Okay! So it’s about time I did this post, but I have been outright swamped. But now I am finally a citizen, enrolled in classes, have the proper referrals in place for my medical issues, and have finished the first draft of the novel. Phew! No wonder I was exhausted.
A lot of people helped make this craft even though they didn’t know exactly what I was making. So here it is: a handmade travel journal for a friend to use during her journey in Cambodia.
Ta da! I’m a bit of perfectionist and am not easily satisfied with my work, but I’m actually pretty proud of this one.
First things first. I used paper mostly from Kaisercraft’s Timeless line. I love it so much. I’ve gone back to get more of the same papers to make journals for me. (Pictures of those later.)
This is the inside/first page. The card is stuck in there (later on that). I printed all the pages on regular A4 printer paper, then tea-dyed and crumpled them. I love the effect it had on the paper, but I don’t think I’ll ever put myself through that much work again. 
There is a very light greyscale map of Cambodia that takes up the whole page. I bought the stamp from Riot Arts and Crafts, and I used ‘Scattered Straw’ Distress Ink.
I wanted her to have a journal that would capture the entire trip, including before they left and after they came back. Because of that, I started with a to-do list…
In reality, their flights and hotels didn’t take up a lot of room. This way, she can stick in the boarding passes and/or anything she has from the hotels.
In trying to figure out exactly what to put in the travel journal, I decided she needed a page where she could put any emergency info. She could have quick access to who was house/dog sitting, what the emergency numbers are, a note about the time difference, whatever.
Now to the actual journey. I folded up a piece of 12×12 to create a pocket folder. (I sort of gave it a go, so I don’t have a YouTube video to share on how to do it.) It also makes a nice and easy separator for the pre-journey and journey stuff. I also punched holes in a bookmark (a wonderful gift from a friend!) and cut the side of the punches. Now she can take it in and out as she pleases to keep track of what day she’s on. A bit of ribbon and twine through the punched hole made it into a true bookmark.
Given it’s a travel journal, I wanted to be extra sure that the folders I made were very secure. I found sticky Velcro dots at OfficeWorks, and they worked perfectly.
Knowing exactly how long she would be away made customising this book a lot easier. To start each day, she has one of these…
Following that, she has this spread… It’s something I wanted to be sure to include because having it there makes you look at things a lot closer.
Then, of course, plenty of journal space each day!
A second folder separates the journey from the ‘back home’ section.
(And back…)
As you can see above, the home again section starts with the same ‘where are we/what are we doing’ page. However, it’s followed by…
For the above, I wanted her to have plenty of space for the little things you might not think about otherwise. Falling asleep at the airport, a picture of all the luggage, sky on the way home… Plenty of space for pictures.
I also wanted her to have plenty of more journal space not only for memories but for reflections on her very first trip away with her beau.
The last page…
Last, but not least, the back cover.
But wait! There’s more…
About that little thing to the right of the book in the first picture. That is actually a no-cut, no-tape photo wallet I learned how to make with this video.
I knew my friend would be out and about a lot, so I wanted her to be able to write down memories without being required to take her journal with her everywhere. So I made the little photo pocket and put some Project Life cards in it.
These are beautiful 3×4″ journal cards from the Maggie Holmes Edition Project Life core kit. I loved these cards when I first saw them and ended up asking around if any friends would mind donating a few more. (The core kit comes with 10, but I wanted at least a dozen.) I punched each of the cards and then cut into the holes. That way she can write while she’s out and about and pop them into the journal when she gets back to the hotel.
Phew! This one really was a labour of love, that’s for sure. It was a lot of hard work, but it really ignited a love of making notebooks in me. I’ll take pictures and share my other journals soon!
For now, thank you for reading if you’ve made it this far. 
