Scrapbook Journaling

written by Sherry DiPaolo

Do you journal on your scrapbook pages? If so, do you do it when the page is complete or before you even start the layout? Scrapaholix offered a Journaling Kit in 2007 and it was a big hit with club members and instructors. Journaling is so important and this was a great way to get scrapbookers thinking about how and what to journal.

Journaling is one of the most diffibult thing for many scrapbookers. It’s one of the hardest parts about scrapbooking. It's difficult for all levels of scrapbookers to decide where to place the journaling, how to write it, what to write, what font to use, your handwriting vs. the computer, and so on.

Journaling, however, is the most important component of scrapbooking. It’s what sets it apart from a plain photo album and tells the story, the emotions, and the feeling that goes along with your photos. This is how future generations will remember who you are both by how you physically look and how you feel life.

Many scrapbookers often say “I can’t write.” or “I’m not creative enough.” or even that “I don’t journal because I’ll do it wrong or make a mistake.” You need to know that you can write and YOU are the only one who can tell the story. Always know that there is no wrong way to journal. Just write what you feel and that will always be right. Find your own style and go with it.

Once you get going and start writing you always do a fine job. It’s the content of the words that is most important, not the look or the mistakes you may make, or the font and color you choose. It’s your feelings that shine and that is what I know scrapbookers alike want to convey from their journaling.

Here are some really cool ideas on how to journal.

Journaling can be simple, and it all depends on how involved you want to get with it. You can simply list bulleted items, a single sentence, or perhaps tell the entire long, but interesting, story.
I take a lot of photos of my kids. While I’m taking them I’m visualizing how I will scrap them later. I think of what I want to say and how I’m feeling at that moment. When I pull the photos out to scrap them I remember those thoughts. They make me smile and I want to share that with my boys and all who read them. I want my boys to know what their lives were like when they were growing up and how much I love them.

The best way to make journaling simple is to keep good records of your photos. Keep them in order either by date, name, theme, etc. It’s a good idea to include the Five W’s, which are:

1. Who: Who is in the pictures? Who is taking the pictures?
   
2. What: What is happening in the pictures? Is it your child's first birthday, a wedding or an Easter egg hunt?
   
3. When: When was the photo taken? Try to include the month and year, but if it is detailing a birthday, include the specific date. You'd be surprised how the details get lost over the years.
   
4. Where: Where is the event?
   
5. Why: Why is this happening?

It's also important to convey your feelings when scrapbooking. How did you feel when your husband proposed?, When your children were born?, or When your child graduated?

Lastly, use your handwriting as much as possible. This makes it more intimate and true to your feelings.

Be sure to check out my next post on Scrapbook Journaling Techniques, Ideas on How to do it.