Out of Africa, A Small Scrapbook

I want to share one of my favorite small scrapbooks with you today, one that features photos from a trip we made to the Kruger Park when we returned to South Africa to visit family and friends in 1997. This album is made from a 5 X 5 chipboard album from Stampin' Up!(R), and all pages have been altered. The cover includes a scrap of Sentimental Journey Designer Series Paper, twill tape and HodgePodge Hardware (all from Stampin' Up!), some photos from our trip and a small compass. Using the new SU Spiral Punch on the cover paper and photos means that they perfectily around the binding coils and cover all of the chipboard cover, fit right up to the edge.

To alter the pages, I dis-assembled the album and applied Summer Sun and Close to Cocoa Classic Inks (also SU) directly onto each page using a make up sponge. I love the fact that it gave the pages a more rustic look and feel, adding visual texture and deleting "white space" - which drives me crazy in small books. I also think that the inked pages look more like the South African dirt found in Kruger Park. The whole album only took 2 days, with 3/4 of the time devoted to inking all of the pages.

This album contains twenty 2-sided pages, and I can't possibly put all of them on here. So I am just going to give you a taste of a South African photo safari - most of the photos here were taken from inside our car as we drove through the Park. This is an experience not to be missed, make sure you go if you ever get the chance. Click on the images to see a larger view.

This first layout shows information about our camp. A map is always a good thing to put into a scrapbook about a trip The pocket on the right side holds a small tag book that contains 6 photos of our bungalow. This is an easy way to add more photos to a small scrapbook.

The game viewing truck on the left goes out at sunrise and sunset to view the animals that are going to the watering holes or preparing to hunt. Every truck has armed trackers to protect against hungry lions. On a lighter note, we did get to meet Timon and Pumba up close and personal. Meerkats and wart hogs are everywhere in the Park.

All wildlife has the right of way in Kruger Park, especially the elephants. Elephants are known to charge cars and trucks, so all we could do was stop our car and wait wait for them to move along.

This big guy decided that he was unhappy with the tree that was in his path, so he tore it out- roots and all! This is when the trip gets scary,

There is nothing more wondrous than watching the sun set and listening to the sounds of the animals, all the time knowing that you are safe behind the fence of your camp.