Se7en + 1’s Sketchbook Project 2013: The Travelogue…

It has been a crazy weekend… I just surfaced and it is Wednesday!!! I have been so busy putting our Annual Sketchbook Project together…

Once a year our family pretends to be real artist/illustrators and writers and we put together a book for The SketchBook Project. This year’s theme was “Travelogue” and I have this idea that a book of documented maps would make a good read… well having drawn a heap of maps in the last few days… I think maybe just a few maps in a book are a good idea, unless of course you are creating an atlas!!!

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Our kitchen table has been buried under pamphlets and travel paraphernalia!!! Buried I say…

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And my family seem to miss having a mother person around to do quite a lot of the menial chores around here!!!

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That being said they were very understanding about the ensuing chaos and seem to have come out of the experience quite unscathed!!!

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I have to say our followers on Instagram have been just brilliant… supporting and encouraging every step of the way… whenever I thought I couldn’t possibly finish I would post a “progress picture” and encouragement would shower down and on the effort would go…

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And here it is:

Se7en + 1’s Travelogue…


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Everyone needs an invitation to travel… and a passport of course…

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And the passport was packed with stamps and visas and boarding passes…

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Instructions to pack lightly… a change of clothes and a guide book… and a snack…

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Because you always need a snack!!!

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So traveling light… and you are good to go…

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My parents spark of traveling inspiration was to take me on a trip across Europe and visiting at least se7en countries before my first birthday… I don’t remember much other than we visited Mrs Tiggywinkle, an enormous man throwing snowballs off the edge of the world, a strange man on the balcony “Mr WooDat?” (My older siblings built a snowman for me). I tasted my first street food, pretzels on the streets of Athens, and to this day still love street food round around the world…

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Otherwise every school vacation was spent adventuring on a farm in the Cederberg:

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And I grew up walking my sheep dog on the slopes of Table Mountain after classes… rain or shine a dog must run!!!

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While I was studying I took part in heaps of Triathlons… visiting lots of little towns in the Western Cape… following the race calendar…

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And then my work took me visiting islands of the Southern Ocean and a trip to the Antarctic…

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Then the father person and I got married and we lived in Kalk Bay for a couple of years…

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And suddenly we were in the middle of the book and time for a world map and a wish list… And I could of put heaps on here but my mind was frazzled!!! Anyway, I don’t wish for much!!! Just a trip through the colourful markets of Morocco; A balloon trip over the Serengeti; I would love to see a narwhal and have to see real live puffins in the great outdoors. Of course closer to home we are still dreaming of seeing a rhino… I am mad about visiting islands and would love to visit the Galapagos… but my ultimate trip would be a trip to St. Helena… I just have to go there one day!!!

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Back on the world tour… and just before we had kids the father person and I spent a month in Greece… visiting in Athens…

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And some wonderful island hopping… and yes the Greek islands are just as perfect as folks say they are!!!

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We followed our month in Greece with a few weeks in Italy… I had an Italian lecturer with an apartment right in the centre of Rome… free accommodation for weeks on end, it was glorious!!!

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A couple of trips on the speed train, through fields and fields of sunflowers… zapping around the country!!!

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I can even say that the father person has taken me to Venice for the weekend!!!

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On the surface Italy may look very black and white…old buildings, lots of ruins… even the gondolas are black…

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But dig a little deeper and their is colour everywhere!!!

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Everywhere!!! Venice is an incredibly colourful spot and window shopping is the sport of choice…

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Moving on a couple of years and we took a family trip to London (we only had five kids at the time – so definitely time for another big family adventure)…

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And after a week or two of exploring all the brilliant parks and museums…
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We visited friends in Wales for a week or two… the land of forests, castles, ancient knights and of course dragons…

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And we couldn’t leave out our trip to Lesotho…

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And just as we were getting out book rhythm going the book came to an end…

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So a quick map of the Cape Peninsula… the place we call home… I may not draw another map for a very long time, but when I do it is this one that needs the most attention… imagine a map of our home town filled with our favourite outings!!!

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and Bon Voyage Sketchbook Project…

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Until next year…

26 Replies to “Se7en + 1’s Sketchbook Project 2013: The Travelogue…”

  1. Wow I don’t know how you do these wonderful things but this is truly amazing. I have seen all three and they all so different but this one is my favourite. I always dreamt of living out of a suitcase and travelling to every single country one day. So this really appeals to my travel bug.

  2. Hay Tammy, Thank you… had to collapse for a day to recover!!! Not to mention find the kitchen table under all those little itty snips of paper and paints and oh my word… but heaps of fun, wouldn’t miss it for the world!!!

  3. Thanks Rikki, So glad you enjoyed it!!! I took your advice and just sat at the table and got it done!!! Hope you have a great week!!!

  4. Thank you Carolyn… You have been fabulous and instrumental in getting us to the finish line!!! Thank you so much for your support, I definitely know who to call upon next time we have a deadline!!! Hope you have the most brilliant week!!!

  5. wow!You are really creative family!I would love to have a book like this in the future!What a great way to record all your adventures and memories!

  6. Hi Katja, Thank you… we have such fun putting these boks together and you are right they are fabulous memory keepers!!! Hope you have had a great week!!!

  7. Will your sketchbook be on any of the tours? I love the sketchbook idea. I’m thinking about doing one with my girls next go round.

  8. BRAVO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! love them ALL!!!!! these are seriously amazing and awesome! I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to look at each and every page up close in person. Your kiddos are so incredibly talented and creative! GREAT WORK!!!!!!!!!!!

  9. Hi April, Honestly I haven’t figured out how the tours work!!! But I can say… Go for it and sign up for the project… there is something so rewarding about creating art for other folk to see!!! You won’t get your book back but you will enjoy the journey and we love wondering who has seen or read our books on the far side of the world!!!

  10. Oh Katherine Marie… These Sketchbooks are so do-able, somehow scrapbooking seems so daunting… but an annual dive into a mini-book really is doable and so much fun to create!!! Hope you have a wonderful day with your gorgeous kiddos!!!

  11. That was an incredible piece! I can only imagine the time and effort involved. Got the travel bug juices flowing!

  12. Aaaah Tarryn, How did I miss a comment from you? Thrilled… We really love putting these books together, so much fun!!! Hope you have a great week!!!

  13. Hi Jeanine, So glad that you found our journals inspiring!!! They are by far our most fun project of the year, every year… they do take an age, and little step by little step to put them together. Thanks so much for stopping by!!!

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