{"id":1920,"date":"2020-01-10T14:34:24","date_gmt":"2020-01-10T22:34:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/amyalphin.com\/?p=1920"},"modified":"2020-01-10T21:12:25","modified_gmt":"2020-01-11T05:12:25","slug":"experimenting-with-travelers-notebooks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/amyalphin.com\/?p=1920","title":{"rendered":"Experimenting with Traveler’s Notebooks."},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This year, I’ve been experimenting with traveler’s notebooks (TN), on a few of our longer trips we have taken as a family. Henry is still taking multiple naps during the day, and goes to sleep relatively early, so I knew we would have more downtime that usual on our trips. I thought it would be fun to try the “scrapbooking-on-the-road” approach to fill that time, and to have more up-to-the-minute journaling about where we were and what we were doing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first decision I needed to make was figuring out what to bring. First, I picked the container I wanted to use to hold my stuff. For the first trip, I chose one of the zippered bags from Ali Edwards’ Stories By The Month kits. I liked this bag because it, a) had a zipper, and, b) the plastic was heavy enough that my materials wouldn’t get damaged inside. Then,I went through my stash and laid out all of the items I would *like* to take. This included stickers, stamps, adhesive, chipboard, die-cuts, tiny attacher, ink, and more! I then sorted out my “non-negotiable” items, then sorted again, and kept pairing down until everything except my printer fit in my bag. *Update, I added some links for easy reference if you want to do some shopping!*<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The main “gear” items I bring are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. Canon Ivy Printer<\/a> with 3-4 packets of printer stickers.<\/li>
  2. Folding scissors.<\/a><\/li>
  3. Small ink. I like these tiny ones<\/a> from Ali Edwards.<\/li>
  4. Tiny attacher by Tim Holtz<\/a>.<\/li>
  5. Pen – I like flair pens<\/a>, but I also like Ali’s Edwards precision pens as well. <\/li>
  6. Glue pen<\/a>.<\/li>
  7. Washi tape of your choosing.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
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    The printer fits in this handy little holder, which also holds the paper stickers. I chose the Canon Ivy over the HP pocket sprocket after reading loads of reviews saying that the HP printer created prints that were quite dark. I have to say, the prints from the Ivy are also dark, so I correct for that as much as I can in the Canon Ivy app. I like that it holds a charge for several days, connects quickly and easily to my phone, and the print quality is pretty decent for a travel printer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    All of the rest of my gear fits in a small, zipped bag. This one is from Ali Edwards, but I also have ones from Studio Calico. I tend to reuse the bags from subscription kits as they are more durable that a ziplock bag.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I have used traveler’s notebooks for three trips now, and I can say that I honestly enjoy them. I love looking back on my thoughts in the moment, and they give me an excuse to journal every day. It also helps to have a creative outlet while traveling, especially during Henry’s naps. I also enjoy the challenge of using a very constrained collection of materials. It forces me to use what I have, and to be both consistent and creative with my layouts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    This first traveler’s notebook was created during our three-week trip to Australia. I tried to have repeated elements day over day, such as the headings and stamps that I used. I also used washi tape to add ephemera collected along the way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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