Scrapbook Saturday

Today I'm going to share my process for putting together a 2-page--12x12 layout of our family trip to Italy. We travel so much that I decided several years ago to contain every trip within the confines of one double-page spread. I can do that by having several interactive elements within the layout.

1. First, I decide which pictures I want to print. I create 2 folders in my iPhoto program--one for "small photos" and one for "photos"--meaning regular 4x6 size. I sent the 4x6 ones to Walgreens for printing. They always have a special going on. I print the smaller ones at home--they are usually 2"x3".

The family picture on the bottom was created by pulling the whole family off of the original background and basically creating a new photo--no distractions. The original was taken in the hotel lobby with nothing attractive or interesting in the background. I can't exactly describe how to do it, but could happily show you sometime.

2. Next, I print the trip journal--Butch does the journaling most of the time now--including every little detail! This one was 9 pages long! I print double-sided to pare down the bulk. I gather all of the memorabilia from the trip--I might not use it all, but I put it together just in case.

3. I sort everything by days. You can see those sheets on the lower right that have the photos and matching maps, brochures, tickets, etc. for each day. The one on top is the sketch I made for how the layout is going to look. I have to write everything down or else I'll forget what I had in mind.

4. I gather coordinating papers and bits from my travel collection. I won't use it all, but at least I have it narrowed down rather than having to go through the entire box each time I need a little something. On the left/middle you can see some little cell phones that I printed from an Ali Edwards digital file. 

The trip was 8 days long--which gave me the idea to make 8-- 6x6 foldouts--one for each day. 

I cut 4 sheets of 12x12 navy cardstock in half to make 8 pieces. Then I folded those in half---seen on the top. 

5. I knew those little cell phones would be perfect to print each person's "thank you" emails and "peaks & pits." This is something our family has done for years. On the last night of our trip, each person tells their favorite memory of the trip, and the "pit" is their least favorite. That's always fun. Their trip comments are on the front with the p&p's on the back. 

I had the idea that they would fit perfectly in the room key pockets--I save everything! You just never know what you can use. In this case, I had 4 of these little pockets, but needed 4 more (I had decided that I would put one pocket on each day of the layout). I ended up putting the originals back in my stash and making 8 new ones by cutting scraps and sewing them to make the new pockets. While I was at it, I made several more. I used black thread on half of them since that showed up better. Since there were 16 of us on the trip, I put two "cell phones" in each pocket.

6. The actual making:

Basically, I laid out all of the 8 navy pieces and decided how I wanted them to open. Then, before adhering to the background 12x12 cardstock, I created each little "booklet" by taking the folded paper that contained everything for that day. Then I moved on to the next one, etc. 

7. The title folder is made from the hotel room service folder. I simply covered it with the Italy part of a map and used old, punch-out letters for the title. I had the plastic "explore" from one of Ali's Story kits. 

8. When you open the Italy folder, the inside contains the "isolated" family photo on one side and a couple photos on the other. 

The backside holds the trip journal. I just used a journal card to make the pocket. As I look at that now, I need to add something--maybe my feelings about the trip. Yeah, that's it!

9. Lastly, I added the tabs so whoever is looking at it knows how it opens up.

This was so much fun to make. I love how it turned out. It might seem a little chaotic, but it is actually really well organized. I like the "collage" look of it. I think it is interesting to look at and explore. This will be my first layout that will not have a page protector over it. I could probably figure that out, but I don't want to. 

Yes, a lot of pre-planning goes into a layout like this. But the truth is, I like the planning and organizing just as much as the actual making! Since I planned this out right after the trip in July, it was kinda' hard to wait all the way until September for our retreat to actually make it! I couldn't wait to get started. 

This Italy layout wasn't the only travel layout I did. I also did 2 separate layouts for my recent trip to England---a week with Butch and then a week with my book club. The layouts are very different. I really could have copied the design since they are going into different albums. But that's now how I roll! Ahhh, but I'll save those layouts for another day!