How to create a Travel Journal and how to set it up

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Creating a Travel Journal:

Let's talk Travel Journals... I will guide you through creating a beautiful memory keeping book of your holidays, my pre holiday set up's, what to take with you and what to collect and save whilst on holiday. I will share some of my travel journal / smash book style pages in my two completed journals; my handmade and my Moleskine Notebooks cahier journal.

​​I now have a total of two fully completed travel journals of my holiday adventures.  I always set them up before I go on holiday so that they are ready to be easily filled in whilst there.  So grab your scrapbooking / smash book stash and get creative.  The possibilities of different layouts are endless, just let your creative imagination run wild and get sticking!

Pre-holiday set up of my Travel Journal

​I always set up the pages before I go, using ink pads to distress the page and mixture of ephemera, stickers, jounaling cards and washi tape, then I really only need to fill it in when I'm away.  I also add things like envelopes to create pockets to store receipts and tickets/brochures. A printed google map of where you are going and hotel information is a nice addition too. I usually stick the photos in when I get back home, as I don't have a mobile printer.

Below is my latest set up (May 2022) of my travel journal ready for my summer holiday this so I can start journaling in it whilst I am there.

Resources to take with you:

I pack a kit of washi tape, pritt stick, scissors and coloured pens so that I can update on the go or in the hotel or by the pool.  What better way to spend a day than sitting in the sun with your journal? Whilst there you can pick up lots of things to use in your pages; hotel paper, hotel leaflets, trip information, stubs, flyers, pretty paper bags that gifts are bought in, bingo/raffle tickets if you play, postcards, beer mats, holiday programmes/schedules, restaurant business cards, activities schedules, the list is endless.

The journal above was a handmade journal that I put together using a variety of different papers, all different sizes. I like to use a mixture of papers or you could use scrapbook paper to give different backgrounds to give the journal individuality. These pages also include an insert from a mindful colouring book as well as project life style journaling cards and ephemera. I cut the paper to size, then put it through the sewing machine to bind it, but you could use a long armed stapler instead or hand sew it.

Black paper is something I wanted to try for this journal.  I have seen some lovely journals using white and gold pens and they really stand out on a black background.  I also added a bit of watercolour on the pages edge and topped it off with some journaling cards from Mrs Brimbles.  These were in the May or June box I think.

​For further inspiration see my two completed travel journals in the videos at the bottom of this post.​​

Travel Journal / Smash Book Video

One of my completed Travel Journals has been filmed below.  You will see how the pages came together with all the writing filled in.  Enjoy the video and feel free to subscribe for new updates and videos.

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I would love to see your travel journals and set up's, feel free to post a link below to share your pages or use the hashtag #kmmam on social media.

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