I used to be an avid scrapbooker, but it’s been probably 15 years (except for the premade baby books for the grand babies) since I’ve actually scrapbooked. Even though I have not scrapped our vacations over the years, I was dedicated to journaling them to preserve the memories. Manila envelopes would become the homes of collected paraphernalia and printed journaling labeled with the place and date. I decided before we took our Maine trip I wanted to do something different for the memories. Initially my thought was to use a “smashbook” – remember when they were all the rage? So I went shopping, only to discover I had missed that boat. I guess “smashbooks” aren’t popular anymore – even Amazon only had one. Disappointed I came home and got the wheels turning. Pinterest was my first stop and sadly I didn’t see much of what I was looking for. I guess I had something more specific in mind and I wasn’t finding inspiration there. YouTube was another resource and I watched video after video, still not getting ideas matching what was in my head. Eventually I accepted I would have to simply make my own “smashbook” and got busy.

Starting with chipboard and paper I mod podged pattern paper to the chipboard (8-1/2″x10″) for the front and back covers. Then I started cutting cardstock for the pages, creating themes and pocket pages (I sewed the pockets) for each place on our itinerary. I used patterned paper and stamps for decoration and embellishments. Once I got started I had a ball with it and couldn’t wait to fill it up! A friend suggested I buy a Canon SELPHY printer to take with me along with my travel kit to make it easier to work on while traveling. I loved it! Now I want to go back and make books for some o our past trips that live in Manila envelopes!

The following are the final results:

I made extra pages that were added to the back with different sizes and printed travel quotes to add to my travel kit so I could use them as I saw fit while putting the pages together. My kit included quite a few small ink pads, colored pens, some travel stamps, extra cardstock pieces for miscellaneous labels, etc., a stapler and a few other things. In the back I added my printed journaling and that was a wrap! I love having a physical book with these memories!

Until next time! …