Altered Composition Books for Journaling

Mr. Tallgrass and I love to travel.  And we've been fortunate to visit some beautiful places.  More importantly, we always felt that it was the JOURNEY that was the most fun, not just the destination.

It's easy to remember the big stuff, like the time we saw Prince Charles at the Tower of London.

The "locals" in the crowd around us didn't get all that excited.  One woman said seeing Prince Charles wasn't a big deal, but when Diana was alive, seeing her was a thrill.  Wonder what kind of reception Wills and Kate are getting these days?

And my husband won't let me live down how I took a nap in this courtyard at the Louvre.

Hey, in my defense, we tackled the Louvre on the first full day in Paris (read: jet lag!) and Mr. French History Major had to look at every stinkin' statue and portrait of every dead French king in the place.

And then there was the time we were at the beach in Barcelona and we saw a guy walk to the water, fully dressed, stripped down to NOTHING and waded right in.














What, were you looking for a picture?  Sorry, I'm running a clean blog here, so no photos of that one!  :)

But, there are just some memories you can't capture with a camera, so on our more recent trips, we began journaling as well so we could remember the quirky, little details.  We love to sit in a cafe in the evening and recount our day, taking fast, snapshot-like notes in a composition book, and some days, we journal in our hotel room, aching feet dangling off the bed.  We just keep adding to the same book, and we enjoy spending our time waiting in airports recounting past trips in anticipation of the journey ahead.  It's amazing how much you can forget over the years!

So I decided to deck out our travel log.

All it takes is an old atlas, lot of glue and plenty of patience.  I finished the outside with acrylic sealer.  The inside covers are pages from the index of the atlas.  Then, I added a cute bookplate.

We're ready for our next adventure!  In the meantime, I'll dream of France...

Or maybe Spain and Portugal,

Or perhaps Italy?

I made some extras to share in my Etsy shop.  Where would you like to go?