how kind of you to ask! it's not done yet, mostly because as soon as we got home i was back into deadline city, but i figure i'll show you the "bones" of it now and the finished product later.
i've said this before and no doubt i will again, but BY FAR the most crucial step for me actually KEEPING a travel journal whilst on vacation is to make a dedicated book for it
before we leave. bottom line--for me--if i haven't put in a bit of time & work already, i am not sufficiently committed, and in the fun chaos of traveling and the less-fun chaos of re-acclimating when we get home, my good intentions evaporate. so i make a cover and cool pages in advance.
(ali e. has been talking about her "december daily" this week and she calls this bit her "foundation".) i made a plain chipboard cover, and two different digital collages, for my date and theme pages; i printed one of the yellow ones for each day of the trip and one of the white ones for each potential sight i thought we'd take in:
(paper: color splash kit by deviant art for somerset digital magazine; brushes: travel clusters #1 and messy stitches, both bykatie pertiet, designer digitals)
this time i actually made two different digital collages for my date and theme pages; i printed one of the yellow ones for each day of the trip and one of the white ones for each potential sight i thought we'd take in. i saved them as .jpgs, and you're welcome to share them. (email me if you want .pdfs instead!)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQwZFAIPKouFv9DG3edIdJFfXf25PCxJvJPHe0z6uwTRxzz6erRqdBvPVD_ZQgQJ8VFoCOERTXGTwlHSK1xpx3wobjI3TFu_hCYCy8OsB9Ayooh7Cf2CXqWSZmzSk20y_PbBxBy7A_Qu2W/s400/hawaii+book-theme+page.jpg)
(paper: notebook paper pack, katie pertiet, designer digitals; brushes: travel clusters #1, katie pertiet designer digitals; mermaid's treasure box kit, mystique, o'scraps)
each night of the trip, i spent about 15 minutes or so writing down an outline of what we did each day. this, in my opinion, is another CRUCIAL thing--to write it down on the day! because the details FADE! it can be a list, it can be narrative, it can be just notes if you like. you could even do this bit on your computer, but i like to write in the book; because again, i have a long and glorious history of starting --and abandoning-- travel journals. the more i write IN THE BOOK, the more committed i become to the project!
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDko4H41lHqD9Sq62Vsse68YCXOZVdazALonSYT7bNye2bQ3AXiOjrRHAVdqGtMzWeswGTCr7lqC0udO2NZxiEMYLRuukc_6e92MzE4LqyPOWflwQ8c3KWvQBJHvQMp_hLFaroQmcCTP4i/s400/travelbook-after-e.jpg)
while we were in hawaii i acquired plenty of fun things to put in the book. some were purely decorative, like this FAB vinyl sticker:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXgT1wjmThLrJULSuu-w2gS5U5G7Ujbqqvey-2IOdLMLdqspm_hyphenhyphenJgKRhn897oRBnXQa4kI4114MksDaMyro2qMY8CpHI6idzuBuYp0wknUguOGfKfL1zBK8A3EBUrF5yZ2HdWNcRmkV2B/s400/travelbook-HI-aloha.jpg)
most were the sorts of ephemera one collects whilst travelling. when it comes to ticket stubs, stickers, takeaway menus, business cards and other small bits, i like to get them right in the book, preferably when i write the day's summary.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB15WNd_xP3IDeXdu54z0ZqUzNXM1My75otErHqMFAe_ev3xpu6wObFi2C01EwaxOwozufl_rZcf7Kq-HZQbTEPj_ufFU83ShYmgaFfQVbzMWIUpA9sOkmJiDEAHBF_aeOvJJ8lWx3knDU/s400/travelbook-ephemera+detail-e.jpg)
big things become their own pages. i just punch holes, and in they go:
medium-sized things like postcards and brochures can go either way, and when i'm not sure what i want to do, i'll often put them into the 1-gallon ziplock bag i bring with me, so i can decide later. but most things go right in, because watching the book *GROW* is one of the best bits!!!
when we got home, nearly everything i've shown you was already DONE. i spent a few hours last weekend finishing up the "writing bits". because while i really have to do the daily pages on the fly; the themes and sights sometimes need a bit of time to percolate inside my head, if i want to write about not only what we did, but also what we impressions we took away with us.
i have a few more bits and bobs i'm considering adding, and of course i need to make the cover. (which is my favorite part, so i always save it for last!) i'll come back when it is done and show you the finished product!
ciao for now, darlings!
♥♥♥