Themed Albums Part 1: Travel Albums

Need some direction on making a perfect Travel album?

Welcome to the first installment of my blog series on themed albums! Themed albums focus on one topic and examples may include an annual holiday album, books that only feature a child's birthday parties throughout their life, and of course travel albums, our focus here today. I hate to pick favorites because I love ALL of my scrapbooks, but there really is something special about travel albums. Vacations, whether short or long or near or far, give us a chance to let go of the day to day challenges and obligations of life, so it's not surprising that these are the moments we most want to relive, over and over again. 

Themed scrapbook projects are nice because you have a finite topic and thus you are not likely to be overwhelmed by the task at hand. Sounds like a great first project for someone with years of photos and no idea where or how to start! Since most people who take pictures have at least one set  of memorable vacation photos, I am hopeful the travel project is a topic that will have universal appeal for all my readers. So gather up your travel photos and get ready to make a fantastic scrapbook!


There are two ways you can approach these types of photo albums. One is an ongoing project that you add to each year with a few pages devoted to multiple trips, and the other is a full book about one spectacular trip. Both are equally fun! I'll demonstrate the difference between the two, starting with the album where you add a little bit after each trip you take. 

1.) Travel Books

 Let's start with the idea of a true "Travel" book, one in which you highlight various trips with several pages devoted to each one. I have one with the following inscription inside the front cover: 

The inscription in the front of my travel album

About a year ago when I wanted to try my first Fast2Fabulous album to document a group of short family weekend trips, I chose Strut Your Stuff. 

Strut Your Stuff Fast2Fabulous Album

I loved the cool blue and green color theme, but with a stack of pictures as varied as a trip to Pittsburgh to see Muse, a trip to Disney World with the kids to have fun at the Halloween party, a beach trip in the spring, my husband's travels to photograph trains, and a vacation to Atlanta, GA to visit the Coke Museum and the Georgia Aquarium, I was unsure if they would all come together on these pre-loaded, predesigned pages.

The work's already done - you essentially get free stickers, free papers, free mats and professional layouts with Fast2Fabulous albums. All you need is your pen, your pictures and a tape runner. I even worked on this one in the car.

As it turned out, these completely unrelated adventures all looked equally beautiful from one page to the next and best of all, this fabulous scrapbook was finished in no time, with only a pen and a tape runner to adhere my pictures to the pages!  

What does Muse have to do with Strut Your Stuff? Nothing, but somehow it works (and I found a perfect place for our tickets)

Disney World? At Halloween? And no orange and black paper or Mickey stickers to be found? You bet! Thank you Fast2Fabulous for doing the work for me.

Look at my husband's gorgeous handwriting and his nice work selecting a few pictures to place in the designated boxes

Georgia Aquarium and the Coke museum and not a single fish or cola sticker needed!

Many vacations documented all in one place, no need for any extra embellishments, our stories told, page protectors slid over, what a great feeling of accomplishment. My family LOVES looking at this book because it brings us to so many fun locations in one sitting! Thank you Creative Memories and Fast2Fabulous albums!

2.) Vacation Books 

The second type of album you could choose is one in which you focus on just one specatacular trip - I will just call this one a vacation book because it is specific to one vacation. I have to admit, I often come home from longer excursions with anywhere from 700-1,500 photos to choose from, so these are pretty common albums for me. I will select my best 500 or so because our albums can hold about that many photos, more if you crop your pictures (which we are not going to do here.) There is something nice about Spargo or  Natural pages with travel pictures, so I am going to feature those in this next section. I will also show off my Tangerine, Plum and Then Some Fast2Fabulous travel book!

The great thing about Creative Memories's traditional albums is that whether you pick white, natural, or spargo refill pages, you will have a large, blank canvas to work on. In addition to all the space for photos and journals, you can also add memorabilia to your pages because the buffered pages are built to repel acid from these. 

Brochures are welcome since Creative Memories' pages are buffered to repel acid

Here my mother has used Natural pages and  cut out pictures and titles from brochures to create a simple title for one of the pages within her Italy album. She also likes to buy postcards to add to her pages - I think that's a great idea. A third trick is to take pictures of the signs of the places where you visit. Are you picking up on a theme here? Yes, she is thinking about the album project while she is still on the trip. Some folks (myself included) even go so far as bringing a journal on the trip to take notes. Others even carry their laptop so they can upload their photos while on the trip before they even get home (guilty again- yes I like to "pre-scrapbook!")

While  my mother doesn't generally take it as far as I do to "pre-scrapbook" she does do a great job of journaling her pages from memory. She either writes right on the pages themselves or in journaling boxes, and on some pages she adds a few simple embellishments like stars or stickers. There is no rule that pages have to be elaborate or time consuming to be beautiful - the most important thing about albums is getting them done and making sure the supplies you use are photo safe and guaranteed to stand the test of time. That's why we only use Creative Memories' albums, pens and adhesives for our projects.

Journaling boxes and postcards - nice, simple page enhancements

A few punched out stars add a nice touch to this page

I will finish off with one of my favorite album stories for people who say they haven't tried Fast2Fabulous albums yet. When my friends and I turned... well, let's just say a round number... we decided to take a trip to the Dominican Republic to celebrate. We had lots of fun and I took 700 beautiful pictures. I uploaded them and ordered them on the Monday night I arrived home, and Shutterfly had the photos on my doorstep by Friday night. On Saturday night I pulled my Tangerine, Plum and Then Some album off the shelf, placed my favorite pictures from the trip in order on the pages (with an extra pack of refills and some slide in pages as well) and after a few more hours early Sunday morning my album was complete! I had never seen anything like it!  Nearly 700 photos, in an album, beautifully documented, less than a week after returning home from a trip and I spent less than 4 hours on the entire thing. Now if that isn't magic I don't know what is - see what you think of my pages!

The Tangerine, Plum and Then Some Fast2Fabulous album 

A gorgeous start to a gorgeous album - I love the color theme in Tangerine, Plum and Then some (it matches our Vintage paper pack)

We're on our way (and the pages sure look like I worked hard but I didn't!)

The food buffet pictures were a perfect place to use our Slide In pages - very simple and no adhesives required.

I love incorporating cards from our Slide In Packs to add a splash of color

Slide in pages are great for trip memorabilia

Completed travel books, ready to put on the shelf

So that's a brief introduction to Travel themed albums - I hope you've been inspired to work on your own project! The sooner you do them after your trip the better because the details will be clearer, so there's no time like the present to start yours. Creative Memories has a gorgeous array of coversets and your choice of white, natural or spargo refill pages, or you could take the route of the Fast2Fabulous album like the ones I featured here! I highlighted two of my favorites (Strut Your Stuff and Tangerine, Plum and Then Some) but they aren't the only ones available - Now Boarding, Changes in Latitude and Sunshine Getaways are some other favorites for vacation books! Check them out at my personal Creative Memories website or that of your own CM Advisor.

Now Boarding CM Fast2Fabulous album

Changes in Latitude CM Fast2Fabulous album

Sunshine Getaway CM Fast2Fabulous album

Oh, the pages we complete and the good times we share...

 Life is busy, and while we as a society are taking more photos than ever before, the challenge often comes in finding the time to put them in albums and tell the stories. Have you dreamed of doing something fun and meaningful with your photos but you just don't have the time,the space, or the lack of interruptions to do so? Join the club! As a working Mom and an avid scrapbooker,  I have often found that nothing quite beats a weekend retreat when it comes to completing photo projects and having fun with others who share your love for preserving their memories. All over the country events are hosted at hotels, consultants' houses, bed and breakfasts, and conference centers, and whether there are 6 or 60 folks there to work on their albums, fun and laughter are never far behind. The scrapbooking community is everywhere, and more than likely there is something going on like this close to where you are - you just have to find it!

Imagine taking a weekend away (you deserve it by the way) and driving up to a beautiful sight like this:

 Ruth Mountain Bed and Breakfast in Arab, AL

or this:

Springville Camp and Conference Center in Springville, AL

The worries of life start to slowly slip away as you imagine the days ahead of you. Just the thought of a good night's sleep and some good food (lovingly prepared by someone else!) put you in a good mood as the weekend stretches out in front of you.

A scrapbooking retreat is good for the soul

A hotel, a conference center, or someone else's house means no laundry and no dishes all weekend long!

As you find your spot to work, you are greeted with a gift at your seat and plenty of space to spread out and organize your photo projects. You don't get this treatment at home!

Tables set up ready to go, all I need is for my scrappers to show!

It's not a retreat without a garbage bag for scraps and a goody bag filled with candy, tickets for prizes, and other assorted trinkets for the weekend

As others arrive you begin to experience the true fun and fellowship of a scrapbook retreat - some of my favorite people in the world are people that came into my life at events like this and I am proud to call them friends. One even became my wedding photographer (she drove from out of town to be there for me!) I think about the last 13 years that I have been attending and/or hosting weekend retreats and I know my life is richer because of it. Completed pages and an outlet for creativity are the obvious benefits of weekend retreats and workshops, but there is so much more to the scrapbooking community than that. If you haven't attended a weekend workshop, I would highly recommend it - you will walk away happy, I guarantee it!

See the latest products and have the supplies you need when you need them

Completed albums to share for inspiration

Grand prize winners walk away happy (contests are usually based on completed pages)

Total strangers become friends in no time

Not unusual for someone to complete 3 Fast2Fabulous albums in one weekend - that's a lot of life documented!

Walk away happy with completed pages!

Sharing ideas is a big draw for many people

Fun New Papers and Tools from the CM Group

 Now that the "cat is out of the bag", so to speak, with the new July products, I can share freely my enthusiasm and joy over the new catalog. While CM is staying true to their promise to keep the product line simple, they have been consistent in adding new things in a measured fashion, and consultants and customers have a lot to work with!

The re-introduction of the Border Making System has been greeted with enthusiasm. The system comes with the picket fence cartridge, and the bubble, film strip and star cartridges have recently been added to the product line as well. I am willing to bet we will see more in the months ahead, but for now take a look at some of the fun designs I have made so far with our new paper packs and these new cartridges:

You don't need Disney stickers to make a nice vacation layout! I made this page with the CM Group's border making system, the film strip cartridge, the star cartridge, the new Corner Rounder, and the Shades of Red and Shades of Bright paper packs

Fellow CM advisor Lisa Graham designed this firecracker using the new film strip and star cartridges - I love a card! The papers used here came from the Red White and Blue paper pack and the Shades of Neutral cardstock pack

I am a sucker for blue gingham (now found in the Red White and Blue paper pack)  and I love the way this unexpected color combination came together. The peachy floral print is from the CM group's new be Bold and Flourish paper pack,.

There are so many possible uses for a bubble maker - beach, babies, and weddings come immediately to mind!

I love bringing unexpected color combinations together and this new shipment made it very easy for me! All you need is the Red White and Blue paper pack, the Be Bold and Flourish paper pack, and the new Shades of Pastel, Bright and Neutral cardstock packs to have borders and mats and backgrounds for days! The cardstock does very well with Cricut machines, and CM's paper is double sided so you are getting two pages in one.

Be Bold and Flourish with the pink from the Shades of Pastel cardstock pack - mothers, daughters, grandmothers, baby girls, the page ideas are endless

Red gingham and the brown from the Shades of neutral paper pack - gingerbread men and warm holiday memories in the making here

The Red White and Blue paper pack has 6 sheets of designer prints and 6 sheets of Tone on Tone prints. 12 sheets of double sided paper for $9.50, gingham and stars,I'm sold!

Be Bold and Flourish is the newest design and it comes in a Fast2Fabulous album, a paper pack and a slide in pack. Also shown are the CM group's new Gold and Black ABC/123s and the newest cartridges for the Border making System, Stars and Film Strip

Cardstock packs come with 5 colors, 2 sheets each. The newest ones are Shades of bright, Shades of Neutral, and Shades of  Pastel.

Check out these tools and papers and more at my website http://www.creativememories.com/user/fransmitherman and as always, keep scrappin'! Fran 

Quality Matters (and dudes scrap, too!)

When I went to my first Creative Memories class 15 years ago, I was convinced that I knew everything there was to know about making albums and there was nothing this person was going to teach me. In other words, I was being a good sport by going along with my friends who were "novices" - after all, I had been making photo albums all throughout grammar school, high school and college. I knew EVERYTHING.

Boy was I wrong! Those "cheap" albums I'd been putting my photos in were actually accelerating the aging of my photos with acidic PVC plastics, bad adhesives and pulpy lignin - my life was changed that night. I had never before given any thought into WHAT I put my albums in, what I used to stick them to the pages or even the kinds of pens (gasp - I was using SHARPIES!) I was using to label my pages. I was even writing on the backs of photos...thank goodness for that class.

Creative Memories' albums are the top of the line when it comes to permanence and photo safety - if you are going to do something, do it right and do it once.My favorite example is my grandfather's fabulous album he made in law school. The photos, the stories and the memorabilia are amazing, but the scrapbook he put them in was yellowing and literally falling apart (I keep the crumbled pages in a plastic bag now.) I asked him if I could restore it in a Creative Memories album (acid free, lignin free and buffered to repel acid from things such as concert tickets and invitations) and he said yes. Look at the difference:

From crumbling to lifetime guarantee - preserving PawPaw's hard work and the character of his stories and his handwriting using a Creative Memories album

So as you see, dudes do scrapbook!! My husband loves trains, and I asked him if he would like to do a Fast2Fabulous album (neutral colors of course!) of his recent trip to Virginia with his father. He was finished in no time and now I can appreciate the stories and the significance of his photos so much more than if they were in one of the old polyvinyl chloride slide in albums. 

From cheap slide in PVC albums to a high quality Creative Memories Fast2Fabulous album - looks good, finished quickly, photo safe, stories told.

I believe in quality and I also believe that ANYONE can make a scrapbook - why shouldn't they? We have these cameras for a reason - let's tell our stories!

I will leave you with Creative Memories' quality commitment - to learn more go to http://www.creativememories.com/user/fransmitherman and until next time, keep scrappin'! Fran

Creative Memories' Commitment to Quality

We’re committed to helping people enjoy the special moments in their lives by making world-class memory keeping products.  We promise to offer unique, easy-to-use, high quality and long-lasting products you can trust. 

We're proud to say our core products, like albums, refill pages and page protectors are made in the U.S.A. (in St. Cloud, MN) by the same experienced manufacturing team who have brought you world-class products for many years.

Product and Process Testing

Because the photo and scrapbooking industries aren't regulated, many companies make claims about their albums, papers, pens, adhesives and other supplies that can’t be substantiated. At CM, we stand behind our quality and test accordingly.

Here are a few examples of the rigor we apply as we develop products:

Adhesives: Designed to be photo safe and permanent so your photos and memorabilia won't drop off the page.

Specific tests we conduct include:

• Extreme temperature testing. The product must remain functional after being exposed to 6 weeks of 140°F (60°C), and 7 days of 0°F (-18°C).
• Bleed tests. Product must not bleed through material it has been adhered to after being exposed to 6 weeks of 140°F (60°C).
• Permanent bond quality
• Functionality and Cartridge Replacement tests to ensure: adhesive releases from the liner, tension is minimal from start to finish, take-up roll properly winds, minimal looping at nose and easy installation of the refill. 

Pens: Designed and tested to be permanent, fade-proof, bleed-resistant and waterproof so they won't ever run and ruin your photos or surrounding pages. Our pens are perfect for left handers – they won’t smear.

Specific tests we conduct include:

• Writeability and bleed testing to ensure inks don’t smear or transfer after 20 seconds.

Papers & Pages: Buffered with calcium carbonate to combat the acids found in memorabilia and normal air pollution. We monitor papers’ brightness and ensure our paper stock does not contain post-consumer waste.  All of our paper products are lignin-free to stop them from turning yellow and brittle over time.

Specific tests we conduct include:

• Bleed testing
• Sutherland rub test for printed papers and poly pocket pages. A weight is rubbed back and forth 100 times to ensure minimal color transfer and abrasion.
• Seam strength tests for the page protectors and poly pages to ensure they do not tear
• Stitch strength to ensure the album pages stay intact.

Albums & Coversets:  Built to last for years of enjoyment. We’ve filled albums to the max and tested them in real-use situations for thousands of page turns.

Specific tests we conduct include:

• Slot strength on the basecard, so your straps don’t tear your album
• Stain resistance. Spilling real-life substances (cola, coffee, peanut butter, etc.) on albums. (One wipe and it’s clean.)
• The Page Turning machine cycles an album page 5000 times and then visual assessment is made on the page stitches, coverholder stitches and slots, integrity of the spine and that the strap slip is less than 1/8.” 
• Crocking test to ensure negligible-to-no color transfer on the album material.

Tools: Developed to be high quality, durable and long-lasting.  We push the limit when it comes to testing our tools because we take great pride that they are the best on the market.

Specific tests we conduct include:

• Cutting lifecycle
• Material identification
• Functionality/User testing
• Drop tests

We're vigilant about safety standards, always on the watch for sharp edges, choke hazards, lead or magnets.  Our products are PVC and Cellulose Nitrate-free to ensure your photos remain safe. 

We also conduct shipping simulation tests to ensure the products reach your doorstep in great condition.

What Is Your "Why"?

As with any pursuit, whether it be heading to work every morning, staying home to raise your family, saving money for the future, making handmade gifts for others, growing a garden, or starting a new business, we are often posed with the question "what is your why?" Many people who want their own businesses crave the freedom of setting their own hours with the potential for unlimited income so they can spend more time with their family and less time in an office. When I signed up to be a Creative Memories consultant 13 years ago, none of those things were what drew me in. Now I will admit, I have loved watching the women (and men!) that achieve great success building teams and living the life of their dreams as they take their home-based businesses to amazing levels, but my career at the bank has always filled me with pride and ownership, so making Creative Memories full time was never my plan. What did I want when I made the decision to take the step from customer to consultant then? That's simple - albums at a discount! I loved the idea of saving money on something that I knew I would be buying and using for the rest of my life!

Now as I look back on the last 13 years (and as I look forward to what lies ahead) I reflect on all that this business has brought me. Yes, I have made money and yes I have saved money on my own album projects, but here is what else I have gained:

1.) The joy of being "creative"!  

I pick stocks for investment accounts for a bank (among other things but we will leave it at that for now.) Lots of research and analysis goes into what I do, and it is challenging and stimulating and I studied for MANY years to get to where I am. But I do still have that inner "school teacher" that loves the chance to let my creative juices flow!

A beach-inspired National Scrapbook Day event - thank you Pinterest for such cute ideas!

Using tools to make gifts for my scrapbookers - here I used the Creative Memories Border Maker System and the From the Kitchen Cricut cartridge for the grill

A little table decor to set the mood for my National Scrapbook Day event

2.) The joy of watching others bring their photos to life!

Knowing that you are the reason folks have a place to go when they need the best supplies for their cherished memories is priceless, and watching them finish an album and move on to the next project with excitement is a wonderful feeling. So many people tell me their pictures are trapped on their camera or on their hard drive and that they know they need to do something with them. What a great feeling I have when I can tell them that I CAN HELP!!! I give them what they need to tell their stories in a way that can be shared forever - quality albums and supplies, a place to work, and people to do it with! 

CM Group's Fast2Fabulous albums are giving people confidence that they can quickly finish a scrapbook without using stickers, papers, or scissors!

3.) Gatherings!

No one HAS to have "Crop til You Drop" workshops or retreats, but I have loved putting these on at least once a month for the past 13 years. The laughs and the completed pages are worth every bit of effort I put into making them fun and memorable, and there is something to be said for getting together with people who love their pictures as much as I do!

4.) A Place to Work and Supplies at My Fingertips!

Nothing like having what you need when you need it! I have found that having the right tools and the right workspace make a difference no matter what you passion might be.

5.) Watching others enjoy my albums!

This is my WHY!!!! While I did not have children when I first began, I do now, and knowing that they are enjoying seeing our stories told is all the reason in the world for me to continue on this wonderful journey of being a Creative Memories consultant and a (Panstoria affiliate for our digital projects!)

If all of this sounds good to you then start your own journey today with the CM Group! With no sales minimums and the savings benefits of being a consultant starting from day one, I would highly recommend it for anyone that loves to save money and spend time with their photo projects! Where will it take you? The blessings will surprise you :) To learn more about becoming an advisor check out my website and thanks for reading. Keep scrappin'! Fran

http://www.creativememories.com/user/fransmitherman

Forever LIVE in Atlanta, GA in September - I'm SO Excited!

I was thrilled to find out that Forever (the company that acquired Panstoria) was going to be hosting a 3 day event in Atlanta, GA in September of 2015! This is a great opportunity for scrapbookers, photo organizers, photo enthusiasts and anyone interested in capturing their memories and telling stories. All experience levels are welcome - there will be many sessions to choose from (not to mention 18 hours of dedicated traditional or digital cropping time - whoot!) There is a welcome reception on Thursday night, snacks, lunch, speakers and crop time on Friday and Saturday, a gala dinner on Saturday night, and a crop on Sunday that lasts until noon (no rush to check out.) Confirmed special guests include Glen Meakem, Founder and CEO of Forever, Inc, Tory Johnson, best-selling author of The Shift, Mike Carroll and Paul Schweiser, the developers of our beloved Artisan (Storybook Creator) and Historian (Memory Manager) software programs, the Pixies of Pixels2Pages, Nick Kelsh (renowned photographer and author of 9 books) and more. In addition to all of this all attendees will receive  goody bag with $200 worth of free stuff (hello - you had me at goody bag!)


The dates are September 24-27, 2015 and the event will be held at the Grand Hyatt in beautiful Buckhead, GA, near Atlanta. Save 20% on your conference fee if you book before May 31st and if you aren't local to Atlanta there are special block room rates at the Grand Hyatt and the nearby Hyatt Place. All the details are in the link below- shoot me an email at flafla@bellsouth.net if you have any questions and let's do this thing!

http://www.showclix.com/event/ForeverLIVE/tag/fsmitherman