Travel Journal Advice

Discussion in 'Hybrid Pad' started by GlazeFamily3, Mar 19, 2018.

  1. GlazeFamily3

    GlazeFamily3 Peeking in everyone's windows ...

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    I've seen some amazing travel journals out there and I am always completely smitten with them. I just love the idea behind them.

    Today as I was working on the monthly journaling challenge, I stumbled across 30 travel journal prompts- 10 for before the trip, 10 during, and 10 after the trip.

    We will be traveling to Colorado in a few months to see my husband's brother get married and do some sightseeing as well. I thought it would be really fun to do a travel journal and perhaps let my nine year old create one, too.

    My question- I don't have the slightest clue where to start. Can anyone help with that? Feel free to share any experience or advice you have regarding travel journals!
     
  2. BevG

    BevG If I can't remember it, it didn't happen

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    Many, many, many years ago, I spent 6 weeks in London on a study aboard through my university. I kept a boring spiral notebook with what I did that day, my thoughts, and a list of the pictures I took. It was very useful in recalling my trip.

    I have started taking notes while we are a week's vacation because often I don't scrap the photos until months later. Then I wonder what we did for a whole day when I don't have pictures for a day. Or I have pictures for something that took like 30 minutes and then I wonder what we spent the rest of the day doing.

    One thing we did do when we went to China to adopt my daughter is take an accordion file folder, with each tab labelled by day. That gave me a pocket to put notes and memorabilia in. At least it was sorted by day.

    We have a few trips coming soon. Would love ideas too. Can you share the link or tell me the key words to find the travel questions?
     
  3. GlazeFamily3

    GlazeFamily3 Peeking in everyone's windows ...

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    Here are the travel journal prompts. I haven't done a whole lot of searching... I am sure there are more, but these are definitely a great springboard.
     
  4. Angela Toucan

    Angela Toucan I keep looking for THAT wardrobe

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    I have a Bind-it-all for making quick and easy spiral bound books, but if you don't have one it's not difficult to stitch a binding and there are loads on online tutorials around.

    For a travel journal for a trip like you are planning I would Choose a mix of papers and supplies from my stash:
    • some travel themed papers. Pick things that inspire you and would allow space to write or doodle on.
    • some pretty papers for writing, doodling or sticking on.
    • some water colour paper for painting on
    • some black artist paper for using oil pastels on for night scenes etc.
    • journal prompt pages. These could by hybrid and include those prompts you found - one to a page.
    • some wedding themed papers, and maybe some wedding prompt pages
    • the wedding invitation etc.
    • maps of where I am going
    • Tourist information on places I definitely want to see
    • An itinerary/planner page(s)
    • some pockets to put things in (could be made from papers, envelopes or even paper bags)
    • At the back I'd put important phone numbers, and the addresses of people I want to mail postcards to.
    • Sheets of themed stickers at the back, or in a pocket
    I have a double ended pen that has a doodle ink on one end, and a glue stick on the other that I attach to my travel journals by fastening some elastic to the cover that the pen can be slotted into.
     
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  5. bestcee

    bestcee In love with places I've never been to

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    You could always put it together, and go to an office supply store and have them bind it for you? I used to have them make all my cookbooks spiral bound.

    The last "travel journal" I did was when we went to WDW 2008 for 10 days. I had a book with papers, and then a slip in folder for each day. I carried index cards with me at the park, and would jot down funny sayings or magical moments. Then slip them in the pockets at night. I'd add anything else about the day on the pages, and any other things - fast pass tickets we didn't use, etc, into the folder for each day. I didn't have a way to print photos, so I mostly just put stuff together so it'd be easy to scrap. I could see modifying this to glue the stuff in if I was to try it today though.

    When I was a kid (about 8-9), my mom gave me one of those primary lined books for one of our trips. The ones with the blank at the top, and lines at the bottom. I mostly just used it as a journal, but I did draw a picture for each day, and wrote about things that happened.

    And that's my only experience with travel books! Not at all what they are today.
     
  6. AnneofAlamo

    AnneofAlamo Slippers IN sunshine? Even better!

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    my brain explodes trying to remake what others have done so well! lol
    @LynnG travels to places I have to google! lol
    then she makes the most awesome templates that you can print the thumb nails and then write a diary of the moments you want to put on those pages as the travel is happening.
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    I have linked these and the examples on her pages make me want to go travel and make books lol
     
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  7. Cherylndesigns

    Cherylndesigns All glasses should be bigger than 1.5 oz

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    I LOVE Lynne's templates - I own quite a few of them now. Great idea, Anne @AnneofAlamo .
     
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  8. GlazeFamily3

    GlazeFamily3 Peeking in everyone's windows ...

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    I have several of her templates and I am using the Sharpshooter ones now to make an album for our most recent trip. She does create some AMAZING templates to easily and beautifully document trips.

    What I am looking for, though, is more the 4" x 8" albums I have seen out there... they seem to mostly be hybrid books. I know I'll create a regular digiscrap album too, I just want something to physically write, journal, record, hold memories during the trip.
     
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  9. GlazeFamily3

    GlazeFamily3 Peeking in everyone's windows ...

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    Could you tell me more about this pen that is part pen and part glue stick? I have never seen anything like that before and that sounds like it could be super useful!
     
  10. Angela Toucan

    Angela Toucan I keep looking for THAT wardrobe

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    There are two brands available here in the UK: Lah-de-dah and Smash.
     
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  11. tkradtke

    tkradtke Professional Brainstormer

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    I do them, but mainly to hold all of the paper bits I collect during the trip. I did a blog series here a while back...
    https://the-lilypad.com/travel-journals-part-one/
    https://the-lilypad.com/travel-journals-part-two/
    https://the-lilypad.com/travel-journals-part-three/

    One year I did more of a Smash book style one... this was fun because my daughter and I did our own books throughout the trip and worked on them at the hotel together at night. My blog is VERY sad and neglected, but here is the link to that book...
    http://tkradtke.blogspot.com/2014/09/road-trip-2014-travel-journal-overview.html
     
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  12. GlazeFamily3

    GlazeFamily3 Peeking in everyone's windows ...

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    Thanks Tracie! I will check those posts out!
     
  13. BevG

    BevG If I can't remember it, it didn't happen

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    Your journals are wonderful, Tracie! This would work really well for our cruise trip as we may be without computers - if we can stand it....
     
  14. tkradtke

    tkradtke Professional Brainstormer

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    Thanks Bev! The Smashbook style is really fun to do while on a trip... no technology needed! Plus it's a fun evening activity as well. We were traveling with my parents and were at the hotel pretty early each night, so it was something to do besides just watch TV. Marylin (@mcurtt) does beautiful travel journals. I don't think she has any of them posted in the gallery, but she does have a page about working on one...
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  15. mcurtt

    mcurtt give me all the paleo brownies

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    I make it a point to journal (digitally) every day, so it would stand to reason that my travel journals incorporate the words. Whenever we do an overseas trip, I buy a store-bought journal. For the trip we took to Poland in 2016, I did do some prepping in the book. I zentangled my title, and since we also were attending a wedding, I created a pocket for the wedding invite, included pronunciation for Polish, key phrases. Since these were my cousins that I had never met, I also included a family tree so that I could remember who was whom. My boarding passes, transportation pre-pays, lodging info, etc. were all included prior to the trip, including lots of tip-ins. I decorated a number of the pages with simple strips of washi tape, placed wherever... And then for the trip, I made it a point to journal every day (surprise, surprise). Who I saw, what I saw, where we went, what we ate. Everything I picked up was fair play to include in the journal. I brought along a small pair of scissors, a glue stick, and washi tape. I wrote, I cut out, I glued, I created tip-ins as the trip progressed. I have empty sugar packets taped in (they were gosh-darn cute), a butter cover (in Polish of course), postcards, bits of decorative bags from souvenirs, menus, brochures for attractions. When I met the family, I included recipes from them, e-mail addresses, postal addresses, new relationships & how people fit into my family tree. But then again, the words were always present. The next time, I'd bring along more washi & 2 glue sticks.

    I've got travel journals for Venice, Prague, Portugal, Germany/Sweden/Copenhagen, Puerto Vallarta & Poland.
     
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  16. GlazeFamily3

    GlazeFamily3 Peeking in everyone's windows ...

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    Wow, wow, wow! These journals will be such treasures for your family to look back at one day! Thank you for all the tips- there are definitely great ideas I can pull from what you said to use to create our journals.
     
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