Crazy about Travellers' Notebook
Ever since I picked up a Midori travelers notebook in Japan 2 years ago it has been my on-the-go travel journal for recording trip memories. The size, portability, options, and possibilities are so great I have totally stuck with it. In earlier trips I journaled then came home and printed photos to add. I always added memorabilia and brochures, and embellished with washi and more. Recently I also started to paint and draw and it all makes for the most memorable travel journals!!
You can see my travellers notebooks in detail here:
New Zealand (only on instagram currently)
Bali (on instagram here) and right below in this post :)
Macau (only on instagram currently)
Can you tell I'm crazy about Travellers' notebooks, lol!
Bali Travellers' Notebook
And finally I have photographed my Bali TN pages for you to take a detailed look. This was only a 5 day get-away, and I used a Midori 64 page insert so there was lots of space for me to dabble in drawing and watercoloring. It was like my first try and I had watched a few videos and read Danny Gregory's Art before Breakfast, was terribly unsure, but so glad I tried, because I loved it. As Danny said in his book, 'art stops time'. when you stop and draw or paint, you focus on your surroundings, notice the details, become present - something I'm lousy at, so yeah, so glad I picked this up!
So this is how I set up my TN. I have the one Midori leather TN cover, and simply switch into a new notebook insert for every trip. It's really simple, I only have the one plastic pocket insert, and decorated the cover of this notebook by doodling in (inspired by Bali carvings) and then painting. Added a tiny map on the first page, and our hotel room card pocket to note where we stayed, and that's it!
Here are the pages where I added photos when I got home, with some embellishments
And here are the pages where I drew and painted. Mostly when we sat down for a drink or a meal, I'd draw on the spot, snap a picture, and usually finish up the painting when I'm back in the hotel. I found the Midori papers thick enough for watercolours if you don't load it with too much water, and they dry well and crisp, I'm no artist, but I like it
And here are pages where I tried to do some stamping and more painting in titles & speech bubbles. As you can see I'm hopeless in stamping, but that didn't matter, these are all easy ways to add some interest to the pages.
As you can see we did a lot in our 5 days in Bali, we love it as a short getaway, don't know why we didn't do it till a couple of years ago, even though we live so near Bali. If you have any questions on my Bali trip just drop me a comment!
Supply List:
