September KOTM.

Today I worked on putting together my travel album from a trip to New Zealand and Australia last August - using the September Kit of the Month. This is one of those trips where I took along a travel journal (with great intentions like past trips - see my March 2006 Studio A column about Scrapbooking on the Road) and only ended up with a big pile of photos + maps + collected stuff rather than coming home with a completed journal. The truth was I just didn't feel like working on it while I was traveling.

Here's where the September kit comes in handy: it can be used after your trip OR during your trip. If you have an adventure coming up you could take it on the road and it has everything you need (including cool stamps) all ready to go in a tin that doesn't take up too much space. Or, if you want to just wait and create when you come home you can collect stuff on the road (including journaling which is always so much fresher when you are writing on the road) and just put it together another time.

This would make a good gift for someone you know who has an adventure coming up as well.

The album comes with all the pages inside the spiral but I went ahead and removed them so I could add in brochures, photos, etc and make changes to the order (for a how-to on taking minibooks apart and putting them back together click here). I am really into page size variety right now. I also added a transparency sheet on the cover and as one interior page (an 8.5x11 cut to size). For adding pages I created holes using the Bind-it-all and my Crop-a-dile.

One thing I was so happy I had were blog posts related to my trip (in addition to some handwritten things I had written in my travel journal). I printed those out onto the paper from the album and added them back in - definitely tells a more complete story than I can remember off-the-top-of-my-head a year later.

Here's a look at what I made with the kit (the rub ons were my favorite):

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Fun project. Excited to add it to the basket.

In addition, I want to give you a sneak peek of next month's KOTM which should go on sale next week.

The concept? Hope & courage:

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116 thoughts

  1. Erin says…
    09/26/2007

    LOVE LOVE LOVE IT! Thanks for sharing so many pictures as well! Erin :)

    Reply 0 Replies
  2. Sarah Bowen says…
    09/26/2007

    love all the different sizes and all the texture in this album, thanks fro sharing Ali!

    Reply 0 Replies
  3. Laurel says…
    09/26/2007

    LUV,LUV,LUV what you did with this album!! I am SOOOO happy that I purchased the KOTM! I'm so inspired by what you did...can't wait to get started!

    Reply 0 Replies
  4. jessica says…
    09/26/2007

    Ali!
    How cool. So fun to see those pictures and remember the good times. We've got to go international together again soon!
    Love you!
    Jessica

    Reply 0 Replies
  5. Mariangeles says…
    09/26/2007

    Love the book; will take a closer look as soon as I get the chance.
    TFS

    Reply 0 Replies
  6. donnadowney says…
    09/26/2007

    ali this album is spectacular!!
    i love it!

    Reply 0 Replies
  7. Paola Norman says…
    09/26/2007

    Ali, thanks for sharing, and esp. for showing so much of the inside of the album. I really like the transparency idea..

    Reply 0 Replies
  8. Catherine Schwartz says…
    09/26/2007

    WOW! Where do you get all the creativity and also the time to finish all these GREAT projects. Your work is inspiring--thanks for sharing.

    Reply 0 Replies
  9. Rosie says…
    09/26/2007

    Love this! Just bought the kit and can't wait to take it apart and build an album with all the schtuff collected on a recent New Orleans trip.
    How did you make the transparency with the white days? Simply with a color laser printer?

    Reply 0 Replies
  10. elise says…
    09/26/2007

    dammmmmmmmmmmmn.
    love it.

    Reply 0 Replies
  11. Katie J says…
    09/26/2007

    this is fabulous and from someone who travels for work it's truly inspiring.

    Reply 0 Replies
  12. Candi Tardio says…
    09/26/2007

    hey ali...love this book!!!! love how you used the bind it all and put in your different "brochures" and additional items!!! i want that machine sooo bad :]
    c

    Reply 0 Replies
  13. kelly says…
    09/26/2007

    i've been anxiously waiting to see what you did with the kit and it looks fabulous! wow!!!

    Reply 0 Replies
  14. Kayla S. says…
    09/26/2007

    Ali, this is AWESOME!! It turned out soooo wonderful! You took a great kit and made it sensational! Thank you for sharing all the photos.I can't wait to try this!

    Reply 0 Replies
  15. Haylee says…
    09/26/2007

    Wow your album looks amazing. I often find I prefer to do pages or projects a while after the event has happened, as it can give you more time to reflect and work out what you got out of it. And isn't Australia just beautiful?! Ok, I'm a bit biased cause I am Australian, but anyway.

    Reply 0 Replies
  16. psmullican says…
    09/26/2007

    WOW! I love your stuff! I hope to go to NZ myself someday. I have a best friend who lives there. Looking at your book makes me want to go BAD!

    Reply 0 Replies
  17. amy says…
    09/26/2007

    Love your book....
    just an FYI...autism is the subject on Larry King Live tonight..it will repeat at 9 PM pacific time if you are interested in watching!

    Reply 0 Replies
  18. maple jenny says…
    09/26/2007

    Your creativity astounds me, Ali. So inspiring.
    A side topic: NPR this morning had a great story on autism. You should check it out on npr.org.

    Reply 0 Replies
  19. Heather Prins says…
    09/26/2007

    Okay, after seeing your take, I am ordering the KOTM! Thanks for sharing!

    Reply 0 Replies
  20. Elizabeth says…
    09/26/2007

    Hi Ali,
    I have never looked at the kits or even really understood what they were, until now. How long did it take you to create this work of art?

    Reply 0 Replies
  21. Brittany says…
    09/26/2007

    I LOVE this album so much! Your work is always so inspiring and your blog is full of such wonderful information. Creatively, I am always fed here. Thanks for sharing.

    Reply 0 Replies
  22. Leah says…
    09/26/2007

    so beautiful, as usual.

    Reply 0 Replies
  23. marygrace says…
    09/26/2007

    Oh my freakin' goodness.
    You just blow me away.
    Again and again
    And
    again.

    Reply 0 Replies
  24. Lisette says…
    09/26/2007

    This is such a great idea. And I love how you put it all together. Amazing!

    Reply 0 Replies
  25. Leigh-Ann says…
    09/26/2007

    Ali, this is incredible! take this the right way and as a compliment...you made it NOT feel/be tacky with all the pamphlets/clippings. great work!
    LA

    Reply 0 Replies

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