Keep your vacation memories alive!
A note from Penny:
There are many steps to every vacation I help plan. I have a checklist to be sure I’ve covered all of the important elements – including small details – so the trip will be magical and memorable.
One item I always review is memory keeping with photos. Some destinations make it really easy to include photos as part of the vacation package (Disney, Universal Orlando, cruise lines ). While other locations require alternative suggestions – like hiring a photographer to capture stunning shots.
Plus with a camera phone in almost everyone’s pocket – there’s sure to be tons of snapshots and selfies.
A few months ago, I shared three things about myself that you might not know.
Number three was about scrapbooking.
I love of scrapbooks. And scrapbooking. And memory keeping of all kinds.
In today’s digital world, it’s easier than ever to skip the part where we print out our photos and share them with others. It’s also EASIER THAN EVER to create simple, digital scrapbooks with free tools found right on your smart devices.
My friend Jenna is a master at creating beautiful, digital scrapbooks and helping others get started with tips and tricks to capture their personal travel memories. In this weeks blog post, she shares her top tips for scrapping during your vacation.
How about you? Is memory keeping an important part of your trip?
I hope so and if not, I hope Jenna’s tips will inspire you to try something new.
Hi all,
I’m Jenna, a travel lover and modern scrapbooker. Yep, that’s a thing. I’ve made my way through every form of scrapbooking and love them all, but for now my motto is “keep it simple!”
I scrapbook mainly on my iPad using a handful of apps and I met Penny through the love of this mutual hobby and our love of traveling. We’ve shared pages and tips for a while now and we thought it would be fun to share more about this with you all here.
Do you want a perfect way to relive your vacation now that you’re home?
Scrap it! Document it! Keep those memories alive! Heck, you can even get started while you’re traveling with minimal fuss.
“Scrapbook? No way. I don’t have the time or space for that!”
No paper, no scissors, no mess! I am talking about scrapbooking on your mobile device or tablet with an app, mobile photos, and digital products. The Project Life App is free from the Google Play or iTunes stores and the initial download of the PL App comes with layout options, fonts, and a few card kits to get you started. There are hundreds of other card kits and a couple of journaling upgrades in the PL App that you can purchase to plus up your pages even more. You can use digital cards from other online stores on your pages as well.
Again, it’s free! Give it a try and see if you like it. Once you try it, you will be hooked on creating pages of your vacation photos and stories. You can save and print your pages in photo books or individual prints. This type of scrapbooking is perfect for traveling. I discovered it myself while looking for a better way to document a road trip and I have never looked back!
“Scrapbook with an app?”
The Project Life App is a free pocket-style app and is meant to be simple and easy yet export at a high resolution for proper printing not just sharing on the web. There is a digital version for computer software like Photoshop Elements and a physical version with divided pockets and paper cards. The physical version is no longer being manufactured from the parent company of the PL App and the digital version has a high learning curve, so the app version is the easiest and most economical method for simple modern scrapbooking.
“Okay, sounds interesting. Show me what it can do?”
This page was made in the Project Life App with the free Midnight Edition and the free font and journaling options.
More from Paris. Here, I used the Everyday Edition in the Project Life App ($1.99) and the free font and journaling options.
Memories from Walt Disney World
We are avid Walt Disney World vacationers, as I know you all are too, and one of my favorite things to scrap is Disney! These two pages were made with in-app journal cards from the Happy Edition ($1.99) and some cards from the Project Mouse ($4.99) line of Disney-inspired products bought and downloaded from Sahlin Studio at The Lilypad Online Store. They have a modern vibe and are perfect for documenting your Disney vacations!
More from Disney World, using a combination of cards from the Honey and Happy Editions in the Project Life App ($1.99 each), a free Disney Parks Space Mountain wallpaper, and Project Mouse cards ($4.99+) these pages came together very easily.
For these Animal Kingdom pages, I used a journal card from the DIY Shop Value Kit (.99 cents) in the Project Life App and some Project Mouse cards ($4.99+).
The Resolutions Card Collection (.99 cents) in the Project Life App was perfect for an Epcot page. The graphics coordinated well with Spaceship Earth, don’t you think?
“Let me see it in action.”
Download the free Project Life App here –
For the basics on how to create a page with the free options the Project Life App, watch the video linked below on your pc or another mobile device and pause as needed while following along with me on the main device you will want to use to scrap.
Just place a few pics that are easy to access in the pockets and make a practice page. The PL App stores completed and in progress pages for you without the worry of losing your work. This is one of the best features of the app; the ability to modify anything!
“Okay, I want to give it a try. How can I really make this work for me while traveling?”
It’s easy to scrap at home, but you can take a few steps to make it easier to scrap your vacations while you’re still on the go.
Here are some practical tips to make this easy while traveling –
- Use your smartphone and take as many pictures in the same orientation as possible. This helps when picking a layout for your pages. (I often use the F and F3 or the T and T3 layouts in the PL App.)
- Each night of your vacation take the time to create an album in your native photos app of that day’s pictures. The native photos apps on our phones do a great job of organizing our pictures, but when adding them to a pocket in the app those date designations do not show up so making albums helps you there.
- Also, delete blurry or duplicate pics and favorite the ones you know you’ll want to use.
- Use the voice dictation feature to make notes right on a page in the Project Life App. Open a page, add a plain white journal card (from the free neutral card set), and voice text some journaling about the day. This gives you a head start on scrapbooking later while still enjoying your vacation without too much fuss or the need for pen and paper.
- Screenshot your maps, wait times, dining reservations, and fast passes to refer to later.
- As you go about your day take pictures of “markers”- land or ride signs, bus stops, etc. These give you a timeline for reference later as you look through your pictures if you wish to scrap chronologically. I also often use them on my pages because they’re fun!
- Don’t overthink it! See above where I placed a selfie in a pocket sideways to make it work for me on a page with all portrait orientation pics. Again, don’t overthink it!
- Don’t forget to take pictures of your resort, your room, your food, and your transportation. These make great pages also.
- The most important thing is to enjoy your vacation and if you miss out on a great pic, you can always journal the story on your page without using a photo. A good story is just as powerful as a picture in your scrapbooks.
- Don’t be afraid to tap on every icon you see in the Project Life App and learn through practice. You can’t ruin anything and there’s always the back button to help you out!
If you have any questions about this or want more than this basic overview, please join us in The Simply Project Life Facebook group.
It’s your best bet for quick answers to a long list of FAQs in the Announcements and other helpful tips that are already compiled for your benefit.
Penny and I would love to see you there!
You can also follow me here for more scrapbooking goodness –
Happy App Scrapping Everyone!
We can’t wait to see how you document your travels,
Jenna Fortner
and
your Embrace the Magic Travel Agent, Penny Cooper
P.S. The Project Mouse line of digital scrapbooking products can be found here. These collections also come with printable options for traditional scrapbookers.
More info on downloading and unzipping other products not native to the PL App can be found at all the social media links above.
