Prepare for Take-Off

Anticipation
Preparing the mail art kit and getting the travel journal ready is my favorite part of the trip.
Ok, two of my favorite parts....but the exploring and eating out and adventures are great too.
I love packing art supplies but clothes? Not so much.
By the time you read this post, I'll be back from my big adventure to
St. Petersburg, Krakow, Budapest and Prague.

You probably know I am always collecting paper so I had a lot to draw on for my travel journal -- even before I left home.
A mail art pal recently went to St. Petersburg and she donated some lovely papers with Russian Cyrillic writing on them (thanks, Sarah). And another friend had given me a big box of old postcards and I found a set for St Petersburg.
Got the little nesting Russian dolls envelopes in Japantown. Maybe not authentic but fun. 

This brochure came in the mail....we didn't go on a tour...just the two of us braving four languages we can't speak....but what a fun photo that is.....

The Vintage paper Fair came through with a couple of nice old postcards and an envelope to paste in my journal. Every year I try to pick up postcards at the VPF of places I may be visiting. I like to use them in my trip journals or just to mail out...and many times there are really cool old vintage stamps on the backs of them I can use too.

Budapest
I tore out some photos from a travel magazine of a cafe in Budapest. I can stick some  white stickers on them and write about the fabulous pastry and coffee
I enjoyed there while soaking up the atmosphere.

Vintage Prague Postcards

These are real, black & white photographs of Prague. Really beautiful. Some to paste in my book and some to mail.

And thanks to my mail art pal Dori for giving me some beautiful printed paper  to enhance my trip journals.

Stamps!
Kelly P gave me a whole book of stamps from Hungary and Sylvia  B bought some Polish stamps for me in Paris at the Stamp Market.
Thanks you two. They will be put to good use in my journal.

I always put vintage maps in my trip books and another friend brought me back that tiny Polish calendar a couple of years ago....I knew it would come in handy someday...

See what I mean about the cool stamps on the back of the old postcards? I like to pack some DOTS and labels and vellum envelopes to add in. I divide the basic journal into sections for each country ahead of time. I have A LOT to cram into this one. Last trip I used the same size book for two countries. This trip it's four countries -- six if you could the airports in Finland and German. But who's counting?
So I plan it out ahead of time and then add in extra sheets of onion skin paper using washi tape as needed.

Collaged Postcard
This is basically my packing philosophy. Take it with me. I try really, really hard not to but I am just not good at packing light.

Now you've seen the BEFORE of the trip journal -- do you want to see the AFTER?
I love collecting paper and every night I sit down and do some writing, cutting & pasting.

After I get over jet lag. I've got stories to tell and photos to share. And yes, I did visit a post office or two I can tell you about.