One of my favorite ways to memory keep while traveling is with a Traveler’s Notebook. Buuuuut I rarely manage to keep up with journaling while I’m actually on the trip!

That’s exactly why I I made these pocket-style Traveler’s Notebooks.

For this project, I used the fun Weekender Collection and brought this TN with me during our Eid Al-Adha road trip to Bahrain. Instead of packing journaling supplies, stickers, pens, photos, and everything else I thought I might need, I brought this one instead and used this notebook as a place to collect memories (aka junk) as we went.

The idea is simple: collect now, journal later.

Tickets, receipts, brochures, notes, and all those little bits of travel ephemera can be tucked safely into the pockets until there’s time to sit down and document the story. No loose papers floating around in my bag and no worrying about forgetting where something belongs. This idea was born from a travel journaling fail about four years ago. During a two-week vacation in Europe, I tucked all my tickets, receipts, and travel bits into the page for each day, fully intending to finish the journaling when I got home. But of course, by the time we got back, some of the pieces had already fallen out and gotten mixed up. Since we had done so much during the trip, I had no clue which day some of them belonged to anymore. Until now, they are still ijust tucked in my first TN, untouched. That’s when I started thinking about creating dedicated pockets to keep everything secure until I was ready to document the memories.

This TN features multiple pockets created from folded patterned papers, making it both functional and interactive. I love that it can be used as a standalone notebook or inserted into a Traveler’s Notebook cover.

When I finally sat down for a little journaling session, I had this TN with memories from our Bahrain adventure. Having everything collected in one place made documenting the trip so much easier! Here’s the 3 pocket pages for our 3 days in Bahrain:

Accompanying my journaling session was my Short Trips TN, a separate notebook dedicated to shorter adventures like our frequent Bahrain road trips from Saudi Arabia. I embellished the cover using elements from Our Story Matters, which remains one of my all-time favorite Traci Reed Designs collections. So definitely, the Weekender pocket notebook is a big help!

The cute thing is, the TN pockets actually help me keep up with journaling in both my Short Trips TN and my Daily Stampede journal. Speaking of which, I also added photos in this post of the Daily Stampede stamp punch journal I made using Traci’s Wild Flower Collection. You can read more about that project here.

And yes, this pocket TN will definitely be coming with me on our upcoming 2 week vacation with a 9-day cruise, so I’m pretty sure it’s going to get packed full of little bits and pieces. Unless I finally become the person who actually memory keeps at the end of every day while traveling… which is something I’ve been telling myself I’m going to do for years now!

If you’re thinking this sounds like way too many journals to maintain, you should see the other journals I have! Haha.

If you’d like to create your own pocket Traveler’s Notebook, here’s a simple tutorial!

Materials Needed

Pattern papers (I used double-sided papers from the Weekender Collection)
Needle
Thread
Poking tool
Ruler
Garterized string
Embellishments
Journaling cards
Binder clips

Instructions

Prepare the Pages

Trim your patterned papers to 8” x 8”. For this notebook, I used 8 back to back printed sheets.

Score the Papers

Score each sheet at 4”.

Fold the Pages

Fold all sheets in half along the score line.

Arrange the Notebook

Decide on the page order and select which pattern you’d like to use as the cover.

Secure the Pages

Align all folded sheets and hold them together using binder clips.

Create Stitching Holes

Using a ruler as a guide, poke holes along the spine approximately 1/4” apart.

Bind the Notebook

Using a saddle stitch, begin in the middle of the notebook and stitch toward one end. Once you reach the end, stitch back toward the center. Continue toward the opposite end, then stitch back to the center again. Finish by knotting the thread at the middle.

Add the Pockets

Trim pieces of cardstock to 4 x 3 1/2 and score at 3 3/4 and 3 1/4 respectively. Miter the corner and glue on the bottom right side of each page. I only glued the right and bottom parts to keep the left side open just in case the papers you will put is a lot!

Add a Closure

Because the pockets add extra bulk, I attached a garterized string decorated with a bead to help keep the notebook closed. If you plan to insert it into a Traveler’s Notebook cover, this step is optional.

I love projects that make memory keeping more realistic and less intimidating. Sometimes the best way to document a trip isn’t to journal every day while you’re traveling but to simply make sure the memories have a place to land until you’re ready to tell the story.

If you want a smaller sized one, you can trim your pages at 5 x 8 and score at 4! Here’s the mini version one I made for my cousin who is traveling with us next week.