TRAVEL TRIBUTES #3: photo albums

Years ago, I'd return from a trip and my first priority was to start the washing machine.   Next on the list?   Organize my photos!  By the time my family had grown up, I had 42 albums!

Since digital became the norm, though, photos seem to be relegated to computer albums and facebook posts. 

Drag 'em out!  

Create coffee table albums that people can browse through spontaneously. 

Make printed books for the graduate or grandparent - whomever the trip was celebrating! 

Or organize destination books, with a photo tour of a country or island.

Here are 3 ways:

The Old Fashioned Way: 

Print your photos (easy to do at any local photo store -- just take your camera card and they'll have equipment to make it easy to pick and print)

Then arrange your photos in a traditional album.  

 

PRO: you can include other keepsakes in these albums, like special ticket stubs,  to make it more of a photo scrapbook.

CON:  the photos often yellow over time, from the adhesive on the pages. 

Mac iBooks:

For you Mac-users out there, this is so easy!  It's part of your iphoto program.

Drag your favorite trip photos into a project folder, select your style of book, and click-n-drag your photos.
There are lots of choices for layout, from a collaged-look (left) to a traditional look (right), complete with the old-timey photo corners.

PRO:  It's easy to add text to tell stories or to notate locations.

CON:   Once you make it, you can't remove photos (say, if you wanted to copy them for a family member)

Shutterfly book:

Shutterfly is an online photo storage facility that you can use with ANY computer, not just Macs.
It's very user-friendly,  and after you upload your photos, you can create a free website to share them with your family and friends, 
or you can create and order a printed photo album: 
Here's the site to get you started!


If this sounds intimidating, don't worry!  They've made videos to walk you through each step! 




Want some help getting started?  I'm happy to help!  Email me here!

Keep makin' and preservin' those memories!

ADDICTED TO TRAVEL? 10 gift ideas for the tested traveler on your list!

A TRAVEL JOURNAL: This is no typical journal! Your favorite traveler will want to preserve all those travel scraps and stories, and here is my personal favorite! It's...

***Compact (6”x9”) ***Adjustable (you can put in as many pages as you like) ***Refillable (so re-usable, for trip after trip ***Durable (has a soft leather cover) ***And Attractive… here, check it out:

Leather Travel Journal from Leelanau Trading Co

A DRAWSTRING BAG: These are indispensable! Advise your traveler to leave the big suitcase in the hotel and go on their daytrips with this 12”x18” drawstring sack! It holds everything they need for a daytrip -- their camera, beachtowel, jacket, map, guidebook, or water bottle – but collapses into nothing in their luggage-perfect space saver!

Here's a version with MLB logos!

You can even make your own!

Plain black is my choice!

THE POINT IT BOOK: This 3”x5” thin paperback takes up no space but is a lifesaver when they don’t speak the language. With clear photos on every category they could need… from food to medical to destinations…. it enables the English-speaking traveler to communicate with foreign waiters, hotel clerks, taxi drivers, and locals. Here's what it looks like!

HEADLAMP OR MICRO-FLASHLIGHT: Handy for all kinds of after-dark situations… reading on the train, following a map in a dark city, rummaging through luggage in a dark room, or walking a cobbled street or forest path… both of these versions serve the same purpose, and both are lightweight. The headlamp is less attractive, but more useful for hands -free lighting! Check it out: http://www.consumersearch.com/headlamps

ELECTRICAL ADAPTORS:

Whether new to international travel, or just trying a unique destination, this kit is a MUST! This kit contains adapters for most areas, except Africa, and adapts most cameras/appliances, except some high watt hair dryers. Everything you need to know about International Electricity!

FOR THE LADIES ON YOUR LIST... THE LONG SWEATERCOAT: Wear it on the plane, sleep under it occasionally, use it as a house coat over PJs, roll it up for a pillow, throw it over bare shoulders to enter a church or mosque, use it for nights out on the town, and have a picnic on it by day. It's usually acrylic with big black buttons, so it doesn't show dirt, and washes to look like new. Big sweatercoats can be found online or in stores like Nordstroms (and sometimes even at Gap). Here are some choices: http://www.thefind.com/pets/info-sweater-coat

FOR YOUR WORLD CUP FANS (hosted in South Africa, June 2010):

The movie, “The Miracle Match”

SOCCERNOMICS, a book all about why England loses, why Germany and Brazil win, and why the US, Japan, Australia, Turkey - and even Iraq - are destined to become the Kings of the World's most popular sport!

The book, The History of the World Cup 1930-2006

Noisemakers and Cheering stuff, like this: The Thunderstick

YEARLONG TRAVEL INSURANCE POLICY: For truly addicted travelers who hit the road many times a year, an ANNUAL, multi-trip policy is practical! They may think their medical coverage here at home covers them on the road, but will it evacuate them from remote areas? Is it primary coverage when they’re abroad? Does it cover all the countries they are venturing into? And what about trip cancellation, interruption, or inconvenience? http://www.travelguard.com/travelinsurance/annual.asp

ALL KINDS OF PHOTO CREATIONS to keep those travel memories alive after the trip: Think about…

a photo puzzle!

a photo collage canvas for the wall!

a photo luggage tag for their next trip!

Brighton Virginia photo bag!

A GIFT CERTIFICATE WITH TOUGH LOVE TRAVEL, for custom trip planning services for their next trip! Email Melanie@toughlovetravel.com for more info!