Once your vacation is over, what's next?  For many, it's putting those great photos and mementos into a beautiful scrapbook album.  Photo albums are great, but scrapbooks are of course much more fun.  But composing great vacation scrapbook layouts can present quite a challenge.  There are so many options available when it comes to scrapbook paper, embellishments, and wording that you can actually get overwhelmed with choices!  But you can compose great vacation scrapbook layouts without getting frustrated or making your scrapbook seem like a chore.  How can you do this?  Let's consider a few simple tips for composing vacation scrapbook layouts.

For one thing, of course you want the paper you use for your vacation scrapbook layouts to match the actual vacation itself.  Camping paper or nature scenes are good for camping trips, whereas beach scenes are better for beach or tropical vacations.  Whatever your vacation you're sure to find paper and embellishments that are perfectly fitting, whether it was a cruise, hiking in the mountains, or a trip to a beautiful location in another country.  Choosing specific paper that matches your actual vacation is the first step toward great vacation scrapbook layouts, so take your time to browse.  You can of course use generic paper as well but you might find once you start shopping that you prefer these other specific papers.  Since there are so many available for your vacation scrapbook layouts, why not take the time to browse through them?  But if you do use generic paper, make sure it complements your page in some way.  Soft blues and browns are good for beach scenes, or use warm reds and oranges for sunsets or sunrises.  When composing vacation scrapbook layouts, as with all other scrapbook pages, you want everything to complement your focal point and each other rather than to compete with it or seem out of place.

When incorporating embellishments for your vacation scrapbook layouts, consider how these coordinate with the vacation itself as well.  This means shells for the beach scene, old-fashioned round life preservers for that cruise, tents and fires for the camping trip.  You might also consider how you can use actual souvenirs and mementos for embellishments for your vacation scrapbook layouts.  Small shells can be glued to the paper, as can actual sand.  Twigs taken from your camping or hiking trip can also be used.  You can also use actual items to give your paper some depth; fluffy cotton can be made into clouds, twine can be twisted around to resemble the rope used on cruise ships, toothpicks or sticks can be used to resemble a campfire, and so on.  When you use actual items like this for your vacation scrapbook layouts you make them personal and unique but also give them texture and depth.

And don't forget too that photos are not the only type of focal point you can use for your vacation scrapbook layouts.  The tickets stubs for your cruise or airplane ride are good to use, as well as any you have from concerts you attended or museums you went to while away.  Postcards from your destination and even money from that foreign country can also be used.  These make your vacation scrapbook layouts much more personal and really celebrate all the parts of your vacation the way that photos alone cannot.

Wording will be an important part of your vacation scrapbook layouts.  A short title can be used which only needs to be one or two words.  Of course you can use typical vacation phrases and words such as Fun, Time Away, At the Beach, Cruising the High Seas, and so on.  But try to add words to your vacation scrapbook layouts that also convey your personal feelings during the trip.  Standing at the edge of the water might mean Hesitation, or Stick a Toe In.  If you went to a particular destination try to incorporate words and phrases that are appropriate for your vacation scrapbook layouts.  For instance, a trip to Paris might mean some French phrases or if you have photos of famous museums, the names of artists whose works are inside.  By matching your wording with your actual vacation and the photos you have, you make your vacation scrapbook layouts seem coordinated and therefore more professional and attractive.

Very often you will want your vacation scrapbook layouts to include more than one photo or focal point per page, and this can be tricky.  It's good if the pictures seem to coordinate or complement each other - one photo of you standing on the beach and another of you in the plane might not make sense.  But two photos of you at the beach but with different poses or obviously taken right after each other will look better.  If you're using a photo and another memento for your vacation scrapbook layouts, make sure these coordinate at well.  Ticket stubs with a photo of you standing outside the attraction makes sense, but ticket stubs with you standing on the beach might not.  All elements of your vacation scrapbook layouts should coordinate and this includes your focal points.  If they seem out of place with one another, consider putting them each on their own page.

It's always good to go online and see other examples of vacation scrapbook layouts that interest you and use those for inspiration.  Don't copy them exactly as you want your own scrapbooks to be unique and personal, but you can get ideas from those vacation scrapbook layouts you see on scrapbooking sites and boards.  You might appreciate how someone else tied together their beach photos with other mementos from a trip or how they used generic paper and embellishments to dress up pages.  Those vacation scrapbook layouts are on those websites for a reason - to help other scrappers really appreciate how to create great scrapbooks that look presentable and professional.  And if you do a good job with your own scrapbooks, why not do the same and share with others?