Scrapbooking Weekend
I took Friday off and had a long Easter weekend so I’ve had a chance to work on my travel scrapbooks. I don’t create traditional family scrapbooks – I don’t journal my memories or “pretty” up pages with layers and cut-outs – my albums are no frills. They focus on my photos with a handful of stickers. I add a few comments here and there and one of my favorite parts is picking out & coordinating the pages. I even have fun picking out the albums themselves to coordinate with the destination – for example, the album for our visit to DC during cherry blossom season is pink and has a floral pattern.
I’ll write another blog entry on my process but for now, the albums I recently finished or will be finishing very shortly are pictured below (click on thumbnail for a larger image).
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- Cover of my 12×12 Havana 2012 album
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- Front page of my 12×12 Havana 2012 album.
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- Inside pages of 12×12 San Francsico 2012 album.
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- Inside pages of 8 1/2×11 Chicago 2012 album.
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- Inside pages of 8 1/2×11 Little Rock, AK 2008 album.
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- Cover of my 12×12 Misc. Travels (Atlanta, Las Vegas & Tucson)
Mosaic Vacation Photo Albums
I made the switch to an iPhone a little later than most and the 1st trip I had it on was on the Northeastern Foliage Roadtrip we took in the fall of 2012. I had already been using Instagram but this trip was the first one I really documented somewhat through my phone using Instagram.
As I’ve mentioned in past blog posts, I do eventually create a physical scrapbook full of photos, admission tickets, venue brochures and various other paper souvenirs. I now also create a small 20-page Mosaic coffee table album as well. Mosaic is a free app for your smart phone (available for iPhones & Android) and it’s super easy to create an album using the photos on your phone (you don’t need a PC). The albums are high quality, beautifully made and ship quickly – I typically have it in about a week.
The cover, my stack of albums and the packaging.
You are very, very limited on options though. You have to have 20 images – no more, no less. Only one image per page with no text. You have no choice in album cover – it’s hardcover and comes only in black fabric. There is only size to choose from – 7″x7″. The only customizable options are whether the pages are black or white and you can now add limited text to the inside page. Oh, and you can randomize the images that make up the cover “mosaic” collage if you’d like. Price is $20/album (+$5 shipping for one book, $6 for two). They occasionally offer free shipping but I have never seen the album itself discounted. To be honest though, I think the lack of options is what I like. I have now created 5 albums and I like that they are all the same. The packaging they come in is awesome and they make great gifts. I have albums for the Foliage Tour 2012, Seattle+Alaskan Cruise 2013, NYC 2013 (two trips in one album), Budapest+Vienna 2014 and NYC January 2015. The lettering on the spine I did with stamps.
I have a personal twist to these albums though. Since the albums are already in a square format, I thought my square Instagram pics from my trips would work perfectly. Since I don’t tend to print those images for my scrapbook albums it’s also a way to make sure those images come off my phone and get printed somehow. And it also motivates me to get 20 good Instagram images per major trip!
Maybe now you’ll be inspired to go print your own albums, whether or not they are from Mosaic!
Interior & the cover collage using images in the album.
Below are sample pages from each of my albums.
LEGO Build Days
I grew up playing with LEGOs. I had a whole town system with streets and working trains and even bricks that gave my town light in the evening hours. I always know I’d get new sets every Christmas but the surprise was in what set I’d be getting.
It had, of course, been years since I had played with LEGOs and they had changed so much. Sets were no longer generic but rather themed (pirates, Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, even pink ones for girls) but a newish to me series caught my eye – they were called “Creator” sets and were for 16+ Expert level. And they reminded me of my old LEGO town. And my new LEGO obsession began. I’ll share my current setup in a separate post because this post was meant to introduce my LEGO Build Days.
When I got back into LEGOs, I’d post pictures of my builds. Friends started to say they wanted to build LEGOs with me… and before I knew it, I had offered to host the 1st LEGO Build Day at my house. It was BYOL (Bring Your Own LEGO) and a totally laid-back event. We did it on a weekend afternoon, not too late, not too early. And it was great.
It’s amazing what some creative play can do for adults. Half a dozen of us buried our heads into our instruction manuals and cell phones were quickly forgotten. When we finished up several hours later, everyone wanted to know when the next one was.
I have now hosted four LEGO Build Days – and below are pics from the most recent one a couple of weekends ago. Check out the slideshow to see what we all built! a 5th build day will be happening in a couple of months and we are all looking forward to it. It’s so nice to go analog for a few hours and put aside all things digital!
Travel Tips: Favorites
This is the 1st in a series of travel tips I thought I’d share. From two week to two month trips overseas to quick business trips to destination weddings to weekend getaways, I’ve experienced a lot and learned a lot while on the road and in airports and on trains and subways…
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As you can tell, I love to travel and over the years I have found some favorite items through my experiences. I thought I’d share a few of the items that I currently don’t leave home without. Scroll down for a picture of all of my favorite gear and keep reading for the details.
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Travelon Anti-Theft crossbody purse – Cute small purse that offers safety features like slash-proof material, cut-proof shoulder strap, lockable zipper, RFID blocking card & passport slots and even has an attached key clip that is perfect for this coordinating RFID blocking mini ID wallet. It’s a little small but can hold a point & shoot camera, a cell phone, a small guide book – the essentials in other words. Travelon has other styles to choose from as well as Pacsafe, another brand that makes bags with similar travel safety features.
Patagonia 12L messenger bag – It’s the perfect size, not too big, not too small. I love everything about this bag. It’s water-repellant so you’re protected if it rains. It has a variety of pockets, both zippered and not, to keep everything organized. It has an attached key clip that also holds the mini ID wallet I mention above so it doesn’t fall out & get lost. It has two interior side slots that fit the portable battery I describe below on one side and an umbrella on the other side. An interior sleeve pocket holds letter-sized documents and tablets or laptops up to 13″. An exterior side pocket holds my point & shoot or a water bottle. The interior space is roomy and good for small purchases or a lightweight sweater.
For me, this bag also doubles as a camera bag when I travel with my bulkier DSLR. I use camera bag inserts and lens pouches to carry the DSLR with a lens attached and up to two more lenses. It’s a nice alternative to a camera bag and more discreet.
I have it in the awesome purple that they no longer offer but they have some other great colors.
Gorilla Gadgets portable battery – This thing is perfect for juicing your phone back up when you are out all day sight-seeing or stuck in a conference without access to outlets. This has saved my butt so many times. There are different sizes so get one that works best for you. When it’s in my awesome Patagonia messenger bag, I can keep it in the interior slot while it charges my cell phone in the exterior slot as I walk around. It charges fairly quickly too and can charge the phone fully up several times without needing to be recharged itself. This model also has enough power to charge an iPad although I don’t think it will be able to give it a full charge.
iPad – I no longer drag my laptop on trips unless it’s for work but the iPad is a great alternative. I can read my Kindle books on it, check email & Facebook, etc. Slips into the interior sleeve of the Patagonia messenger bag I described above.
3 foot extension cord & mini power strip – The extension cord helps in hotel rooms where plugs are nowhere near a nightstand and the mini power strip gives me a few more places to plug in. I also have a foldable one that has a couple of USB ports.
Sony Cyber-shot RX100 iii (or any small digital point & shoot camera) – I hardly ever drag my DSLR around anymore but I always have a small but good point & shoot camera on me. This model was a recent Christmas gift & I love it! Video capability lets me take some HD video and the wifi capability lets me upload my pictures to my phone (or iPad) at any time (making them easier to share online and a great way to back-up the images too). I always keep a spare battery fully charged with me as well.
Scarf – Lightweight scarves are great for on the plane or for cooler weather, with or without a coat. I prefer infinity scarves because then they don’t slip off and get lost. Wear it long to accessorize an outfit or double it up when the temperatures drops in the evenings. I have a thicker knit one for winter travel.
Plastic letter-size envelope – I keep all my travel documents in a plastic envelope before I even go on a trip. During the trip I use it to keep souvenir items like postcards, brochures, admission tickets and maps. When I get back, the envelope gets put aside until I am ready to make the trip’s scrapbook (it can also hold scrapbook stickers & papers in the interim). For business trips it keeps all my expense receipts and conference handouts in one place. The envelope also fits perfectly into the interior sleeve pocket of that awesome Patagonia messenger bag, right next to the iPad.
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And here are all the items described above (minus the extension cord and a few cables that go with the electronics)…
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