Monaco

Naturally, when I travel I shop for paper. Before I go I will research stationery or gift stores, it’s a broader search term than scrapbook or craft, which tend to not give the right results. Also, art supply stores can be good, and even book stores.

I try to look for locally made items, but if not, I look for items representing that area. Cards, notecards, postcards, notebooks, notepaper, pencils, pens, desk accessories, etc.

There were not many results for Monaco. I did find some vintage looking postcards of art by Jean-Gabriel Domergue in the souvernir shop near the Monte Carlo casino, next to Cafe de Paris.

I read about a store in Monaco-Ville called Les Feuillets & decided to check it out. It was a little hard finding the location through the winding streets of the tiny city, and there was really no sign. It is right next to the Pinocchio restaurant which is easily found by this guy:

Right away I could see the attraction to Les Feuillets, with a collection of greeting cards, gifts, regional ephemera, and signs.

paper store, stationery store in monaco, travel, travel shopping, monaco shopping, paper goods, papercrafts, les feuillets — Les Feuillets in Monaco

There were many laser cut cards, in-general souvenirs, old copies of magazines, various art prints, lighting & candle gifts, as well as many other gift items.

paper store, stationery store in monaco, travel, travel shopping, monaco shopping, paper goods, papercrafts, — Vintage Postcards

I was able to find actual vintage postcards of Monaco complete with stamps & postal ink.

They carry a cute selection of notebooks with pretty covers. I fell in love with these thin metal signs with various veggies on them, I only wish I picked up a few extra.

I really enjoyed the fact that the ladies working there wrapped every single item I had up in separate bags, even adding a beautiful pressed flower envelope and pen to my order. It was packaged up neatly and held everything in tact for the rest of my travels.

Definitely do not miss this perfect little shop if you travel to Monaco.

Some of the items were gifted, others added to my walls & collections, and a few may find their way into a giveaway next month – stay tuned!

Webster’s Pages Travelers Notebook

I’ve been a fan of travelers notebooks and mini journals for a while now. I do love the Midori traveler’s notebooks for mini albums or doodle journals. I don’t use a planner, just my bullet journal, which is similar in size to the travelers notebooks.

I recently tried a Webster’s Pages Travelers Notebook Insert from Joann’s for the April Love Letters journaling. It is a good, quality notebook, and held up well carrying it around loose in my pouch.

I saw the Webster’s Pages leather travelers notebook for sale on Zulily and decided to grab one for an upcoming trip since it was discounted. I chose the mint album.

I was immediately impressed with presentation, quality, & the genuine smell of leather opening up the box.

It comes with a blank notebook insert.

When I travel I always prepare a notebook or mini binder that contains all of my travel info, tips, places I want to visit with addresses & phone numbers. I usually research and collect all this information into a Google Doc, then format, print and include in a binder.

I picked up this mini notebook for my trip at World Market in Las Vegas back in March. I decided to try to see if it would fit in the leather notebook and it did! In fact, it fits nicely with the other insert as well.

So I will copy my travel notes into the notebook, then have spare pages to journal about my trip or keep receipts, tickets, business cards, etc.

I haven’t completely decided how much I am carrying with me, because I am trying to keep it light. So it just may be a pen, a small amount of washi, and little tape runner.

Looking forward to documenting on-the-go!

Do you use a traveler’s notebook system? Which one? What are your likes/dislikes?

Do you actively document as you travel or is it more for when you get back? I am a mix of both.

California Keepsakes

Last September we traveled to California to drive the Pacific Coast Highway, aka Highway 1, from San Francisco to San Diego. I tackled documenting this trip with a digital photo book and small memorabilia album.

When I travel I take a ton of photos and it just isn’t realistic for me to scrapbook them traditionally. I usually create some sort of digital book for trips. I’ve used various services throughout the years, and this was my first try at Artifact Uprising. I was attracted to the options for the size of the book and the service has many positive reviews. I chose a landscape 8.5×11 size with a full flap jacket cover and the 150-page option. I ended up with 166 pages! It took me a few months to sort through my 2,757 pictures and edit a few. Artifact Uprising does have sales, so I was able to take advantage of that, which every little bit helps.

California Artifact Uprising Inside, highway 1, pacific coast — California Artifact Uprising Inside

The design element was basic and easy to do. They provide some customization options, but I did my editing in Photoshop Elements. I prefer the layouts with one or two photos on a page and plenty of white space.

While I travel I take notes and hoard every piece of paper as keepsakes along the way. At first I was not going to included any journaling in the digital book, but there were too many stories to share that didn’t necessarily have photos. I decided to include a brief summary for each day, sometimes almost just listing happenings and tidbits from our adventure.

Then with the collection of receipts, tickets, maps, napkins, menus, etc, I decided to put together a mini album to accompany the photo album. This was actually quite easy and once I had all my elements I was able to assemble it in a few hours. I printed some photos for this to help tell the story along the way, but mostly used memorabilia.

Here is a peek:

Mini album, memorabilia, San Francisco — Mini Keepsake Album

I used the main map that helped us navigate San Francisco as a page for photos and including postcards. Fun fact for memory keepers, in the store at Golden Gate Bridge, they have a stamping stations set up so you can stamp the date on the back of the visitor souvenir card.

Hotel Receipt, MUNI public bus passes, business card, airline ticket stub and Alcatraz brochure. I attached a photo right on the brochure.

mini album, memorabilia, Monterey — Mini Keepsake Album

Many brochures I pick up along the way from hotels or stores of places I know I plan on visiting so I have something to scrap. Yum, every time I see the Hula’s menu I think of fried plantains!

mini album, memorabilia, Cambria — Mini Keepsake Album

More brochures, a mini take-out menu, hotel room key and ticket stubs.

It was an awesome trip and I highly recommend it!

Supplies:

Simple Stories album

page protectors

Other memorabilia suggestions:

Napkins

Matchbooks (take matches out for safety reasons!)

Toll receipts

State Park admission passes

Luggage tags

Visitor guides

Incorporate posted maps & signs by snapping a photo

How do you document trips? Do you prefer a digital or traditional scrapbook?