This post is a little different than most and it doesn’t feature any cards!! Three weeks ago I returned from an almost month long trip to Seoul, South Korea. My husband was going for work and I went because one of our daughters has been living there for the past 6 years and it was a chance to visit!
Obviously, I could not be away from my stamping supplies for that long, so I had to bring some along with me. Here are a few things that I learned of what I did that worked well…and what I should have thought out a bit more carefully.
Now that I have done this once, I won’t be the crazy person at 2 a.m. trying to decide what I should take with me and what I can do without or trying out multiple ways to carry my supplies on the plane and also in my checked bag. I finally chose my Stamparatus Bag (without the Stamparatus) as I felt that took up too much room.
This is what I managed to pack in my Stamperatus bag:
- Stampin’ Mat / Piece of Grid Paper (11”x 14” Cut into quarters)
- Memento Tuxedo Black ink Pad
- 2 stamp sets
- Simply Shammy (cut in 1/2 and in a ziplock bag
- Stampin’ Block’s C, D and E
- 4 Inkspots (from my Paper Pumpkin kits)
- 22 Stampin’ Blends Markers
- Whisper White Cardstock (cut 5 1/4” x 4” plus some die-cut shapes (Nested Rectangles), plus a bunch of pre-stamped images.
- SNAIL Adhesive
- Precut Card bases/Designer Series Paper that matched my stamp set
Here is the good about this plan:
- Stamparatus Case – Best thing ever for taking supplies on the plane. It’s small enough to fit inside a backpack or other small carryon that will fit under the seat and it’s big enough to fit in ALOT of stuff!
- I put my Stampin’ Blends into two Zip-loc bags. They stayed contained and I could just pull out a bag if I needed it
- Pre-stamped images is the way to go!
And here is the “I didn’t think this through” about this plan:
- Those airplane trays are tiny. I like to spread out. Enough said.
- It’s not easy to stamp on a plane….see comment above. Best to stick with pre-stamped images to color.
- Make sure you take your bag of supplies out of your carryon or place it where you can reach it, like next to you in your seat. If you’re back in economy and don’t have monkey-length arms, you’ll never get it out without elbowing the person in the seat next to you or waiting until they go to the bathroom on a 12 hours flight and then you have to hope you are awake! I was in a window seat in Economy Plus and it was still difficult to get out my supplies.
- Bring a few envelopes & clear envelopes so if you manage to make a card or two, you can give them away! I did have those in my checked luggage, but not with me on the plane.
- SNAIL adhesive can be noisy when the plane is quiet because everyone is either sleeping or watching movies. Multipurpose Liquid Glue might have been a better choice….but be careful as with the pressurization, the glue might be like a volcano leaking lava. when you open it up.
And now….what did I pack in my suitcase? And I may have taken clothes out because I knew I would have access to a washer/dryer. I put all my supplies into a Medium Packing Cube so they would stay contained inside my suitcase.
This is what I packed in my checked bag:
- Cardstock – I took one piece of everycolor that was in the Designer Series Paper I took, plus about 15 pieces of Whisper White
- Card Bases – 2 each of colors in the Designer Series Paper – pre-cut and scored
- A pkg of Whisper White Envelopes and about 25 clear envelopes
- 10 stamp pads
- Paper snips (didn’t want them confiscated by TSA)
- 2 more stamp sets (which I put into the Wide Stamp Cases. Inside with the stamp set I included: 1 piece of each 12” x 12” Designer Series Paper that coordinated with the stamp set cut into 6 “ x 4” pieces, 1 piece of 5 1/4” x 4” cardstock in coordinating colors, Matching Die cut pieces that I had prestamped and cut, 1 piece of embossed cardstock 5 1/4” x 4” of coordinating colors.
- Multipurpose Liquid Glue
- Wink of Stella
- 1 yard of about a dozen different ribbons & twines
- Stampin’ Dimensionals
- Tear ‘n Tape
What I thought was a lot, but wasn’t really all I needed, which fortunately it wasn’t much.
- A Trimmer – I didn’t take my trimmer because my daughter bought me one to use. Which was good and bad. The trimmer she bought only measured up to 4”, so I had to measure a lot with a ruler to trim down pieces of cardstock and designer series paper. And no there is not a scoring blade on the trimmer….there were 2 curing blades AND one extra blade too!
- A General Stamp Set with Sentiments – A stamp set like Well Wishes or Itty Bitty Sayings would have been wonderful! I got tired of using the ones that came with the stamps sets I chose to take, plus there weren’t enough just “general” sentiments like “Happy Birthday”, “Thank You”, “Just a Note”, etc.
All in all, I think I packed pretty well, and I could have always bought some of the supplies I needed as I found them at one the markets I visited.
And the prices surprisingly similar to purchasing from Stampin’ Up!
Hope you enjoyed this post and if you are traveling this summer and taking your stamping supplies, let me know what worked for you!
Happy Stamping!
Patricia
Below are some of the supplies that I took when I traveled to South Korea. They are basic supplies that just about every stamper should have. If you need supplies, please visit my online Stampin’ Up! Store. If you click on the shopping link below (or any of the products in the list) it will take you right there! Take a look around! If you’d like to place an order, I’d be honored if you chose me to be your Stampin’ Up! Demonstrator….just choose me when prompted during check out. Not sure what to order? I’d be happy to help you choose the products that will make you a successful crafter!
