Road Trip!

Greetings from the road!  Right now, Stephanie and I are in the car heading down to Galveston for Crafty Neighbor’s 6^th Annual Scrapbooking Cruise.  We are so excited to finally be on our way, and we can’t wait to share with you all the fun we’re having!

Since I won’t be able to keep up with my blog while I’m gone, I’ve set it up with some pre-arranged posts for you to enjoy until I get back.  Each day we will feature one of the projects from the cruise, including our door decorations, pillow gifts, and workshop projects.  I hope you’ll stick around while I’m gone to see all the projects we have in store for you, and we’ll have some great pictures of our trip for you when we come back. 

For today’s post, I wanted to talk to you about cropping on the road or while on vacation.  I know a lot of people who, after years of collecting scrapbooking supplies, no longer like to go to crops because they don’t want to haul their supplies around – it’s just easier to crop at home.  But after lugging my scrapbooks all over the Caribbean for the last 7 years, I’ve pretty much become accustomed to scrapbooking away from home, and have learned some good tips for traveling with my supplies.

Cropping on a hotel desk

The first rule of scrapbooking on a trip is to keep it simple.  When I take my scrapbooks with me on a trip, I usually try to focus on just one project that has limited supplies.  This usually means my smash book or art journal, but it could also be a themed or mini album, a series of cards, or even a small craft project.  The idea is that you keep the supplies down to one small tote that you can easily haul around with you.  You also want to keep in mind the space where you’ll be working, such as the desk or coffee table in a hotel room.

Don’t bring prohibited items on a plane, train, or cruise ship.  Most public transportation has rules prohibiting Exacto knives, scissors with blades longer than 4”, and any kind of flammable liquid (like Un-Do).  In addition, cruise ships prohibit irons, candles, and a host of other items.  So be sure to check the airline or cruise line before you pack.  For our Crafty Neighbor cruises, we are able to secure special permission from the cruise line to bring some of our supplies onboard because we are a scrapbooking group, but individuals will not be able to do this.

Christen cropping in a hotel room

Don’t forget to pack your finished projects carefully.  This is especially important for any fragile craft projects or items that are bulkier when completed.  If necessary, bring an extra box or bag to put the projects in and plan to wrap any fragile items in clothing, paper or some other protective material.  If you’ll be flying, don’t forget that you may have to pay a fee for additional bags, so plan your projects accordingly.

Remember to have fun!  Don’t bring a high-pressure project or something that needs to be finished by a certain deadline.  Delays are bound to happen on even the best-planned trip, and being under pressure to complete a project when you’re tired or would rather be doing something else takes all the fun out of crafting and your vacation. Likewise, don’t kick yourself too hard if you bring something to work on and don’t get to work on it at all. 

If you follow these simple rules, you should have a great time crafting while you travel.  But don’t forget to take pictures so you’ll have more projects to work on when you get home!

That’s it for today.  Check in tomorrow to see the first of our cruise-related projects!