i think this is one of the *BEST* travel book covers i've ever made...

...and i'm proud to say that i'm only A LITTLE BIT bummed that i don't get to keep it!

on the other hand, this baby is currently winging its way to san diego as part of a hostess gift to my friend cassie... (i stayed with her and her parents in march) ...who has not only been very complimentary on the subjects of the travel books i make, she has actually helped me collect up all the stuff i add into mine on various california trips! plus i think she's going to really like it, so i feel good about letting it go!* :)

(vintage: atlas index; patterned paper: love elsie, my mind's eye; digital airplane image (printed on kodak photo paper): Mapped Paper Pieces Transport No1, katie pertiet, designer digitals; felt cloud stickers: jolees; alphas: ki rub-ons and american crafts vinyl thickers; inks: colorbox, ranger; white index stock and book ring: staples; other: scraps of clear vellum and glossy pink card; adhesives: xyron, tombow monorunner, 3m foam tape, sewing machine)

this is exactly the same format i use for nearly all of my own personal travel books: the covers measure 9.25 x 4.5" and the whole thing is held together by a book ring in the top left corner. the size and binding are designed precisely in order to be able to easily punch and add standard-sized brochures (which tend to be 9 x 4") and other ephemera while i'm actually on my vacation. 

my travel books are kind of scrapbooks in the "old school" way, in that 90% of their contents consist of the collected "stuff"... (postcards, menus, ticket stubs, badges, business cards, maps, time tables, receipts, boarding passes, etc, etc) ...and the other 10% is the 15-minutes worth of writing i do each night--usually more or less just a list of what we did that day. to hold that part of it, i format and print a blank page for each day of our trip before i leave home. in cassie's book, those pages look like this:   

in case she'd like to do a bit more writing/documenting of her next trip, i've also added in some similarly labeled category pages, such as: journey, weather, sights, souvenirs, food, friends, fun, etc; she may use all or none of those, but i think it's encouraging to have a few "prompts" to get one started, especially for a first-time journal keeper! i've also added a bunch of blank pages to which she can add photographs, drawings, greetings from her friends, or... well... whatever she wants! i am really looking forward to seeing what things she will choose to record, and whether she finds the "PROCESS" of collecting memorabilia as much fun as i do! ♥

a funny thing happened on the way to the post office... after i wrote all of the above, my (non blogging) friend janet happened to see cassie's book and asked if she could purchase it for her grandson, paulo, who is going to be visiting her from berlin for a week. she has quite a few fun "american adventures" planned, and thought it'd be cool to record them with photos and souvenirs. of course i couldn't give away someone else's present... but luckily the pages are just digi-files and could be easily re-printed, so all i had to do was make another (similar, but unique!) cover:

(vintage: atlas index; patterned paper: love elsie, my mind's eye, american crafts; digital airplane image (printed on kodak photo paper): Mapped Paper Pieces Transport No1, katie pertiet, designer digitals; felt cloud stickers: jolees; alphas:american crafts vinyl thickers and remarks stickers; inks: colorbox, ranger; white index stock and book rings: staples; other: scraps of frosty vellum; adhesives: xyron, tombow monorunner, 3m foam tape, sewing machine)

paulo is quite mad for airplanes, so i made sure the inside cover reflects that:

and now i really am finished today's post, so i think it's time to say, "LET'S GO... do something in real life, darlings!!!" ♥♥♥

*actually, for me, a big part of the fun of making cards and gifts is giving them away... most of the things i make are specifically FOR someone i know, and i love seeing their reaction when they receive them!  as far as being unable to part with stuff--it doesn't happen that often, but one time when it did involved this "heart of bollywood" collage, it was intended as a present for my friend gill, but in the end i had to make her something else. this piece is still displayed right next to my desk, where i can see it every day... which is probably quite a conceited/obnoxious place for it to be, but i don't care!!! :)