Do you listen to podcasts? I haven’t until recently, and even then, it is difficult for me to pick up in the middle of a podcast. Should I go back and listen from the beginning? That will just set me back even further in the listening queue. I received an email with a link to a podcast from Gretchen Rubin (I have read several of her books and will link them below). So I listened this morning without going back and starting from episode 1 and surprisingly, I enjoyed it.

(I started listening to books/podcasts in response to this post)

A small part of the 34-minute podcast was a note from a listener. The listener said they buy one or three postcards from their travels of significant memories of the trip such as their favorite art piece at the museum. Postcard as souvenirs don’t take much room to pack, requires no customs, and stored in a small tin at home. She writes a note on the back of the card to herself which captures more memories of the trip!

Genius!

What a genius idea of buying postcards as souvenirs! The cost is minimal and you still get the feeling of ‘buying something’ from your trip.

I remember in my parent’s basement a couple of little dolls from their visit to Pennsylvania and Amish Country. I asked my mom why she didn’t have them on display. She said they were just silly little dolls and wished she wouldn’t have bought them. But she couldn’t throw them away either. I asked her why she didn’t just throw them away and she couldn’t give me an answer and just ushered me out of the room. There is something about buying a souvenir on a trip. Then there is something about having to get rid of it afterward.

How Many Things are Too Many Things?

I have a child who cannot throw away anything because it is all significant to him. I have the same struggle with anything I create. (At what point does my pile of paper become a fire hazard?) I understand the struggle of loving things, but I also understand the struggle of having too many things.

This idea of selecting a postcard to commemorate the best moments of your trip is fantastic, plus you keep a short journal entry on the back for even better memories.

11 reasons to buy postcards instead of souvenirs when you travel - sketchnotes adapted from a podcast

Here are the Reasons to Buy Postcards as Souvenirs

(I’ve adapted this list from the podcast and added my own thoughts)

Choose the best memories from your trip
You don’t have to take pictures all the time
Your friends can help you choose which one you want to take home
Easy to pack
Doesn’t take much space on the trip home
No Customs
Inexpensive
Write a note on the back for memories
Easy to store at home, doesn’t take much space at home
Buy two or three of them without guilt
Isn’t a picture worth a thousand….trinkets?

If I find more gems like this from podcasts, I may have to make an effort to listen to more! And travel more. I definitely need to travel more just so I can buy postcards as souvenirs as if that’s the only reason.

Remember to plan your life so you live beautifully and don’t be afraid to find your inner muse.

~Tricia

Creating Map Collection Spreads for your Bullet Journal

Include a map collection for planning trips, tracking where you’ve been, where you want to go, how much you need to save for that amazing journey you are planning…the possibilities are limitless!

I saw a collection not long ago similar to this and the ideas for what I wanted to do and incorporate it into my bullet journal started flowing. Seeing things visually helps me envision other possibilities. So I LOVED the idea of tracking travel. I knew I had to do something with it! Getting it into the pages were a little tricky since I wanted a two-page spread instead of just a single page spread. It’s also tricky because the lines are so intricate.

Watch the video on how I planned & created this spread

With a little planning, the two-Page Map Spreads aren’t so Tricky!

I searched and searched for maps that would work and planned the center line for my United States map. Right down the line where Montana/Wyoming meet up with North Dakota/South Dakota/Nebraska and down to the line separating New Mexico & Texas seemed like a pretty good separating line in this case. I didn’t choose a very large map to start with, partly because when I sized the map larger, it was a little pixelated and I didn’t like the detail I got from the map. It also afforded more margin for other opportunities. The map could also go on a single page. (Don’t worry, you don’t have to search and search, I created free printables for you!)

When planning the spread for the European map, it was more difficult to plan for the center split. I thought it would interrupt too many countries to be on two pages – so I decided to do a “Pop-Out” map view, basically, a zoomed-in map for enlarged detail of Europe. I have to say that I really like the way that turned out.

TIP: Make sure that if you are tracing through the blank back of a page – it will make it so much easier to find the details. Otherwise, you might find some random words or miscellaneous marks on the paper traced from the opposite side of your paper to your map. I used my tiny washi tape to hold the map sheets in place temporarily. (Side note – when I ordered the washi tape – I totally expected a larger width! But it has turned out so useful and unique!) Starting from the center and working outwards seemed to work really well for me – it helped me gain my bearings a bit.

I started with a pencil and planned to outline it with a fine pen afterward, erasing the pencil marks for the final product. I used Sakura Micron 005 (.20mm) for the world map after seeing how large the .45 mm marker was – (.45mm marker tip large?!? Yes, it seemed monstrous in comparison to the .20mm!). The detail using this minuscule marker was simply amazing once I erased the pencil lines. These pens didn’t bleed or smear when I erased them. I foresee myself using them in more projects!

The details are not perfect, but they do not have to be!

World/US travel tracking Map creation steps for the bullet journal or planner

I grew up in the United States, have gone through United States Geography through my whole life. So the outline of the US is familiar to me. When I started outlining more unfamiliar countries of the world and Europe, I found it hard to get the details just right. I don’t {currently} own a light box otherwise I would have used that. I grabbed my phone and couldn’t find the app that made the screen display white. Darn it!

Instead of searching forever for this essential app, I took a picture of a white page, changed the brightness to 100% and the contrast to 100% and the screen glowed in just the right white. I learned not to touch the screen while I was tracing because it changed the screen and took away my perfect mini-on-the-go light box. I just had to remember to trace lightly with the pencil. What a find! Forever more I am going to use that trick for tracing.

Use your cell phone as a mini-on-the-go light box

Final Product

What do you think? Let me know in the comments below! Want more travel planning ideas? Follow me on Pinterest. I created a short list of ideas for using a Map Page Tracker in your collections, If you have used a map spread in your journal…or you plan to – let me know in the comments below what you’ve done and other ideas you’ve incorporated. I would love to see what you have done!

World Map and European "pop-out map" Spread in your Bullet Journal

United States (US) Bullet Journal Collection Map Spread

Ideas for adding a Map Page Tracker in your Planner:

Use it as a travel log:

Keep track of where you have been
- Countries
- States in the USA
Keep track of the places your kids visit – we took a cross-country trip when my oldest was just a baby, so technically, he has been in 15 + states. We flew out west when my little girl was 2 1/2, she has been in only four states. My youngest has been in two states. I should probably track these visits so I can tell them when they ask me where they have been but keep it super-secret from my kids in the meantime if they discover it and it turns into a “mom loves me more than you” competition.
Wanderlust – what you’d like to do and places to visit
If you wanted to get even more detailed, you could do a state or even a county map of things to do and places you’ve been

Education:

Learn the state capitals
Learn country names and capital cities
Interesting facts about each place

One idea I may carry out – because it’s really that awesome of an idea:

If you there is a significant event in your life on a particular day, write down the newspaper article headings {found online} for that state/country on that date.

Trip Fund Meter Tracker:

“Fill” up the countries as you save money for your trip by coloring in from bottom to top as you squirrel away the funds for the trip.
- If you didn’t want to fill in the countries, fill in the water/ocean around the countries to track your savings goals.

Rather than outlining in black, you could outline the different countries/states in a different color. This would need a variety of colors…but… #excuses, right?

Leave me a comment & let me know what other content you would like to see.

P.S. I would LOVE to see how you ended up using these maps.
Follow me and tag me in your posts. I can’t wait to see your inner muse spread a light throughout the world inspire yourself and others around you.

Wishing you joy and creativity every day,

Tricia @
Chocolate Musings

The maps I created are from http://d-maps.com – the ones I selected don’t even scratch the surface compared to what’s available. If you need a county map in the United States, showing the major roads, cities, and rivers, they have it. “Dead useful” to quote Hagrid. As far as a map resource goes. They also have ancient maps which piqued my interest. But alas, another day, another time for that. The site is gracious enough to allow me to use the maps for my purpose asking only for a link in return to the map that I used.

World Map Europe United States Africa Americas South America Central America Asia Australia