Catch Up

Why, hello friends! I all of a sudden realized that I had not written any blog posts since January. *shame* Now, it's time to play catch up!

What we've been up to.

As I write this, I feel like my eyes are actually going googly, because I've been staring at a sea of Journey Journals and intricate custom drawings for what seems like a bajillion days.

Go and get 'em!

Just saw today that the US and World Journey Journals are now live on the Urban Outfitters website! Get 'em while they're hot! Find them here.

The beginning of something

Well, I can finally let the cat outta the bag! We are so very excited to announce that you will soon be able to find our US and World Journey Journals on UrbanOutfitters.com! We are thrilled at this opportunity, and can't wait to see what the future holds for us and these nifty little journals that we love so much.

We are going to have a few dozen celebratory drinks this weekend (let's be honest, I'm drinking as I write this). Hope you all have a happy weekend, and we will keep you updated on when the journals go up on the UO site!

Show us your Journey

Our 'Journey Journal' continues to be one of our favorite products we sell. We love the open road, traveling to far away places, and exploring new and exciting destinations. Our love for a good ol' fashioned road trip first inspired us to create the 'Journey Journal'. We've traveled to so many radical places and love tracking & writing about our journey, as well as being able to look back on our travels.

Over the past 3 1/2 years, we've created numerous different 'Journey Journals' to accommodate your travels, from our 'Europe Edition' to our 'Australia Edition', and of course the whole 'World Edition', and everything in between. We recently just created a custom journal for a couple who were going to be traveling the entire world. Their itinerary looked amazing, which got us thinking.....

We'd love to see your Journey!

That's right, we want to see how you used our 'Journey Journal' to track your travels! Either scan in or photograph the front cover and a selection of the inside pages (as well as any of your 'travel treasures'!) and email your Journey to us.

What's in it for you? Well, the winner will get a $40.00 credit to be used in our Etsy shop, as well as a another 'Journey Journal' of your choice, so you can continue to track your amazing travels. We will also pick a runner up winner, which will receive a 'Journey Journal' of your choice.

What are the specifics? Email all entries to: tarasherm@gmail.com and label them with the subject line, "Show us your Journey Entry". You may also send us a message in Etsy if you prefer. In your email, please attach your scans or photos of your 'Journey Journal', along with a brief summary of your trip (including the date & place(s) of the trip) and any funny or interesting experiences on this particular trip that made it so memorable. The more creative & interesting you get with your story of your trip will be to your advantage! Also in your email, include your name, email address, and phone number. The better the photographs/scans of your Journal pages, the better we can see just how awesomely you used your journal! ANY of our 'Journey Journals' are eligible for entry (the original, Europe, Australia, Asia, Canada, Mini, World & ANY custom journal that was made for you)

You can start emailing your entries today and entries will be accepted until midnight (CST) on Sunday November 4th.  No late entries will be accepted, sorry. Winners will be notified by email the week of November 19th. Only one entry per person, so narrow down your most memorable trip!

What the heck will you be looking for in a winner?  Well there are a lot of things! Your destination doesn't have to be the most exotic, it could be a weekend road trip an hour from your house, or a luxurious getaway to Paris, it doesn't matter. Some of our best trips have been closest to home, so location is not a factor in deciding a winner. What does matter is how you sell it. We want to see how you used the inside pages of the Journal (especially the drawings!) and your creativity in how you used your Journal. (that doesn't mean your drawings have to be works of art, though!) We want to laugh, cry, laugh some more, and be intrigued when reading the story of your trip, so the more you give us, the better. We love a good story! It also doesn't matter when your trip took place, it could have been 3 years ago, or yesterday. Any destination is accepted, so don't think that your trip to North Dakota will be dismissed, we want to see and hear it all, so don't be shy!

The winner and runner-up will have their trips featured on the blog in December. So, make sure those pics/scans are fabulous! 

If we missed something, feel free to email us with any questions! We are so grateful for all of the folks who have purchased our 'Journey Journal's and have, in turn, made them such a huge success. We are so excited to see all of your amazing adventures, ready...set...GO!

PS: Don't have a 'Journey Journal' yet? Well, go get one here!

Draft Surprise

So, last night we were hangin' out in the living room and Adam was reading his latest issue of DRAFT magazine. (that's right, Adam subscribes to a beer magazine, a true Milwaukeean!) As he was paging through he all of a sudden squealed with delight, which startled me, because I didn't know I was married to a woman with a girly scream. But then he showed me that my Europe edition Journey Journal was featured on a page spread! So, then I squealed with delight too, because I love being surprised with unexpected press - especially in a magazine devoted to beer. I'll drink to that!

Check out the latest edition of DRAFT magazine (the Travel Issue), and find our Europe Edition Journey Journal featured near the back of the magazine!

MINI Journey Journal is here!

The Journey Journal just got mini-fied! Check out our newest edition of the Journey Journal in our Etsy shop - The MINI. This puppy is perfect for tucking away in your back pocket, so it's always close to document your most important travel memories. Measuring 4.25 X 5.5, it's a perfect stocking stuffer for your traveling loved ones! Check it out here for all the specifics.

Real Simple Daily Finds

Hooray! Our journey journal is included in the '8 unique travel journals' on Real Simple daily finds! See it here

The World

It's finally here! We are now offering a World Edition of the Journey Journal. This rad journal features lots more new questions and way more string. Totally awesome. Find it here.

A whole lotta love

The Journey Journal is today's featured product on the 'Greetings Etc' Magazine Website! Yay!
Check it out here!

The Journey Map

I recently made a Journey Map for someone, and have gotten so much interest in it, that we will officially be starting to sell Journey Maps! The Journey Map is a 11X17 map of the world, mounted on cardstock and comes with 10 brads and extra string.

Stay tuned in the coming months for lots of other new stuff, including: the much anticipated 'World Edition: Journey Journal' and the 'City Livin' Journey Journal: Chicago Edition' (which will be available at the Renegade Craft Fair in Chicago!)

Customize that shiz

So, our customized journey journals have been a big hit! How to do it? It's so easy my friends! Just let us know where you're traveling to, and then we create a map cover for you. The inside is the same awesome journey journal you've all come to know and love, but the cover is for your trip only!

Some that we've done already include: France, India, Washington D.C & Virginia, Germany, Belgium, Africa, and the list goes on. Contact us for info and we can make it happen! Visit our Etsy here!

My first Journey Journal

When I recently went to Montana, I filled out a Journey Journal for the first time and I have to say, it was awesome. Even reading through it now, only a couple weeks after the trip, I was remembering things I had already forgotten about, which was coolio. Here are some pages from my very own Journey Journal.

Custom Journey Journals

We created a custom journey journal for someone recently, and thought it would be cool to do it more often! So, if you are traveling to a specific country or state and want a custom journey journal made for that area, let us know and we'd love to make it!

Here is the 'France Edition' we recently made.

New Journey Journal: Spring Break!

We have a brand spankin' new journey journal and it is pretty rad-tacular. It is our Spring Break Edition! Complete with plenty of drunken questions after questionable nights. So, if you are going on Spring Break this year, make sure to get a Journey Journal: spring break edition! Check it out on Etsy.

Check out the new journal, mate!

So our newest edition of our Journey Journal is out...the AUSTRALIAN EDITION! It's perfect for your trip into the outback! It is of course super cool and a great new member of the Journey Journal collection! Check it out on Etsy. Have a very happy weekend!

Stay tuned for lots of new journals to come.... a Journey Journal-SPRING BREAK EDITION, a Journey Journal-WORLD EDITION and the oh so mysterious...Double Agent Daybook!

New Editions & Other Awesome-ness

Holy moly, I haven't posted in quite some time. I've been a busy beaver here at Cracked Designs lately! What have I been doing you ask? Why, creating new and awesome stuff for you! Here is some of it, and as usual you can get it on Etsy!

Your travel companion

Our newest product is out!  The journey journal is now available on Etsy and is totally super cool.  Check it out in all it's glory here.  We will be releasing a few more awesomely new journal/books in the coming weeks...so stay tuned.