Journaling 101

Different ways to journal:

1. Make a list. (A top 10 list, a list of likes or dislikes, there are so many possibilities!)
2. Answer the questions who, what, when, where, and why?
3. Use lyrics from a song.
4. Find quotes that work with your theme.
5. Pretend you’re talking to the person in the photo. Give them some advice.
6. Tell a favorite story about the person in the photo.
7. Pretend you are telling a friend why you are making the layout. If you’re making it to remember an event, imagine you’re telling your friend what happened, and write it down.
8. Use a poem instead of journaling.
9. Pretend you’re writing a newspaper article, invent your own byline, and paper. Don’t forget the location and the date.
10. Interview someone. Ask your kids what they think about their Dad for a layout with a photo of them together. Ask your grandmother what it was like growing up. The possibilities are endless.
11. When all else fails have someone else write the journaling. Give the photo to your husband or one of your children, and ask them to write about it.

Different ways to incorporate journaling on your layouts:

1. Write it on a tag and tuck it behind your photo.
2. Use a hinge to attach a photo and attach your journaling underneath it where you can read it when you flip it up.
3. Write it right on the layout. Wherever you can fit it. It doesn’t matter if you like your handwriting. I promise you that your children and grandchildren will treasure it.
4. Print it out on the computer in a journaling box, or space it so you can cut it apart and make strips of journaling on your layout.
5. Journal on vellum or transparencies to add interest, and adhere it to your layout using brads or staples.
6. There are lots of journaling stamps… if you are concerned about the neatness of your handwriting, stamp on a piece of paper that you can cut out and adhere to your layout. If you mess up just stamp and try again!
7. Journal directly on a photo.

Journaling resources:

1. Quotes and Phrases: http://scrapbook.com/quotes.php
2. Poems: http://scrapbook.com/poems.php
3. Song Lyrics: http://www.lyrics.com/

Various tips:

1. I often type my journaling and titles in Word or another program with spell check to make sure that everything is correct before writing it on my actual layout.
2. There is really no wrong way to journal. Tell the story that’s on your mind or in your heart!

I have a few different examples to share:

Journaling directly on the photo. (Be sure to use pens made for this application!)



Journaling on strips, and adhering them to the layout.



Using journaling stamps. You'll notice on this one that the journaling stamp wasn't big enough for everything I wanted to say, so I stamped it several times and continued the journaling across the page.