10 Classes to Take Before Your Next Big Adventure

Traveling and documenting go hand in hand, and with warmer weather quickly approaching, now is the time to dive into ten BPC classes you'll want to take before your next big adventure! Get tips for setting yourself up for success before you leave with Mia Gamiao in Traveler's Notebook | Before You Go. Find the balance of traveling and recording with Lisa Andrews in Traveler's Notebook | Documenting on the Go. Or wait until you return home to capture your memories in The Post-Vacation Traveler's Notebook with Morgan Stockton. From tips for including memorabilia to photography to creating one-of-a-kind spreads, if you've caught the travel bug, you won't want to miss the inspiration and ideas in all ten classes! 

Set yourself up for success by preparing ahead of time. 

Traveler's Notebook | Before You Go, Mia Gamiao

Have you ever gone on a trip in hopes of documenting it while traveling? However, while on the trip, you realize that you don’t have time to document your day because you’re on the go from dawn to dusk? Have you ever gone on a trip and became too busy to create a scrapbook or mini-book once you got back home? Have you ever gone on too many trips and never found time to organize your memorabilia or ephemera that you collected during your trip? If you’ve answered yes to any of these questions, this class is for you.

I created this class in hopes of helping: fellow travelers who want to document their trip while they travel, but can’t seem to find time to do so; travelers to document their trip in a quick and easy way that doesn’t require too much work or effort; memory keepers to stay organized while finding time to create a scrapbook or mini-book about their trip, six months or more after the trip.

Capture the details of your travels on the go.

Traveler's Notebook | Documenting on the Go, Lisa Andrews

Do you love to travel, but find it difficult to actually document your vacation while traveling? I've struggled with this on vacations in the past, but have come up with a plan that helps me find a balance for documenting and enjoying the moment while on vacation. In this class, I'd love to share my tips, tricks, and ideas for how to create a travel album and work on it while on the go.

Wait till you get home to record your memories. 

The Post- Vacation Traveler's Notebook, Morgan Stockton

Now, if you’re familiar with the TN, you’ll know it’s intended purpose is to document while you’re traveling—it was there my obsession took a (temporary) screeching halt. For me, traveling and vacationing is about getting out and experiencing. I didn’t feel sure of my ability to balance documenting in a way that was true to myself, my style, and my preferences and also enjoy my travels in a way that fulfilled my needs.

So, I compromised. Working on my TNs after my vacation enables me to fully enjoy my time away and also allows me to come home and really dive into the process of making—no distractions. And to be totally honest, I like the ability to have my whole stash at my disposal, versus a select library of items that could have fit in a carry-on. I also love the ability to reflect. Working this way makes it almost seem like the vacation isn’t over yet.

Make sure to capture every moment with stand-out photography. 

Intentional Vacation Photography, Donna Meuli

A good sum of money is usually invested in vacations, and even if it isn't, there's a reason we go on them. Maybe it’s for adventure, exploring, visiting family and friends, or rest and relaxation. More often than not, it’s an escape from our everyday lives and a time to recharge our souls. We come home from these escapes, back to our everyday lives, and before long, those special feelings and memories fade. We may have hundreds of photos on our devices. The key to preserving those special vacation feelings and memories is to have photographs that transport our minds right back to that happy place. The question is: how do you capture this?

Create a custom notebook to house your one-of-a-kind adventure.

A Traveler's Notebook | Adventure, Pepper Tan

Years ago, I would document my travels in a 12" x 12" album, but that can be really overwhelming. Over time, I started to downsize to a 6" x 8" album, pocket page style. Eventually, in 2014, I officially became obsessed with the cute traveler’s notebook and thought I would give documenting my travel stories in a traveler's notebook a shot. I knew that it was going to be less intimidating than a 12" x 12" album, and unlike pocket page scrapbooks, it fulfills my desire of making mini scrapbook pages.

Document all the details by including memorabilia. 

Traveler's Notebook | Memorabilia Album, Cari Orellana

Last March, I went to Japan with my husband for a month. Every day, I carried my TN with me so I could save all the memorabilia I found along the way, specifically stamps. If you don't know, in Japan you can find stamps pretty much everywhere! They can be found in every subway station, museums, temple, etc. And even though my plan wasn't to make a scrapbook on the go, getting those stamps would have been impossible after the trip. So, my idea for this album was to have one insert with all the stories and memorabilia I found in Japan and a second insert that I was going to make back home with photos and pretty decorations I have at my house.

Treat your notebook like a traveling scrapbook.

A Traveler's Scrapbook, Theresa Doan 

Documenting while on a trip helps you get down more details about what you saw, how you felt, and what you loved or hated.  When I've tried to document trips after returning home, I sometimes forget a lot of the little details.  Since I began using traveler's notebooks, I journal more than I ever have.  Having so much detail will help bring back a lot of memories for me.  More importantly, there are so many memories my children may not remember as they get older that will all be available for them.

Record the highlights from multiple trips in one notebook.

Favorite Places Notebook, Diane Payne

The idea for this album came to me while I was scrolling through my Facebook feed. I like to post highlights of our travels there and I found myself smiling as I relived those memories. I knew it was time to get those moments off my phone and into an album I could hold and share with friends and family. So that's where I started—with the photos.

I started by selecting photos from 2003 – 2017. I'll go back and select photos from earlier years, but this gave me plenty to work with now. To keep the process simple and stress-free, I followed a few guidelines: 1. Photos wouldn't be placed chronologically giving me the freedom to add any travel memory at a later time; 2. Photos were edited on my phone using the PicTapGo app; 3. All photos would be printed to the same size (3" x 4") using my Epson PM-400 printer for consistency; 4. Supplies would not be travel themed specific so I could have the freedom to use supplies that complement the photo and mood; 5. I would only include photos of bucket list travel moments or photos that bring back special memories and emotions.

Try a smaller format for easier portability. 

Discovering the Passport Traveler's Notebook, Nadia Azni

In Discovering the Passport Traveler’s Notebook, I’ll be showing you just how versatile and portable this TN size is for your everyday and travel needs. Don’t be fooled by its tiny size because most of what you’re able to do in a regular TN will be translatable to its baby brother. We’ll go through planning your days to the various ways you can scrapbook and document your memories. We’ll see the benefits of using a passport-sized TN for travels and tie it all up with the many uses it has in everyday life.

Still have more to document? Create a mini album!

Travel Album, Geralyn Sy

I love documenting my everyday adventures—both big and small—in paper form, and creating mini books of my travels is one of my favorite things. I'm very passionate about traveling and I'm so thankful for any and every opportunity to explore the world. Traveling makes me feel so alive! I always come home from a trip with lots of great memories, a bag full of memorabilia, and a desire to get the trip recorded in a tangible format. Travel mini books are the best because creating them and having these little albums on my shelf help me remember and relive those special vacation memories.

After taking these ten classes, you'll be ready to set out on your next big adventure and record all the memories you'll make along the way! Remember, as a member of Big Picture Classes, you get access to our entire library of classes. Sign up now and start exploring!

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