On keeping a Travel Journal
Hello and welcome to another post. In my previous post, I discuss some simple ways to stay creative while travelling, with very few supplies. Today, I’d like to share with you a few ideas on keeping a Travel Journal you may enjoy.
Why keep a travel journal you may ask? Keeping a travel journal can be a great way to capture your thoughts, observations, and experiences while traveling. Here are some simple things you can do to make your journal more interesting and creative:
- Use different writing tools: Experiment with using different pens, pencils, markers, or colored pencils to add visual interest to your journal entries. You can also try different handwriting styles, such as calligraphy or block letters, to make your writing more visually appealing.
- Add sketches and drawings: You don’t have to be an artist to add sketches and drawings to your journal. Even simple doodles can add visual interest and help you remember the things you’ve seen and experienced.
- Collect items: Collecting items such as ticket stubs, postcards, and receipts can add a tactile element to your journal. You can glue these items into your journal or use them as inspiration for your writing and sketches.
- Write poetry: If you’re feeling creative, try writing poetry about your experiences or the things you’ve seen. Poetry can be a great way to capture the emotions and sensory details of your travels.
- Use prompts: Sometimes, it can be helpful to use prompts to jumpstart your creativity. You can find prompts online or create your own. For example, you might write about a favourite food you tried, a conversation you had with a local, or a memorable view you saw.
A few months ago, while in Spain, Linda, one of the ladies in the group I was with, was purchasing postcards of every place we went to. Multiples sometimes. We struck a conversation at some point and she shared with me the reason behind the purchases which I found very interesting. Linda purchases one postcard per day of travel – one for each place she visits, or a couple of different places. And she writes on the back what she did during the day and posts them to herself. When she gets back home, she gathers all postcards into a small “booklet” and can read about each trip she takes. A few words here and there that bring back memories. Isn’t that a great idea?
You could do the same and if you do not like the idea of posting them because you need to find stamps, where to drop them, etc., you could still purchase a postcard, write on the back and keep them with you. You could also glue them to your journal and write below what you did that day, the foods you ate, and anything else you can think of. Before long, you’ll have a wonderful travel journal to refer to in the future.
Let’s go create some wonderful travel journals this summer when travelling. I’m off to find a good book to bring with me. And a glue stick, some washi tape, a few pens ….
Until I write again, keep creating,
Ana
I made a postcard journal when my husband and I spent three months camping around the US. Since I had no intention of mailing them, I brought a plastic container that was just the perfect size to store them and a few colored markers. After we got home, I bought one of those small looseleaf binders and sheet protectors – which fit the postcards perfectly. I used the address space to record where we spent the night and the message space to talk about the day. There were a few days when I couldn’t find an appropriate postcard. For those, I had brought some blank colored card stock cut to size and drew my own images.
I like that idea. What a wonderful reminder of the places you’ve been! Thanks for sharing,
Ana
For my travel journals I prepare my spiral bound book ahead of time before I leave so I don’t have to carry many extras with me. I paint with water color, acrylics, with splashes of color, I use stencils, washi tape, glue interesting papers….all to each page. I am creating background color and interests like collage pages. Then I take a sprocket with me using size 3X5 sticky back paper. I take photos with my phone each day and at night or when I have down time, I print a couple of pictures on the sprocket…it spits out the photos instantly and then I stick them to the pages on top of my collages and then I write my memories of each page describing the photos and what interested me. On each trip there is not enough time to complete the entire journal so I finish once home, but so happy I got my jump start during my travels.
That’s a wonderful idea. I’m thinking of purchasing one of the small printers to print photos while I travel. I like your ideas. Thanks for sharing.
Ana