Practicing what I preach - How to plan, pack and scrap on vacation.

  This was really a wonderful learning experience.  In general, I thought I was really well prepared for being able to scrap while I was on vacation. 
  Other than the few things I forgot (mentioned in post 5) I had a good assortment of products.  The inks/chalks/pens, etc., that I brought offered plenty of choices.  I would have packed a bit more background paper.
  Returning everything to its proper place in my studio was really quite easy.  I actually left the products I had chosen, and the pictures I had printed, together in the Project Planner Pages so when I have time to finish up they're still together.  In fact, now that I'm thinking about it, I may just pull that Spinder off my ScrapRack, toss it into a TravelPack,  and take it with me down to Bend this weekend.  Maybe I'll be able to finish up when I'm there.
  Here are a few pictures from the trip.  We really had a wonderful time.  There were so many fun things to do and the scenery was BEAUTIFUL!

Yep, that's me repelling down the cliff side.

London on the Slickrock Trail

Max leading the way. It was early, but already quite warm.

There I am again, always at the end of the line.

The boys tell me my main purpose is "food and first aid."

All three of my boys sound asleep on the flight to Moab.

At the Colorado National Monument

Park, out climbing around.

London and Max  on the river.

  If I was going to do it over again, the only thing I would change is my expectation of what I thought I could get done. 
  Thanks so much for following along!!
Tif

Practicing what I preach - Post 6

Well, I can't say that I was as successful as I would have liked to have been, but I can say I did get 8 pages complete (titles will be cut and added at home, journaling will be printed and attached to the back of the layouts at home too.)  I was also able to do the basic design for another 4 pages.  It should be pretty easy to finish those up when we get back.
What I can say is that I just re-packed all of my supplies and it was REALLY easy to put everything away. 
What I would recommend if you're planning on scrapping during vacation:
1. Rent a house or condo instead of staying in a hotel.  There are so many benefits; having a washer and dryer (I love going home with just clean clothes in my suitcase), a full kitchen is a huge plus, especially with teenage boys, they usually cost less than the same number of nights in a hotel, but from a Scrapper's perspective it's GREAT to have lots of extra space to Scrap.

2. Make sure you have plenty of color choices with paper.  I don't think I took enough.

3. Don't get frustrated if you can't get everything done.  Just being able to think about layouts as events are happening will make it easier to scrap them when you get home. I was able to the basic design work for the additional 4 pages, that means I'll be able to finish them up pretty quickly at home.

4. Check into a one hour photo printer before you leave.  If you're in a small town like Moab, you may not have access to printed photos.  It would be a bummer to pack all of your supplies and then not be able to Scrap while you're there.

5. Take some empty SuperSized Singles for storing your completed pages.  I had to put the completed pages in the back pocket of the Project Planner pages.  It worked find, but it would have been more fun to put them into the SuperSingles so I could lay them out and see all of them at once.

6.  Don't try to do too much.  If  you're like me, you can get so caught up in what you plan to get done, that you miss out on the "relaxing" part of being on vacation.

Thanks for following along.  I'll post more on Monday when I have a chance to actually "unpack" everything in the studio.



Practicing What I Preach - Post 5

  Okay, I did forget a couple of things, my corner rounder and STICKY NOTES!!! How I forgot those is beyond me - sticky notes are almost as important in my life as coffee.
  I've created a couple of pages.  I need the Sticky Notes so I can write down the titles I have in my head and attach them to the layouts. I'll cut them with my Pazzles machine when I get home.
 These pages are pretty simple, but mostly done.  I'll do the jounaling blocks at home when I have access to a computer printer.
 I think the ladies at the pharmacy with the photo printer think I'm crazy. I've been in there everyday using (or trying to use) their Kodak machine.

It's a little more difficult than I thought it would be to scrap while I'm on vacation.  Mostly because I'm EXHAUSTED by the end of the day. 
The good news is it's nice and warm here in Moab!!

Thanks for checking in on my progress!
Tif

Practicing What I Preach - Post 4

Okay, I'm here in Moab, Utah and I've come across one small problem.  There's only one place in town to print photos - YIKES!! Who would have thought.  Their machine is broken - YIKES!! Who would have thought?  Good news is it will be functional by the end of the day, so I'll keep you posted.
Tif

Practicing What I Preach - How to Plan, Pack, and Scrap on vacation - Bl...

Happy Monday! Today I combined all the products I had, with all the products I purchased at the Lancaster Creating Keepsakes convention and packed them all up.

I used out new Project Planner Pages and combined products for a couple of different events/activities in each page.

I used 2 additional Project Planner Pages to pack up the "generic" products.

A quick flip through my Rainbow Section and I was able to pull a good selection of colored products out of my ScrapRack and fill up both sides of the new Cutting Cartridge and Embellishment Storage Page.

Finally, I loaded all of my pages into a TravelPack and then filled the tool pockets with all the "must have" tools, adhesives, and other "basics" I needed to scrap as I travel.


Now, I'm off to Moab.....I'll keep you posted as I progress!

Who did we meet at the show? - Atlanta SB Expo

Hi All -
 This is a new segment I'll be adding to my blog after each of the shows or conventions we attend.  There are so many wonderful people we meet at the shows, often times they are in the booth next to us or just across the aisle.  I thought the idea of introducing you to our new friends and their products would be a lot of fun!
  So..... Who did we meet in Atlanta?
  We met a Millicent Carter of Class Creations and www.ScrapBasket.net .

 What did we love about Millicent besides her warm,welcoming smile and her genuine southern friendliness?  We fell in love with her GORGEOUS and I mean GORGEOUS page kits.  Check them out on her website: www.ScrapBasket.net.  Here are a couple of examples of her work.  You can purchase her kits individually or you can join her monthly kit club.

Two of my favorites:
Flying Monkies and It's All About the Shoes.

Thanks for stopping by to visit.  I hope you'll take a minute to check out Millicent's beautiful creations!
Tif

Part 2: How to Plan, Pack and Scrapbook on Vacation

In the first post, I set myself up with a calendar of the trip, I decided how many pages I would do for each "event" and finally, I made a diagram of the project using "sticky notes".

On to Step Two: Product Planning and Shopping
   I created a video for this step, so if you prefer to watch the video, please feel free. Click here to watch now.
  My goal is to get as much of this project done while we're on vacation as possible, that means I really need to be prepared with the products I might use. 
  At a recent scrapbook show I purchased  a few things that I though migh work well for this trip.

  I had a Page Planner Page with me so I was able to keep all the things together as I purchased them.

  Back in  my Studio, I was able to combine the products I had purchased, with the items I found in my ScrapRack.  Then I was able to sort the items by page layout.  Using the Sticky Notes to create the project diagram was really helpful. (See the first post in the series or view the full article on our website - click here.)

To view images in a larger format click on any image.

I used the "sticky notes" for the project diagram to match up the products I had either recently purchased or that I had in my ScrapRack to give me a good idea where each of the products might end up within the project.

These are the items I pulled from my ScrapRack.  It was easy to flip through the sections looking for main topics that might be appropriate; Travel, Camping, Outdoors, erc.

A possibly perfect diecut for the title page.

Several choices for our day out on the ATV.

Canyoneering and Rock Climbing

Rafting day - Shop, Shop, Shop

Hiking is a family favorite, I know I need more for these pages.

Getting there and getting home, travel goodies should be easy to find at the Pennsylvania CK Convention.

We love to mountain bike, I was surprised that I didn't have much stashed for this topic.

The Grid List!

Creating the Shopping Grid List was the goal for this step in the process.  Once I had pulled all the items from my ScrapRack and laid them out with the "sticky notes"  I was able to create a Gird of the project.  I made a note about the items that I already had for each of the blocks (pages) on the grid.  When I'm shopping over the next few days, I'll be able to fill in the grid as I buy things for each page.

I'll carry some extra small sticky notes with me when I shop so I can tag each item as I buy it.  I'll also make a note on the grid, but should the items and the list get separated, It will still be easy to combine things in the studio when I get home.