Mini Mini Travel Scrap Album // California Coast // DIY Gifts

Happy Monday friends! I hope that you all had a great weekend! Here the weather was a little cooler... but still very warm for this time of year, and KC and I were productive! We've also been binge-ing Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries... so that's been good! :)

I wanted to share a video of a gift scrap album I made for my friend Mariana for Christmas. If you've seen my PL album videos, you'll notice that this one is a bit different! This does not have any page protectors, binders, covers, etc. It is truly made from scraps!

This type of album is quick and easy to make (from your scraps! very little supplies needed!) and makes a great, heart-felt gift!



Check out my video to see the flip through and the details of each page!

Supplies:

Jump Rings (I used 1-inch silver)
Hole Punch
Scraps of paper, PL cards, stickers, washi tape, etc. that fall in your color range
Photos (I used 6 4x6 photos, and 4 3x4 photos)

Process:

1) Print your photos and gather your supplies. I went through my stash and chose scraps of paper, cards, stickers, washi tape, etc. that fell into a teal, turquoise, white, and silver color scheme. That way everything matched well enough right off the bat. - it's a small album, you want it to look like it goes together.

2) Start playing around with the order you want to include the pictures, and how they fit onto papers and cards to make the shape of your pages and book. You can see that I used mostly horizontal rectangular shapes for my book. They are not all exactly the same size, but close enough that it flows well.

3) Once you have an order for your pictures and pages, go ahead and adhere those together. (remember to leave a side open if you want to make a pocket for a tag or more photos!) Paste down the photos and any pages back to back that need stuck together. (if you do some of this as you go, that's fine. You can also work page-by-page and re-order as needed!)

4) Add journalling, tape, tags, stickers, etc. to make it a little more personalized. Try to stick with similar elements throughout the book. I used a lot of glitter stickers and white alphas which helped it look more consistent throughout.

5) Once you have completed your pages and order, line them up how you like, and punch the holes. Then add the jump rings and you are done!

I hope that you enjoyed this tutorial and flip through!

Other Scrapbook Posts: Houston & Galveston PL Pages, San Francisco PL Pages, Georgia PL Pages, Nashville PL Pages, and Vegas PL Pages. Check those out!

Happy Documenting!

XO,

Alexandra

Snapshots of The California Coast // Carmel & Big Sur

Roooad Tripppp!

Once we met up with friends Mari and Eric outside of the city, and had seen the area around them, we decided to take a little trip down the PCH. Mari had a class project to go somewhere she hadn't been (or do something she hadn't done) and take a photo with a puzzle piece. She hadn't been to Big Sur, so we went there, but stopped in Carmel on the way. It was GORGEOUS.

Eat: We grabbed a breakfast on the go this day, and we headed down the coast. We stopped at a restaurant that is known for the view (not the food!) hehe and had a late lunch. It was ok, nothing special. We weren't expecting anything amazing though. We grabbed ice cream later, and then Mariana made us a Brazilian dinner - which was really really good. :) 

See: The California Coast, The beach in Carmel, and parks and beaches in Big Sur.

Shop: We didn't shop at all! But Carmel does have a cute little downtown that probably has some fun shops. :) 

Do: Enjoy the view! 

Favorites: We were lucky enough to see some whales from the beach, from the state park, and also while we were driving along the PCH. Just a dream. That's the first time I've seen them without expecting to from land! :) MAGIC! Other than that, did I mention the view?! 

New Experiences: Driving along the coast, seeing whales from land, being at a pacific coast beach, windy coastal highways (eek). 

Random Tip: Take some Dramamine! Unless you are 100% sure you don't need it. I took the natural kind and it helped TREMENDOUSLY on the drive!

After a 10 year friendship we were so happy to get together with Mari and Eric! :) Thank you so much for your hospitality and making such a fun few days for us! :) 

Have you been down the California Coast?

Have you seen whales in the wild before?

Other California Posts: Piers, The DeYoung & Japanese Garden, Japan Town & The Beats, Conservatory of Flowers & Mission, Stanford & Google, and Stanford & Google! 

Happy Travels!

Alexandra

*some photo credit for Barbecue and group pictures goes to Mari and Eric! :)*

Snapshots of California // Brazilian BBQ, Google, and Stanford

I hope you are having a great week! :) Today I am posting about California again!

After we were done in SF we went south of the city to meet up with our lovely Brazilian friends Mariana and Eric. Mari and I met when I was a sophomore in high school and she was an exchange student! She came to our wedding (and Eric caught the garter.. :P ) and we were SO glad to FINALLY get to visit them in California! (TEN YEARS AFTER MEETING! Holy cow! :P) We spent some time touring through the area, and catching up. On this day we did a Brazilian BBQ (KC said he "was in his element"), visited Google, Stanford, and an upscale shopping center.

Eat: Mari and Eric really wanted to take us to a Brazilian Barbecue - and wanted to go themselves... :P - so we went to one called Taurinus in San Jose. It was SO good. Mari and Eric will give the advice not to try the salad, sides, etc. etc. so you can save room for the meat! That's the main event. KC was in heaven! I'm not a meat lover, but it was really fun to try something different and so expertly prepared. Yum. Definitely worth it. My favorite though was the rice with bean stew pictured above. I love the Before and After pictures. hehe

See: Google, Stanford, Stanford Shopping Center.

Shop: We visited the Stanford Shopping Center while we were in Palo Alto. It was a really lovely area with tons of upscale shops ranging from Banana Republic to Kate Spade and Tesla. We were pretty tired but did enjoy walking around. There was lovely landscaping. We also tried Sprinkles for the first time there! :)

Do: See the grounds at Google and ride the bikes if you want. Walk the Stanford Campus (it's beautiful!). Shop and eat. Take the time for the Brazilian Barbecue in San Jose!

Favorites: Definitely trying Brazilian Barbecue with Mari and Eric was fun. They knew so much about what we were having and how it worked, it was very fun to try it with them. Plus they only go on very special occasions because it's pricey! :) It's hard to pick other favorites on this day because it was all really fun! :) 

New Experiences: Seeing a prestigious college campus, seeing a headquarters for something big like Google, trying Brazilian Barbecue, and trying Sprinkles cupcakes!

Random Tip: Save room for the meat at the Brazilian Barbecue by skipping salads, etc. 

Has anyone else been to Google or Stanford?

Have you ever tried Brazilian Barbecue? What did you think?

Other California Posts: Piers, The DeYoung & Japanese Garden, Japan Town & The Beats, Conservatory of Flowers & Mission, Stanford & Google, and Pacific Coast Highway! 

Happy Travels!

Alexandra

*some photo credit for Barbecue and group pictures goes to Mari and Eric! :)*