Creating a Travel Mini

Recently we traveled to Grandby Colorado, in the heart of the Rocky Mountains, to meet my Sister in Law and Brother as they made a road trip from Washington State to Tennessee up to Michigan, over to Glacier National Park and back home.  

When we stopped at Grand Junction the first night I found a Hobby Lobby, the first one I've ever visited. Browsing around I ran across The Paper Studios paper stack, The Great Rock Island Route.  I loved it!  It has a real deep rich color on the papers and they have almost a linen feel to them.  The next night I was showing them to my sister in law and she liked them as well as I did.  That's when the idea of a mini for her, with pictures of our time together and their trip began to form.

This mini is made using Kathy Orta's 

Build a Page system

Die cuts from Simple Stories Destinations collection

and some cut from my Cricut finish out the

front cover.

 

My sister in law surprised me with a bag of antique crocheted pieces that had been my Mom's.

I'm sure they were made by my Grandmothers and Aunts years ago.

Her only request, to make her something with a piece on it.

I used a pineapple as the closure 

attaching it securely (with Fabri-Tac by Beacon) to the 

back and looping it around a Tim Holtz knob on the front.

Many flips, flaps and fold outs

To trace the path of their road trip I plotted it out on

Google Maps, copied it to Photo Shop

and sliced it into 4 to fit the 4 fold out sections shown above.

Then I took Google Images of Road Signs 

to each state and printed and cut them into Inchies to

put along the map route (which is highlighted

with Glossy Accents)

I did a lot of fun cutting and printing of photos,

like this one of Betty where I printed her shooting

a photo with her camera and then cut her out,

inked the edges and used her like you would

an embellishment on the page.

This flip out houses a map we got from the Ranger

of the trip we took to Alpine Ridge.

It flips up and then out.  The inside top and bottom

house the map, the outside of the top houses a photo

I took along the way.  Great memories.

On the very last page I included this little Matchbook

Mini, inside are several papers I distressed, sprayed with 

water, crinkled, dried and ironed.  Love the effect!

The antique crochet closure.

You can find my 2 videos on the Assembly of this mini here:

 

And the completed mini here:

And lastly a collection of photos of the mini here: