![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlatsgdc30Lu8_Q2M43AFvt3Hq6heZG5y-4AqCQttLHh-NAlLcDbxaY3n9jVWu8M4IvZYsp7Wv3lFk-YAiKqsNNxR0mR9L3skFWxLQxcpJKHR3pFeZNwlyWffakZGlRfxQjPK1tK4dfgoe/s400/Florence+book+sneak+peek+one.jpg)
Thats where travel journal's come into their own. In the last couple of years I have made trips to various places in Italy, and fell in love particularly with the city of Florence. But I haven't got round to scrapping any of the photos yet. So when I was sent a Basic Grey chipboard mini album and the gorgeous Dream Street Art Nouveau range of papers, I knew that I would use them to make my own little journal of memories and images of the trip.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguEqgDtIRSXbXCtWIuGQi7Sl_4rREx7kSgN9-oQkYdcrTkPcCwr0f_1g7fSvdYfDVzBWUAg-E66CjOg4udIPSCZUne34-zKVY4pHlfyUdGnNhNTTeyS3Oo_KuRdv9bERzURJODZP92JOSh/s400/Florence+book+front+cover.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpasW3vLpLTQ1FoqERgkvafCMbXHSThqkHyQxWD6Jqt4xZPI9PKTICaWETJGtXBHbydEcSJ5dnzHDzXEeEL61g_Je0Ib5w_mo_sB8E7CLeGBjH055I1an9ykHH9E4HJ9LiZjQoZR1U5n1W/s400/Florence+book+page+1.jpg)
I started by working out the order of my pages, which photos to print out small, how much journalling I wanted to write, what embellishments I would use. I decided to blow up some of the photos from the trip to create whole pages on their own which I would write mini subtitles on using paint and gel pen.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidNCb1er58GHYmPZzbAHNJT1cdx7DT6UtwrdoVuOAFmRiqXGqvUSuCn6_GRMCl_IukFIrQWc-0-mySTPuohiAEDKZXZ3_I8Y12FEKbZfVeozQZqSyL7-zaXucTeoMyo3AMn4AaWumqMsIf/s400/Florence+book+page+2.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDqFwWpxKfvOtq1lXWQSwwi4Y0iKDbqvSh3NetR_UYoiGLnAs6Eey__r-4eFWB3WXK7ljfNtp4mqP5yV1WLBQsTQ5iEmv4yD24HdcieMe8EOVIlbkFw9r_bdcgKue9y4sNusVCijXQZUeD/s400/Florence+book+page+3.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2SChRWerYnxAzPuzXPUostR2BH3rgBIh8pUBpRmD-poIA9Fmz5sMqlo2fycz2M-VZZY2CnSWlkxEkiXGyhdIqG4YOH-uXEdaZ0yU4eeSpqj2WXSuQBlKnq8FSUu7_toKZXXtLItyqfwzw/s400/Florence+book+page+4.jpg)
I wanted to create an aged look, so I used files and plenty of paint to distress the edges of the album. I found an old copy of a map of Florence on the internet which I printed and tore into sections to add interest to my pages. I also used my favourite stamp to add detail.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4Yf7GLSlrJM-PGtMADT9AaV0ewguNbGeTMmBOhHpUeJ7VRyYgbbIrY_pe5nB5ks8eb1pFfsx0h2mHjVGS6f98P_SUhEsJIEXRGUN-Ym3U1M6MWN38jsp3xF-oTtDuxiK5HywwO3f8nISR/s400/Florence+book+page+5.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6Lx8s9jm6Qi_WnQfwBQgo9iRPii5VntUb7OynxJJmQVhqm28Hw0vX0E_arnr5FoXCN5H9y4KXffee-tdKQeevHgGZxsG6gBuxLqVOiI3_3MfNmhUOgNSWSpDekNvs_GdZwVpOir3u58jI/s400/Florence+book+page+6.jpg)
The flowers are by Prima, and I added extra embellishment with buttons from my own collection. I used a mixture of black and white pens for my journalling, to ensure it showed up on the different background papers. The title on the front page is housed in a bookplate which I distressed with paint.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlJYTzv7yZ05hthzaTxGeqxDPKZnJvhBt34u98UW0Wz3bFcY9FJJ0uxSPuSlCZJOqtsZu3sf3fVzE5imHOkhlZ6N6faT_gnkBpnkvj9YYBaxbFhOQprF9uTmOkw6z4xXxKVEAU0LnFvQEa/s400/Florence+book+page+7.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzhm0gS1dm1_JMFY30GmrKtecYIXLBlZ_PHplAzYKSdGYh5xOC3RCCuQAJwHJsirAe2wr8na9H4BQvwRyG0NPwlZoSkyt6L_vwzMnNF2GC4RR6j5jHvf0RB0vp94S0KiJxgNvwNrvzktIc/s400/Florence+book+sneak+peek+two.jpg)
I'm really pleased with the finished result - I love going back to look at the photos and the whole album is really tactile and inviting.