I spent all winter of 2023/2024 daydreaming about passports, looking at small notebooks on Amazon, and wondering if I had the energy to make a bunch by hand again. Meanwhile, I couldn't help thinking that it would be so much easier to design them and get them printed! Which also made me think there had to be other people who loved summer as much as me? That would want to document their summers with their kids in a fun way? I couldn't be the only one.
So I dabbled with designing little passport journals after my kids went to bed. First I made the Passport Journal, the most realistic version with a faux leather cover and watermarked pages similar to an actual passport. I remember being so, SO nervous to pull the trigger on getting a sample printed. But when it arrived I was speechless! It turned out exactly as I envisioned it! The only problem was that if I wanted to go ahead and order them to sell, I had to commit to a huge number! Which was incredibly scary, but I took the plunge.
After seeing how well the Passport Journals turned out, I decided to design Summer Passports as well. These ones have a linen cover and are designed specifically with summer in mind. Again, I had to order a huge, scary amount, but I felt confident in my ability to sell them.
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Lastly, it became clear that a big part of the fun with an actual passport is getting it stamped. Obviously these journals needed stamps for when you marked a task completed. By this point I was all in, so I designed and printed three different sticker pages with passport visa-like stamps to sell alongside the journals.
You might be wondering if I lost my mind undertaking all of this as a single mother of 5. But throughout the process I kept reminding myself that I've always wanted to participate in local markets and I could run an Etsy store as well. I also reassured myself with the fact that I don't have to sell them immediately. So I took a massive leap of faith, trusting my gut that there are people out there who would love a journal like this as much as me. Which is how I ended up where I am now: slinging playful ways to document your life, selling Passport Journals, Summer Passports, and Passport Stamp Stickers. And contrary to popular belief, these aren't just for kids! Stick around for tons of ideas on how to fill your passports in and make your memory keeping playful.
