Are you like me and love to travel? Love to keep a record of what you do but aren’t quite a scrapbooker but don’t want to do a blog? Do you want something in between? That’s me. However, there is one issue with keeping a travel journal. I have, to quote a favorite movie of mine “the handwriting of a serial killer.” Even I can’t read what I write a week or more after I write it. I can read everyone else’s bad handwriting but not mine.
Another thing is drawing. I am not bad at drawing but I’m not amazing. Some of the travel journals I have seen are amazing. They draw nature scenes, architecture, maps and more. I look and go “WTH, My journal will look nothing like that.” I hear what you’re saying, you’re supposed to make it your own. I am trying to do just that. Mix writing and technology to create a fun journal.
People are going all out with lettering as well. I mean some of the journals in the Pinterest Board below look almost printed. Let’s face it, I will never write that well no matter how well I write. But hats off to those who do amazing work like that, color me jealous.
On current trips, I”m using Day One. It’s an app on the Mac and iOS that is a journal program. It’s pretty cool in that it shows you location data. Such as weather, a map where the pic was taken or note written. The downside is you can just do 10 pics. You can’t really do a layout with text around the pics. I love it for other writing just not a travel Journal. I usually put in pictures of my day so I can remember.
What do I want to include in my Travel Journal:
- Travel Ticket stubs – flights, etc
- Business cards – of places I visit
- Show/attraction tickets – Tickets to shows and places I go
- Pictures of my adventure – I have always been a massive picture taker
- Timeline of the day – Things I did during the day
- Addresses/locations – Of places I visit and hope to get back to
- My Itinerary – When on vacation I have a schedule for each day. However, I’m not stuck to it and will change as needed. It’s interesting to see how I wanted to start the day and what I actually did for the day.
Digital Vs. Written
Would my journal be written or digital? Right now I’m leaning towards written. That’s because there are no real digital solutions for travel journals that are easy. I have found a post on Pinterest that talks about doing image transfers to paper using a blender pen. From that I have seen there is a mixed success with this. It’s something that I will need to try out before committing too.
One other thing that may be good is Mod Podge Paper. It’s made for sticking paper to paper. For certain things, it would be ok, but for tickets and such where I want to see the back, it’s not the best option. I could use tape but it’s not the same. One idea I had would be to color copy items and then paste those into the travel journal. Putting the original in an envelope somewhere safe.
Conclusion
I plan on doing a travel journal for my next trip. I think it’s one of those things I must figure out as I go. I have to jump into it and make sure I save all the things I want to keep and write. Write legibly and leaving space for items I want to include. I will keep you posted on my progress.
Craft Factor 9 