Tuesday Tip :

At the end of each month I jot down on one of our Map Journals what has been the main highlight for that month, so at the end of the year (and for the fun of future reminiscing) I’ll have the year simply summarized on a single sheet ~

The highlight for May was the expansion of our Map Magnet range! Back in January we launched the first of our Map Magnets, which covered 22 regions across the country ~ We’ve added a further 8 areas so now we have 30 Map Magnets covering most of Australia!

And for something new for me…. here is a little video clip ~

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tp-kclvroY

Click on the ‘2010‘ tag to see a synopses of my year at a glance

Tuesday Tip:

Map Journals are great for ‘simply’ summarizing where you’ve been and what you’ve been doing ~ on a single sheet

March & April 2010

Within days of returning from the Sydney Trade Fair at the start of March, I flew off to Scotland (click  ‘Scotland‘ under ‘Tag Cloud’ or ‘Great Britain‘ under ‘Topics Talked About’ in the column to your right to read all about that trip!)

Up, Over & Out of Australia

Each month this year I’m entering a highlight into one of the jotting boxes so at year’s end I’ll have a visual keepsake for 2010 ~

Click on the ‘2010‘ tag to see my year at a glance :D

Tuesday Tip 7:

I’m notating the highlights of each month in a jotting box on this Map Journal so at the end of the year 2010 will be laid out before me…

simply summarized on a single sheet

February 2010

Highlight for February for me was that we published our Special Edition Map Journal, which I then took to Sydney for a trade fair

Click on the ‘2010‘ tag to see a synopses of my year at a glance

Tuesday Tip 6:

I started this Tuesday Tips section to answer some of the most common questions or comments I hear about our Map Journals ~

This week:

“My handwriting would spoil it”

Take inspiration from these beautiful scribbly gum tree markings

I don’t think you can ever argue with nature, when it comes to beauty

No matter how scrawly your handwriting is, there is still  a pattern to it and while when you start you may think it looks too un-perfect I can assure you that when all the boxes are filled there will be a unifying style that will actually bring the whole sheet together.

No matter how ‘messy’ (and self critically) you think at the time it may look, spontaneity speaks louder than words, and your quick scribbly jottings conveying the fun of the moment is what you will see in years to come – not that you’ve dotted the i or crossed the t

Yesterday, I went to see our printer in Brisbane to sign off the proof for a new travel wallet I’m producing for our Australia Map Journal ~

There’s always an air of trepidation signing off a proof ~ It sounds a bit melodramatic, but it can feel close to signing your life away!

One can’t help but have a fear that you just may have missed a spelling mistake and that once the printing machines start rolling you’ll have reams of paper piling up off the end of the press all displaying some glaring bloomer

It’s also a really exciting time!

The proof is produced on a high gloss photographic paper so the image is strong and crisp, but because one can’t write on glossy paper we produce our products on uncoated papers – Uncoated papers absorb more ink so the final result is visually more muted – The proof in our case is therefore no real indication as to what it will look like as it comes off the press, which can mean a few surprises

On the eco front, we use a 40% post consumer waste recycled paper, with the remainder coming from FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) managed trees. Our printer uses soy based inks.

So… Here is a sneak peak of the new travel wallet front cover…

and the back…

I’ve selected a textured card with a lovely feel to it so… I can’t wait to see and touch the final product!

Fingers crossed it lives up to my expectations

Tuesday Tip 5:

Do you ever get to the end of a year and say -

Where did the time go?

What did I do? Where did I go? And when exactly was that?

Book type journals are great for all the detail, but they just don’t cut it for seeing the year at a glance.

So for each month of this year I’m going to jot just one or two highlights in each of the boxes on a Map Journal so when I get to December the year 2010 will be laid out before me ~

simply summarized on a single sheet!

January 2010

I get the impression this year has started brightly ~

Click on the ‘2010‘ tag to see my year at a glance

Tuesday Tip 4:

Often overheard upon first seeing a Map Journal –

‘Oh, if only I were going on a major trip, or doing the big lap?’

(i.e. travelling all the way around Australia)

Why, only if you’re doing a ‘big’ trip?

Aren’t annual holidays and last minute weekend breaks away to the beach just as much fun to remember?

How many times have you heard people say…

“‘We stayed at the most gorgeous little place, now… ummmm what was it called?”  

So, next time you’re heading off over the hills on hollers, decide to go on a spontaneous short sortie, or simply enjoy a long weekend away with the family…

take a Map Journal to arrow in the ‘where’ and jot down those names…

before you forget!  :)

Tuesday Tip 3:

“Im not sure where to start”

Making the first mark on a new Map Journal can be a bit daunting ~

Artists have sketch pads to practice on, so…

If you feel nervous about making a mess or a mark you’re not going to be happy with, make some cheap photocopies of some of the jotting boxes (for your personal use only of course!)

Now you can really let loose

However, this is only a short term confidence builder! Don’t practice and plan so much that the entries become contrived -

Spontaneity is the key to really sparking those memories back to life in years to come!

Tuesday Tip 2:

Some of my most fun and memorable travel started on a spontaneous whim

With no time for preconceived notions to be formed, there are no expectations to live up to and, the experience can only be judged as it happens ~

Jotting spontaneous notes rather than planning and preening journal entries is the same!

By worrying about the perfect opening phrase, the essence of the moment can be totally missed in a contrived composition.

Unlike a conventional book type journal, Map Journals have no beginning, no middle nor end so entries can be made randomly, and spontaneously, in any one of the boxes that surround the map.

Feel elated about an amazing experience/sight? Jot down how you feel now while it is fresh and vibrant in your mind – The important thing is not to think about it – let spontaneity capture the moment and you’ll be forever connected to that time and place…

Outside the Wollumbin toilets, in amongst the leaf litter...

“The essence of pleasure is spontaneity” Germaine Greer

Tuesday Tip 1:

Where it all began

Journey Jottings Map Journals came into being when I returned from a trip to the Northern Territory and felt my written journal just didn’t cut it when it came to showing and sharing with  family and friends where I’d been and what I’d been doing.

Personal tomes of the written word are wonderful for quiet reflective moments of solitary reminiscing, but what I needed was something more visually appealing, and something that would simply summarize my trip on a single sheet.

Since our first edition Map Journal (which we now fondly refer to as “market research”) I have taken it through a few metamorphoses over the years until now it’s in a 4th edition.

Since joining the social media realms of Twitter and Facebook I’ve had the fun of chatting to people holidaying and travelling around Australia (or wishing they were holidaying and travelling around Australia) and I’ve been asked for tips and tricks for getting the most benefit from their Map Journal.

As with anything new, or unfamiliar, its great to get a few pointers so I thought I’d apply some of  my Tuesday blog posts to a ‘Tuesday Tips’ session.

So… any questions for the inaugural post next week?

Add a comment here, or email me to ask!