I have a problem. Well, I have many problems, but today I'm just going to talk about the one.
I have severe compulsions to collect silly little things on trips and outings. I just recently threw away quite a bit of stuff that I've collected over the years and I still have two big boxes left. I did a little scrapbooking when I was a kid, but never really got into it. It just wasnt me. It always felt too formal to me and there was always so much stuff that didn't seem to have a place in a scrapbook.
This summer I've continued to collect random things from trips, but have finally found a way to keep them all together and not feel like I have to sit down and spend an hour to perfect a page for a scrapbook. I decided I'd like to make one each season. Of course, you could do one for just one trip, for a whole year, or for whatever!
As far as supplies goes you can really customize everything to your liking. I also have a envelope hoarding problem, so I used a few different tall envelopes to mix in with the pamphlets and other things I've been collecting so far this summer. I used some book rings you can pick up easily pretty much wherever office supplies are, and my brand new Cropadile (a birthday gift that I've been dying to try out!).
Collect together all the "pages" you want to use. This can really be anything, but it's best to do things of similar sizes to keep it looking somewhat cohesive.
Choose what side you'll "bind" them together on and make sure they're all even on that side (I chose the left), then clip them on the opposite side to keep them together.
To make sure your holes are evenly spaced out, just use a ruler and a pencil to mark where you should punch.
CRUNCH! Time to punch some holes :)
The great thing about the Cropadile is that it can punch through almost anything (and no, no one paid me to say that! hah!). If you don't have one of these bad boys you definetely can use just a regular hole punch, but you might have to do just a page or two at a time.
Now just slide your book rings through the holes and you're done!
Now let me tell you my million other reasons for adoring this little keeper (or whatever you want to call it!)
-You can add as little or as much stuff as you want. Getting too big?
Just switch out the little book rings for big ones:)
-Using envelopes for it is perfect since you can throw anything too little to be bound
with it inside the envelope and not loose it or wonder where it came from.
-ITS PERFECT FOR PAMPHLETS AND BROCHURES.
Seriously guys, do you know many of these things I have hanging around from trips? And they're impossible to scrapbook so they just sit in boxes. This is perfect for those things!
-Since the book rings are super easy to remove all you have to do is punch a few holes when you get back from a trip and PRESTO! You don't have to worry about them hanging around yoru house for months.
-Anything can be bound in it. I'm a napkin theif at cute eateries, and I can
actually bind those guys in there with everything else!
Okay, maybe that wasn't a million reasons. But seriously, guys, I'm in love:)
If you make one, make sure you link me to it, I'd love to see other peoples!
Wow that's a lovely Way to keep track of the summer memories! Really nice, thank you for the great tutorial, I just love everything wich includes book rings :-) have ahaoplevelse Day!
Posted by: Monsterscircus | June 28, 2012 at 06:02 PM
Yup, yup, yup! I am having the same kind of revelation. Love what you did!
Posted by: Elizabeth | June 28, 2012 at 06:18 PM
Love it!
Posted by: Kim | June 28, 2012 at 09:12 PM
I LOVE it!!! I bought one of Elise's (http://eliseblaha.typepad.com/golden/) summer mini books + started it. I can't wait to finish it. I collect napkins too. I've got one from Laduree too :) I ♥ that place. I thought about buying a cropadile, but I found a small punch for $3.99 that I am going to try. I'm sure it's not as great + I will need to upgrade at some point. Exciting!
Posted by: Lindsay | June 29, 2012 at 11:13 AM
Great idea. They'd make a great coffee table piece.
Posted by: Rachel | June 29, 2012 at 02:49 PM
What a great idea! I'm guilty of spending hours on one scrapbook page and I think this is a lot easier and cuter :)
Posted by: birdfriend | June 29, 2012 at 06:12 PM
This is an awesome idea! I'm a bit like you - love the idea of scrapbooking but find it a bit too time consuming and fiddly. Will have to track down some book rings!
Posted by: Vic | June 30, 2012 at 05:24 PM
Awww these are so cute! Lovely DIY! :)
Posted by: Carina | July 1, 2012 at 02:58 PM
Love this idea! I've always been stumped as to what to do with all the pamphlets I collect from our travels. This is a really fun way to keep them together. Thanks for sharing!
Posted by: Tina S. | July 3, 2012 at 11:54 AM
This is fantastic. I have a bag full of momentos from our family vacation to Branson in May. I'm not a scrapbooker and have book looking for fun ways to preserve these items-I kept EVERYTHING. Thanks again.
Posted by: MaryNell | November 12, 2012 at 12:07 PM
This idea really caught my eye~ I love scrapbooking and often make them as gifts for people. But, as you stated, it is very time consuming and often there are those "trinkets" that just don't fit onto a scrapbook page. This idea definitely solves that problem! Not only will I be using this idea for my own memorabilia, but I will also be making these as gifts! Thanks again for sharing another GREAT idea.
P.S. These could also be fun to make with kids~
Posted by: Dawn Carideo | January 6, 2013 at 12:07 AM
And what a fun thing to do with all those envelopes and letter heads and one paper I have from so many hotels that are keep sakes ... 😄 ... Put those together with pamphlets of the place, the serviettes from that trip, train and bus tickets and boarding passes and entry ticket and ...
Posted by: Swati | April 11, 2013 at 01:27 PM