Journaling Tip #7: Use Your Scraps

Here's a quick journaling tip for you this weekend.  Use your scraps of paper to make journaling boxes/cards.  I remember when I first started scrapbooking, I used to make journaling boxes for my layouts.  Now these are coming back "in style."  Many of the scrapbooking manufacturers are including journaling products in their current lines.  Why not make your own, though?  You know those pieces of paper and cardstock that you have left over from your layouts?  Cut them into rectangles, squares, circles, or whatever shapes you like.  Store them in a handy place, and take them out when you're doing a layout.  It's a great way to use up your scraps, save money, and be creative; and you'll have journaling cards that match your layouts perfectly.

Journaling Tip #6: Travel Journals

We're headed for a road trip down to Florida starting tomorrow, stopping at Virginia Beach and Savannah along the way.  I'm so excited; I've never been on a road trip before!  There will be so much to include in our scrapbooks when we get back that I decided to provide everyone with a travel journal to record our adventures as we experience them.  I took some $1 journals that I bought at Michael's and dressed them up, sectioning them into topics that we enjoy and will want to write about.  I also printed out travel journal sheets from Enchanted Learning, which I've used twice before.

When we get back next week, I'll try to take some pictures.  Until then, happy scrapping!

Journaling Tip #5: Delegate the Journaling

Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you just don't know what to write on your layout?  Of course you have!  We all have - especially when we find ourselves scrapbooking the same types of events over and over.  For example, birthdays and holidays can be quite a challenge to write about. 

The next time you're at a loss for words, enlist your family and friends to help you journal.  Ask them to write down what they remember about the event:  What was the funniest thing that happened?  Were they surprised about anything?  What was the most memorable thing anyone said or did?  You can either let them use their own handwriting (attaching it right to the layout), or print it out.

There are a few benefits to this type of journaling.  Not only will it take some of the pressure off you to come up with something new and fresh to say, but it will also allow your friends and family to have a more prominent role in creating your scrapbooks and preserving your memories.

Happy scrapping!

Journaling Tip #4: Details on the Back

Here's a quick tip for you.  The next time you have your digital photos printed by an online company (e.g. Snapfish or Shutterfly), consider having the details printed on the back.  You have this option when you are selecting the size and finish.  I have the basic details printed on the back of all my pictures now.  It takes extra time when you're ordering them; but when it comes time to scrapbook them (or even put them in photo albums), all of the information is already there.  You don't have to write anything on the back.  I love it!

Journaling Tip #3: Start With the Journaling

OK.  I'll admit it.  I usually save my journaling for last.  Not because I don't think it's important, but because sometimes I think I know what I'm going to say before I start; but then, once the photos are on the page, I think of more to say.  There are times, though, when I write my journaling before putting the photos on.  In the layout below, I just started writing about what I remember from my summers as a child.  I knew the photos I was using, but I put them on after I finished writing.  In this case, writing the journaling first worked better for my layout, and it shared center stage with the photos.  Give it a try.

 

Journaling Tip #2: The 5 Ws

(This is a post from August 2007, but I think it will be very helpful for those who are just starting out, or those who are struggling with journaling.  Happy scrapping!)

Although I find journaling very easy, I realize that many people do
not.  I don't think it's necessary to write paragraph after paragraph
for every layout, though.  Sometimes just the 5 Ws are enough: Who, what, when, where, and why. 
If you can write down just this information, you will have enough for
most layouts.  Sometimes these details can spark your memory of other
details, and the journaling will come more easily.  Give it a try.  Oh, and I do most of my journaling in my own handwriting, but I do occasionally use the computer.

I hope this very simple, but very useful, tip helps you when you're stuck wondering what to write on your layouts.

Journaling Tip #1: Finding Your Voice

Hi everyone!  I hope you've been enjoying the springtime weather - if it's reached your neck of the woods yet.  With the approach of spring, the season of new beginnings, I've decided to change the focus of My Crafty Life a little bit.  I hope you like it.  It would be great if you'd post some comments to let me know....

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"I'm not good at writing."  "I don't have time to journal."  "I just did a whole bunch of layouts at a crop.  All I have to add is the journaling, when I get a chance."

Does any of this sound familiar?  I've heard it all before, and I want to tell you right now that journaling is the most important part of your scrapbooks - besides the photos, of course!  I know I've said this before, but it bears repeating:  Journaling is what separates a scrapbook from a glorified photo album.  We've all heard the saying "A picture is worth a thousand words," but that doesn't apply to scrapbooking.  When it comes to scrapbooking, it's the words that tell the story behind the photos.

The reason most people avoid journaling so much is that it can be rather daunting and intimidating.  Hopefully, I will be able to help you solve this problem in your scrapbooking.  Every week, I'm going to be giving you some suggestions to get you moving on what is perhaps the most dreaded part of scrapbooking:  JOURNALING.  Here we go....

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This week's tip is all about Finding Your Voice.

Now, I'm not talking about being more outspoken, although that's another topic I might write about.  What I mean by "finding your voice" is determining who will be reading your journaling.  For whom are you creating the layout?  Is it the people in your layout?  Is it for grandparents?  Is it for yourself?  (That's OK, you know!)   When you know your audience, then you can determine your voice.

For example, in my children's scrapbooks, I address them in my writing.  I use first-person narration, such as "We went to our favorite park," and "You looked so cute in your Halloween costume."  If I'm creating a layout for my own personal scrapbook, I might use these words:  "My children are growing up right before my eyes," or "I married my first love."  It's still first-person, but I'm speaking about them, rather than to them.

That's all there is to it.  The key is consistency.  If you begin speaking TO the subject of your layout, continue to do that throughout the entire journaling section.  Try to do it throughout the entire scrapbook.  The result will be something everyone who looks at your scrapbook will want to read, because it will sound natural and genuine.  Give it a try, and let me know if it works for you.

Happy scrapping!