A ? about autograph books

[scrapbookmommy]

I'm a scrapbooker and plan to go all out making my kids autograph books. Do you find it easier to take slips of paper to have them sign and then put them in the autograph book later or to go ahead and make the book and take it? I worry if I made the book ahead of time I will either have pages made for characters we don't find or not have them made for someone we see. Also I worry about messing the book up on the trip. I'm thinking it would be better to cut pieces of paper and maybe make a cute mini clipboard for them to use. How do you all prefer to do it? Also what is a good size to cut my papers if I decide to just take precut pieces? Thanks!

 

[lilygracesmom]

I have a question to go along with that one!
What kind of pen should I bring???

Whoo-hooo, we go in one week from today!!

 

[scrapbookmommy]

As suggested on this board I have picked up the big fat sharpies. The kind I got aren't the regular size but bigger. Everyone has said that is easier for the characters to hold in their big hands.

 

[jenb1023]

I find it easier to take pre-cut white cardstock and clip it to a small clipboard. I cut mine 4 1/4 x 5 1/2 (basically split a piece of 8 1/2 x 11 cardstock into four pieces). This was much better for scrapbooking later because you never know what photos you will get or how you want to scrap the page plus you can crop for the smaller signatures and leave them alone for larger ones.

Some words of advice I learned after three trips using this method -
1) I precut about 80 - 100 cards to be safe and in case some got ruined
2) I only put so many on the clipboard and keep the rest in my park bag in a ziploc bag (to prevent water or other damage). Once signed, I put the signed ones in that ziploc bag for the same reason and refill the clipboard with blanks
3) Each night I would lightly date in pencil each autograph that day and placed them in a ziploc that stayed in the room - no worries about losing autographs and that way if we met a character multiple times I could match the right autographs with the right photos

As for markers, I actually like the regular size retractable sharpies - no caps to worrying about losing. But sharpies of any kind are definitely best.

Hope this helps!

 

[pilotwife_02]

Another suggestion for markers, I found these and thought they were good since some said sharpies might bleed. They are thick markers and they tops flip open but stay on the marker so you won't loose the top. Found them at a regular grocery store.

 

[kwitcherkicken99]

I'm a scrapbooker and plan to go all out making my kids autograph books. Do you find it easier to take slips of paper to have them sign and then put them in the autograph book later or to go ahead and make the book and take it? I worry if I made the book ahead of time I will either have pages made for characters we don't find or not have them made for someone we see. Also I worry about messing the book up on the trip. I'm thinking it would be better to cut pieces of paper and maybe make a cute mini clipboard for them to use. How do you all prefer to do it? Also what is a good size to cut my papers if I decide to just take precut pieces? Thanks!

I purchased a 4x6 artist sketch book and covered the front cover in Mickey paper and stickers. When we got home, I took the autographs out and put them in our trip scrapbook. The book fit in a quart ziplock bag and kept it in our day pack. It was perfect.

I have a question to go along with that one!
What kind of pen should I bring???

Whoo-hooo, we go in one week from today!!

As big as you can find!!! My mom found a pen that was about a foot long at Walmart or Meijer. The main thing to remember is the size of the barrel. The thicker the better so the gloved characters can get a grip.

 

[lilygracesmom]

Thanks!

 

[kwitcherkicken99]

The blue one is the original book I covered. After I found out DS was going back to WDW with the grandparents and my nephew, I broke the binding, measured it, and went to Hobby Lobby to have them cut some mat board in the same size. They sell squeeze-shut wiring bindings at our store, so I picked some of that up too. Came home, covered the (red) book with leftover paper and embellishments and voila! Both boys had their own books for the trip.

Again, they fit perfectly in a quart sized baggie so we didn't have to worry about it getting wet.

Good luck!