My oldest son, Calum, a week ago, moved off to college. Sigh.

Cal's move in day at college

I know other people understand what that feels like. I am absolutely, from my heart, so happy for him and I know that he will do great things. I am the person I am worried about. I miss him. I liked having him around. I was his mom, he gave me a value to my being that I never thought possible.

Not only that, but all of my parenting skills suddenly have come into question — “what if I didn’t say (fill in the blank)?”

The (Short) List of Life Rules

Here’s a (short) list of things I did tell him…

  1. Do your best
  2. Just as in high school, your grades won’t be important once you’re done
  3. It’s okay to change your mind — you can do whatever you want to do
  4. Be thoughtful of your roommate

Another (Short) List of Life Rules

  1. If you go to a drinking party, don’t drink anywhere but on the first floor
  2. Nothing ever good happens when someone says, “here, hold my beer”
  3. Don’t leave your drink unattended
  4. Don’t ever pee off the side of the Grand Canyon

As he got ready to leave, I knew that he had recently started journaling. I think this is SO GREAT for him to do so. It provides him a great way to capture his thoughts during a new transition in his life (AND it gave me a way to be creative with his going away gift).

Traveler’s Notebook Cover

Masculine Traveler's Notebook Cover, Vintage TN Cover

This is the Traveler’s Notebook I made for Cal. I tried to make it as bare bones and masculine as I could.

It is constructed of the following materials:

  • Chip board (aka Cocoa Puffs cereal box)
  • Two sheets of scrapbook paper
  • Fusible webbing lined batik fabric
  • Bookmaker’s twine
  • Repurposed gift bag handle ribbon
  • 3 handmade TN inserts

Traveler's Notebook, hand stitched spine

The entire notebook is handmade. I know that most people use elastic for the insert holders and that they try to “hide” it in the way they wrap it, but I really like the added texture to the outside of the cover. I think it makes the book more rustic and masculine with the added element of being hand made. After all, if I would have wanted it to look like a store-bought journal, I would have just bought one.

Cal's Traveler's Notebook Back Cover

I tried to make it as generic as possible as I wanted Cal to really make it his own place for memories. That being said, I took 45 minutes the night before we moved him to school to write down some of my thoughts. I put this letter and a few photos of his brothers in, just in case he needed to see home.

Cal’s Journal Flip-through

Here’s a quick rundown of his journal. It really is very basic, but again, I want him to make it his own and add experiences that he sees fit. What a cool way to document your life but in a personal way such as this.

How to Make a Traveler’s Notebook Cover

The cover is made from a cereal box, scrapbook paper and a fusible webbing lined batik fabric. I used bookmaker’s twine to hold the inserts in. I repurposed a woven ribbon from a gift bag for the closure. The video below is NOT the same journal cover I made for Cal, but the process is extremely similar. I would recommend you watch the video to see how I did it.