bon voyage, mes amies!

no, i'm not going anywhere... (nor, i hope, are you!) ...but i'm so excited about miss ros' chosen challenge at city crafter this week, that i just had to jump right in! yep, you've guessed it, this week's assignment is to create a "BON VOYAGE" card or  project! how fun is *THAT*?! 

as you know, i ♥LOVE♥ making travel journals, so much so that i've begun to make a few "extras" for my etsy shop. here's one that was inspired by ros' gorgeous vintage illustration:

(vintage: ship illustration, ocean currents map and nautical charts (inside covers); patterned paper: making memories, american traditional designs; transparency: hambly; woodgrain thickers: amy tangerine; decorative tape: bazzill; book ring and white index stock pages: staples; font: vogue; ink: colorbox; adhesives: xyron, scotch gluestick, tombow mono runner, sewing machine)

i love using a mix of real vintage goodies, vintage-inspired paper-crafting products, and even plain old regular office supplies! in this case, the gorgeous illustration of that lovely ship-- (a real ocean liner called the ss united states) --came from an old book on the history of shipping; the "ocean currents" illustration is from a vintage atlas; and the nautical charts which make up the end papers of the book are from a lavishly illustrated (but sadly falling apart) book about sailing. 

the decorative bits, and the title of this journal are attached to a transparency which is layered over the front cover. i've done this for a couple of reasons: for one thing, i just generally LOVE layers; for another, it means that you can, if necessary, take this layer off... either temporarily (so it doesn't get banged around while on your vacation!) or even permanently, if you'd like to add your own title to the front of the book.

the inside consists of plain white pages with just a decorative border and a bit of printing. there are two weeks' worth of "day" pages for journaling what you did when; about a dozen "theme" pages (such as "the journey", "the weather", "the food") for recording more details of the trip; and some blank pages for adding photos or sketches or... well, whatever you'd like! the single ring binding makes it easy to add, subtract or re-arrange the pages however you'd like; and also to include postcards, tickets and other ephemera you want to save. the book's size (4.5 x 9.25") is designed specifically so that the ubiquitous travel brochures we all accumulate on trips can be punched and added, as well; with no need to create layouts or pockets to accommodate them!

if you take a little book like this on your next vacation, spend 15 minutes or so each evening writing down what you did each day, and then punch holes and add whatever ephemera you've collected... by the time you arrive home you will have everything you want to remember from the trip complete and together in one place! a great keepsake on its own; even more fun if you add some photos; and it will contain all of the the details and souvenirs you'll need if you want to create more traditional scrapbook layouts later on! 

you can find this particular book in my etsy shop, just enough stuff. if you'd like to see details of what some of my own personal travel scrapbooks in this format look like when they are finished, and/or get some tips on how to build your own punch-and-go journal: here is my san francisco trip; here is a cool visit to new york city; and here the story of the very first travel book i ever completed... a VERY BIG milestone for me!!! there are even more to see under the label travel books!

and now i hope you are already plotting and planning your very own fabulous BON VOYAGE project or card, but if you need inspiration, be sure to check out the amazing work of kirsty, linda, cheryl and ros on the city crafter challenge blog!!! ♥