funny things -- with me, there's always at least one). The night before we left, I was packing up and intended to pull several sheets of cardstock in complementary colors. 

I FORGOT!

I arrived in Boston with NO cardstock. Now if you are familiar with my style, I NEED MY CARDSTOCK! But I took it as a design challenge and created my pages with only patterned paper. Would I have done this at home? No way! Did I like the result? You bet!

When I get off my duff and head upstairs, I will scan in the images and post them so you can see what I created. I had tons left over, too. Leave me a nice comment and I just might send some your way. :)

 

Edited to add:

Here you go, the four layouts I made for the Layout a Day (LOAD) challenge while on vacay:

 

Here I went with an 8.5x11 page, something that's out of the ordinary for me. I think the site of a 12x12 sheet of patterned paper as a background was just too much for my poor brain to handle! :)

 

I used a Clear Cut overlay for the title, and rub-ons for the other accents. A strip of patterned paper and a few brads at the bottom, and I was done! The journaling block was actually cut in fourths, and the picture on the left was already mounted on purple cardstock  -- I'd prepared it for another layout and then hadn't used it (God was giving me a break).

 

 

As I look at this one, I realize that the higher flower on the bottom right has migrated -- it's supposed to be an inch or so to the left, to create a "flow" from the upper left of the page down to the right. Oops!

 

I like this page a lot. A lot of layers. The background patterned paper is subtle enough not to overwhelm my poor senses. I used a strip of yellow patterned paper (the leftovers from the previous layout) to establish a palette, then mounted my photo on a journaling block. I placed a Clear Cut overlay on top of the photo, added a chipboard title, and then used the Clear Cut flowers as a final accent, tucking one beneath the overlay and trimming some to make them appear to go off the page. Simple and cute!

 

 

Here's another patterned paper that was nice and subtle. The patterns are pretty girly, but I was able to make them work well for a boy's page, even with those flowers! I cut some squares of PP down the edge, mounting them with only a tad of adhesive in the center so they'd lift around the edges. A rub-on under the letter sticker title, and a flourish rub-on framing the corners, and a few little button flowers. Ta-dah!

 

 

Here's my 10-minute page, and the boldest of all... contrasting PP for the background, a single focus photo, a flower rub-on, brads in the corners, a hand-cut heart, and a one-word title. Oh, and the quote cut from a piece of patterned paper. Whew. Can you tell I was a little tired? This is one of those pages that to me doesn't require a whole lot of journaling (or any at all). I wanted to capture the photo, not a particular moment or memory.

 

Four layouts in four days, with the same products but lending very different results.

So to summarize:

Pick matchy-matchy but challenge yourself to try the unexpected. If all else fails, you can stick with the tried and true.

Hey, that's a pretty good motto for life, too. :)

 

Stay tuned for Part III - Choosing Photos!

Comments

[Olivia]

I am so glad to know that I'm not the only one who can travel travel to crops without taking everything but the kitchen sink. I just spent the weekend at "Scrap Camp" in North Carolina, and I, indeed, took EVERYTHING I had (which isn't much anymore since I lost almost all of my scrapbooking supplies and tools to a house fire in November!). I still loaded the car down, though.

I would love some new stuff!

[Samantha]

LOVE those papers... something I would never think to use on my own. Thanks for the tips, I will definitely be able to use them as I visit my sister frequently (4 hour drive) and she is a scrapbooker too!

[AnnieB]

I always thought if I were to scrapbook on the road/vacation we'd need the super=size U-Haul truck. But your ideas and tips just might work for persnickety old me.
P.S. Missin LOAD 2009. Thanks for a fun and creative month!

[Angie]

Great tips for being a mobile scrapbooker. After all, isn't part of the fun of the hobby is being able to do it any place! Thanks!

[Jessica G]

Thanks for all the tips. I'm traveling next week and have an hour and a half lay over (both ways). And of course, I don't want to read, I want to scrap! Thanks for the ideas! :)

[Maureen]

I need to see the chapter in your next book about the 30 minutes that passed once you realized you had no cardstock. I'd pay $9.99 for that chapter alone! You without cardstock....ha! Like your life isn't hard enough already...

Your suggestion brings another one to mind - how about taking only cardstock and embellishments sorted out by color! It kind of forces us to see what color combos appeal to us outside of the beautiful color palettes suggested by the designers. It might be kind of "freeing".

P.S. missing LOAD, too, but getting my fix w/LOAW until LOAD comes 'round again.

[Kristin R]

great tips Lain thanks! I'm heading to visit family in Australia for three weeks this Saturday so this post has come at the peferct time as I'm packing my scrapping supplies tonight. I'm also missing LOAD and have actually continued to scrap everyday since.

[Katherine McKamey]

I'm so 'packing a kit' challenged! I end up putting so many things in the plastic kit bag that it rips and then I have tons of product all over the floor while I'm grabbing up other bags of buttons, rubons, ribbon, cardstock, etc. See? Even thinking about it turns into an 'even the kitchen sink' sort of thought! LOL!

Love these posts, though - definitely learning some new things!

Missin' LOAD but lovin' LOAW while waitin'
: )

[noell]

I LOVE you, Lain! You totally know how to take a subject and make it so fun to read about--plus you're good at good writing that also sounds like you! As a writer you are my hero. =)

Thank you for these tips. I'll be spending 4-5 weeks traveling to K.C. from May to June and I'll be trying the traveling scrapbooker experience for the first time. I'm very excited and grateful for the tips!

Can't wait to see your pages!

[LisaW]

No cardstock?! Wouldn't have phased me for a minute ... I'd have been right down to the hotel desk finding out where the nearest Michaels or JoAnns was. Taxi?!

Good ideas, Lain, as usual. I am also not into the matchy-matchy in most kits. So one of the things I do is to make my own kits.

It's not hard - stick to the same tones - bright, neutral, jewel, or pastel and then