Hello,

It’s Lisa here with you today and I’m going to share with you how to plan and make the best Travel Journal.

If you are like me and always have great intentions of these journals and end up with a half hearted attempt that never gets finished then this post is for you. I generally have no photos to share with friends or family after a vacation as they are all on the pc and I print my photos to scrapbook as and when I need them. By the time a decent amount of LO’s have been made, enough to show and tell the vacation anyway, the vacation has long been over and forgotten to most others. So this year I planned ahead and just 3 weeks following our vacation I have this finished journal.

I am now going to share with you how I achieved this.

Part 1

The most important thing is to start early. If you get the ‘holiday blues’ when you get home from a vacation, this really applies to you. Sometimes you just don’t feel like even looking at the happy photos when you get back home, so do all the work before you go whilst you are excited and in that happy bubble.

I used the Cocoa Daisy Travel Journal Kit from the Summer to make mine. But all you need is the following:

- Something to make your covers. Hard/grey/card/board  (Mine measure 22x15cm)

- A selection of patterned papers

- Plain white card stock for the inside pages

- Some sheets of clear vellum

- A couple of envelopes and paper blags

- Some tags

- And for decoration a border punch & some stamps

- This is also a great time to use up those scraps. Part used embellishment packs and alpha stickers will come in very handy

Collect everything up along with the basic scrapbooking tools and now you are set to go.

I like to get my mini books made in as few sittings as possible. If they take me too long I loose interest, so this is really important to me. I made this journal in 2 very long sittings over a weekend. I left my studio and vegged out in the family room in front of the TV for the weekend. I wouldn’t usually do this, but the kids were away, I could watch movie after movie and leave everything out.

 

I had planned our itinerary ahead of time so I knew roughly what we were doing, but I left lots of space for my journaling, made pockets for my photos and added envelopes and paper bags for all the bits and pieces that you collect whilst on vacation. The plan was when we got back home I would send off and get a few photos printed in 6×4” size and slide into the pockets I made on each page and the travel journal would be complete and ready to show our friends and family.

Part 2

Throughout the vacation planning I kept a notebook. I wrote down all the ‘to-do’ lists in here, booking reference numbers, details of everything, addresses for postcards, packing lists and there was lots of space for journaling whilst we were away. This notebook also had ziplock pockets which was great for collecting receipts, tickets etc… I was very proud of myself and did keep up with my journaling whilst we were away. I did actually keep a VERY detailed diary. I really enjoyed scribbling away in bed, by the pool or sat on the balcony.

Part 3

So after a lovely vacation it’s time to record the happy memories and finish this journal. I did as I planned and went through the photos and chose some from each day and sent them off to get printed. I found an online coupon and got a really good deal and they arrived a couple of days later. Then I grabbed my notebook and added the bits and pieces that I’d collected and journaled on each page.

Here’s what I now have to remember our fantastic Orlando Vacation.

 

A completed travel journal finished within 3 weeks of getting home.

 

 

I’ve written on the first page what we did on each day.

 

 

Each page has been made with double pockets. I’ve used the patterned paper for one and the vellum for the second. You can do this by sticking down just 3 sides and leaving the top side adhesive free so you can use it as a pocket.

 

 

Remember to keep all your parking tickets, receipts and other bits and pieces to add to your journal. Keep them in the one place whilst you are away so they don’t get mislaid.

 

 

Keep a theme running throughout the journal. This way it doesn’t matter if you use different patterned papers, you will still have a theme. I’ve done this by using a big scalloped border punch and a couple of stamps throughout the whole book. Everything ties in nicely then.

 

 

Add some interest and texture to your journal but using a piece of canvas or fabric as a page.

 

 

Envelopes look and work great in travel journals. I’ve stuck this one to the actual page as my photos fitted perfectly inside. You can add your memorabilia safely tucked away.

 

 

I love using paper bags. I had quite a few photos from this day so it worked really well for me to include them like this.

 

 

At the back of the book as a last minute thought I decided to include the theme park maps/guides as we’d collected them whilst away. I had kept some Starbucks paper bags and added holes to one of these to keep the maps inside.

 

 

And finally the back of the book. The last few bits and pieces.

I’m really pleased with my finished journal and really recommend making it in advance in these stages. It eases the pressure, makes it enjoyable and means you have a completed travel journal in no time after your vacation.

To help you with future Travel Journals here are some stamps that I would really recommend:

The Camera Stamp that I used.

This Journal Stamp. It’s small enough to work great in a journal but large enough to be able to tell a story.

This Date Stamp.

I also love these tabs and date stamps. You could attach them to the tops of your pages.

Thanks for letting me share this with you today.

Lisa xx