Travelogue book for a swap

 I joined a book swap on AFTCM that required that we create a Travelogue. I googled Travelogue to see what exactly that meant and found that it is a book that records the details of a trip. So, I created a book that will do just that!  It is appropriate for almost any trip - camping at the lake this summer to visiting a foreign country for the first time.

 I started by creating the paper for the pages.  I used TH Distressed ink pads, a non stick craft sheet, a spray bottle of water and several sheets of glossy photo paper (4"x 6").  I applied three or four colours of ink to the craft sheet in a random pattern, spritz it with water and placed the photo paper glossy side down into the ink.  I continued to spritz and apply the paper until I was happy with the look.  I was able to make 2-3 sheets with each inking.  I laid them all out and once they were dry I matched them up to create the pages of my book - six sets of two.

I brainstormed some words that would be appropriate for my pages and decided on twelve that would work for almost any trip.  I drew a fancy "I" along with one word on each page using a fine tip Sharpie.  I used my Creative Lettering book by Jenny Doh for inspiration for my "I"s.  I added dots to create guidelines to aid in adding the trip details on each page.  I was careful not to draw too close to the edges knowing I needed room for stitching and binding.  As I blogged these images I see that I forgot the dots on two pages!  Already fixed!!

I found ribbons that coordinated with each set of pages, placed them on the right hand side in between the two sheets and stitched the two together using black thread in my sewing machine.  I spaced the ribbons so they would all be visible when the book was closed.  Stitching them together created pockets which can be used to store ephemera from the trip. I added an arrow and a half circle punch out to highlight the pockets. The pages still needed a " bit of something" so I used a floral stamp to add some flourishes to each page.  Just what they needed.

I worked out my binding pattern and punched 1/16" holes on each set of pages to coordinate with my pattern.  I used black cotton thread to tie together two sets of pages 1 & 6, 2 & 5, 3 & 4 leaving a bit of a gap between them. Then, I worked on my covers.  I used two pieces of medium weight chipboard from my stash cut to size and bound them to each other by stitching a piece of wide grosgrain ribbon (ends stitched together) between the two pieces.  Made a very neat binding

 I then stacked my three sets of pages one on top of the other, in order, and used a needle and black cotton thread to stitch and tie off each of my six page bindings to my grosgrain binding on my covers. Worked wonderfully!! I have a book that opens wide with a very streamlined binding.

I hand lettered the words for the cover onto a spare piece of decorated photo paper and tied on a metal heart embellishment (earring dangly).  I did some doodling on the chipboard cover using black Sharpies before stitching the decorative element to the front cover using black thread.

I added yet more doodling to the front cover until I was happy with the contrast of the lines and the weight of the lettering.  

 I decided to use the little half circles I had left over from punching my pages to decorate my back cover. I matched them up, glued them into place and used my fine tip Sharpie to add some doodling around them.

 After, checking out all the pages I decided to add a bit of doodling to each half circle opening that I had punched out and added a couple of images in the pockets!!

There is a lot of room in this Travelogue book for my swap partner to make it their own.  I hope they add yet more doodles - lots of room on the pages and the back cover!! I hope they enjoy their trip and add details as they travel to create for themselves a wonderful little book of memories.

Therese